报 告 人：Thokozani Majozi
报告时间：2019年07月04日（周四）上午：8:30 - 10:00
报告地点：图书馆中心会议室
Abstract
The lecture provides background on optimization and its applications in process systems engineering. A particular emphasis is placed on time dependent processes, the so-called batch chemical processes. These operations remain elusive to traditional optimization techniques, due to their structural complexity. In essence, it has been proven that these operations are NP-Hard, thereby rendering a search for global optimality largely impractical for real-life problems. This has led to most researchers resorting to heuristic, stochastic and evolutionary optimization techniques.
In its ultimate ****ysis, the lecture dwells on two areas in which process systems engineering has been applied with great success. The first area involves synthesis, design and optimization of batch chemical facilities using a robust sche****ng framework. The second area pertains to optimization of integrated water and membrane network systems. These systems are characterised by intensive energy requirements as they seek to minimize overall freshwater use and wastewater generation. Consequently, the idea is to simultaneously optimize these inherently complex systems in terms of both energy and water requirements.
Resume
Thokozani Majozi is a full professor in the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering at Wits University where he also holds the NRF/DST Chair in Sustainable Process Engineering. His main research interest is batch chemical process integration, where he has made significant scientific contributions that have earned him international recognition. Some of these contributions have been adopted by industry. Prior to joining Wits, he spent almost 10 years at the University of Pretoria, initially as an associate professor and later as a full professor of chemical engineering. He was also an associate professor in computer science at the University of Pannonia in Hungary from 2005 to 2009. He spent his early years of his professional career as a chemical engineer working for Unilever, Dow AgroSciences and Sasol Technology. Majozi completed his PhD in Process Integration at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in the United Kingdom. He is a member of Academy of Sciences of South Africa and a Fellow for the African Academy of Sciences. He has received numerous awards for his research including the Burianec Memorial Award (Italy), S2A3 British Association Medal (Silver) and the South African Institution of Chemical Engineers Bill Neal-May Gold Medal. He was recently awarded the National Order of Mapungubwe for his contribution to science by the President of South Africa, which is the highest honour bestowed on any South African citizen. Majozi is author and co-author of more than 200 scientific publications, including 4 books in Chemical Process Integration published by Springer and CRC Press.
