Hottel Lecture

History

The Hoyt C. Hottel Lectureship was established in early 1985 to recognize Professor Hottel's contributions to the intellectual climate of the Chemical Engineering Department, to the encouragement of students over six decades, and to the foundation and direction of the Fuels Research Laboratory. The lectureship is intended to draw eminent scholars to MIT - preferably in the fields of combustion and energy technology - for short periods of residency in order to stimulate future generations of students. The inaugural Hottel Lecture was presented in April 1985 by Professor Hottel himself. The Hottel Legacy Professor Hottel began his career at MIT in 1924.

The Hottel Legacy

Professor Hottel began his career at MIT in 1924. He served as a faculty member from 1928 to 1968. He was Professor of Fuel Engineering, 1941-1965; Director, Fuels Research Laboratory, 1938-1968; Chairman, Solar Energy Research Committee, 1938-1964; Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering, 1965-1968. He remained an active member of the Department as Professor Emeritus from 1968 until his death in 1998. Professor Hottel's record of long-standing interest and achievement was in the area of more effective use of energy. His work spanned over fifty years and focused on better utilization of fossil fuels, with occasional intensive digressions into solar energy. It embraced major contributions to the maturation of industrial furnace and boiler design from an art to a science, to solar heating, and to early identification and study of other energy-related problems. His awards include the United States Medal for Merit, King's Medal (Great Britain), William H. Walker Award (AIChE), Edgerton Gold Medal (Combustion Institute), Melchett Medal (Institute of Fuel, Great Britain), Max Jakob Award (AIChE and ASME), Founders Award (AIChE), Farrington Daniels Award (Royal Society, London), Founders Award (NAE), and the John Fritz Medal (United Engineering Trustees). He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

List of past lecturers (1985 - 2024) - pdf