Pablo G. Debenedetti - Professor in Engineering and Applied Science - Princeton University
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Curriculum vitae

PABLO GASTON DEBENEDETTI
Dean for Research
Class of 1950 Professor in Engineering and Applied Science
Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Princeton University

Born: March 30, 1953
Place of birth: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Citizenship: U.S.

EDUCATION

1978 Ingeniero Químico (B.S., Chemical Engineering), Buenos Aires University (Argentina)
1981 M.S., Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1985 Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT

1977-78 Process Engineer, Exibro, Buenos Aires, Argentina
1978-80 Process Development Engineer, O.de Nora, Impianti Elettrochimici, Milan, Italy
1981-84 Teaching and Research Assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

FACULTY APPOINTMENTS

1985-90 Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, Princeton University
1990-94 Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Princeton University
1991-92 Visiting Professor, Dept. of Chemical Eng., University of California, Berkeley
1994- Professor of Chemical Engineering, Princeton University
1998- Class of 1950 Professor in Engineering and Applied Science

ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENTS

1990-91 Director of Graduate Studies, Chem. Eng. Dept., Princeton University
1992-94 Director of Graduate Studies, Chem. Eng. Dept., Princeton University
1996-04 Chair of Chemical Engineering Department, Princeton University
2006-08 Director of Graduate Studies, Chem. Eng. Dept., Princeton University
2008 Acting Chair, Chem. Eng. Dept., Princeton University
2008-13 Vice Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Princeton University
2012(F) Acting Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Princeton University
2013- Dean for Research, Princeton University

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Editorial Boards

1988-2004 Journal of Supercritical Fluids
1996-1998 Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data
2000-2009 Chemical Engineering Education
2001-2004 Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research
2006-2009 The Journal of Chemical Physics
2006-2010 AIChE Journal, Associate Editor
2012- AIChE Journal, Consulting Editor for Thermodynamics
2013- PNAS, Editorial Board Member

Advisory Councils, Boards

1996 Department of Chemical Engineering Graduate Program Academic Review, University of Cincinnati
1997-2000 NRC Panel for Chemical Science and Technology, Board of Assessment of NIST Programs
1997-2005 Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visiting Committee
1999-2005 Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Advisory Council
2000 Department of Chemical Engineering Academic Review, Vanderbilt University
2001 School of Chemical Engineering Academic Review, Georgia Institute of Technology
2004- Department of Chemical Engineering, City College of CUNY, Advisory Council
2004-2006 Council for Chemical Research, Governing Board
2005-2016 Center for Talented Youth, John Hopkins University; Cogito Project; Advisory Board
2006-2010 Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, Advisory Council
2006-2013 Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, The National Academies, co-Chair, 2011-2013
2010-2016 Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, Advisory Council
2014-2018 Department of Sponsored Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visiting Committee
2017- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers University, Advisory Council
2017 Dept. of Chem. and Biomolecular Engineering, U. of Pennsylvania, External Review Committee
2017 The Journal of Chemical Physics, External Review Committee
2018-2019 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Foundation, Vice Chair
2019 Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, U. of Notre Dame, External Review Committee
2020-2021 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Foundation, Chair

Award Committees

1994 Alpha Chi Sigma Award subcommittee, American Institute of Chemical Engineers
1996-2004 Evaluator of Engineering Fellowship Applications, Guggenheim Foundation
2001 Colburn Award subcommitte, American Institute of Chemical Engineers
2002-2005 Chemical Engineering Peer Committee, National Academy of Engineering
2001-2006 Awards Committee, American Institute of Chemical Engineers
2007-2008 Blue Ribbon Awards Committee, American Institute of Chemical Engineers
2010-2014 World Cultural Council, Albert Einstein Prize Committee
2011-2015 Bernard M. Gordon Prize Committee, National Academy of Engineering
2011- Balavatnik Award for Young Scientists, New York Academy of Sciences
2017-2019 National Academy of Sciences, Class Membership Committee (Section 31)

