Mike Harold is the Cullen Engineering Professor in the William A. Brookshire Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Houston (UH). With expertise in catalysis and reaction engineering, Harold has served as advisor to 39 doctoral students, authored 185 peer-reviewed papers and chapters, and presented 130 invited lectures. Through probing experiments and modeling spanning the molecular to reactor scales, Harold has advanced the understanding of fundamental aspects of reaction systems while providing useful guidance to practitioners. His research on multi-functional reactors and catalysts has led to reduced emissions and byproduct formation, and to more intensive and safer chemical reactors.
Harold received his BS in chemical engineering from Penn State and PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Houston. In 1985, he joined the Chemical Engineering Department at University of Massachusetts where he became Associate Professor. In 1993, Harold joined DuPont Company, where he held technical and managerial positions. In 2000, Harold became the Dow Chair Professor and Department Chair at UH, a position he held in two non-consecutive terms for 16 years. Harold served as Editor-in-Chief of the AIChE Journal from 2012 through 2021, Chair of the AIChE Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Division in 1999 and 2022, and President of ISCRE Inc. in 2017–18. His honors include the Excellence in Applied Catalysis Award from the Southwest Catalysis Society in 2019, the Ester Farfel Award at UH in 2013, and he became an AIChE Fellow in 2014.