Author Archives: edrick
Video — 20th NAM Acknowledgements
20th NAM Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements by Professor Kerry Dooley, Chair of the Houston NAM meeting and Dr. Yun-Feng Chang, Fund Raising Committee — ExxonMobil Chemicals
Video — 20th NAM Plenary Lecture
20th NAM Plenary Lecture
Design and applications of olefin metathesis catalysts
Professor Robert H. Grubbs, California Institute of Technology
Video — 20th NAM Plenary Lecture
20th NAM Plenary Lecture
The new syngas conversion business: opportunities and challenges
Dr. Theo Fleisch, BP
Video — 20th NAM Emmett Award Lecture
20th NAM Emmett Award Lecture
Rational Modification of Active Sites on Heterogeneous Catalysts
Professor Robert J. Davis, University of Virginia
Video — 20th NAM Boudart Award Lecture
20th NAM Boudart Award Lecture
Probing Catalyst Structure-Performance Relationships through Studies of Reaction Mechanism and Kinetics
Professor Alex T. Bell, UC Berkeley
Video — 20th NAM Houdry Award Lecture
20th NAM Houdry Award Lecture
A discussion of translation of zeolite discovery into commercial catalyst and adsorbent use
Dr. Stacey I. Zones, Chevron Texaco
Deadlines Extended for Awards Sponsored by the European Federation of the Catalytic Societies
The European Federation of the Catalytic Societies (EFCATS) Board announces the extension of the deadline for the applications of two EFCATS awards: the Young Researchers Award and the Applied Catalysis Award. The new deadline is April 15th 2013.
Young Researchers Award
The EFCATS Award aims to recognize individual contributions in the field of heterogeneous catalysis with emphasis on theoretical or experimental discovery and understanding of new catalysts and catalytic processes, synthesis and catalytic function of novel inorganic solids and complexes, mechanisms of reactions, deactivation phenomena.
The candidates for the award must have already shown the potential for research independence and evidence of maturity. Applicants should also be able to demonstrate a promising track-record of early achievements appropriate to their specific research field and career stage, including significant publications (as main author) in major international peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journals, or in the leading international peer-reviewed journals of catalysis field. They may also demonstrate a record of invited presentations in well-established international conferences, granted patents, awards, prizes etc.
Selection of the Award winner will be made by a committee of renowned scientists appointed by the President and vice-president of The European federation of Catalysis Societies. Selection shall be made on the basis of excellence. The award winner must not have turned 41, March 1st of the award year. Thus, nomination documents should indicate the date of birth of the nominee.
Nominations for the Award should prove the candidate’s excellence and will include:
- A presentation letter in which the merits of the candidate are detailed. The presentation letter should be prepared by the person proposing the candidate.
- Two further recommendation letters.
- The candidate’s CV (highlighting a date of birth).
Nomination documents should be submitted in one complete package to the President of EFCATS (Avelino Corma at corma@itq.upv.es) before April 15, 2013.
Applied Catalysis Award
Selection of the Award winner will be made by a committee of renowned scientists including a majority of current or previous industrial scientists appointed by the President and vice-president of The European federation of Catalysis Societies from names suggested by members of the EFCATS board. Committee members who are current or recent employees of the company of any nominee shall abstain from voting on that proposal. Selection shall be made on the basis of excellence scientific novelty, technical achievements in development and scale-up, interdisciplinary teamwork between scientists and engineers, with emphasis on actual or potential commercial application.
Nominations for the Award should prove the candidate’s excellence and will include:
- A presentation letter in which the merits of the candidate(s) are indicated (prepared by the person proposing the candidate(s)),
- A list of the achievements of the candidate(s) confirmed by the company applying the new contribution within a supporting letter.
- A detailed CV of the candidate(s).
Nomination documents should be submitted in one complete package to the President of EFCATS (Avelino Corma at corma@itq.upv.es) before April 15, 2013.
Maria Flytzani-Stephanopoulos is the winner of the 2013 Michigan Catalysis Award
Professor Stephanopoulos was chosen for distinguished contributions to the field of catalysis, particularly new insights into the activity of atomic-scale metals as catalysts for fuel conversion processes and “green” production of chemicals.
