NSERC discovery grants and a tribute to Leo A. Behie

Abstract

The scope of chemical engineering continues to evolve and has become ever more multifaceted. It encompasses traditional fields like polymers, thermodynamics, transport processes, control, and environmental science, but has expanded to include biotechnology, biomedical, food technology, materials, and numerical techniques like artificial neural networks and discrete element methods. In fact, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) combines chemical engineering and materials in the same evaluation group to award competitive funding for the Discovery Grant. Prof. Leo Behie's career reflected the change in the scope of chemical engineering. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Prof. Behie's research included hydrodynamics of fluidized beds and deriving the kinetics of the Claus reaction. In the late 1980s and into the 1990s, he contributed to biotechnology. In the 2000s and 2010s, his areas of expertise related to biomedical engineering comprising stem cell research and a focus on Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases. The common denominator for most of his research was reactor technology. In 2014, Prof. Behie quipped that chemical engineering was dead and many North American departments shared this tenet and added various scientific fields to recognize the emerging synergies. Here, we show that chemical engineering is a vibrant and growing field. We demonstrate in what way it is changing and describe how NSERC evaluates research dossiers for the Discovery Grants. We describe the relationship between the hindex and the number of citations and confirm that bibliometrics has only a minor role in the Discovery Grant award.

A perspective on The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering commemorating its 100th volume: 1929–2021

“…With society's ever-increasing emphasis on sustainability and health, contributions from the environmental sector will continue to increase, and we would expect more from biotechnology, biochemical, and biomedical areas since many chemical engineering departments in Canada have added bio-themes to their name. [26] To attract state-of-art research and distinguished authors, the journal has introduced special sections (Table A3), special issues (Table A4), and special series (Table A5). Together, these three categories represent one-third of the number of articles published and certainly increase their impact.…”

“…With society's ever‐increasing emphasis on sustainability and health, contributions from the environmental sector will continue to increase, and we would expect more from biotechnology, biochemical, and biomedical areas since many chemical engineering departments in Canada have added bio‐themes to their name. [ 26 ]…”

“…The occidental domination of chemical engineering publications began to change in the 2000s: 2008 was the first year in which more articles were published by authors from China than the United States. [ 26 ] In 2021, China published 22 700 of the 56 700 articles indexed by the WoS, with the United States a distant second at 5600 and Canada seventh with 1800. In 2021, journals dedicated to chemical engineering published more articles from China than any other country: The AIChE J published 288 articles from China (39%) and 285 from the United States; Chem Eng Sci published 651 articles from China (45%) and 177 from the United States; and, I&EC Res published 1700 articles from China (45%) and 552 from the United States.…”

Experimental methods in chemical engineering: Hazard and operability analysis—HAZOP

“…ads'n, adsorption; ANN, artificial neural network; aq sol'n, aqueous solution; C, carbon; CFD, computational fluid dynamics; k, conductivity; DSC, differential scanning calorimetry; e-chem perf, electrochemical performance; fabr'n, fabrication; FTA, fault-tree analysis; HAZOP, hazards and operability analysis; LIB, litium ion battery; mech prop, mechanical properties; MOF, metal organic framework; multi obj optimiz'n, multi objective optimization; n-composite, nanocomposite; NP, nanoparticle; num simul, numerical simulation, P, pressure, T, temperature; thermal decomp'n, thermal decomposition and petroleum). [42] Research in these departments span classic curricula (chemical reactors, transport phenomena, catalysts, and fluidization) to microbiology and vaccines. In the context of the entire university, HAZOP applies to laboratories in chemistry, biology, physics, and other engineering disciplines.…”

Preface to the special issue honouring Professor Leo A. Behie

“…The first paper [ 1 ] provides a review of Prof. Behie's research contributions. In addition to offering a tribute to Prof. Behie, Patience and Patience [ 2 ] provide a detailed quantitative analysis of NSERC Discovery Grant (DG) awards to university researchers in Canada. They conclude that bibliometrics has played only a minor role in the quantum or magnitude of DG awards.…”