UA Professor Honored for Contributions to Chemical Engineering

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A University of Alabama professor will be recognized with the FRI/John G. Kunesh award at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, in November.

Dr. Jason E. Bara, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering, is being honored for his achievements in chemical engineering.

This award is presented by the AIChE Separations Division and acknowledges separations scientists under the age of 40 with outstanding contributions to the academic, scientific, technological, industrial or service areas involving separations technologies.

Bara’s research focuses on improving the carbon capture process by developing new solvents for safely scrubbing CO2 emissions. In 2008, Bara helped to found a start-up company based in Boulder, Colorado, ION Engineering, which is commercializing new solvent-based gas treating technologies.

He has contributed to 65 peer-reviewed manuscripts and authored three peer-reviewed book chapters.

The award also recognizes educators who made strides in introducing new education concepts. At the University, Bara is pioneering the use of Apple iPhones and iPads in the chemical engineering curriculum, and he is also actively advancing 3-D printing as a tool for research, engineering and education.

An active member of AIChE’s Separations Division, he has chaired 14 sessions at the Annual Meetings, most of which related to CO2 capture. After serving as co-chair of the spring 2014 MRS Symposium “Materials for CO2 Capture,” he will return to co-chair the spring 2016 symposium.

Bara earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2002 and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2007.

The award is presented in memory of John G. Kunesh, a former chairman for the Separations Division and technical director of Fractionation Research Inc. Criteria considered in selecting an awardee include significant discoveries, important research, development of new processes and products, introduction of new education concepts, service to the Separations Division, or outstanding service to the separations community.