Professor Orlin Velev Delivers the 2018 AIChE Acrivos Lecture

Professor Orlin Velev delivered the Andreas Acrivos Award Lecture, “Microscale Engineering of Responsive, Flexible and Reconfigurable Particle Structures,” at the 2018 AIChE Annual Meeting. He’s the recipient of the 2017 Acrivos Award.

Originally known as the Professional Progress Award, the AIChE renamed it the Andreas Acrivos Award for Professional Progress in Chemical Engineering, “In honor of one of the chemical engineering profession’s most influential leaders and one of the great fluid dynamacists of the 20th century.”

The Award recognizes an individual’s outstanding accomplishments in fundamental or applied chemical engineering research.

Professor Velev has established a record of innovative research in the area of nanostructures with electrical and photonic functionality, biosensors, microfluidics and nanomanufacturing. He’s the first researcher to synthesize “inverse opals,” one of the most widely studied types of photonic materials today. He also pioneered techniques for making novel nanoparticle materials, Janus particles, rod-like particles and responsive foams.

He also has the distinction of being named a Fellow in two professional societies: the Materials Research Society and the American Chemical Society. Only small percentages of engineers and scientists are selected as Fellows of one technical society.

Professor Velev is the INVISTA Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and the 33rd recipient of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research and Extension Award. The Award is the most prestigious honor the College of Engineering bestows upon a faculty member.

Technologies based on his research have formed the basis of two Research Triangle Area startup companies, Xanofi and Benanova.

Congratulations Professor Velev!