We have added a new video clip of the first five minutes of an interview with Dr. Haldor Topsoe. This may be viewed by going to the “History of Catalysis” folder on the NACS website; then select “Haldor Topsoe” under Historical Video Clips.
John Armor and Burt Davis
Author Archives: edrick
In Memoriam: Eric Derouane (1944–2008)
Eric Gérard Joseph Derouane died on 17th March 2008 from a heart attack in his home in Luz, Lagos, Portugal. With him, the Catalysis Community has lost one of its strongest and brilliant scientists.
Born on 4th July 1944 at Péruwelz (Hainaut), Belgium, Eric Derouane obtained a Licence degree at the University of Liège, B (1965), a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Chemistry in Prof. J. Turkevich’s laboratory at Princeton University, USA (1966) and a Doctorat ès Sciences (PhD) at the University of Liège, B (1968), including a one year (1966–1967) in France at the “Service de Physique du Solide et de Résonance Magnétique, CEN Saclay” in Prof. A. Abragam’s laboratory. He stayed a year (1969–1970) in USA at Stanford University as visiting Scholar in Prof. M. Boudart’s laboratory. He became Research Assistant of the “Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique” (FNRS) and Lecturer at the University of Liège, B (1969–1973). In 1973, he was appointed Professor at the “Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix” (FUNDP) in Namur, B, where he created the Laboratory of Catalysis, of which he remained Director until 1995. He was on sabbatical leaves in 1979 as Research Fellow with J. Sinfelt at Exxon Res. & Develop. Corp., Linden, USA, and in 1982–84 as Research Scientist, Head of Exploratory Catalysis Synthesis Group at Mobil Res. & Develop. Corp., Central Research Laboratory, Princeton, USA. In 1995, he became Full Professor at the University of Liverpool and was appointed Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Innovative Catalysis (LCIC). In 2003, he obtained the Gulbenkian Professorship at the University of Algarve in Faro, P, where he was Director of the Chemical Research Centre. He became later Invited Professor at the “Instituto Superior Tecnico” (IST) of the Technical University of Lisbon, where he had extensive cooperation with the group led by Prof. F. Ramôa Ribeiro.
His main fields of investigation dealt with catalysis over zeolites in general, supported metals, novel materials and mixed oxides in particular, and alkane upgrading and fine chemicals more specifically. One of Eric’s most striking qualities was his acute interest for every new scientific discovery and for industrial applications of his findings.
Eric Derouane had an unusual working efficiency. He had a high intellectual mobility and was always attracted by new materials and new concepts. Among them, one can mention ZSM‑5/MFI new zeolite in the early 70s, leading to a 30 year collaboration with J.C. Védrine, cuprate-type superconductors, confinement effect and molecular traffic control in zeolitic materials. He also studied reaction mechanisms using isotopic labelling and in-situ MAS-NMR in the 80s, combinatorial catalysis and high throughput technology in the late 90s.
During his 20 years of dedicated service to the University of Namur, Eric Derouane developed new concepts, which had an important impact on the catalysis and zeolite communities. In 1986, he was elected Head of the Chemistry Department. He then embarked upon an impressive re-structuring programme to improve its efficiency. The model, which he initiated, is still in service today. His laboratory was recognized as an outstanding school of scientific research and education in catalysis.
Very early, Eric Derouane realized the importance of interdisciplinarity, which lead him to play a key role in the creation of the Institute for Studies in Interface Sciences (ISIS) at Namur in 1987, which gathered laboratories of physics and chemistry for 20 years. Eric Derouane also paid heed to technological transfer to industries. After his experience gained through his sabbatical positions at Exxon and at Mobil, he developed many collaborations with industrial partners and served as consultant.
At Liverpool, the aim of the LCIC was to promote creative fundamental catalytic science and often to take-up industrial challenges. Eric Derouane defined innovation as “the creation of a new or better product or process, implying creativity, usefulness, and application”. Towards this end, the LCIC had industrial affiliates as partners. Under his leadership the LCIC became the largest catalysis centre in the UK.and a centre of scientific exchanges and collaborations. Eric Derouane established links with many UK and international laboratories. Eric Derouane created in 1997 an European Associated Laboratory “Laboratory for high specificity catalysis” between LCIC/University of Liverpool and Institut de Recherches sur la Catalyse, Lyon, F/CNRS.
In 1999, he co-founded with Prof. S. Roberts the spin-off Liverpool-based company “Stylacats”, of which he became a director. He provided wise suggestions and ideas, which led the company to pioneer new technologies, in particular catalysts for asymmetric hydrogenation, microwave-induced reactions and enzyme mimetics.
