Development of Drying and Particle Formation over the Past 30 Years

Lecture Topic: Development of Drying and Particle Formation over the Past 30 Years
Expert: Evangelos Tsotsas
Date: October 27, 2025
Time: 09:30
Location: Lecture Hall 1517, Energy Research Institute
Organizer: Energy Research Institute

Speaker Profile:
Prof. Tsotsas earned his doctorate (Dr.-Ing.) in Process Engineering from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, in 1985. He was appointed Full Professor with tenure at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany, in 1994. He has previously served as a Senior Process Specialist at Dow Chemical, founding Dean and Dean of the Faculty of Process and Systems Engineering at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Chair of the Review Board for Process Engineering and Chemical Engineering of the German Research Foundation (DFG), and member of the Central Committee of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. His research focuses on two core areas: structural control and functionalization of particulate materials in fluidized beds, and heat and mass transfer in micro/nano porous media. He has pioneered innovative approaches for coupling multiphysics phenomena involving micro/nano flow, heat and mass transfer, and chemical materials, along with multiscale (micro/meso/macro) simulation methods and intelligent control strategies. He has led over 80 research projects funded by organizations such as the German Research Foundation (DFG), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Bayer, and BASF, with total research funding exceeding €30 million. He has published more than 500 papers and serves as the chief editor of the authoritative book series Modern Drying Technology in the international drying field. In 2018, he was awarded the Arun S. Mujumdar Medal, the highest honor in the field of drying.
Research Expertise: Particle technology, drying, heat and mass transfer in porous media, process control.

Lecture Summary:
This lecture systematically reviews the significant advancements in the field of drying and particle formation over the past three decades. Enhanced computational power has made solving complex continuum models feasible, while multiscale discrete modeling methods have been widely applied in the design, optimization, and scale-up of particle formation processes. Energy efficiency has once again become a central focus. Research has expanded from single physical processes to coupled multiphysics phenomena, spanning interdisciplinary areas such as multiphase flow, heat and mass transfer, electrochemistry, and materials science. Understanding the structure-property relationships among drying behavior, product structure (e.g., agglomerates, nanofluid coatings, encapsulation), and product performance has emerged as a core scientific challenge. In recent years, artificial intelligence has begun to play a significant role in uncovering and addressing this fundamental problem.

Faculty and students are welcome to attend!