University Professor James C. Hill has been named chair of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University. The appointment by Dean of the College of Engineering Mark Kushner is effective immediately.

“Jim brings an exciting vision and enthusiasm to the chair's office,” Kushner noted in announcing Hill’s appointment. “His leadership experiences locally, nationally, and internationally, and his reputation as a scholar, provide a unique perspective from which to guide the department to even higher levels of achievement.”

An expert in fluid mechanics, Hill’s research focuses on turbulence, transport phenomena, reacting flows, and computational fluid dynamics. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), serving on that organization’s board of directors from 2001 to 2003. He has also served as vice chair of the U.S. National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.

Hill serves as a regional editor of the journal Fluid Dynamics Research (Elsevier) and has been a keynote speaker and presented invited papers at over 100 workshops and symposia, both in the United States and abroad. He received the George Lappin Award for service to AIChE in 1999 and the Iowa Board of Regents Faculty Excellence Award in 1996. In 1994, he was named National Outstanding Advisor by Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society.

Hill received his BS in chemical engineering from Stanford University in 1962 and the PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Washington in 1968. He joined the Iowa State chemical engineering faculty in 1971.

Hill succeeds Professor Charles Glatz, who had served as department chair since 1997.