Congratulations to Dr. Robin Hutchinson who has been appointed Head of the Chemical Engineering department, effective July 1, 2024 for a 4 year term.
Dr. Hutchinson, B.Eng. (McMaster University) and Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin-Madison), obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in the area of Modeling of Particle Growth in Heterogeneous Catalyzed Olefin Polymerization. Prior to joining Queen’s in 2000, Dr. Hutchinson was a Senior Research Engineer, Central Research and Development, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. in Switzerland and the US for 9 years.
Dr. Hutchinson's research interests are in the areas of polymerization kinetics and polymer reaction engineering (PRE), focusing on radical polymerization systems. The research efforts are motivated and sustained through close interactions with industry and other academic researchers both in Canada and internationally. He has received the Queen’s Chancellor’s Award for research excellence and exceptional potential for his work. Dr. Hutchinson has over 180 refereed journal publications and is very involved with the Polymer Reaction Engineering Conferences, being on the Advisory Committee since 2009. He has also been involved with the coordination of the International Workshop on Polymer Reaction Engineering and the Canadian Chemical Engineering Conferences, giving Keynotes and coordinating symposia.
Dr. Hutchinson has been the Program Chair in Engineering Chemistry, Graduate Program Chair and Associate Head (twice) in the Department of Chemical Engineering and is currently the Acting Head of Department, making him well positioned to provide continuing excellent leadership for Chemical Engineering.
The priority for Dr. Hutchinson will be continuing with the Reimagining Engineering Education initiative. Dr. Hutchinson will lead the department in identifying opportunities to redesign the undergraduate curriculum, to align with this initiative. He also plans to put together a leadership team that has the experience to drive the research and teaching initiatives in the department, promoting excellence in graduate student training and research.