Duncan A. Mellichamp
Duncan A. Mellichamp | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | Georgia Tech Technische Hochschule Stuttgart Purdue University |
| Known for | process modeling, control, and optimization |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemical engineering |
| Institutions | University of California, Santa Barbara |
Duncan Adair Mellichamp is an American chemical engineer, academic, and author.[1] He is a professor emeritus of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), working on process control, academia, and philanthropy.[2] In 1990, He was awarded with the Merriam-Wiley Award by the American Society for Engineering Education for the engineering textbook published in 1989, Process Dynamics and Control.[3] He received the American Statistical Association's Statistics in Chemistry Award in 1994 and was elected Chair of the UCSB Academic Senate from 1990 to 1992.[4]
Biography
[edit]He was born in a rural house near Powder Springs, Georgia, in a home without running water or electricity.[1] He earned his BS in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1959, followed by post-graduate studies at the Technische Hochschule Stuttgart in Germany, where he gained exposure to computer design and programming.[5] He completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering at Purdue University in 1964.[6]
Career
[edit]After completing his PhD, Mellichamp returned to DuPont as a research engineer, working on developments in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) precursors.[7] His work at DuPont led to a patent for a new technique to produce polyester polymer without a catalyst.[8]
In 1966, Mellichamp transitioned to academia, joining the newly established chemical engineering program at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).[9] He designed and built two laboratories, one for undergraduate process control and another for real-time computing.[10] Mellichamp also collaborated with colleagues to develop new undergraduate and graduate programs in chemical engineering.[11]
Mellichamp authored or co-authored over 100 research publications on process modeling, large-scale systems analysis, and computer control.[12] He co-authored the textbook Process Dynamics and Control (1989), which has been translated into multiple languages and is now in its fourth edition.[13]
Mellichamp held several leadership roles at UCSB and within the University of California (UC) system.[4] He served as Chair of the UCSB Academic Senate (1990–1992) and the UC system-wide Academic Senate (1995–1997), during which time he also served ex officio on the UC Board of Regents.[14] In 2018, he received the Oliver Johnson Award for Distinguished Leadership in the UC Academic Senate.[15]
Beyond academia, Mellichamp contributed to the arts and community development.[6] He served as president of Opera Santa Barbara, helping to stabilize the organization during financial difficulties.[8] He also played a role in developing UCSB's North Campus Open Space (NCOS) and preserving the Ellwood-Devereux bluffs.[16]
Mellichamp and his wife, Suzanne, have made philanthropic contributions to the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), with a focus on advancing academic and supporting emerging research fields.[9] Among his work is the establishment of the Mellichamp Academic Chairs program, which funds three rotating clusters of four endowed faculty positions in interdisciplinary areas.[17]
Research
[edit]Mellichamp's research is focused on chemical engineering, particularly in process control and real-time computing.[10] In the 1970s, he was among the early users of digital computers for data acquisition, control, and dynamic simulation.[5]
In his post-retirement years, Mellichamp focused on estimating profitability and risk in the design of large-scale chemical plants. His use of exact, collapsed (“exo-parametric") modeling methods provided a strategy for optimizing financially dependent variables in plant design with a new, normalized expression for NPV%.[18]
Awards
[edit]In 2010, Mellichamp was awarded the CACHE Award by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Chemical Engineering Division for his contributions to computing in chemical engineering.[10] In 2007, he received the Outstanding Chemical Engineer Award from Purdue University’s Department of Chemical Engineering.[19] The same year, he and his wife, Suzanne, were awarded the UCSB Medal, the university's highest honor.[20]
In April 2020, he was inducted into the Control Process Automation Hall of Fame.[1]
Mellichamp was inducted into the Georgia Tech College of Engineering's Engineering Hall of Fame in 2004 and was named a member of its Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni in 1995.[21]
Selected publications
[edit]- Mellichamp, Duncan A.; Griffin, Derek W.; Doherty, Michael F. (2010). "Reducing the mean size of API crystals by continuous manufacturing with product classification and recycle". Chemical Engineering Science. 65 (21): 5770–5780. Bibcode:2010ChEnS..65.5770G. doi:10.1016/j.ces.2010.05.026. ISSN 0009-2509.
- Mellichamp, Duncan A.; Griffin, Derek W.; Doherty, Michael F. (2009-09-02). "Effect of Competing Reversible Reactions on Optimal Operating Policies for Plants with Recycle". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. 48 (17): 8037–8047. doi:10.1021/ie801482z. ISSN 0888-5885.
- Griffin, Derek W.; Mellichamp, Duncan A.; Doherty, Michael F. (2008-08-26). "Selectivity versus conversion and optimal operating policies for plants with recycle". AIChE Journal. 54 (10): 2597–2609. Bibcode:2008AIChE..54.2597G. doi:10.1002/aic.11583. ISSN 0001-1541.