At the University of Faro, Eric Derouane developed a research project, jointly with the Instituto Tecnico de Lisboa, on Friedel-Crafts reactions. He also collaborated closely on various research projects with Prof. F. Ramôa Ribeiro’s zeolite group of the Instituto Superior Tecnico of the University of Lisbon.
Eric Derouane co-authored over 400 scientific papers, 11 books and 61 patents.
Eric Derouane also contributed to the development and strengthening of the european catalysis community. He created in 1975 the European Association in Catalysis (EUROCAT), a consortium of European laboratories under the auspices of the Council of Europe and promoted standardisation of characterisation of catalysts: Euro-Pt1 to ‑Pt4, Euro-Ni1 & ‑Ni2, Eurocat zeolite, Eurocat oxides, etc. This Eurocat group paved the way to the creation of the European Federation of Catalysis Societies (EFCATS) and of the François Gault lectureship. He was elected President of EFCATS in 1995 for two years.
He became Editor-in-chief of J. Mol. Catal. in 1982 and was member of the Editorial Boards of several scientific journals and member of the scientific committees of many congresses and colloquia. He co-organized several congresses himself, in particular with F. Lemos and F. Ramôa Ribeiro in Portugal several NATO Advanced Studies Institutes on topics including “the conversion of light alkanes”, “combinatorial catalysis and high throughput catalyst design and testing”, “principles and methods for accelerated catalyst design and testing” and “sustainable strategies for the upgrading of natural gas”.
Eric Derouane’s contributions to catalysis have been recognised by many awards and academic honors, including the Wauters Prize (1964), the Mund Prize (1967) of the “Société Royale de Chimie”, the Stas-Spring Prize (1971) and the Adolphe Wetrems Prize (1975) of the “Académie Royale de Belgique”, the Rosetta Briegel-Barton Lecturership at the University of Oklahoma (1973), the Prize of the “Cercle of Alumni de la Fondation Universitaire de Belgique” (1980), the Ciapetta Lectureship of the North American Catalysis Society (1981), the Catalysis Lectureship of the Société Chimique de France (1993) and the prestigious Francqui Prize, B (1994), the highest honor for all Sciences in Belgium.
He was made “Officier de l’Ordre Léopold” in Belgium (1990), corresponding Member of the “Académie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux Arts de Belgique” (1991), member of the “New York Academy of Sciences” and Associate Member of the “European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Humanities”. He was conferred Doctor Honoris Causa, Technical University of Lisbon (1996).
Eric Derouane attracted many students and foreign scholars to his laboratories in Namur, Liverpool and Faro. His energy, his clear mind and his broad knowledge impressed his students, researchers and colleagues. He was an outstanding and demanding professor, always ready to share his knowledge with his students. His courses were always clear, highly structured and easily understandable. Many of his former students and post-docs occupy today prominent positions in universities and industries. All of them will remember his brilliant and rigorous scientific approach, and no doubt they all will greatly miss him.
Jacques C. Védrine and Michel Che, Paris
Fernando Ramôa Ribeiro, Lisboa
Jianliang Xiao, Liverpool
Bao-Lian Su, Namur
23 April 2008
Update on North American Meeting San Francisco, June 7–12, 2009
The organization of the 2009 NAM is progressing on schedule. The meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, located at the Embarcadero waterfront in San Francisco. The meeting co-chairs are Bruce Gates, Enrique Iglesia, and Charles Wilson. All available details have been posted on the meeting website (www.21nam.org); inquiries should be directed to nam21-info@pnl.gov. The first circular will be mailed by the end of April 2008.
Catalysis finds itself as the critical discipline as the world at large faces the challenges of sustainable development, clean energy, and environmental responsibility. The 2009 NAM will bring together leading international researchers in catalysis at a geographical and historical crossroads between Asia and the world. Our aim is to promote academic and industrial connections among emerging and established communities of researchers and practitioners of catalysis in the world at large.
The planned session topics include:
- Catalysis for Energy
- Catalysis for Environmental Protection
- Catalysis for the Synthesis of Chemicals
- Fundamentals of Catalysis
- Chemical Reaction Engineering
The timeline is as follows:
- August 1, 2008, call for papers and applications for Kokes Student Travel Awards
- November 15, 2008, deadline for submission of abstracts and Kokes applications to be made via the meeting web site
- February 9, 2009, notification of accepted abstracts for oral and poster
presentations and awarded Kokes grants - April 1, 2009, deadline for early registration
US National Academy of Engineering recognizes new catalysis members
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has elected 65 new members and nine foreign associates, Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature,” and to the “pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.”
