Organizing Committee
M. Soledad Diaz
Maria Soledad Diaz is full professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at the Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS) in Argentina and a senior researcher in the National Council of Research and Technology (CONICET) in Argentina. Her research focuses on using optimization and simulation for advanced mathematical strategies in the sustainable production of bioproducts and the design of new processes based on shale gas. She earned both her BS and PhD in chemical engineering at UNS. She was a recipient of the Fulbright Research award in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.
Ignacio E. Grossmann
Ignacio E. Grossmann is the R. R. Dean University Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He obtained his B.S. degree at the Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City, in 1974, and his M.S. and Ph.D. at Imperial College in 1975 and 1977, respectively. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and has received several awards, including the: Computing in Chemical Engineering, William H. Walker for Excellence in Publications, Warren Lewis for Excellence in Education, Research Excellence in Sustainable Engineering, and the Founders Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Chemical Engineering. In 2015 he was the first recipient of the Sargent Medal by the IChemE. He has authored more than 600 papers, several monographs on design cases studies, and multiple textbooks.
Carl D. Laird
Carl Laird is a faculty member in the Chemical Engineering Department at Carnegie Mellon University. His research interests include large-scale nonlinear optimization, parallel scientific computing, chemical process systems, and power grid optimization. He is the recipient of several research awards, including the INFORMS Computing Prize, the CAST Division Outstanding Young Researcher Award, and the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Development (CAREER) Award. Dr. Laird earned his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon in 2006 and his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alberta.
Joshua L. Pulsipher
Joshua Pulsipher is an incoming a assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Waterloo and is currently a researcher in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. His research in process systems engineering focuses on developing computational methods in optimization under uncertainty and data science to tackle challenges in engineering and science pertaining to energy, sustainability, and the environment. He earned his BS and PhD from Brigham Young University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, respectively. He was recently selected as a plenary speaker for the Computational and Systems Technology Division at the 2022 annual meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Ana I. Torres Rippa
Ana Inés Torres is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research focuses on sustainability and process systems engineering as applied to clean and sustainable energy. Torres earned her B.S. in Chemistry in 2003 and a diploma in Chemical Engineering in 2005, both from the Universidad de la República Oriental del Uruguay. In 2013, after two years of industrial experience, she earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. She completed her postdoctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2014. She was a keynote speaker at the Interamerican Congress of Chemical Engineering Incorporating the 68th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference in 2018. She also served as a keynote at the "Unprecedented" Webinar Series on chemical innovation to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals in 2021.
Argimiro R. Secchi
Argimiro Secchi is a full professor in the chemical engineering program at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. His research interests include process modeling and simulation, dynamic simulation and optimization, differential and algebraic equation systems, and nonlinear process control. He earned a BS degree at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, a MS degree at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, and a PhD at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and the California Institute of Technology, all in chemical engineering.