Dr. Sohail Murad has been appointed as Chair of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (ChBE), effective July 1, 2014
Dr. Sohail Murad has been appointed as Chair of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (ChBE), effective July 1, 2014. Dr. Murad comes to IIT Armour College of Engineering from the University of Illinois, Chicago, where he is Professor and Chemical Engineering Department Head. He earned his B.S. from the University of Engineering, Lahore, Pakistan in Chemical Engineering. Dr. Murad then attended the University of Florida, Gainesville, where he received his M.S. in Chemical Engineering before receiving his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University.
Dr. Murad’s research interests are in the broad areas of classical and statistical thermodynamics. In classical thermodynamics he has have developed engineering correlations based on the corresponding states principle for a range of properties such as surface tension, viscosity, and thermal conductivity for hydrocarbons, polar fluids, and electrolyte solutions.
With extensive teaching and practice experience in chemical engineering, particularly molecular thermodynamics, Dr. Murad uses the computer simulation technique of molecular dynamics to study thermodynamic properties of pure fluids as well as mixtures of many components, sometimes referred to as polydispersed or continuous mixtures. This research has resulted in the development of accurate intermolecular potential models for polar fluids, such as ammonia, that include three body interactions. In addition he has used simulation results to examine mixing rules for transport properties and several fluid theories, as well as the contributions from internal degrees of freedom to properties such as thermal conductivity. More recently, he has also developed a module for examining the microscopic and macroscopic properties of fluids with restricted flow geometries, such as permeable and semi-permeable membranes, and used it to study phenomena such as osmosis, reverse osmosis and electro-osmosis.
His past experience includes serving as a Research Fellow at the U.S. Army’s Ballistics Research Laboratory, Senior Engineer at Exxon Research and Engineering Company, and Affiliate Professor for Project Lead the Way. Dr. Murad has authored more than 100 research publications. He has served on editorial boards for publications like Computer Applications in Engineering Education, Scientific Journals International, International Journal of Liquid State Sciences, and Research Letters in Engineering. In addition, he has presented numerous seminars, conference papers and other technical reports.
Dr. Murad has also received several academic and professional honors and recognition including the College of Engineering Excellence in Advising Award (2013), Coleman Foundation Fellow (2009), Research Excellence Award, College of Engineering (1998, 2004, 2006), Harold Simon Award for Teaching Excellence, College of Engineering (2002), University Award for Excellence in Teaching (1999), University Teaching Recognition Award (1997) and Outstanding Teacher of the Year, Chemical Engineering Department (1995). He a member of numerous professional associations including the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), American Chemical Society, Computer Applications in Engineering Education and the American Society for Engineering Education. Dr. Murad is also on the Editorial Board of publications like Computer Applications in Engineering Education, Letters in Chemical Engineering, and International Journal of Liquid State Sciences.