Organization of Technical Conferences

1996-1998 Chair, Area 1a, Thermodynamics and Transport Properties, American Institute of Chemical Engineers
1998 Organizing Committee, NATO Advanced Study Institute on Supercritical Fluids, Kemer, Turkey, July 12-24
2000 Organizing Committee, 5th International Symposium on Supercritical Fluids (ISSF 2000), Atlanta, GA, April 9-11
2002 Organizing Committee, 6th Liblice Conference on the Statistical Mechanics of Liquids, Czech Republic, June 9-14
2002 Co-Chair, Gordon Research Conference on Water and Aqueous Solutions, August 4-9
2002 U.S. Frontiers of Engineering, National Academy of Engineering, Organizing Committee, Irvine, CA, September 19-21
2003-05 U.S. Frontiers of Engineering, National Academy of Engineering, Chair, Organizing Committee
2003 Co-Chair, CECAM Workshop on Metastability and Landscapes in Complex Systems, Lyon, France, May 22-24
2004 Co-Chair, Symposium on “The Future of Chemical Engineering Research”, Austin, TX, November 8th
2005Organizing Committee, Council for Chemical Research Workshop, Process Analytical Technology, Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology, Rockville, MD, December 13
2007Co-organizer, Symposium on Packing Problems, Classical Ground States, and Glasses, Princeton Center for Theoretical Physics, April 12-13
2007Chair, Council for Chemical Research Workshop, Modeling Challenges in Process Development: Approaches in the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Rockville, MD, June 7-8
2010Organizing Committee, Faraday Discussion 146: Wetting Dynamics of Hydrophobic and Structured Surfaces, Jefferson Hotel, Richmond, VA, April 12-14
2011Co-organizer, Workshop on “Towards Unifying Concepts in the Physics of Aperiodic Systems”, Princeton Center for Theoretical Science, Princeton University, October 14-15
2013Co-organizer, International School of Physics Enrico Fermi on “Water: Fundamentals as the Basis for Understanding the Environment and Promoting Technology", Varenna, Italy, July 7-13
2014Co-organizer, Workshop on “Origin of Biological Homochirality”, Princeton Center for Theoretical Science, Princeton University, April 24-25
2015Co-organizer, Workshop on “Ice Nucleation”, Princeton Center for Theoretical Science, Princeton University, April 23-24

University Service

1986-87, 1987-88 Churchill Fellowships Selection Committee
1990-91 Graduate School Fellowship Subcommittee
1989-90, 1990-91 Public Lectures Committee
1993-94 Graduate School Policy Subcommittee
1993-94 President's Strategic Planning Committee (Graduate School)
1992-93 Student Life and Discipline Subcommittee
1990-91, 1992-93, 1993-94 Faculty Committee on the Graduate School
1993-94, 1994-95 Priorities Committee
1995-96 School of Engineering Wu Fellowship Committee
1997-98 Intellectual Property Committee
1998-99 Faculty Advisory Committee on Appointments and Advancements
2003-04 School of Engineering and Applied Science, Space Committee
2005-07 School of Engineering and Applied Science, Diversity Task Force
2006-08 Graduate School Policy Subcommittee
2006-09 Committee on Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid
2008-13 Princeton Sustainability Committee
2008-13 Executive Committee, Princeton Institute for Computational Science and Engineering (PICSciE)
2009-12 University Research Board
2008-13 Faculty Executive Committee, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment
2012-13 Executive Committee, Council on International Teaching and Research
2013- Committee on Appointments and Advancements for Professional Researchers and Professional Specialists (C7)
2013- Conflict of Interest in Research Committee (Chair)
2013- Executive Compliance Committee
2013- Executive Risk Management Committee
2013- University Research Board (Chair)
2014-16 Strategic Planning Committee on The Future of Sponsored Research (Co-Chair)
2015-16 Search Committee, Vice President for Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (Chair)
2015-16 Search Committee, Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (Chair)
2017-18 Task Force on Administrative Workload in Research (Chair)
2018 Search Committee, Inaugural Vice President for Innovation (Member)
2019- Strategic Advisory Group on Information Technology

