Since joining the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto in 1986, Masahiro Kawaji has demonstrated excellence in academic and industrially oriented research, and dedication to educating future leaders in the engineering profession.

Many of Dr. Kawaji’s research projects were funded by industry, and their results have had a significant impact on economic development and on sustaining the competitiveness of Canadian industry. He is internationally recognized for his work on two-phase flow and heat transfer, in particular his work on flow visualization, high pressure/high temperature steam/water flow, microgravity fluid physics, and most recently adiabatic two-phase flow in microchannels. His work has provided new insights into complex macroscale and microscale phenomena encountered in various energy systems.

Through such fundamental and applied research, Dr. Kawaji has contributed to the development of advanced heat exchanger systems, safety improvements in nuclear reactors, and identification of the causes of thermal problems in kraft recovery boilers. He and his collaborators helped greatly increase the production capacity of recovery boilers by developing improved strategies to accelerate char bed cooling and determining the causes of tube temperature excursions that lead to cracking of the expensive composite tubes used.

A world-renowned academic research leader, Dr. Kawaji has worked with more than 30 post-doctoral researchers and visiting academics, and supervised more than 18 PhD students, more than 25 Masters students and well over 70 undergraduate thesis students.

He has also contributed to several books, more than 180 refereed journal and conference papers, and 120 non-refereed conference proceedings and technical reports.

A Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada and recipient of the Jules Stachiewicz Medal of the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering in 2002, Dr. Kawaji has actively supported the profession as a member of numerous editorial boards, scientific committees, technical review committees, and as a consultant to the manufacturing industry around the world.