Michael F. Doherty

Michael F. Doherty is the Mellichamp Chair in Process Systems Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), within the Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering. He is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, focusing on integrating chemical reactions and separation processes to enhance industrial efficiency.

• BS: Imperial College London
• PhD: Trinity College, University of Cambridge

His research explores quantum improvements in chemical processes through reactive distillation and solvent extraction, crystallization of organic materials, and geometric feasibility methods like residue curve maps. Applications span specialty chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Notable awards include election to the National Academy of Engineering (2015), Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2022), and multiple AIChE accolades. He has delivered distinguished lectures globally, including at KAIST, Carnegie Mellon, and Imperial College.

• Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2022)
• Named one of the “One Hundred Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era” (2008)
• E.V. Murphree Award for Industrial & Engineering Chemistry (2012)
• Alpha Chi Sigma Award for Chemical Engineering Research (2004)

Doherty has led professional service roles such as Editor of the Distillation Chapter in Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook and serves on scientific advisory boards for institutions like the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems. His lab group advances crystallization technology for chiral and polymorphic systems.