David Glasser is a South African engineer best known for his co-development of attainable region theory and research into improving the efficiency of chemical processes. In 2001 he was the inaugural recipient of the Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award. He has also been awarded the Bill-Neale May Gold Medal by the South African Institute of Chemical Engineers, as well as the Science for Society Gold Medal from the Academy of Sciences of South Africa. He currently works as Professor Extraordinarius of the University of South Africa and resides in Australia.
Biography
Glasser was born in Alexandria in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. He attended St Andrews School in Bloemfontein and Grey High School in Port Elizabeth. He obtained a B.Eng from the University of Cape Town in 1958 and a PhD from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London in 1964. He returned to South Africa and joined the University of the Witwatersrand as a lecturer later in 1964. His research work at WITS encompassed kinetics, thermodynamics, modelling and optimisation. In conjunction with Diane Hildebrandt and Martin Feinberg, he developed a new method for optimising chemical reactors called attainable region theory. It has been applied to many fields including biomedical research in the interpretation of imaging experiments, the removal of heparin from blood and the development of an artificial liver. He also did research in the field of process synthesis, where carbon dioxide emissions could be minimised and raw materials efficiently used through the re-designing of chemical plant flow-sheets based on fundamental thermodynamic processes. Glasser has published more than 300 publications, in peer-reviewed publications including the AIChE Journal, Chemical Engineering Science, Industrial and Engineering Research, as well as 4 books. He served as editor and reviewer for many journals over the period 1998 - 2003. He was Editor-in-Chief of the book Series on Chemical Engineering and Technology, published by Kluwer Academic Publishers of the Netherlands. In 2011 he coauthored the book Membrane Process Design Using Residue Curve Maps. He holds four patents, including patents for improving chemical plant efficiency, improving carbon efficiencies in hydrocarbon production and the production of synthesis gas. Although he retired in 2004, he continued to supervise research students, develop and teach post-graduate courses, oversaw research contracts, and continued to publish academic papers. He mentored more than 50 MSc students and 52 PhD students during his time at WITS. In 2015, Glasser relocated to Australia to live with his grandchildren. He continues to work as Professor Extraordinarius of UNISA In 2016 he co-authored Attainable Region Theory: An introduction to choosing an optimal reactor .
Transformation
Glasser's period as Dean at WITS coincided with a period of political change in South Africa. He was pivotal in developing promising young students from disadvantaged backgrounds with the intention of increasing numbers and success rates. The Anglo-American cadet scheme, a year-long programme for young black engineering students prior to university entrance which prepared them to excel at university, was taken over by the engineering department of WITS under Glasser.
