Anisimov Wins Yeram S. Touloukian Award

University of Maryland professor Mikhail Anisimov has received the 2015 Yeram S. Touloukian Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ (ASME) Heat Transfer Division.

Anisimov, who is appointed to the faculties of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) and Institute for Physical Science and Technology (IPST), was cited “for the performance of crucial experiments and introduction of new concepts: isomorphism, non-asymptotic critical behavior, complete scaling, and competing length scales, for deepening the understanding of phase behavior, criticality, and thermophysical properties of complex fluids, liquid crystals, polymer solutions, supercooled water, and crude oils.”

“I am highly honored to receive such a prestigious recognition and accept this honor with gratitude,” he says.

According to the ASME web site, the Touloukian Award, established in 1988, is “bestowed triennially to recognize outstanding technical contributions in the field of thermophysical properties” and has become the most prestigious international honor of its kind. Nominees may come from disciplines including but not limited to chemical engineering, chemistry, mechanical engineering, and physics. Recipients receive a bronze medal, a certificate, and travel expenses paid to attend a presentation ceremony at the ASME’s Symposium on Thermophysical Properties.

Anisimov's research interests include critical phenomena and phase transitions in supercooled water, fluids, fluid mixtures, liquid crystals, and surfactant and polymer solutions. He also studies the applications of photon-correlation spectroscopy and high-resolution adibatic calorimetry to soft condensed-matter materials. He has co-authored major works that have affected engineers across a number of fields, including a theory-based calculation for the critical parameters of aqueous solutions of sodium chloride and a new international formulation of thermal conductivity of water and steam, which were adopted as international standards by the International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam (IAPWS). The 2012 International Symposium on Mesoscale and Fluctuation Dynamics was held in his honor.

Anisimov is the author or co-author of over 200 publications, and an elected Fellow of multiple societies, including American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society, the International Academy of Refrigeration, and the Newtonian Society. He is also an elected member of the New York Academy of Sciences, and the Russian Academy of Engineering and the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.

ChBE and IPST Distinguished Professor Emeritus Jan Sengers won the Yeram S. Touloukian Award award in 1991.

Published March 26, 2015