Two in our catalysis community include
- Enrique Iglesia, Chancellor Professor, department of chemical engineering, University of California, Berkeley. For outstanding contributions to the understanding of catalyst structure-function relationships, the development of novel catalysts, and leadership in the field of catalysis.
- Rutger Anthony van Santen, professor, department of chemical engineering and chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands. For pioneering work on the fundamentals of reaction mechanisms in heterogeneous catalysis.
More about Enrique Iglesia — Chancellor’s Professor of Chemical Engineering Enrique Iglesia has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Iglesia was elected “for outstanding contributions to the understanding of catalyst structure-function relationships, the development of novel catalysts, and leadership in the field of catalysis.” Iglesia has been involved in studies of heterogeneous catalysts for the direct and indirect conversion of methane to higher hydrocarbons, uses of light alkanes in desulfurization and de-NOx, reactions, dehydrogenation of light alkanes to alkenes and aromatics, catalytic reforming and cracking processes, low-temperature isomerization, alkylation, and combustion reactions.
Iglesia, who was born in Cuba, earned his B.S. at Princeton and his M.S. (1979) and Ph.D. (1982) from Stanford University. He was a Research Associate and Section Head of Catalysis Science at the Corporate Research Laboratories of Exxon Research and Engineering Co. before joining the Berkeley faculty in 1993. He is also a Faculty Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Vice President of the North American Catalysis Society, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Catalysis and the director of the Berkeley Catalysis Center.
Iglesia’s recent awards include the Humboldt Senior Scientist Research Award (2007); the Donald Sterling Noyce Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, University of California (2005); Ipatieff Professorship, Northwestern University (2005); Robert Burwell Award of the Catalysis Society (2005); and the George A. Olah Award in Hydrocarbon Chemistry of the American Chemical Society (2005).
Iglesia was among 65 new members and nine foreign associates elected to the NAE. This brings the total U.S. membership of NAE to 2,227 and the number of foreign associates to 194.
Acknowledgement to the Univ. of Calif., Berkeley, College of Chemistry website,http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/Publications/news/2008/iglesia_national_academy.html.
In Memoriam: Eric Derouane (1944–2008)
It is with great sadness that we have learned that Professor Eric Derouane passed away on 17 March in his home at Luz Lagos (Algarve) Portugal.
Professor Derouane will be remembered by his students and colleagues, both in industry and academia, for his creative leadership of the Namur and Liverpool catalysis laboratories and for his mentorship of many colleagues and students..
Professor Derouane was world renowned for his many contributions in catalysis for petrochemicals and fine chemicals, particularly for his work on zeolites and their role in catalytic processes and the use of in-situ methods for catalyst characterization.
Professor Eric G. Derouane obtained in 1968 his MSc in Chemistry at Princeton University and his Dr.Sc. at the University of Liège. He then became a Research Associate of FNRS (Belgium). In 1973, he was appointed as Professor at the Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix (FUNDP) in Namur, Belgium, where he created the Laboratory of Catalysis. In 1995, he was invited as Full Professor and Director of the Lervehulme Centre for Innovative Catalysis at the University of Liverpool. Eric G. Derouane became Professor at the University of Faro, Portugal in 2003.
His contributions to catalysis have been recognized by the Ciapetta Lectureship of the North American Catalysis Society (1981), the Catalysis Lectureship of the Société Chimique de France (1993), and the 1994 Francqui Prize. He was a Corresponding Member of the Royal Academy of Belgium, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Molecular Catalysis A, and past President of the European Federation of the Catalysis Societies (EFCATS) 1995–1997.
With kind regards,
Miche Che, Fernando Ramoa Ribeiro and Jacques C. Védrine
Explaining what catalysis is
The following is a new feature posted at the top of the list of sub-folders of the NACS website. Suggestions or ways to enhance the message are welcome.
What is Catalysis.…. or Catalysis, So what?
This short message is intended to provide ways to explain what catalysis is. Countless times, I’ve been asked about what is catalysis from persons of differing backgrounds: immigration officials, foursomes on a golf course, executives in airplanes, or neighbors. To those of us who work in the field, we see tremendous value which has repeatedly been supported by surveys of the impact of catalysis upon financial measuring tools, like the GNP (Gross National Product), but we need to be able to explain our profession to those not familiar with the technology.
