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Howard Davis (chemical engineer)

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H. Ted Davis
Born(1937-08-02)August 2, 1937
United States
DiedMay 17, 2009(2009-05-17) (aged 71)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Chicago
Furman University
Known forSurface Thermodynamics
Statistical Thermodynamics
Transport in Porous Media
AwardsWalker Award - AIChE (1990)
National Academy of Engineering (1988)
Regents Professor (1997)
Scientific career
FieldsChemical Engineer, Materials Science
InstitutionsUniversity of Minnesota
Doctoral advisorStuart Rice
Doctoral students

Howard Theodore "Ted" Davis (1937–2009) was an American chemical engineer and regents professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science (CEMS) at the University of Minnesota. He is known for his work in statistical thermodynamics, transport in porous media, and surface thermodynamics.[1]

Davis was an author of more than 400 academic papers and five books, including the acclaimed textbooks “Linear Algebra and Linear Operators in Engineering” (Academic Press, 2000, 1st Edition)[2] and "Statistical Mechanics of Phases, Interfaces and Thin Films" (John Wiley & Sons, 1995, 1st Edition).

He served as the department head of CEMS for 15 years (1980-1995), followed by his leadership as Dean of the Institute of Technology (1995-2005), which is the University of Minnesota's college of physical science and engineering. In 2008, Davis became the director of the University of Minnesota's BioTechnology Institute. [3]

Early life and education

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Davis grew up in the small town of Hendersonville. He was the child of an apple farm and textile mill worker. He received his B.S. in chemistry from Furman University in 1959 before completing his Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Chicago in 1962[4] with advisor Stuart Rice on the topic of "Some theoretical and experimental studies of irreversible processes in simple dense fluids",[5] part of which was later published as a book chapter.[6] He later completed a year of post-doctoral studies at the Free University of Brussels with Nobel Laureate Ilya Prigogine before joining the faculty at the University of Minnesota in 1963.[7]

Research and education at Minnesota

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Davis' background in chemistry led to new directions in chemical engineering research including fundamental questions in the fields of statistical mechanics, transport in porous media, and interfacial phenomena which had applications in fluid flow, industrial coating processes, recovery of oil, and nanotechnology. His work was highlighted by physical insights that many attributed to his "amazing discipline" as a researcher. He regularly described a research philosophy to pursue "the elegant solution" to problems, which built on his belief that the time saved by "quick and dirty" calculations could never compensate the for the lost intellectual opportunity. His research was integral in moving chemical engineering away from traditional unit operations and towards more rigorous mathematical analysis.[8]

Tenure as dean

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In 1995, Davis was named as dean of the Institute of Technology at the University of Minnesota, which was the university's college of engineering and physical sciences. During his leadership, he helped develop the Digital Technology Center. He also was instrumental in creating the University of Minnesota's Department of Biomedical Engineering. This was followed by the formation of degree programs in bio-based products engineering, computer engineering and biomedical engineering. In addition, he established a professional master's program in software and infrastructure systems engineering.[9]

During his time as Dean of IT, the college underwent several major renovations, including the new Mechanical Engineering Building and the restoration of Walter Library. These additions expanded the capability of the college and provided locations for both the Science and Engineering Library as well as the Digital Technology Center. These capabilities expanded the opportunity of the information technology community of Minnesota, which was instrumental in numerous federally-funded research centers at the University of Minnesota. Davis stepped down after nine years in 2005 as the 3rd longest serving dean in the college's history.

In 2008, Ted accepted the role of Director of the BioTechnology Institute, the University of Minnesota's internal organization, focusing on advanced research, training, and interaction with industry in biological process technology, and he held this position until May 2009.[10]

Awards, honors, and legacy

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In 1969 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.[11]

In 1988, Ted was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (primary section Chemical, secondary section Materials). His NAE election citation noted:[12]

For leadership in applying chemical physics, and in uniting chemical engineering and materials science teaching and research.

— Election Citation, NAE, 1988

In 1997, the leadership of the University of Minnesota promoted Ted Regents to a full Professor, the highest recognition of excellence at the university. In 2008, the Minnesota Science and Technology Hall of Fame included him in its first class of inductees; this selection honors those Minnesotans that have had a lasting worldwide impact.

Key publications

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Ted Davis has authored numerous journal articles describing significant advances in statistical mechanics, transport, fluid mechanics, and interfacial phenomena which includes but is not limited to:

  • H. Ted Davis, Stuart A. Rice, Lothar Meyer "On the Kinetic Theory of Simple Dense Fluids. XI. Experimental and Theoretical Studies of Positive Ion Mobility in Liquid Ar, Kr, and Xe", Journal of Chemical Physics, 37, 947, (1962).[13]
  • Lloyd R. White, H. Ted Davis "Thermal Conductivity of Molten Alkali Nitrates", Journal of Chemical Physics, 47, 5433, (1967).[14]
  • V. Bongiorno, H. Ted Davis "Modified van der Waals theory of fluid interfaces", Physical Review A, 12, 2213, (1975).[15]
  • H. Ted Davis "Capillary waves and the mean field theory of interfaces", Journal of Chemical Physics, 67, 3636, (1977).[16]
  • Muhammad Sahimi, Barry D. Hughes, L.E. Scriven, H. Ted Davis "Real-space renormalization and effective-medium approximation to the percolation conduction problem", Physical Review B, 28, 307, (1983).[17]
  • Susan A. Somers, H. Ted Davis "Microscopic dynamics of fluids confined between smooth and atomically structured solid surfaces", Journal of Chemical Physics, 96, 5389, (1992).[18]
  • V. Gupta, S.S. Nivarthi, A.V. McCormick, H. Ted Davis "Evidence for single file diffusion of ethane in the molecular sieve AlPO4-5", Chemical Physics Letters, 247(4-6), 596-600, (1995).[19]
  • Robert S. Maier, Daniel M. Kroll, Robert S. Bernard, Stacy E. Howington, John F. Peters, and H. Ted Davis "Hydrodynamic dispersion in confined packed beds", Physics of Fluids, 15, 3795, (2003).[20]

