Diffusion and Mass Transfer

James S. Vrentas received his B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois and his M.Ch.E. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware. As the Dow Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University, he teaches and conducts research in the fundamental aspects of diffusion and fluid mechanics. He is the recipient of two national AIChE awards, the William H. Walker Award for Excellence in Contributions to the Chemical Engineering Literature and the Charles M. A. Stine Award for Materials Engineering and Science. At Penn State, he has received the College of Engineering's Premier Research Award and several teaching awards.

Christine M. Vrentas received her B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from Northwestern University where she studied the dynamic and transient properties of polymer solutions. She has served as an instructor at the Pennsylvania State University and is currently an adjunct professor in the chemical engineering department working in the areas of diffusion and fluid mechanics. As a public school volunteer and supporter of science education, she helped coach State College Area Middle and High School Science Olympiad teams to national gold medals and served as a regional and state event supervisor at Science Olympiad competitions.