The Max Jakob Memorial Award

The Max Jakob Memorial Award

Administered jointly by the Heat Transfer Division (HTD) of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Transport and Energy Processes Division (TEPD) of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the Max Jakob Memorial Award is bestowed in recognition of a candidate’s lifetime of eminent achievements, including scholarship and distinguished leadership in the field of heat transfer. It is the highest honor in the field of heat transfer that is given by ASME and/or AIChE.

The award was established in 1961 by the ASME - HTD in honor of Max Jakob (1879 – 1955) – a German physicist-engineer, and a pioneer in the area of heat transfer – to commemorate his path-breaking contributions as a researcher, educator, and author. It is administered by a board (the Max Jakob Memorial Award Committee) that is composed of appointed members from the broader heat transfer community representing both ASME and AIChE.

The award is presented once a year, and only when candidates are qualified and worthy, at the annual Summer Heat Transfer Conference (SHTC) of the ASME-HTD. Note that society membership and/or nationality are not considered when determining qualifications of candidates. The award consists of a wood-glass plaque, certificate, an honorarium, as well as the full SHTC registration including the awards banquet or luncheon ticket. Moreover, the recipient is also required to present the Max Jakob Memorial Award Lecture as part of the annual ASME SHTC technical program, and subsequently submit a paper based on this presentation to the ASME Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer; it is published, after review, as the Max Jakob Memorial Award Lecture Paper.

 

Nomination Form and Instructions/Guidelines

 

 
  Details
ASME Unit Heat Transfer Division (HTD) – jointly with AIChE TEPD
Achievement Outstanding lifetime scholarship accomplishments in heat and mass transfer.
Nomination Deadline November 15
Form of Award A wood-glass plaque and certificate, along with a $1,000 honorarium + SHTC Registration + SHTC Banquet ticket
Frequency of Award Annual
Administrative Heat Transfer Division and AIChE Transport and Energy Processes Division
Level of Award Division
Selected By Max Jakob Award Board, as joint nominated committee of the ASME-HTD and AIChE-TEPD
Selecting Process Review of nominations by the joint ASME-HTD and AIChE-TEPD committee. For information on nominations, visit the ASME Unit Award Nominations Page.
Funding The honorarium, the SHTC registration, and SHTC Banquet ticket are all borne by ASME HTD each year.
Contact April Tone ToneA@asme.org
All nominations for the Kern Award should be sent (electronically only) as a single PDF document that includes nominator’s letter, nomination form, and references as per instructions to ToneA@asme.org who will forward them to the Award Selection Committee. All nominations stand for three years and can be renewed once for another three years.

Previous Award Recipients

2024 Walter Grassi, Italy
2022 G. P. “Bud” Peterson, USA
2021 Michael Modest, USA
2020 Peter Wayner Jr., USA
2019 Arun Majumdar, USA
2018 John W. Rose, UK
2016 Je-Chin Han, USA
2014 P. S. Ayyaswamy, USA
2013 Kenneth R. Diller, USA
2012 Wataru Nakayama, Japan
2011 Dimos Poulikakos, Switzerland
2010 Amir Faghri, USA
2009 Ivan Catton, USA
2008 Suhas Patankar, USA
2007 Wen-Jei Yang, USA
2006 Kwang-Tzu Yang, USA
2005 Ping Cheng, China
2004 Vijay K. Dhir, USA
2003 Kenneth J. Bell, USA
2002 Yogesh Jaluria, USA
2001 John C. Chen, USA
2000 Vedat Arpaci, USA
1999 Adrian Bejan, USA
1998 Alexander I. Leontiev, Russia
1997 John R. Howell, USA
1996 Robert Siegel, USA
1995 Arthur E. Bergles, USA
1994 Geoffrey F. Hewitt, UK
1993 Benjamin Gebhart, USA
1992 William M. Kays, USA
1991 Franz X. Mayinger, Germany
1990 Richard J. Goldstein, USA
1989 James P. Hartnett, USA
1988 Yasuo Mori, Japan
1987 S. George Bankoff, USA
1986 Raymond Viskanta, USA
1985 Frank Kreith, USA
1984 Alexander Louis London, USA
1983 Bei Tse Chao, USA
1982 Simon Ostrach, USA
1981 Chang-Lin Tien, USA
1980 Ralph A. Seban, USA
1979 Stuart W. Churchill, USA
1978 Niichi Nishiwaki, Japan
1977 D. Brian Spalding, UK
1976 Ephraim M. Sparrow, USA
1975 Robert G. Deissler, USA
1974 Peter Grassmann, Switzerland
1973 Ulrich Grigull, Germany
1972 Karl A. Gardner, USA
1971 James W. Westwater, USA
1970 Warren M. Rohsenow, USA
1969 Samson Kutateladze, USSR
1968 Shiro Nukiyama, Japan
1967 Thomas B. Drew, USA
1966 Sir Owen Saunders, UK
1965 Hoyt C. Hottel, USA
1964 Ernst Schmidt, Germany
1963 William H. McAdams, USA
1962 Llewellyn M.K. Boelter, USA
1961 Ernst R. G. Eckert, USA

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