Catalysis is a technology which increases the rate of a chemical reaction. This technical field employs both scientists and engineers. Catalysts are the materials used by these persons to explore the phenomenon of catalysis. Catalysts are materials which speed up chemical reactions without the catalyst being consumed; they are materials which induce change. More specifically, catalysts are materials which change the rate of attainment of chemical equilibrium without themselves being changed or consumed in the process. Catalysts also provide selectivity or specificity to particular products which are more desirable than others. All these attributes about catalysis and catalysts translate to energy savings, less pollution, fewer side products, lower cost reactor materials, and ultimately products which reduce global warming. It has been said (A. Mittasch) that “chemistry without catalysis would be a sword without a handle…or a bell without sound.”
Catalysis is the key to both life and lifestyle. It is an essential technology for chemical and materials manufacturing, for fuel cells and other energy conversion systems, for combustion devices, and for pollution control systems which greatly impact everyone on our planet. Some other specific examples of what catalysts do include applications for
- Fuels & Energy — Over half the world’s gasoline is currently produced by a process developed in 1942 called Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC). This process revolutionized the petroleum industry by more efficiently transforming higher boiling oils into lighter, usable products. FCC produces gasoline as well as heating oil, fuel oil, propane, butane, and chemical feedstocks that are instrumental in producing other products such as plastics, synthetic rubbers and fabrics, and cosmetics. It is considered one of the most important chemical engineering achievements of the 20th century. In the future, catalysts will be used to produce clean energy from renewable energy sources, such as hydrogen for fuel cells and transportation fuels from non-edible biomass.
- Emissions — Automobile emission catalysts have been developed since the 1960s to destroy CO, NOx and hydrocarbon emissions from mobile vehicles. Catalysts are also used to destroy the origins of sulfur based emissions in the combustion of fuels. In addition catalysts are widely used to destroy the objectionable emissions from the world’s coal fired power plants.
- Polymers — Catalysts are also used in the production of the world’s polymers. Current examples of polymers include adhesives, coatings, foams, and packaging materials, textile and industrial fibers, composites, electronic devices, biomedical devices,
- Life — Enzymes are one example of catalysts within our bodies which are critical to maintaining life. Further, the possibility of analyzing and ultimately manipulating genes rests on the catalytic properties of RNA to replicate molecules containing biological information.
- Health — The pharmaceutical industry employees large amounts of catalysts needed to produce the specificity of products they require. Catalysts used in the production of drugs are used to save lives and improve the health and lifestyle of people around the world.
- Food - Catalysts are widely used in food processing and enhance the performance of other consumer products such as laundry detergents.
optical devices, and precursors for many newly developed high-tech ceramics.
The economic contribution from catalysis is as remarkable as the phenomenon itself. Four sectors of the world’s economy are petroleum, energy production, chemicals production, and the food industry; together they account for more than 10 trillion dollars of the world’s GNP, and all of these are critically dependent on the use of catalysts. Estimates are that catalysis contributes to greater than 35% of global GDP; the biggest part of this contribution comes from the generation of high energy fuels (i.e., gasoline, diesel, hydrogen) which depend critically on the use of small amounts of catalysts in our world’s petroleum refineries. As a business, the catalyst market itself is growing from the current US$12 billion, so that catalysis costs are much less than 0.1% of the sales revenue from the products which they create.
The North American Catalysis Society is a not-for-profit professional organization of over 1,500 scientists and engineers who work in the field of catalysis. The website for the Society, www.nacatsoc.org provides information to members and to the public about professional activities as well as folders containing information on catalysis science. Those seeking additional information and other detailed examples on what catalysis is, does, or the value it provides are encourage to look further at the educational subfolders on this website. Another resource is the excellent textbook: Fundamentals of Industrial Catalytic Processes, by C. H. Bartholomew and Robert J. Farrauto, published by John Wiley & Sons; 2nd edition (2005), ISBN-13: 978–0471457138
John Armor
GlobalCatalysis.com, February 2008
(with suggestions from Bob Farrauto and Enrique Iglesia)
ACS Awards recognize catalysis efforts
This years ACS Awards cite two of our colleagues in the catalysis area
- Professor Israel E. Wachs of Lehigh University receives the George A. Olah Award in Petroleum or Hydrocarbon Chemistry. For more information refer to http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/cen/86/i03/html/8603awards8.html
- Avelino Corma, a professor and director of the Institute of Chemical Technology at Polytechnic University of Valencia, in Spain, work is recognized with the Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis
Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis is sponsored by the Gabor A. & Judith K. Somorjai Endowment Fund.