Ted was also the author of two highly influential books:

  • H. Ted Davis, Kendall T. Thomson"Linear Algebra and Linear Operators in Engineering: with Applications in Mathematica", 1st Edition 2000, Academic press. ISBN 978-0122063497 [21]
  • H. Ted Davis "Statistical Mechanics of Phases, Interfaces and Thin Films", 1st Edition 1996, Wiley-VCH ISBN 978-0471185628 [22]

References

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  1. ^ Engineering, National Academy of (2011). National Academy of Engineering - Ted Davis. doi:10.17226/12884. ISBN 978-0-309-15218-1. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  2. ^ Ted Davis, H.; Thomson, Kendall T. (June 26, 2000). Linear Algebra and Linear Operators in Engineering. Elsevier Science. ISBN 978-0122063497.
  3. ^ "Former Institute of Technology Dean H. Ted Davis Dies". Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ "Former Institute of Technology Dean H. Ted Davis dies". Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ "Thesis: SOME THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF IRREVERSIBLE PROCESSES IN SIMPLE DENSE FLUIDS". ProQuest 302087840. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ "Book Chapter: Simple Dense Fluids". Retrieved March 2, 2018. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ^ "Bloomberg Profile: H. Ted Davis". Retrieved March 2, 2018. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ^ Engineering, National Academy of (2011). Ted Davis. doi:10.17226/12884. ISBN 978-0-309-15218-1. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  9. ^ Ayappa, K. Ganapathy; Van Tassel, Paul R (2009). "H. Ted Davis - Memorial". The Journal of Physical Chemistry B. 113 (42): 13655–69. doi:10.1021/jp907057n. PMID 19827839.
  10. ^ "University of Minnesota - BioTechnology Institute". Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ^ "Howard Ted Davis". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  12. ^ "NAE - Ted Davis". Retrieved March 2, 2018. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ^ Davis, H. Ted; Rice, Stuart A; Meyer, Lothar (1962). "On the Kinetic Theory of Simple Dense Fluids. XI. Experimental and Theoretical Studies of Positive Ion Mobility in Liquid Ar, Kr, and Xe". The Journal of Chemical Physics. 37 (5): 947. Bibcode:1962JChPh..37..947D. doi:10.1063/1.1733251.
  14. ^ White, Lloyd R; Davis, H. Ted (1967). "Thermal Conductivity of Molten Alkali Nitrates". The Journal of Chemical Physics. 47 (12): 5433. Bibcode:1967JChPh..47.5433W. doi:10.1063/1.1701811.
  15. ^ Bongiorno, Vito; Davis, H. Ted (1975). "Modified van der Waals theory of fluid interfaces". Physical Review A. 12 (5): 2213. Bibcode:1975PhRvA..12.2213B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.12.2213.
  16. ^ Davis, H. Ted (1977). "Capillary waves and the mean field theory of interfaces". The Journal of Chemical Physics. 67 (8): 3636–3641. Bibcode:1977JChPh..67.3636D. doi:10.1063/1.435301.
  17. ^ Sahimi, Muhammad; Hughes, Barry D; Scriven, L. E; Davis, H. Ted (1983). "Real-space renormalization and effective-medium approximation to the percolation conduction problem". Physical Review B. 28 (1): 307–311. Bibcode:1983PhRvB..28..307S. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.28.307.
  18. ^ Somers, Susan A; Davis, H. Ted (1992). "Microscopic dynamics of fluids confined between smooth and atomically structured solid surfaces". The Journal of Chemical Physics. 96 (7): 5389. Bibcode:1992JChPh..96.5389S. doi:10.1063/1.462724.
  19. ^ Gupta, Vishwas; Nivarthi, Sriram S.; McCormick, Alon V.; Ted Davis, H. (1995). "Evidence for single file diffusion of ethane in the molecular sieve AlPO4-5". Chemical Physics Letters. 247 (4–6): 596–600. Bibcode:1995CPL...247..596G. doi:10.1016/S0009-2614(95)01246-X.
  20. ^ Maier, Robert S; Kroll, Daniel M; Bernard, Robert S; Howington, Stacy E; Peters, John F; Davis, H. Ted (2003). "Hydrodynamic dispersion in confined packed beds". Physics of Fluids. 15 (12): 3795. Bibcode:2003PhFl...15.3795M. doi:10.1063/1.1624836.
  21. ^ Ted Davis, H.; Thomson, Kendall T. (June 26, 2000). Linear Algebra and Linear Operators in Engineering: with Applications in Mathematica. Elsevier Science. ISBN 978-0122063497.
  22. ^ Ted Davis, H.; Davis, Howard Ted (January 11, 1996). Statistical Mechanics of Phases, Interfaces and Thin Films. Wiley. ISBN 978-0471185628.
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