In this series, ChEnected introduces readers to the recipients of AIChE’s 2025 Institute and Board of Directors’ Awards. These high honorees are nominated by the chemical engineering community and voted upon by the members of AIChE’s Awards Committee.
The Lawrence B. Evans Award in Chemical Engineering Practice recognizes substantial lifetime achievement in one or more aspects of industrial chemical-engineering practice, including leadership, technology development, research, and mentorship.
The recipient of the 2025 Evans Award is Sourav K. Sengupta, DuPont Laureate and AIChE Fellow.
Dr. Sengupta is being recognized "for pioneering applications of catalytic science and reaction engineering, outstanding technical leadership, and a career-long commitment to tackling challenging and value-creating industrial problems." He and the other Institute and Board of Directors’ Award recipients will be honored at the 2025 AIChE Annual Meeting.
About Sourav Sengupta and his work
Dr. Sengupta has spent more than 30 years at DuPont advancing industrial catalysis and reaction engineering, combining fundamental science with commercial impact across diverse chemical sectors. A DuPont Laureate, the company’s highest technical rank, he is recognized worldwide as a leading expert in heterogeneous catalysis and chemical process innovation.
His portfolio of breakthroughs includes a modular, on-demand hydrogen cyanide manufacturing process that eliminates transport risks through induction heating reactors; a recirculating packed-bed reactor for producing hexafluoroisopropanol, an intermediate for the anesthetic Sevoflurane; and new sulfuric acid catalysts that doubled the activity of previous formulations commercialized by MECS. He also developed hydrogenation and hydrodeoxygenation catalysts that enable renewable production of bio-based chemicals and diols from cellulose-derived feedstocks, earning DuPont a broad patent portfolio in biomass conversion.
Sengupta and his teams have delivered measurable business impact across DuPont’s enterprises by developing new reaction models and process designs that improve yields, reduce waste, and increase energy efficiency. His work on a reaction engineering model for p-phenylenediamine hydrogenation enhanced productivity and uptime for Kevlar® manufacturing, while his collaborative problem-solving in plant operations resolved critical catalyst deactivation issues in bio-THF and foam-blowing-agent production. Across DuPont facilities, his technical leadership has driven improvements in catalyst lifetimes, energy recovery, and environmental performance.
A respected mentor and team builder, Sengupta has guided more than 50 engineers and scientists within DuPont and its spin-off companies, as well as early-career professionals across the AIChE community. He is celebrated not only for his technical excellence but for his generosity in mentorship and his ability to unite diverse teams toward shared solutions.
Sengupta is a Fellow of AIChE and the American Chemical Society, and a member of the Catalysis Club of Philadelphia and the Organic Reactions Catalysis Society. His honors include the 2022 F.G. Ciapetta Lectureship Award in Catalysis and the 2015 Catalysis Club of Philadelphia Award.
This fall, ChEnected is presenting a series that profiles all the 2025 Institute and Board of Directors’ Award recipients. Visit ChEnected regularly to meet the honorees.
