Dr. Bhima Sastri, Director of Crosscutting R&D and Systems Integration in the Office of Fossil Energy (FE), was recently elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). This honor reflects the high esteem in which Sastri is held by his colleagues and peers. He will be recognized for this achievement at the AIChE annual meeting in Boston, MA in November 2021.

“I am humbled to receive this recognition from an esteemed institution for a program that is dear to my heart—modular manufacturing! I am particularly pleased that this concept is now part of the “power plant of the future” that FE is pursuing. It clearly is a pathway to spawning innovations in smaller designs of components such as heat exchangers and turbines,” said Dr. Sastri. “These innovations have crosscutting applications in many chemical industries as well.”

Sastri was honored for his many contributions to the chemical engineering field in industry, academia, and government. He was recognized for initiating two programs at the Department of Energy (DOE) that went on to become the Institutes in Process Intensification (PI) and Desalination. PI is a paradigm shift that questions the conventional wisdom that “bigger is better” and replaces that concept with modularity in plant design, which enhances flexibility and reliability. His work on desalination at a 2010 workshop in Tampa, FL initiated the Energy-Water Nexus discussions that ultimately resulted in the establishment of the Energy-Water Desalination Hub. He has over 18 refereed publications, over 50 proprietary corporate research reports and over 30 conference presentations (not including university lectures or short courses).

AIChE Fellowships honor AIChE members for their accomplishments and service. A stringent nomination process, nomination sponsors, and professional accomplishments and service to the profession are prerequisites for becoming an AIChE Fellow.