University of Wisconsin Madison College of Engineering

 

 

Transport Phenomena:
A Landmark in Chemical Engineering Education

 

As the chemical engineering profession developed in the first half of the 20th century, the concept of “unit operations” arose as the natural organizing principle in educating chemical engineers. Particularly in undergraduate education, underlying theories of mass, momentum and energy transfer were presented only to the extent necessary for a narrow range of applications. Following World War II, chemical engineers moved into a number of new areas in which problem definitions and solutions required a deeper knowledge of the fundamentals of transport phenomena than those provided in the textbooks on unit operations.

 

In the 1950s, R. Byron (Bob) Bird, Warren E. Stewart and Edwin N. Lightfoot stepped forward to develop an undergraduate course at the University of Wisconsin to integrate the teaching of fluid flow, heat transfer, and diffusion. From this beginning, they prepared the landmark textbook, Transport Phenomena, published in 1960 by John Wiley & Sons.

 

This textbook, referred to by generations of chemical engineers simply as BSL after its authors, would remain in print for 41 years and see five translations. BSL has changed fundamentally the organizing principle in virtually all chemical engineering curricula worldwide. The enduring strength of BSL is testimony to the vision and attention to detail of its authors.

In "retirement," the three authors found time to thoroughly revise BSL, the second edition of which appeared in the summer of 2001 (see http://www.engr.wisc.edu/che/newsletter/2001-02_fallwinter/transport.html). With new or revised discussions of such topics as two-phase systems, angular momentum, Taylor dispersion and turbulence, the revision promises to help prepare students well into the 21st century. The BSL Lecture was inaugurated in the fall of 2001 to honor the achievements of these outstanding chemical engineers.

 

BSL Fellowship Fund

 

Alumni and friends of UW Chemical and Biological Engineering are well aware of the indelible mark that R. Byron (Bob) Bird, Warren E. Stewart and Edwin N. Lightfoot have made on this department and the field of chemical engineering generally. Publication of their classic text, Transport Phenomena, a.k.a. BSL, alone would have ensured a lasting legacy, but their contributions extend far beyond that in research, teaching and service. To this day, their friendly faces and valued perspectives make the department a better place for faculty, staff and students alike.

 

The department has received a generous gift in the form of a charitable remainder trust from an anonymous donor for the establishment of the Bird, Stewart and Lightfoot Graduate Fellowship Fund. This endowment fund will continue to strengthen the department in years to come and serve as a tribute to these three great men. But to make this a truly fitting tribute, we ask for your help.

 

Our goal for the fund is to raise $500,000, half of which, if received by 2007, will be eligible for a matching supplement through the Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship Program of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The fully endowed fund will enhance the department's ability to attract outstanding graduate students, and in so doing will continue to build and maintain the department's standing in the chemical engineering community.

 

We hope that all of you who know Bob, Warren, or Ed, who had them in class, who had them as research advisors, or who simply value their role in making this the great department that it is, will make a gift or pledge in their honor. We encourage you also to send us anecdotes from times you spent with them. (www.engr.wisc.edu/che).

 

Make a Gift

 

Use either of these methods:

 

 

If you would like more information about gift options, please contact Ann Leahy, Managing Senior Director of Development at the UW Foundation, at 608/263-0779 or ann.leahy@uwfoundation.wisc.edu.

 

Thank you for supporting the BSL Fellowship Fund.

 

BSL Lectures

 

Authors receiving publisher's copies of Transport Phenomena

Publisher John Wiley & Sons presented Bob Bird, Warren Stewart and Ed Lightfoot with special leather-bound copies of the 62nd (and last!) printing of the first edition of Transport Phenomena. (Large photo)



Transport Phenomena authors

Professors Lightfoot (left), Bird and Stewart, authors of Transport Phenomena, in 1960. (Large photo)



Bob Bird, Mike Jensen, Jim Rawlings, and Dick Antoine

Chemical engineering alumni Mike Jensen (second from left) and Dick Antoine (right) with Bob Bird (left) and faculty member Jim Rawlings (second from right) in March 2001. Both Mike and Dick are Bascom Hill Society members and generous supporters of the College of Engineering. (Large photo)



Bob Bird (left) and Roand Ragatz, circa 1964.

Bob Bird (left) and Roland Ragatz, circa 1964. (Large photo)



Warren Stewart and Liong S. Tee, Nov. 1966

Warren Stewart (left) and Liong S. Tee (PhD '68), Nov., 1966 (Large photo)



Ed Lightfoot and Victor P. Goldbach, Nov., 1968.

Ed Lightfoot (left) and Victor P. Goldbach, Nov., 1968. (Large photo)