The Max Jakob Memorial Award
Administered jointly by the Heat Transfer Division (HTD) of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Transport and Energy Processes Division (TEPD) of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the Max Jakob Memorial Award is bestowed in recognition of a candidate’s lifetime of eminent achievements, including scholarship and distinguished leadership in the field of heat transfer. It is the highest honor in the field of heat transfer that is given by ASME and/or AIChE.
The award was established in 1961 by the ASME - HTD in honor of Max Jakob (1879 – 1955) – a German physicist-engineer, and a pioneer in the area of heat transfer – to commemorate his path-breaking contributions as a researcher, educator, and author. It is administered by a board (the Max Jakob Memorial Award Committee) that is composed of appointed members from the broader heat transfer community representing both ASME and AIChE.
The award is presented once a year, and only when candidates are qualified and worthy, at the annual Summer Heat Transfer Conference (SHTC) of the ASME-HTD. Note that society membership and/or nationality are not considered when determining qualifications of candidates. The award consists of a wood-glass plaque, certificate, an honorarium, as well as the full SHTC registration including the awards banquet or luncheon ticket. Moreover, the recipient is also required to present the Max Jakob Memorial Award Lecture as part of the annual ASME SHTC technical program, and subsequently submit a paper based on this presentation to the ASME Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer; it is published, after review, as the Max Jakob Memorial Award Lecture Paper.
Nomination Form and Instructions/Guidelines
| Details | |
| ASME Unit | Heat Transfer Division (HTD) – jointly with AIChE TEPD |
| Achievement | Outstanding lifetime scholarship accomplishments in heat and mass transfer. |
| Nomination Deadline | November 15 |
| Form of Award | A wood-glass plaque and certificate, along with a $1,000 honorarium + SHTC Registration + SHTC Banquet ticket |
| Frequency of Award | Annual |
| Administrative | Heat Transfer Division and AIChE Transport and Energy Processes Division |
| Level of Award | Division |
| Selected By | Max Jakob Award Board, as joint nominated committee of the ASME-HTD and AIChE-TEPD |
| Selecting Process | Review of nominations by the joint ASME-HTD and AIChE-TEPD committee. For information on nominations, visit the ASME Unit Award Nominations Page. |
| Funding | The honorarium, the SHTC registration, and SHTC Banquet ticket are all borne by ASME HTD each year. |
| Contact | April Tone ToneA@asme.org All nominations for the Kern Award should be sent (electronically only) as a single PDF document that includes nominator’s letter, nomination form, and references as per instructions to ToneA@asme.org who will forward them to the Award Selection Committee. All nominations stand for three years and can be renewed once for another three years. |
Previous Award Recipients
| 2024 | Walter Grassi, Italy |
| 2022 | G. P. “Bud” Peterson, USA |
| 2021 | Michael Modest, USA |
| 2020 | Peter Wayner Jr., USA |
| 2019 | Arun Majumdar, USA |
| 2018 | John W. Rose, UK |
| 2016 | Je-Chin Han, USA |
| 2014 | P. S. Ayyaswamy, USA |
| 2013 | Kenneth R. Diller, USA |
| 2012 | Wataru Nakayama, Japan |
| 2011 | Dimos Poulikakos, Switzerland |
| 2010 | Amir Faghri, USA |
| 2009 | Ivan Catton, USA |
| 2008 | Suhas Patankar, USA |
| 2007 | Wen-Jei Yang, USA |
| 2006 | Kwang-Tzu Yang, USA |
| 2005 | Ping Cheng, China |
| 2004 | Vijay K. Dhir, USA |
| 2003 | Kenneth J. Bell, USA |
| 2002 | Yogesh Jaluria, USA |
| 2001 | John C. Chen, USA |
| 2000 | Vedat Arpaci, USA |
| 1999 | Adrian Bejan, USA |
| 1998 | Alexander I. Leontiev, Russia |
| 1997 | John R. Howell, USA |
| 1996 | Robert Siegel, USA |
| 1995 | Arthur E. Bergles, USA |
| 1994 | Geoffrey F. Hewitt, UK |
| 1993 | Benjamin Gebhart, USA |
| 1992 | William M. Kays, USA |
| 1991 | Franz X. Mayinger, Germany |
| 1990 | Richard J. Goldstein, USA |
| 1989 | James P. Hartnett, USA |
| 1988 | Yasuo Mori, Japan |
| 1987 | S. George Bankoff, USA |
| 1986 | Raymond Viskanta, USA |
| 1985 | Frank Kreith, USA |
| 1984 | Alexander Louis London, USA |
| 1983 | Bei Tse Chao, USA |
| 1982 | Simon Ostrach, USA |
| 1981 | Chang-Lin Tien, USA |
| 1980 | Ralph A. Seban, USA |
| 1979 | Stuart W. Churchill, USA |
| 1978 | Niichi Nishiwaki, Japan |
| 1977 | D. Brian Spalding, UK |
| 1976 | Ephraim M. Sparrow, USA |
| 1975 | Robert G. Deissler, USA |
| 1974 | Peter Grassmann, Switzerland |
| 1973 | Ulrich Grigull, Germany |
| 1972 | Karl A. Gardner, USA |
| 1971 | James W. Westwater, USA |
| 1970 | Warren M. Rohsenow, USA |
| 1969 | Samson Kutateladze, USSR |
| 1968 | Shiro Nukiyama, Japan |
| 1967 | Thomas B. Drew, USA |
| 1966 | Sir Owen Saunders, UK |
| 1965 | Hoyt C. Hottel, USA |
| 1964 | Ernst Schmidt, Germany |
| 1963 | William H. McAdams, USA |
| 1962 | Llewellyn M.K. Boelter, USA |
| 1961 | Ernst R. G. Eckert, USA |