Richard D Braatz

Background and Education

Dr. Richard D. Braatz is the Edwin R. Gilliland Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, where he conducts research into advanced biopharmaceutical manufacturing systems. In this role, he leads process data analytics, mechanistic modeling, and control systems for several projects on campus, including those focused on monoclonal antibody, viral vaccine, and gene therapy manufacturing. Dr. Braatz received an M.S. and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology and was the Millennium Chair and Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University before moving to MIT.

Dr. Braatz has collaborated with more than 20 companies including Novartis, Pfizer, Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Biogen, Amgen, Takeda, and Abbott Labs. Honors include the AIChE PD2M Award for Outstanding Contribution to QbD for Drug Substance, the AIChE Excellence in Process Development Research Award, the Technical Innovation Award from the International Society of Automation, and the IEEE Control Systems Society Transition to Practice Award. He has published over 200 papers and three books, including Fault Detection and Diagnosis in Industrial Systems. Dr. Braatz is a Fellow of IEEE, IFAC, AIChE, and AAAS and a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.

Awards and Honors 

• John R. Ragazzini Education Award | 2023
• Elected to the National Academy of Engineering | 2019
• AIChE Separation Division Innovation Award | 2019
• Elected AIChE Fellow | 2018
• Automatica Paper Prize | 2017
• Excellence In Education Award, Int'l Society of Automation | 2015
• AIChE Computing in Chemical Engineering Award | 2014
• AIChE PD2M Award for Outstanding Contribution to QbD for Drug Substance | 2013
• Technical Innovation Award, Int'l Society of Automation | 2013
• Distinguished Lecturer, IEEE Control Systems Society | 2013
• IEEE Control Systems Society Transition to Practice Award | 2011
• Research Collaboration Award, Council for Chemical Research | 2009
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science | 2008
• Journal of Process Control Prize Paper Award (for theory/ methodology) | 2008
• Journal of Process Control Prize Paper Award (for a survey) | 2008
• Fellow, Int'l Federation of Automatic Control | 2008
• Fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers | 2007
• AIChE Excellence in Process Development Research Award | 2006
• Antonio Ruberti Young Researcher Prize | 2005
• IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology Outstanding Paper Award | 2005
• CAST Outstanding Young Researcher Award, AIChE | 2005
• Curtis W. McGraw Research Award, Engineering Research Council | 2004
• CAST Directors' Award, AIChE | 2003
• Ernest W. Thiele Lectureship, University of Notre Dame | 2001
• Donald P. Eckman Award, American Automatic Control Council | 2000