The Michigan Catalysis Society has two awards to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to catalysis research and development. Both awards are sponsored by the Memorial Trust Fund for Professor Giuseppe Parravano, which has been established at the Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Michigan. The Michigan Catalysis Society administers both awards which are presented in alternating years. Both awards consist of a medal and a prize of $1,000. The two awards differ only in the eligibility rules. The recipient of the award is selected by a committee that is appointed by the officers of the Michigan Catalysis Society.
- The Michigan Catalysis Society Guiseppe Parravano Memorial Award for Excellence in Catalysis Research
- The award is given biennially in odd numbered years to an individual from North America to formally recognize outstanding contributions to catalytic science and technology.
- The Michigan Catalysis Society Parravano Award for Excellence in Catalysis Research and Development
- The award is given biennially in even numbered years to formally recognize outstanding contributions to catalytic science and technology by researchers in the greater Michigan area. To be eligible, a person must be a resident of Michigan or a neighboring area such as western Ontario/northern Ohio and be nominated by a member of the Michigan Catalysis Society.
Candidates for Director-at-Large
Semi-retired consultant
Founder of a personal, global consulting business, GlobalCatalysis.com. My dedicated interests in catalysis continue through occasional technical publications (such as Catalysis Today 178 (2011) 8), invited lectures, and attendance at major national and international catalysis focused meetings. I bring over 40 years of experience in catalysis beginning with my undergraduate research at Penn State University and my PhD work at Stanford University. After receiving my doctorate degree, I spent 4 years as an assistant professor at Boston University, then joined Allied Chemical Corporation’s central research center for 11 years, and moved to Air Products & Chemicals to lead a catalysis research center before retirement.
My past role with the NACS (8 years as President and 7 years as Treasurer) focused on bringing visibility to the catalysis community at large, establishing our popular website, returning excess proceeds from our NAM meetings to the membership, strengthening the financial position of the NACS as well as the individual clubs, building up the corpus to the Keith Hall Educational Fund, establishing new ways to provide educational assistance to the membership, and enhancing the number and identity of our professional Awards program.
Having stepped aside from a leadership role in the NACS for the last 4 years, I would like to rejoin the Board of Directors and again work for the membership at large. I would like to continue to serve as a resource to the Society by participation in Board activities while mentoring new generations of our leaders, because I believe there is more that I can still contribute.
Thayer Lindsley Professor of Chemical Engineering
Columbia University
Jingguang Chen started his career at the Exxon Corporate Research Laboratories before joining the faculty at the University of Delaware, serving as the Claire LeClaire Professor of chemical engineering and Director of the Center for Catalytic Science and Technology. In the past two decades he has been actively serving the catalysis community, including the Catalysis Secretariat of ACS, Chair of the Gordon Research Conference on Catalysis, Kokes Chair for the Philadelphia NAM, and co-founder and team leader of the Synchrotron Catalysis Consortium. He has served as the Director-at-Large of NACS since 2005. His recent contributions as DAL included the application and distribution of travel grants to graduate students and young faculty to the ICC meeting.
If re-elected he would like to help establish a more formal process in NACS in applying and granting travel assistance to catalysis conferences.
Distinguished Regents Professor
Department of Chemical & Nuclear Engineering
University of New Mexico
Abhaya Datye has been on the faculty at the University of New Mexico since 1984 and presently serves as the undergraduate advisor for chemical engineering and formerly served as Associate Chair. He serves as Director of the Center for Microengineered Materials, a strategic research center at UNM that reports to the Vice President for Research.
Abhaya received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1984. He has authored over 240 publications, 3 patents and has presented 120 invited lectures around the world. He was the Chair of the Gordon Research Conference on Catalysis in 2010. He served as the program co-chair for the North American Catalysis Society meeting at Snowbird, UT. He has been actively involved in the Western States Catalysis Club, where he has served as president and as the Club representative to the NAM board. As a Director at large for the Society, he plans to enhance the visibility of catalysis and to get new students, especially graduate and undergraduate students into the field.
His research group has pioneered the development of electron microscopy tools for the study of catalysts. Using model catalysts, his group has shown metal/support interfaces can be studied at near atomic resolution. His current work involves the synthesis of biorenewable chemicals, fundamental studies of catalyst sintering, alcohol reforming into H2 and synthesis of novel nanostructured heterogeneous catalysts, especially the stabilization of isolated single atoms on supports. He leads the NSF Partnership for International Research and Education (PIRE) on Conversion of Biomass derived reactants into Fuels, Chemicals and Materials (a collaboration between faculty and researchers in the US, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands and Finland).