Author Biographies

William Svrcek is a retired (2009) professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering of the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is currently a professor emeritus of the University of Calgary. He received his B.Sc. (1962) and Ph.D. (1967) degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Alberta, Edmonton. Prior to joining the University of Calgary he worked for Monsanto Company as a senior systems engineer and as an associate professor (1970–1975) in the Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. Dr. Svrcek's teaching and research interests centre on process simulation control and design. He has authored or co-authored over 200 technical articles/reports and has supervised over 50 graduate students. He has been involved for many years in teaching the continuing education course titled ‘Computer Aided Process Design – Oil and Gas Processing’ that has been presented worldwide. This course was modified to include not only steady-state simulation but also dynamic simulation and control strategy development and verification. Dr. Svrcek was also a senior partner in Hyprotech, now part of Aspen Technology, from its incorporation in 1976. As a principal, director and president (1981–1993) he was instrumental in establishing Hyprotech as a leading international process simulation software company. He is currently providing leadership and vision in process simulation software as the president of Virtual Materials Group Inc. He is a registered professional engineer in Alberta and a member of professional societies that include the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, American Institute for Chemical Engineers and the Gas Processors Association of Canada.

Donald Mahoney is vice president and global head of chemicals for SAP, the world's largest enterprise software company. Mr. Mahoney earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State, a master's degree in control theory from Purdue University and an MBA from the University of Delaware's Lerner College of Business and Economics. Mr. Mahoney has held research and teaching positions at the US Navy's Applied Research Lab at University Park, and at Purdue University, where he was awarded the department's highest honour for outstanding teaching. He has also lectured extensively on process simulation and control topics and has published a number of journal articles in the field. Prior to joining SAP, Mr. Mahoney was a business software entrepreneur and vice president with Hyprotech Ltd, where he led the introduction and launch of more than half a dozen process design, modelling and optimization software products. He also held industrial positions at General Motors and DuPont as a control systems engineer and process modelling and control consultant. While at DuPont, Mr. Mahoney was involved in the development and support of the chemical industry's first object-oriented dynamic simulation package, TMODS™.

Brent Young is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Auckland and is currently the head of department. He also holds the position of chair in Food and Process Engineering and is the director of the Industrial Information and Control Centre. He received his B.E. (1986) and Ph.D. (1993) degrees in chemical and process engineering from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Prior to his graduate studies, he worked as a chemical engineer for Ravensdown Fertilizer Coop's Super Phosphate Plant in Christchurch. In 1991, he joined the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia, as a lecturer, continuing his research in the areas of modelling and control of processes, particularly industrial processes. He was then an associate professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Calgary from late 1998 to the end of 2005. He joined the University of Auckland in January 2006. He is a registered professional engineer and a fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. His research, teaching and practice are centred on two major areas, process simulation and control, and process design and development.