PNNL Engineers Receive Awards at AIChE

Four Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) engineers received awards at the annual meeting of AIChE (the American Institute of Chemical Engineers) for research related to Hanford Site cleanup.

The event, held Oct. 27–31 in San Diego, united academic and industry researchers at all career stages to explore topics at the forefront of chemical engineering. 

“The AIChE annual meeting is regarded as the premier educational forum for chemical engineers seeking innovation and professional development,” said Courtney Bottenus, a PNNL senior research chemical engineer and the group leader of PNNL’s Nuclear Systems Analysis team. “The annual meeting offered more than 30 PNNL staff members the opportunity to connect with fellow engineers from around the world. The meeting also offered the opportunity for several of our staff to distinguish their work in a variety of venues, from presentations to posters.”

PNNL staff members recognized with awards included:

Christian Alvarez, chemical engineer, was runner-up for Best Presentation and Best Abstract for a presentation he gave in the Nuclear Engineering Division’s Graduate Student and Early Career Investigations Session II Investigations session, titled, "Dead-End Filtration of Dilute AN-107 Hanford Tank Waste Supernatant at Reduced Temperature."

Austin Bachman, chemical engineer, earned Best Presentation and Best Abstract in the Graduate Student and Early Career Investigations Session I for his “Evaluation of High-Level Waste Sludge Processing Behavior.”  

Megan Higley, mechanical engineer, was awarded third place at the Nuclear Engineering Division Graduate Student and Early Career Investigations Session I for her abstract on “Mixer Pump Operations for Hanford Waste Tanks.” 

Heather Sabella, systems engineer, presented her team's work, “Automate PDF Analysis for a Literature Review of the Hanford Tank System Waste Codes,” winning third best presentation in the Nuclear Engineering Division's Graduate Student and Early Career Investigations Session II.

AIChE boasts more than 60,000 members from more than 110 countries. The organization is known for offering a range of resources and expertise for engineers in core process industries or emerging areas.