Somasundaran is a recipient of the Padma Shri.

By The American Bazaar Staff

NEW YORK: The National Science Foundation (NSF) has honored Columbia University professor Ponisseril Somasundaran, Director of Center for Particulate and Surfactant Systems (CPaSS) at Columbia University, with the 2015 Alexander Schwarzkopf Prize for Technological Innovation.

Dr. Jun Wu, postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia Engineering and Prof. Brij Moudgil, Co-Director at the University of Florida site from the NSF’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) Association, were also honored, according to a press release.

From Left to Right.: Dr. Jun Wu of Columbia Univ., NSF IUCRC Program Director Dr. Raffaella Montelli Rafieela, Prof. P. Somasundaran, NSF program Evaluator Dr. Dennis Gray, Center Co-director Prof. Brij Moudgil, NSF Program Manager Priya Sashank, and NSF Evaluator Vida Scarpella, .
From Left to Right.: Dr. Jun Wu of Columbia Univ., NSF IUCRC Program Director Dr. Raffaella Montelli Rafieela, Prof. P. Somasundaran, NSF program Evaluator Dr. Dennis Gray, Center Co-director Prof. Brij Moudgil, NSF Program Manager Priya Sashank, and NSF Evaluator Vida Scarpella, .

Somasundaran is La von Duddleson Krumb Professor of Mineral Engineering at Columbia University.

There are close to 100 centers around the nation. CPaSS was nominated for their green reagent initiative developing insights on their potential benefits, developing methods to characterize and assess their performance and to estimate their greenness.

NSF Director Dr. Francis Cordova presented Somasundaran the trophy and a plaque at a celebratory luncheon on January 9 for “The Center’s exemplary research contribution to technology innovation and its positive impact on the technology, industry, and to society as a whole.”

Established in 1998 by the Henry Krumb School of Mines, Department of Chemical Engineering, and Department of Chemistry at Columbia University, CPaSS develops and characterizes novel surfactants for industrial applications such as coatings, dispersions, deposition, gas hydrate control, personal care products, soil decontamination, waste treatment, corrosion prevention, flotation, and controlled chemical reactions. Its research is focused on the design and development of specialty surfactants, characterization of their solution and interfacial behavior.

Somasundaran, a member of the U.S. Academy of Engineering as well as the corresponding academies of China, India, Russia, Balkan and Royal Society of Canada, is also a recipient of the Padma Shri from the President of India as well as the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Source: https://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2015/01/20/columbia-university-prof-p-somasundaran-wins-alexander-schwarzkopf-prize-technological-innovation/