“John has made an outstanding contribution to chemical engineering and has earned the respect of his peers and the wider community through his fluidization research. His former students can today be found in leading roles at universities and companies around the world, and the passion he has for chemical engineering is something the Institution is thrilled to recognize with this medal,” notes Claudia Flavell-White, IChemE’s director of policy and publications, and coordinator of its medals program.
Davidson is former head of the chemical engineering department at Cambridge and also has served as president of IChemE. He officially retired in 1993 but still works in the department of chemical engineering and biotechnology at Cambridge almost every day, giving students career advice and reading their papers, notes IChemE.