The IChemE Sargent Medal recognises individuals who have made significant contributions to computer-aided product and process engineering.

Professor Roger Sargent was a former Courtaulds Professor of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London and is widely regarded as the “father” of Process Systems Engineering. His work with computer-aided process systems spans nearly four decades beginning in the fifties. He also founded the Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE) at Imperial College London conducting pioneering research and fostering the careers of many of his research students (nearly seven “generations” of researchers!) who went on to prominence in the field themselves. The Sargent Medal was launched in 2014 to recognise major contributions to the field of Process Systems Engineering.

This year, Professor Costas Pantelides – himself a student of Professor Sargent – was chosen for his work in advanced process modelling technologies and solution methods for large-scale simulation and optimisation problems. Professor Pantelides has been a student at Imperial both as an undergraduate and PhD and is the author of over 100 scientific papers on the design and implementation of various general-purpose modelling tools. Over the course of his 25+ year career, he has played a leading role in the field, most notably in the development of gPROMS and SPEEDUP software packages which are widely used for the purposes of modelling chemical and process systems. His leadership of the gPROMS project was recognised when the team won the prestigious MacRobert Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering, the UK’s most prestigious prize for engineering innovation. He currently serves as the Managing Director of Process Systems Enterprise Ltd.

This year's roll call for IChemE medals and awards feature three other winners associated with the College – Professor Athanasios Mantalaris who will receive the Donald Medal, Professor Roger Sargent (now retired) who will receive the MM Sharma Medal and alumnus Ed Daniels, currently at Shell, who will receive the Council Medal.

Please join us in congratulating Professor Pantelides on winning the Sargent Medal! We wish the best of luck for his endeavours in the future.

The full list of the 2015 IChemE medal and prize winners can be found here.