Purdue welcomes Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Interdisciplinary Studies

Marcelo J.S. de Lemos

Purdue’s Honors College, in partnership with a different department or school for each of the next five years, will host a distinguished scholar from Brazil to conduct research and teach as a Fulbright Chair for Interdisciplinary Studies. This is Purdue’s first Fulbright Chair. The Fall 2021 scholar, Marcelo J.S. de Lemos, will be hosted in partnership with Engineering Education.

De Lemos, who received his Ph.D. from Purdue, is head of the Department of Energy at Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica in Brazil and an expert in engineering applied to energy research, including turbulence modeling, simulation of thermal systems, computational fluid dynamics and more.  He is a world-renowned researcher with more than 450 publications, including five books.

"Interdisciplinarity is a pillar of the Honors College experience and an effort of the college that we're delighted to expand through the Fulbright program," said Rhonda Phillips, dean of the Honors College. "De Lemos is an exemplary of cross-boundary scholarship and will be a wonderful resource for our students."

Donna Riley, the Kamyar Haghighi Head of the School of Engineering Education, said: "As we consider the nature of sustainability challenges that are with us now and will only increase in complexity, it is all the more imperative that we engage professional formation of engineers with breadth and depth to face these challenges holistically. We look forward to connecting Dr. de Lemos with our multidisciplinary engineering students and our faculty, who will prepare engineers to take the next giant leap into our sustainable future.”

The position brings both research and teaching elements.  In his research, de Lemos will focus on a new environmentally safe method for sealing and decommissioning oil wells.  This new technology is based on an exothermal chemical reaction that melts the surroundings of the well-bore, creating a plug that minimizes the risk of oil and gas leakage. He also will teach a course on energy, food and the environment, will give a talk about his work, and will be involved in various student-facing programs throughout the semester.

The next scholar in the program will be welcomed on campus in Fall 2022.