Esin Gulari
Perfomance Enhancing Nano-scale Fillers for Polymer Composites

Biography:

Esin Gulari has been a member of the chemical engineering and materials science (CHEMS) department faculty in the College of Engineering at Wayne State University since 1979, and chair of the department from 1993 to 2000. She is also the chief technology officer of nanoSEC, a startup company formed to manufacture and market nanocomposites produced using supercritical fluid processing. From 2000 to 2004, Professor Gulari served at the National Science Foundation (NSF) where she was the director of the Chemical and Transport Systems Division in the Engineering Directorate. From September 2001 to April 2003, she also served as acting assistant director for the Engineering Directorate at NSF.

Professor Gulari earned her PhD in chemical engineering from Caltech in Pasadena, California, in 1973. In 1995, she, along with her colleague, Charles Manke, was awarded the Henry Ford Technology Award for their work in controlling oil mist in machining operations, an important innovation for environmental conditions in automotive plants.

She is a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the 2003 chair for the Council of Chemical Research, and a member of the executive board of the Committee of the Advancement of Women Chemists and Chemical Engineers (COACh). Professor Gulari is the recipient of many other honors and awards, including the Wayne State Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award (1996) and the Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award (1999).