Julie King Named to Lorna and James Mack Professorship of Continuous Processing

Julia A. King, professor of chemical engineering at Michigan Technological University, has been named to the new Lorna and James Mack Professorship of Continuous Processing.

King’s research focuses on adding various carbon fillers to typically thermoplastic polymers to produce electrically and thermally conductive resins. Increasing the thermal and electrical conductivities of typically insulating polymers has the potential to greatly increase the market for these materials.

Michigan Tech chemical engineering alumnus James A. Mack ’59 and his wife, Lorna, endowed the new professorship. Mack is the retired president and CEO of Cambex Corporation, a developer and marketer of specialty chemicals. His company successfully combined biology with engineering — especially in he rapidly emerging field of tissue engineering and cell therapy and the development of small molecule therapeutics.

“Our goal is to have Chemical Engineering at Michigan Tech in the forefront of process technology education,” Mack said. He praised Komar Kawatra, chair of chemical engineering at Michigan Tech, for his Unit Operations Lab and its contribution to learning.

Continuous Processing

“Many unit operations in the lab and in industry are achieved with continuous processing, such as distillation, separation, absorption and drying, to name a few,” Mack explained. “In practice, there are many chemical reactions that can be done more economically and safely if done by continuous processing. Also, it is easier to control product quality with exact in-process measurements rather than inspecting quality after the fact. This has come to the attention of the FDA, which is interested in seeing pharmaceutical manufacturers move from batch to continuous processing, even for complex molecules.”

Kawatra called Mack an accomplished and forward-looking chemical engineer and a loyal supporter of Michigan Tech and its Department of Chemical Engineering. In 2009, the Macks endowed a chair in chemical engineering at Michigan Tech. “We are pleased to be able to add the funding for the Endowed Professorship in Continuous Processing,” Mack said.

“I am honored to receive the appointment to the Lorna and James Mack Professorship of Continuous Processing,” said King. “I worked in industry with continuous processing for 10 years prior to joining Michigan Tech in 1996, three years at Exxon's Baytown, Texas, refinery and seven years at Conoco in Ponca City, Okla. My research area involves continuous processing of composite materials. “

During her time at Tech, King has received $2 million in research funding, graduated nine PhD students and 10 master’s students, included 260 undergraduates in her research projects, and published 77 peer reviewed journal papers.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.