Edwin R. Gilliland Professor of Chemical Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, Mass. While many engineers graduate to successful careers in the private sector, a select few continue on in research and teaching. Such is the case with Richard Braatz, who left Oregon State to pursue graduate studies and research at the California Institute of Technology, where he eventually earned master’s and doctoral degrees. “Oregon State’s curriculum provided me strong foundations in chemistry and engineering,” says Braatz. “This propelled me to excel in my graduate programs at Cal Tech and on to a research and teaching career at University of Illinois and then MIT.”Braatz’s research involves the modeling, design, and control of manufacturing processes and products that arise in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and related industries.
His contributions to crystallization process control and systems engineering in the pharmaceutical industry have been recognized around the country; however, he says his greatest personal achievement remains teaching“The most significant impact a professor can have is well-trained graduates,” says Braatz. “My impact is measured by 1,000 students who have learned chemical reaction engineering, process control, and related topics, and over 40 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows whom I have supervised and mentored.”
Degrees
- B.S. Chemical Engineering, 1988