Myrian A. Schenk
Senior Principal Systems Engineer
Cryo-R&D- Air Products plc.
Research Interests:
Dynamics and control
Integration of operability objectives in process design and control
Sustainability Analysis of Energy Resources
Education:
B.S.Chemical Engineering (1993) National Southern University- Bahía Blanca, Argentina
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering (1999) University of London – London, United Kingdom
Professional Background
Dr. Schenk‘s doctoral research was on integration of operability objectives in process design and
operation. The work, entitled ‘Design of Operable Reactive Distillation Systems’, was centred on the
development and implementation of novel tools to simultaneously address process controllability and
reliability of complex process systems. Different types of models (equilibrium and non-equilibrium) as
well modes (steady state, dynamic) were considered. This was a collaborative project between three
universities: Imperial College, University College London and the Technical University of Denmark.
After her PhD, Dr. Schenk worked as a Research Assistant with dual Job Functions; firstly as researcher
for an Industrial Project involved modelling, simulation and optimisation of an industrial plant. MIDO
techniques (Mixed-integer-dynamic optimisation) were applied to a problem of industrial scale; and,
secondly, manager in the preparation of EU proposals, dealing with different aspects of this, such as
consolidating the partnership, in which academia, small-medium enterprises and industries (corporate)
were considered; preparing a consistent proposal with all EU terms, and budgeting. Concurrent with
these, also worked on a number of these collaborative projects in the technical side, once EU funds
were obtained.
Before moving to the United Kingdom, Dr. Schenk worked as a Research Assistant in Denmark
(Department of Chemical Engineering- Technical University of Denmark) and in Argentina (Facultad de
Ingeniería Química, Universidad Tecnológica de Rosario) also in the area of modelling and simulation of
complex chemical processes.
Currently, at Air Products, Dr. Schenk works in the areas of dynamics and control of air separation plants as well as LNG-baseload plants. At the beginning of her career, she also spent 1 year as an
advanced control engineer.
Technical Contributions (selected papers)
Reduction of Flare Loading during a Refrigerant Compressor Blocked Discharge in a LNG C3/MR
Process, 2006, AIChE Spring Meeting,Orlando, FL, USA.
Process Design and Control of a Reactive Distillation System, Panjwani, Schenk, Georgiadis and
Pistikopoulos, DYCOPS-7, July 5-7 2004, Cambridge, Massachussets, U.S.A.
The Interactions of Design Control and Operability in Reactive Distillation Systems, Georgiadis, Schenk,
Gani and Pistikopoulos, Computers & Chemical Engineering, Volume 26, Issues 4-5, 15 May 2002,
Pages 735-746 .
The Interactions of Design, Control and Operability in Reactive Distillation Systems , Schenk,
Georgiadis, Gani and Pistikopoulos, AIChE Annual Meeting, 2000, paper 244a.
Modeling and Simulation of Reactive Distillation Operations, Pilavachi, Schenk, Pérez-Cisneros and
Gani, Industrial Engineering Chemical Research, 1997, 36(8); 3188-3197.
A Hybrid Approach for Reactive Separation Systems, Schenk, Bogle, Gani and Pistikopoulos,
Computers and Chemical. Engineering, 1999, S419-422.
Design and Analysis of Separation by Distillation – Role of Property Model, Pilavachi, Schenk, Bek-
Pedersen and Gani, Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 2000, 217-230.
A Hybrid Modelling Approach for Separation Systems Involving Distillation, Schenk, Bogle, Gani and
Pistikopoulos, Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 1999, 519-534.
Optimization –based Methodologies for Integrating Design and Control in Cryogenic Plants, Schenk,
Sakizlis, Perkins and Pistikopoulos, Computers and Chemical Engineering, 2002, S331-336 (ESCAPE-
12).
Optimising Fischer-Trop Synthesis Selectivity via Periodic Operation; A MIDO Approach, Meeuse,
Sakizlis, Schenk, Grievnik and Pistikopoulos, submitted to Chemical Engineering Science.