Dr. Besser has been an associate professor of chemical engineering and group leader of Environmental Microsystems at the Louisiana Tech University Institute for Micromanufacturing since 1999. He has worked for several years in microelectronics device, process, and materials development. During this time, he held the position of member of the technical staff and staff engineer with Watkins-Johnson Co. developing sub-micron gallium arsenide field effect transistors, microwave integrated circuits, and thin-film hybrid circuits. He was employed thereafter as a senior scientist at Candescent Technologies, Inc., of San Jose, California, developing field-emission flat panel displays with nanoscale features. His research and development interests are in chemical microdevices for production and for analysis, catalysis, and micro/nano-fabrication. He holds the B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from U.C. Berkeley, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University.

Presentation Topic : New Directions in Reactor Design Through Miniaturization

By: Dr. Ron Besser

The miniaturization revolution that began with microelectronics in the 1950s has had far-reaching effects throughout all areas of technology. In the past few years, chemical engineers have been challenged to implement new tools based on microfabricated systems for various purposes, including reaction. "Microreactors," by virtue of their tiny dimensions, possess a number of desirable characteristics, especially enormous surface-to-volume ratios, and miniscule heat and mass transfer resistances.

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