Academics

Chemical engineering professor receives American Chemical Society award

Andrew Zydney in his lab in the Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Building at University Park. Credit: Jamie Oberdick / Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The American Chemical Society (ACS) has named Andrew Zydney, Penn State Bayard D. Kunkle Chair and professor of chemical engineering, as the recipient of the 2020 ACS Award in Separations Science and Technology. 

As per the ACS's award citation, Zydney received the honor for "outstanding contributions to the development of membrane separation processes for purification of high-value biological products, including work on ultrafiltration, membrane fouling and shear-induced diffusion.”

Zydney's research focuses on membrane science and technology, with a particular emphasis on the development of membrane systems for recovery of biological products. This includes the application of membranes in bioprocessing. One example of the impact of his research involves his innovations in the design and development of important commercial membrane processes for the purification of monoclonal antibodies, which are used in treating cancer and other immunologic disorders.

“Andrew is a true intellectual leader in membrane separation processes,” said Phillip Savage, head of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Walter L. Robb Family Endowed Chair. “His work reveals fundamental aspects that then lead his team to creative advances in technology that are put into practice in the pharmaceutical industry.”

Zydney has been published in more than 250 articles on membranes and bioprocessing. He also is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Membrane Science and a member of the editorial review board for Biotechnology and Bioengineering. He serves on the editorial boards for Separation and Purification Reviews, Separation Science and Technology, and Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering. He was elected a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Chemical Society Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Division, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Zydney also serves as director of the Penn State Center of Excellence in Industrial Biotechnology and the Penn State site within the Membrane Science, Engineering and Technology Center. He is the most recent recipient of the Alan S. Michaels Award for the Recovery of Biological Products given by the ACS’s BIOT Division, and he has previously received the Gerhold Award for Excellence in Separation Science, as well as the Excellence in Biological Engineering Publications Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. In addition, he has received multiple teaching awards, including the Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Delaware and Distinguished Teacher Award from the American Society for Engineering Education.

“It’s always an honor to have one’s work recognized by one’s peers,” Zydney said. “Part of what’s special about this award is that it is one of the major awards given by the ACS, which currently has more than 150,000 members, which makes it the largest scientific society in the world. In particular, the ACS Award in Separation Science and Technology Award recognizes the more fundamental and scientific contributions of the work that I have done in membrane separations.”

Zydney will receive the award at a ceremony on March 24, 2020, in conjunction with the ACS Spring National Meeting in Philadelphia. 

Last Updated September 27, 2019

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