- Griffin, Derek W.; Mellichamp, Duncan A.; Doherty, Michael F. (2008-08-26). "Selectivity versus conversion and optimal operating policies for plants with recycle". AIChE Journal. 54 (10): 2597–2609. Bibcode:2008AIChE..54.2597G. doi:10.1002/aic.11583. ISSN 0001-1541.
- Mellichamp, Duncan A.; Ward, Jeffrey D.; Doherty, Michael F.; Griffin, Derek W. (1 November 2006). "Steady-State Operating Policies for Plants with Multiple Reactions of Equal Overall Order". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. 45 (24): 8056–8062. doi:10.1021/ie051412p. ISSN 0888-5885.
- Ward, Jeffrey D.; Mellichamp, Duncan A.; Doherty, Michael F. (June 2006). "Choosing an operating policy for seeded batch crystallization". AIChE Journal. 52 (6): 2046–2054. Bibcode:2006AIChE..52.2046W. doi:10.1002/aic.10808.
- Mellichamp, Duncan A. (1 January 1979). "Real-time computing for chemical engineers". Computers & Chemical Engineering. 3 (1): 225–227. doi:10.1016/0098-1354(79)80038-1. ISSN 0098-1354.
- Mellichamp, Duncan A. (September 2019). "Profitability, risk, and investment in conceptual plant design: Optimizing key financial parameters rigorously using NPV". Computers & Chemical Engineering. 128: 450–467. doi:10.1016/j.compchemeng.2019.04.016.
- Mellichamp, Duncan A. (November 2017). "Internal rate of return: Good and bad features, and a new way of interpreting the historic measure". Computers & Chemical Engineering. 106: 396–406. doi:10.1016/j.compchemeng.2017.06.005.
- Mellichamp, Duncan A. (November 2018). "Exo-parametric ("inside-out") model of discounted cash flow calculations using NPV%: Macro calculation of coefficients for an exact, collapsed financial model". Computers & Chemical Engineering. 119: 309–314. doi:10.1016/j.compchemeng.2018.09.001.
Books
[edit]- Mellichamp, Duncan A. (1983). Real-time computing: with applications to data acquisition and control. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. ISBN 0442213727.
- Seborg, Dale E.; Edgar, Thomas F.; Mellichamp, Duncan A.; Doyle, Francis J. (2017). Process dynamics and control (Fourth ed.). Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. ISBN 978-1119587491.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Larson, Keith (2020-04-14). "2020 Control Process Automation Hall of Fame: Duncan Mellichamp". Control Global. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ "UC Santa Barbara Emeritus Professor Raises the Bar for Faculty Philanthropy". The Santa Barbara Independent. 2012-09-29. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ "Professor Emeritus Duncan Mellichamp Inducted into Control Process Automation Hall of Fame". UCSB College of Engineering. 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ a b Quiambao, Carissa (2012-10-01). "Former Researcher Donates, Creates Endowment | The Daily Nexus". Daily Nexus. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ a b "Duncan A. Mellichamp Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemical Engineering". Purdue University.
- ^ a b super_opera. "Duncan Mellichamp". Opera Santa Barbara. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ "2016 Graduate Division Commencement speaker Dr. Duncan Mellichamp | Graduate Student Resource Center (GradPost)". gradpost.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ a b "Opera Santa Barbara Honors Emeritus Directors Frederick Sidon and Duncan Mellichamp". edhat. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ a b "Mellichamp Family Establishes Scholarship Honoring Brother's Love for Science, Education | Piedmont University". Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ a b c "Duncan Mellichamp, PhD '64, Receives the CACHE Award of the ChE Division, ASEE, 2010". Purdue.
- ^ "Duncan and Suzanne Mellichamp Pulled Up 13 Chairs". impactmania. 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ Masuda, Andrew (2020-05-06). "Hall of Famer Emeritus professor Duncan Mellichamp is inducted into the Control Process Automation Hall of Fame". The Current. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ McMillan, Greg (2023-03-30). "The unrecognized challenges of process control". Control Global. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ "Letter from Council Chair Mellichamp". senate.universityofcalifornia.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ Estrada, Andrea (2018-07-11). "'For Distinguished Leadership'". The Current. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ "UCSB To Restore Self-Sustaining Habitat | The Daily Nexus". The Daily Nexus | The University of California, Santa Barbara's independent, student-run newspaper. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ "Mellichamp Chairs in Racial Environmental Justice". UC Santa Barbara Bren - Bren School of Environment. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ Mellichamp, Duncan A. (2013). "New discounted cash flow method: Estimating plant profitability at the conceptual design level while compensating for business risk/uncertainty". Computers & Chemical Engineering. 48: 251–263. doi:10.1016/j.compchemeng.2012.08.012.
- ^ "Drs. Pierre Latour and Duncan Mellichamp Receive 2007 Outstanding Chemical Engineer Award". pp. Purdue.
- ^ HumanGood. "Resident honored at UCSB for distinguished leadership". www.humangood.org. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ "Suzanne C. and Duncan A. Mellichamp Distinguished Lecture Series". School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering | Georgia Institute of Technology - Atlanta, GA. Retrieved 2025-03-04.