Jamal Yagoobi, the George F. Fuller Professor in Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, has received the Arun S. Mujumdar Medal, considered the highest international honor in the field of drying science and technology.
Yagoobi received the award during the 24th International Drying Symposium (IDS), held recently in Paris. IDS is the world's leading global forum for advancing the science, technology, and energy efficiency of industrial drying and dewatering. Yagoobi was recognized for his outstanding research and development in drying technology, distinguished mentorship of undergraduate and graduate students, leadership of WPI’s Center for Advanced Research in Drying (CARD), and exceptional service to the global drying community.
The recognition reflects Yagoobi’s decades of work developing technologies that improve heat and mass transfer, reduce energy consumption, and make industrial drying more efficient and sustainable. Yagoobi’s research spans heat transfer, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, liquid/vapor phase change, and electrohydrodynamics (EHD), the study of the motion of electrically charged fluids. In June, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Electrostatic Society of America for his work in EHD.
Yagoobi is also the founding director of CARD, an industry-university research center led by WPI with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a partner site. Founded in 2016, CARD is the first research center in the United States devoted to drying moist, porous materials, including food and agricultural products, paper and forestry products, chemicals, textiles, and biopharmaceuticals.
Through CARD, WPI has established itself as a national leader in advanced drying research. Faculty, students, and industry partners work together to develop and test technologies that can lower energy use, reduce emissions, improve product quality, and strengthen the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers.
Industrial drying is an essential but often overlooked part of manufacturing. It is used to produce everything from food and paper to chemicals and pharmaceuticals and accounts for an estimated 1.2% of total U.S. energy consumption. Much of the equipment currently used by manufacturers relies on older, energy-intensive technology, creating significant opportunities for innovation.
WPI researchers are exploring alternatives that include laser-based drying, ultrasound, infrared energy, advanced jet nozzles, dielectrophoresis, and smart sensors. Yagoobi currently leads a $3.5 million project, sponsored in part by the U.S. Department of Energy and Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, focused on using lasers to improve industrial drying and reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with food, pulp, and paper production.
