Professor William J. Koros, the Roberto C. Goizueta Chair and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Membranes, in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has won the 2008 Alan S. Michaels Award for Innovation in Membrane Science and Technology.

The Michaels Award, sponsored by the North American Membrane Society (NAMS), recognizes outstanding innovations and exceptional lifetime contributions to membrane science and technology. The award is given once every three years with an honorarium of $10,000 and is named after Dr. Alan Michaels, whose contributions were instrumental in making membrane processes a broadly applicable and practical technology platform.

In receiving this award, Professor Koros was recognized for his seminal research in polymer materials for advanced, membrane-based separations. Professor Koros's contributions over more than 30 years have had a profound and lasting impact on both fundamental and applied concepts related to polymer membrane-based gas separation for energy-efficient air separation, hydrogen purification, and natural gas separation. Professor Koros helped develop the fundamental theoretical framework forming the basis of the modern understanding of small molecule transport in polymers. He made highly regarded fundamental contributions to materials science design concepts that are widely used in industry today for making gas separation membranes. His intellectual leadership extends beyond polymer membranes to include pioneering studies of hybrid organic/inorganic materials, so-called mixed matrix membranes, for gas separations applications.

Professor Koros was also recognized for his outstanding contributions to education; he has mentored more than 100 PhD, MS and Post Doctoral students, many of whom have made important contributions to the field of membrane science and technology. Additionally, he has provided exemplary service to the profession by serving as secretary of the NAMS Board of Directors for more than 15 years and by serving 17 years as the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Membrane Science, overseeing a period of explosive growth in the number of submissions and the quality of this journal, which is the leading scientific publication in the membrane science field.