In memory of our colleague, Princeton University’s Department of Chemical Engineering has established the Dudley A. Saville Lectureship for exceptional early-career chemical engineers and scientists. Inspired by his family and colleagues, this series reflects Dudley Saville’s longtime association with Princeton, his uncompromising pursuit of excellence, and his commitment to helping young people begin their academic careers. In his nearly 40 years at Princeton University, he pioneered new directions in fluid mechanics, especially electrohydrodynamics. Although Dudley’s emphasis was always on fundamentals, the practical applications of his research spanned protein crystallization, electrohydrodynamic printing, enhanced oil recovery, patterning of colloidal crystals, and fluid behavior in microgravity, including an experiment flown on the Space Shuttle Columbia.
Dudley was also a pillar supporting the department’s educational mission. Whether teaching thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, engineering mathematics, or transport phenomena, his classes were distinguished by their mathematical rigor and clarity of exposition. A demanding instructor, he earned the respect of generations of chemical engineering students.
In 1997, he received the Alpha Chi Sigma Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers; in 2001, he was named the Stephen C. Macaleer ’63 Professor in Engineering and Applied Science; and in 2003 he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, the highest professional recognition for an American engineer.
