Institute
of Paper Science and Technology
500 10th Street, NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30318-5794
404 894-9592
Institute of Paper Science and Technology Professor Invited to Serve
for Two Years at the National Science Foundation
Atlanta, Georgia -July 9, 2001
Dr. Cyrus K. Aidun, Professor of
Mechanical Engineering, has been invited by the National
Science Foundation (NSF) to serve as the Program Director
of the NSF Particulate and Multiphase Processes Program
for the next two years. Dr. Gary Baum, Vice President
of Research and Academic Affairs for IPST, says, "This
invitation is in recognition of Cyrus' work in the
area and is a great honor and opportunity for Cyrus
and also for IPST." Dr. Aidun says, "I am
quite excited about this opportunity. The NSF provides
the research direction for fundamental science in the
best institutions in the world."
In order for Dr. Aidun's research to continue on track, he will
spend 50 days per year at IPST managing his research and development
projects. Dr. Aidun will also elicit the support of his colleagues
to insure that his IPST projects will continue without interruption
while he is at NSF. Dr. Aidun will devote his time at IPST to managing
the Fluid Dynamics/Forming Program, in particular the commercial
implementation of the Vortigenä technology. Mr. Lynn Jonakin,
who has been serving as co-PI with Cyrus on the commercialization
of the Vortigenä technology, will continue in this capacity.
Dr. Aidun's DOE project concerning the on-line Vortigenä technology
will continue under the direction of Professor Minami Yoda of the
School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
She has been working with Cyrus on this project previously. Cyrus'
teaching responsibilities will be taken over by other faculty,
but he will continue to advise his current three graduate students.
Dr. Aidun will oversee all NSF activities in the Particulate and
Multiphase Processes Program. Current areas of focus include
two-phase flow mechanisms and microstructure, micro and nanoparticle
generation and processes, direct numerical simulation, new instrumentation
and facilities, and innovative concepts for particle use. He
began his assignment in early July and will be located at the
National Science Foundation Offices in Washington, DC.
Cyrus K. Aidun obtained his B.S. and
M.S. degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and
his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson
University in 1985. He joined Cornell University's Chemical
Engineering Department in 1985 as a postdoctoral research
associate and a research fellow of the Mathematical Sciences
Institute. He was appointed a senior research consultant
in computational fluid dynamics at the National Science
Foundation's Supercomputer Center at Cornell University.
After leaving Cornell in 1987, Dr. Aidun spent a year
at Battelle Research Laboratories, then joined IPST in
1988 as a faculty member in the Engineering Division.
He is currently Program Director at
the National Science Foundation, Professor of Fluid Dynamics
at IPST, and Adjunct Professor of Fluid Mechanics at
the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the
Georgia Institute of Technology. Professor Aidun's research
activities have earned him the 1990 George Olmsted Award
and the 1992 National Science Foundation's Young Investigator
(NYI) award. Dr. Aidun is active in a number of committees
and professional societies, including the Division of
Fluid Dynamics of the American Physical Society, the
Fundamentals Coating Committee, the Fluid Mechanics Committee
of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry,
the Thin-Film Coating Section of the American Institute
of Chemical Engineers, and the International Coating
Research Association.
For more information contact: David Bell, Director of
Institute Development and Assessment (404) 894-9592
