Former students and colleagues from Henry’s time at Purdue University. Both Henry and Sunny were well loved members of the Purdue community.
Tai Hyun, former student.
I started my Ph.D. course at Purdue in September, 1986. After finishing my coursework and qualifying exam at Purdue, I moved to Irvine in the summer of 1988 to complete the research work for my degree under the guidance of Prof. Lim, and received Ph.D. degree from Purdue in May 1990. I did my post-doc in his lab at UCI until coming back to Korea in February 1991. I also stayed in Irvine in 1996 for one year during my sabbatical period. My first son, Joon Ho Park, who was born in West Lafayette, is now a Ph.D. student at UC San Diego. He and his wife sometimes visited Irvine to have a dinner together with Prof. and Mrs. Lim.
Prof. Lim was our great teacher, mentor and even friend not only to the students in his lab but also all the Korean Chem Eng students at Purdue and UCI.
Sangtae “Sang” Kim, former colleague and Professor at Purdue University.
The Davidson School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue mourns the passing on February 12, 2021 of former professor and friend to many in our school, Henry C. Lim. Henry Lim (1935-2021, B.S. ’57 Oklahoma State University, M.S. ’59 Michigan, Ph.D. ’67 Northwestern University), as noted in our school’s history, became an influential figure in biochemical engineering. He was educated under S. George Bankoff (a student of Norris Shreve) and had considerable industrial experience with Pfizer, Inc. Lim brought a fresh research approach in the areas of reaction engineering and process control.
After his arrival at Purdue he started collaborating with Lowell Koppel while developing a research program in the then obscure area of biochemical engineering. Lim’s industrial experience at Pfizer and his conviction that biochemical phenomena are a natural for chemical engineers led to the establishment of a strong research and educational program which was internationally known. In this, he was helped by Alden Emery who, in 1971 after a sabbatical year in Israel, made a major change of career objectives from rheology to biochemical engineering, by Greenkorn and later Koppel who offered significant financial support for the establishment of biochemical research laboratories, and by the hiring of George Tsao in 1975. In addition to his research, Lim contributed significantly to the undergraduate and graduate programs with courses in applied mathematics, biochemical and environmental engineering, and control. He received the R.N. Shreve Prize three times in 1973, 1975 and 1977. With Leslie Grady of the School of Civil Engineering he coauthored the book Biological Wastewater Treatment: Theory and Applications, published by M. Dekker in 1980. He supervised the research of 29 Ph.D. and 35 M.S. students at Purdue. Among his former Purdue Ph.D. students we find a large number of ChE professors such as DiBiasio, Agrawal, Papoutsakis, Lee and Tarrer. With increasing national visibility came offers from other schools. Henry Lim moved to the University of California-Irvine as the founding chair of their Biochemical Engineering program in 1987. The program became Chemical Engineering in 1993 with Prof. Lim as chair.
Sadly, Mrs. Sun Boo (Sunny) Lim passed away shortly afterward on February 19. Mrs. Lim was dedicated to her family and music, and started what was the first Suzuki Violin studio in Lafayette. The Lims are survived by their three children, David, Carol, and Michael.
Together, Henry and Sun Boo Lim made a tremendous impact on those who were fortunate to know them. They will be fondly remembered by many.
Hong H. Lee, former student.
I had a deep sense of loss when I heard the passage of Henry. He was my thesis advisor at Purdue and I was his first Korean graduate student. Over the last fifty years or so, we had gotten together intermittently in Charleston, South Carolina, Gainesville, Florida, and here in Seoul, Korea. I liked him for what he is, a person unassuming, plain, and kind. He was dear to me. I miss him and we will miss him.
Dr. Kyu-Sung Lee, former student. Sent by Jeong-Ran Kim, married to Dr. Lee.
I went to Purdue in 1985 right after finishing my Master’s degree in Seoul. Dr. Lim welcomed me and became my advisor. When he decided to start a new department at UC Irvine, I knew I wanted to follow him and continue working with him even if it wasn’t easy to have a long-distance marriage. My wife wanted to stay at Purdue to finish her study. We visited each other when we could. While visiting me one time, my wife and I dropped by Dr. Lim’s for lunch. Dr. and Mrs. Lim were always very welcoming and warm to us as well as to other students and their families. After lunch, we were chatting and all of a sudden, she became very ill. Dr. Lim took her to a nearby hospital and she ended up having gallbladder surgery. They invited my wife to stay at their place while recovering and took good care of her. We were so grateful for their kindness.
That is what Dr. Lim was like. Kind and caring not to mention academically accomplished. Also, he was very witty and humorous, which made his students laugh and feel relaxed during difficult times. He was a role model for so many Korean students who studied at Purdue or UC Irvine. How we were so delighted to meet Dr. Lim in Seoul when he visited. We are deeply saddened by the fact that we can no longer see him. He will be remembered fondly and missed by all of us. My wife and I send our condolences to his beloved family and friends. May he rest in peace.
Yong K. Chang, former student.
My Name is Yong Keun Chang, a former PhD student of Prof. Lim. After graduating from Purdue Univ. in 1987, I worked with Prof. Lime for one year as a Post Doc researcher in Irvine.
I’m sending several photos on Prof. Lim’s birthday party in Seoul and my visit to his place.
Seung Un Kim, former student.
I am Seung Un Kim who did PhD during 1986 till 1992 at Purdue. Henry was such a great teacher and sweet person as well. He was like the Godfather to all Korean students at Purdue. He really liked mingling with students. He used to visit our rented house, where four students lived together, with a bottle of wine, Blue Nun. Then everyone else joined us. I remember that one day he was very happy and told me that his son was accepted by Mr Gingold, a great violinist and teacher. These are a little but precious memories about him.
I made a video of music in memory of them with my humble violin as my condolences. The music is actually a worship song written by Korean composer with the title, “Shalom” meaning peace. And the words include “Do not be afraid, my son and my daughter. I give peace unto you.