Current Position

Chester H. Kirk Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881; phone: (401) 874-2814; fax: (401) 874-4689; email: lucia@egr.uri.edu

Experience

BS in ChE from University of Rhode Island (URI) in 1974; Process Simulation and Control Engineer for Union Carbide, 1974-1976; MS in ChE from University of Connecticut (UConn) in 1977; PhD in ChE from UConn in 1981. Fifteen years experience in teaching and research at Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY - responsible for teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in chemical engineering, supervising research of BS, MS, PhD and postdoctoral students, obtaining external funding to support that research, maintaining visibility through publications in refereed journal and presentations at national and international symposia, and serving on departmental and university-wide committees. URI, 1996-present, hold Chester H. Kirk Professorship in Chemical Engineering, the first distinguished professorship in the history of URI.

Research

Main research interests include process engineering, computer-aided chemical process design and operations, process simulation and optimization, applied mathematics and numerical methods.

Research continually funded by National Science Foundation (NSF) and Department of Energy (DOE), variety of industrial support in process modeling, simulation and optimization, over $2.5 million in external funds raised.

11 MS and 10 PhD theses directed 4 postdoctoral and 22 undergraduate research projects directed Currently supervising 2 graduate students and 1 undergraduate student at URI All students have been fully supported by external funding.

82 publications (18 invited) in refereed international journals, conference proceedings 90 contributed and 59 invited presentations at other universities, industry, national and international meetings.

Member AIChE Formerly member of SIAM and NY Academy of Science 13 sessions chaired at national and international meetings on computer-aided design and applied mathematics.

Honors & Awards

Outstanding Advisor Award, Clarkson University, 1986 John W. Graham Faculty Research Award, 1987 Merck, Sharp & Dohme Lecturer, 1993 Outstanding Teacher Award, 1993-94 Best Paper Award, Comput. Chem. Engng., 1996 ITC Annual Seminar Series Lecturer, 2000 Outstanding Researcher, URI, 2001-02

Member of Editorial Board, Journal of Global Optimization, 2007-present Member of Editorial Board, Journal of Thermodynamics, 2008-present

Teaching

Undergraduate Teaching:

Introductory Process Design Mass and Energy Balancing Thermodynamics Petroleum Engineering Process Control Computer-Aided Design.

Graduate Teaching:

Chemical Engineering Analysis Thermodynamics Optimization Advanced Design

Courses Developed:

Chemical Engineering Analysis and Advanced Process Design.

Service

Graduate thesis committee member for many MS and PhD students Referee for large number of journal articles and proposals Chair and vice chair at several national and international meetings Taught review sessions in thermodynamics for NY State License Professional Engineer Exam.

Clarkson University Graduate Committee Clarkson University Curriculum and Space Committees Clarkson University Library Committee Clarkson University undergraduate design laboratory (purchasing, installation and maintenance of hardware and software)

URI Graduate Committee Several URI Faculty Search Committees (Chair and member) URI Department Chair Search Committee (member)

Science demonstrations at local Jr./Sr. High School in NY High School Summer Internship Program at URI (2006 - present)

Industrial & Consulting Experience

Worked for Union Carbide Corp. (1974-77); Have consulted for Control Data Corp., Amtrol, Inc., Aspen Technology, Inc., Simulation Science, Inc., EG&G Sealol, Teknor-Apex Co., Stanley-Bostitch, Inc., BP.