HONORS AND AWARDS

1978 European Economic Community Fellow
1987 NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award
1989 Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award
1991 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship
1992 Robert W. Vaughan Memorial Lecture, Chem. Eng. Dept., California Institute of Technology
1996 Best New Professional/Scholarly Book in Chemistry: Metastable Liquids. Concepts and Principles, Association of American Publishers
1997 Professional Progress Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers
1997 Stanley Katz Memorial Lecture, Ch.Eng. Dept., City College of the City University of New York
1997 Kurt Wohl Memorial Lecture, Chemical Engineering Department, University of Delaware
1998 Ashton Cary Lecture, School of Chemical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
2000 National Academy of Engineering
2001 J.M. Prausnitz Award in Applied Chemical Thermodynamics
2003 2003 Dean’s Distinguished Colloquia Series, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, State University of New York, Stony Brook
2003 Rutgers Collaboratus XIII Distinguished Lecture, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers University
2003 Berkeley Lectures in Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
2003 Area 1a Keynote Lecture, American Institute of Chemical Engineers
2004 Excellence in Teaching Award, Engineering Council, Princeton University
2005 Walker Lecture in Physical Chemistry, Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University
2005 Donald L. Katz Lectureship, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan
2005 Excellence in Teaching Award, Engineering Council, Princeton University
2006 Patten Distinguished Lecturer, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder
2006 Excellence in Teaching Award, Engineering Council, Princeton University
2007 Reilly Lectureship, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame
2007 Michael M. Abbott Lecture, Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
2007 Joe Smith Distinguished Lecture, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Davis
2007 Excellence in Teaching Award, Engineering Council, Princeton University
2008 Joel Henry Hildebrand Award in the Theoretical and Experimental Chemistry of Liquids, American Chemical Society
2008 Kelly Lecturer, School of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University
2008 Hunter Henry, Jr. Lecture, School of Chemical Engineering, Mississippi State University
2008 American Academy of Arts and Sciences
2008 Distinguished Teacher Award, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Princeton University
2008 President's Award for Distinguished Teaching, Princeton University
2008 William H. Walker Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers
2011 Eli Ruckenstein Lecture, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
2011 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
2012 National Academy of Sciences
2012 William G. Lowrie Lectures, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Ohio State University
2012 Fredrickson Lectures, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota
2012 Excellence in Teaching Award, Lifetime Achievement, Engineering Council, Princeton University
2013 Keynote Lecture, 13th International Conference on Properties and Phase Equilibria for Products and Process Design, Iguazú Falls, Argentina
2013 Julian C. Smith Lectures, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University
2013 Chair Lecture, Department of Chemistry, University of Nebraska
2013 Institute Lecture, American Institute of Chemical Engineers
2013 Fellow, American Institute of Chemical Engineers
2014 Warren L. McCabe Lecture, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University
2014 Honorary Professor, Beijing University of Chemical Technology
2014 Bird, Stewart and Lightfoot Lecture, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin
2014 Benjamin Garver Lamme Award, American Society for Engineering Education
2014 Molecular Physics Lecture, Liblice Conference on the Statistical Mechanics of Liquids, Sec, Czech Republic
2015 David M. Mason Lectures, Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
2015 Molecular Physics Lecture, Thermodynamics 2015 Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark
2015 Barnett Dodge Distinguished Lecture, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University
2015 W.E. Palke Memorial Lectures, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara
2015 Fellow, American Physical Society
2016 Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Award, Princeton University
2016 John A. Quinn Lecture, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
2016 Distinguished Lindsay Speaker, Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University
2016 Guggenheim Medal, Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), United Kingdom
2017 Guggenheim Medal Plenary Lecture, Thermodynamics 2017 Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland
2018 Distinguished Seminar Speaker, Dept. of Chem. & Environm. Eng., U. of California, Riverside
2018 Richard S. H. Mah Memorial Lectures, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern Univeristy
2019 Keith E. Gubbins Lectures, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University
2019 Alpha Chi Sigma Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers
2019 Arthur William Davidson Lecture in Physical Chemistry, Dept. of Chemistry, U. of Kansas
2023 Aneesur Rahman Prize in Computational Physics, American Physical Society

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics of Liquids and Glasses
Metastable Liquids
Water and Aqueous Solutions
Nucleation
Origin of Biological Homochirality
Protein Thermodynamics
Hydrophobicity
Glass Transition

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Chemical Society
American Institute of Chemical Engineers
American Physical Society
American Society for Engineering Education
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