More info on Professor Corma (taken in part from C&E News, Jan. 21, p. 55 by Mitch Jacoby) — One area of research associated around the world with Corma’s name is zeolites. Corma’s group has designed, synthesized, and found important applications for dozens of these microporous crystalline catalytic solids. For example, a number of his group’s novel zeolites that are related to the mineral mordenite are commonly used industrially for paraffin isomerization due to their uncommonly high stability, chemical selectivity, and resistance to sulfur poisoning. Corma and coworkers have prepared many other zeolite-type materials, including some that feature unusually large pores, interconnecting channels, and an exceptional degree of internal openness. Those materials are useful for dealkylation of bulky aromatic compounds, cracking of petroleum oils, and other types of refining applications.
Other examples of the Corma group’s inventiveness include newly developed supported gold catalysts that selectively reduce aromatic nitro groups and other types of catalysts used to prepare fine chemicals and chiral compounds. In addition, Corma and coworkers have designed instrumentation that has been commercialized, including a system for high-throughput synthesis of zeolites and other catalytic materials.
Corma, 56, was born into a farming family in eastern Spain. He says he was destined to remain a farmer with minimal schooling, but his parents’ desire for their son to obtain an education changed his life forever. Fascinated by science in high school, Corma chose to study chemistry at the University of Valencia and completed an undergraduate degree there in 1973. In 1976, he completed Ph.D. studies in catalysis at the Spanish National Research Council, in Madrid, and then conducted postdoctoral research at Queen’s University, in Kingston, Ontario. After serving in a number of other academic positions, Corma founded the institute in Valencia for which he now serves as director. Corma has published more than 600 papers in peer-reviewed journals and is an author of some 90 international patents, more than 20 of which have been licensed for commercial development. He has served as director for more than 25 Ph.D. students and is ranked among the 50 most cited chemists in the past decade.
The award address will be presented before the Division of Chemical Education.
Nominations Open for Eugene J. Houdry Award in Applied Catalysis
The Eugene J. Houdry Award in Applied Catalysis is sponsored by Süd-Chemie, Inc. It is administered by The Catalysis Society and is awarded biennially in odd numbered years, generally at the North American meeting of The Catalysis Society, where the awardee will be asked to give a plenary lecture. The award consists of a plaque and a prize of $5,000. An additional $1,000 is available for otherwise unreimbursed travel expenses.
The purpose of the Award is to recognize and encourage individual contributions in the field of catalysis with emphasis on the development of new and improved catalysts and processes representing outstanding advances in their useful application.
Selection of the Award winner will be made by a committee of renowned scientists and engineers appointed by the President of The North American Catalysis Society. Selection shall be made without regard for age, sex, nationality or affiliation. Posthumous awards will be made only when knowledge of the awardee’s death is received after announcement of the Award Committee’s decision. Nominations for the Award must be made before May 1, 2008 and should present the nominee’s qualifications, accomplishments and biography. A critical evaluation of the significance of publications and patents should be made as well as a statement of the particular contribution(s)on which the nomination is based. Nomination documents should be submitted electronically to the President of the Society in one complete package along with no more than two seconding letters.
All nomination packages (one electronic copy) for the Houdry Award should be should be sent to John Armor, President, North American Catalysis Society; at jnagcat@verizon.net . Receipt of any nomination, will be confirmed by an email message sent to each nominator.
Video Clips added to NACS Website
For several years the NACS has been continually enhancing a part of its website to include historical items of interest to the catalysis community. We have some white papers posted on key catalytic technologies, as well as news items on many of the past leaders in the catalysis community. Much of the slides that Heinz Heinemann presented at the 2005 NAM banquet are already posted on this site. More recently, I’ve added some new photos to the biographies that we have and added some more biographies.
Now the NACS has initiated a brand new feature to enhance the historical content of its popular website. We have begun to provide a historical collection of video clips of popular figures in catalysis. We hope these first 7 video clips will grow to a large collection of such video clips providing a glimpse of some of the notable speakers in catalysis over the past decades. The purpose of these postings is to give the membership, the public, and new entrants into the catalysis community a glimpse of high profile speakers and popular topics in catalysis.
Several years ago, the NACS began to record videos at NACS events as a means of collecting a video history of notables in the catalysis community. This effort by Professor Burt Davis (our volunteer, dedicated videographer) was often limited by poor audio or lighting in large conference rooms and was not easily shared with the membership. Newer video recording technology and storage of video on the WWW, now allows these video clips to be shared with the worldwide community.
