Reza, Student Recognized with Honors at Conference

M. Toufiq Reza, assistant professor of chemical engineering, and his Ph.D. student, Al Ibtida Sultana, were recognized with awards at the annual meeting of the Florida section of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (FASABE) May 19-22 in Clearwater Beach.

Reza was presented the Outstanding Young Researcher award. He was nominated by Bin Gao, a University of Florida professor. The award, open to people under age 40 at the time of their selection, “honors dedicated use of scientific methodology to seek out facts or principles significant to agricultural engineering.”

The chair of the FASABE award committee recognized Reza’s contribution to the community with more than $6 million in extramural research funding, 68 peer reviewed publications, 15 invited presentations, more than 100 presentations, and two patents. The group also acknowledged his research contributions, with more than 4,000 citations with an h-factor of 34 (this metric measures the impact engineers and scientists make on their field) and his placement among the top 2% of cited researchers globally in 2021.

Sultana, who is studying chemical engineering, was recognized in the graduate student presentation competition for her paper, “Enhanced Carbon Dioxide Capture in Loblolly Pine Derived Superactivated Hydrochar by Altered Surface Morphology and Functionality.” She won the Outstanding Presentation award for her section.