Roger W.H. Sargent
Encyclopedia
Roger W.H. Sargent was Dean of the City and Guilds College from 1973 to 1976, Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering
from 1975 to 1988 and Director of the Centre for Process Systems Engineering (which he founded) from its launch in August 1989 until he retired in 1992, when he became a Senior Research Fellow and Emeritus Professor in the Centre and a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Engineering
.
He is known principally as one of the earliest creators of the discipline of Process Systems Engineering, and his influence has been extremely widely spread among that community, by his research and also by his extraordinarily large family tree (Academic genealogy
) of research students. In his career at Imperial College he supervised 43 research students, and several of these first-generation students have gone on to establish large research schools of their own. By 2008, this family tree extended to seven generations and 639 students and former students. His influence is commemorated in the annual "Roger Sargent" lectures at Imperial college, the 17th of which was held in December 2010 and which he attended.
Professor Roger Sargent is widely regarded as the "father" of Process Systems Engineering (PSE). Through his academic and research activities Prof. Sargent built up an important school of PSE that is now widely spread all over the world. His contributions to the area are known worldwide and considered important pillars to the PSE area adding up to a collection of outstanding achievements over the last fifty years. It is only when we learn of those whose academic origins can be traced back to Prof. Sargent, do we realize the full contribution he has already made, not only through his own work, but by instilling his enthusiasm for excellence into those who later have taken up the challenge. The interests of this group are reflections of Prof. Sargent’s focus on process modelling, simulation, optimisation and control, a field, which is now called PSE. Prof. Sargents's vision, leadership and guidance has led the establishment of PSE as the development of systematic techniques for process modelling, design, and control.
His software "SPEEDUP" (Simulation Programme for the Economic Evaluation and Design of Unsteady-State Processes) was first described in publication in 1964, and this package was widely used in research and industry more than 25 years later.
Prof. Sargent distinguished himself as an active member of several national and international corporations, namely the Institution of Chemical Engineers
, which he joined in 1960 and where he became a president in 1973, and also the Science Research Council, the Council of Engineering Institutions, the European Federation of Chemical Engineering, the Ministry of Technology, the Department of Trade and Industry, the University Grants Committee, the University Funding Council, the British Council and the British-French Mixed Cultural Commission, amongst others, where he acted as a member of several boards and committees.
His research and academic contributions have been recognized through a series of prestigious honours, including Founder Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
(1976), Honorary Fellowship of the City and Guilds of London Institute
(1977), Silver Medal of the “Ville de Paris” (1986), Doctor honoris causa of the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine (1987) and of the University of Liège
(1995), Richard W. Wilhelm Lectureship of University of Princeton (1994), Distinguished Research Lectureship in Chemical Engineering of Carnegie Mellon University
(1996) and the Nordic Process Control Award (2003).
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
from 1975 to 1988 and Director of the Centre for Process Systems Engineering (which he founded) from its launch in August 1989 until he retired in 1992, when he became a Senior Research Fellow and Emeritus Professor in the Centre and a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
.
He is known principally as one of the earliest creators of the discipline of Process Systems Engineering, and his influence has been extremely widely spread among that community, by his research and also by his extraordinarily large family tree (Academic genealogy
Academic genealogy
An academic, or scientific, genealogy, organizes a family tree of scientists and scholars according to dissertation supervision relationships....
) of research students. In his career at Imperial College he supervised 43 research students, and several of these first-generation students have gone on to establish large research schools of their own. By 2008, this family tree extended to seven generations and 639 students and former students. His influence is commemorated in the annual "Roger Sargent" lectures at Imperial college, the 17th of which was held in December 2010 and which he attended.
Professor Roger Sargent is widely regarded as the "father" of Process Systems Engineering (PSE). Through his academic and research activities Prof. Sargent built up an important school of PSE that is now widely spread all over the world. His contributions to the area are known worldwide and considered important pillars to the PSE area adding up to a collection of outstanding achievements over the last fifty years. It is only when we learn of those whose academic origins can be traced back to Prof. Sargent, do we realize the full contribution he has already made, not only through his own work, but by instilling his enthusiasm for excellence into those who later have taken up the challenge. The interests of this group are reflections of Prof. Sargent’s focus on process modelling, simulation, optimisation and control, a field, which is now called PSE. Prof. Sargents's vision, leadership and guidance has led the establishment of PSE as the development of systematic techniques for process modelling, design, and control.
His software "SPEEDUP" (Simulation Programme for the Economic Evaluation and Design of Unsteady-State Processes) was first described in publication in 1964, and this package was widely used in research and industry more than 25 years later.
Prof. Sargent distinguished himself as an active member of several national and international corporations, namely the Institution of Chemical Engineers
Institution of Chemical Engineers
The Institution of Chemical Engineers is a global professional engineering institution with over 33,000 members in over 120 countries worldwide, founded in 1922, and awarded a Royal Charter in 1957.-Structure:...
, which he joined in 1960 and where he became a president in 1973, and also the Science Research Council, the Council of Engineering Institutions, the European Federation of Chemical Engineering, the Ministry of Technology, the Department of Trade and Industry, the University Grants Committee, the University Funding Council, the British Council and the British-French Mixed Cultural Commission, amongst others, where he acted as a member of several boards and committees.
His research and academic contributions have been recognized through a series of prestigious honours, including Founder Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Royal Academy of Engineering
-Overview: is the UK’s national academy of engineering. The Academy brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering....
(1976), Honorary Fellowship of the City and Guilds of London Institute
City and Guilds of London Institute
The City and Guilds of London Institute is a leading United Kingdom vocational education organisation. City & Guilds offers more than 500 qualifications over the whole range of industry sectors through 8500 colleges and training providers in 81 countries worldwide...
(1977), Silver Medal of the “Ville de Paris” (1986), Doctor honoris causa of the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine (1987) and of the University of Liège
University of Liège
The University of Liège , in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium, is a major public university in the French Community of Belgium. Its official language is French.-History:...
(1995), Richard W. Wilhelm Lectureship of University of Princeton (1994), Distinguished Research Lectureship in Chemical Engineering of Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
(1996) and the Nordic Process Control Award (2003).