In Loving Memory of Professor Ecevit Bilgili

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the untimely death of our colleague and friend, Professor Ecevit Bilgili of the NJIT Otto H. York Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering (CME). He passed away in his residence on the evening of 25 November 2024.

Ecevit Atalay Bilgili was born in Istanbul to Mustafa and Mensure Bilgili. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering with high honors at Bogazici University (1996) and the Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology (2001). For his doctoral dissertation he was awarded the George Klinzing Best PhD Award of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

Between 2002 and 2004 Professor Bilgili was a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Florida; between 2004 and 2009 he served in R&D positions within Merck Research Laboratories.

Professor Bilgili joined NJIT in 2009 as Assistant Professor.  At the time of his death, he was a Full Professor of Chemical Engineering, and Associate CME Chair for Undergraduate Study. He was principal advisor to five (5) doctoral students, and mentored more than fifty (50) students in their thesis and project efforts.  

Professor Bilgili’s research was in Particle Science and Engineering – at NJIT he founded and directed PENPAL – the Particle Engineering and Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology Lab. Studies emanating from this lab were published in journals such as Pharmaceutics, International Journal of Pharmaceutics, Chemical Engineering Science, and Powder Technology. He made more than 100 presentations in technical conferences, and was a popular invited speaker in workshops and professional gatherings. Professor Bilgili’s studies were cited frequently in the technical and scientific literature (close to 5000 citations with h-index of 40). Among the recognitions of his original research and excellence as an educator are his election to Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) (2022) and his designation as NJIT Master Teacher (2020). He served as editor of Pharmaceutics and Advanced Powder Technology and as founding editor of the Journal of Pharmaceutical and BioTech Industry.

Colleagues and students of Professor Bilgili will remember him as an original and diligent researcher, active and eloquent participant in professional and technical discussions, generous and dedicated advisor and colleague, efficient and effective academic administrator, and devoted mentor to students at all stages of their study and development.

We send our heartfelt condolences to his wife Melike, his children Melisa Ecem and Kayra Ece, all other members of his family, and his many friends and colleagues  at NJIT and the Chemical Engineering professional community.

Professor Bilgili’s funeral will take place in Turkey. We will be hosting a Memorial for Professor Bigili at NJIT on 27 March 2025.