Leonidas Bleris, Ph.D. candidate in ECE, receives prestigious fellowship from National Academies

Leonidas Bleris, a Ph.D. candidate in electrical and computer engineering, has been chosen to receive the Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship from the National Academy of Science (NAS) and its constituent organizations.

The award, which will enable Bleris to spend 10 weeks as a policy fellow with the Board of Mathematical Sciences and Their Applications in NAS's Division of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

This fellowship is sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council.

It is designed to help graduate students learn more about science and technology policy and about the interactions of science, technology and government.

Fewer than 10 percent of the graduate students who apply for the program are accepted.

In his research work, Bleris develops mathematical models and advanced control algorithms for micro- and nano-scale chemical reactors. He is particularly interested in integrated microchemical plants that produce hydrogen by reforming methanol. He has also worked on embedding Model Predictive Controls (MPCs) in microsystems.

Bleris's faculty adviser is Mayuresh V. Kothare, the R.L. McCann Associate Professor of chemical engineering and co-director of the Center for Chemical Process Modeling and Control.

Bleris received his diploma in electrical and computer engineering from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece in 2000 and enrolled in 2001 as a graduate student at Lehigh

He received his M.S. in electrical and computer engineering from Lehigh in 2002.

In June, Bleris won the Best Presentation in Session Award at the American Control Conference in Boston.