We chose the recent 20th NAM meeting in Houston as the first featured set of clips. The first five minutes of the five plenary lectures and portions of the banquet acknowledgements are now posted on the website. While each, entire presentation was recorded, these would be too long for posting on the WWW. Sometimes the video quality is sub par (due to lighting or audio limitations), but it is a beginning of what we hope will be a memorable posting of leaders among the catalysis community, and I am sure new technology will improve the quality of the videos in the years to come. I’ve asked Burt Davis to find other good quality video clips for additional postings. If some of the membership have good, video quality clips that they might wish to have posted on the NACS website, please contact me, John Armor (nacatsoc@verizon.net). Initially, we will offer these as ~ 5 minute segments of the full lectures/interviews.
To review a video clip, go to the NACS video page. Speakers are listed with the title of their lecture. Start the video clip by clicking on the button to the lower left below each photo.
Let me have any suggestions or comments which might improve this new website feature. Burt Davis has done a great deal of voluntary work to record, compile, edit, and consolidate these videos, and we thank him for his efforts. Thanks also go to Ray Buchta who has been invaluable in setting up and designing the graphics of our website.
John Armor
President NACS
Robert Farrauto is the 2008 F. G. Ciapetta Lecturer
Bob has a long and distinguished record in industrial research. Among his important contributions to industrial catalysis has been the development of catalysts for the abatement of engine emissions, in particular, diesel engines. One gauge of the impact of his discoveries in this area is in the $300 million sales they generated for his company of 30 years, now BASF Catalysts (formerly Engelhard Corporation). Another important discovery was the use of a zeolite additive to trap the heavy molecular weight hydrocarbon emissions during cold start, which allowed the technology developed originally for heavy duty engines to be used for diesel engines for passenger cars. This technology created a new paradigm in emission cleanup catalysts. Bob has also contributed to many other successful commercial developments. One such example occurred in 1986 when, as a co-inventor at Engelhard, he developed a fast light off ammonia oxidation catalyst for the production of nitric acid. This technology, commercially known as HyliteTM, is still in practice today. It enhances the light off of the catalyst gauze in hours as opposed to days. He and his team also developed the fundamental mechanism of the deactivation of the Pt recovery gauze. This knowledge, coupled with the HyliteTM catalyst technology, virtually eliminated this mode of deactivation, adding increased lifetime and nitric acid yield to the process. This has resulted in over $10 million in revenues for Engelhard. Within the last 7 years Bob and his team have pioneered in the development of precious metal catalyzed monoliths and heat exchangers for distributed hydrogen for fuel cells and the hydrogen economy. The team has commercialized over 25 new catalysts.
Bob’s innovations have spanned a wide range of areas involving reductants, oxidants, high and low temperature applications, liquid and gas phase reactants, and catalysts in pellet and monolithic forms. This broad patent portfolio is a strong testament to his creativity. His achievements have been recognized recently by the 2005 Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Division Practice Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the 2001 Henry Albert Award for excellence in precious metal catalysis by the International Precious Metals Institute, and the 2000 Cross-Canada Catalysis Lectureship Award.
Also, Bob Farrauto has made remarkable contributions to educating students and mentoring young industrial colleagues, contributing to the scientific literature, and providing service to the catalysis community. Bob has a passion for teaching. He taught courses in industrial catalysis after his regular working hours at Engelhard at the nearby New Jersey Institute of Technology from 1990 to 1997. The excellence of his lectures was recognized by a teaching award given to the best Adjunct Professor. He continues his academic affiliation with his current position as Adjunct Professor in the Earth and Environmental Engineering Department at Columbia University in the City of New York. There he started the BASF-Columbia program to fund research for graduate students and post docs. It links Columbia and BASF through programs of mutual interest in environmental and green chemistry. He also co-authored two textbooks describing Industrial Catalytic Processes, one in collaboration with his colleague Ron Heck, the other with Professor Cal Bartholomew, and both books are currently in their second editions. In addition, he has contributed over 75 papers to the scientific literature ranging from reviews to contributions in new fields. He is a co-inventor of 50 US patents. He is a gifted lecturer and has presented his various research findings to a wide international audience. Bob has also served the catalysis community in many ways, including being responsible for the technical program at the very successful 2005 North American Catalysis Society Meeting in Philadelphia. He was the editor of Applied Catalysis B for North and South America for seven years.
Bob received his BS degree from Manhattan College in New York City and PhD from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
John Armor
President, North American Catalysis Society