The North American Catalysis Society is excited to announce supplemental funding opportunities for attendees of the 18th International Congress on Catalysis (18th ICC), scheduled for July 14–19, 2024, in Lyon, France. This initiative is generously supported by federal agencies, including the NSF and DOE. Candidates need to be currently enrolled in US research institutions.
Purpose of Funding:
These funds are allocated to partially reimburse flight and registration expenses.
Priority Candidates:
1. Faculty members within their first four years of ladder-rank appointments, actively engaged in catalysis research at U.S. institutions.
2. Postdoctoral researchers and graduate students within U.S. institutions who will present oral or poster contributions at the 18th ICC.
Application Deadline Extended to March 31st, 2024.
Call for Nominations:
We encourage self-nominations of faculty members, as well as nominations of eligible postdocs and graduate students by their research advisors. Your participation in and contributions to the 18th ICC are important for highlighting the research efforts from the US catalysis community.
Please use the link below to submit your application.
https://forms.gle/4C5V2Ctx7m2xdXuV6
Announcement of 2023 Robert Burwell Lectureship in Catalysis
I am pleased to announce that Professor Umit Ozkan of the Ohio State University is the recipient of the 2023 Robert Burwell Lectureship in Catalysis, sponsored by Johnson Matthey and administered by the North American Catalysis Society. It is awarded biennially in odd-numbered years. The award consists of a plaque and an honorarium of $5,000, which will be presented at the award banquet at the NAM28 meeting. An additional $4,500 is available to cover travelling expenses in North America. The awardee is expected to lecture at many of the local catalysis clubs.
The Robert Burwell Lectureship in Catalysis is given in recognition of substantial contributions to one or more areas in the field of catalysis with emphasis on discovery and understanding of catalytic phenomena, catalytic reaction mechanisms and identification and description of catalytic sites and species. The awardee is selected on the basis of his/her contributions to the catalytic literature and the current timeliness of these research contributions. The recipient may be invited to (1) visit and lecture to each of the affiliated Clubs/Societies with which mutually satisfactory arrangements can be made and (2) prepare a review paper(s) for publication covering these lectures. Publication will be in an appropriate periodical.
Professor Umit Ozkan is recognized for her pioneering work that bridged the heterogeneous catalysis and electrocatalysis fields. Her group was the first to show that nitrogen-doped carbon nanostructures (CNx) had promising oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity in acidic medium. Combining spectroscopy techniques, metal-free synthesis methods, and probe molecules, they were able to identify the active sites and provide a mechanistic understanding of the ORR. Recently, her group has also been exploring the use of CNx materials as oxygen depolarized cathode electrodes as well as in bromine evolution reactions. Ozkan also expanded her work to mid-temperature electrocatalysis in solid oxide electrolytic cells for applications such as oxidative dehydrogenation of lower alkanes or oxidative coupling of methane as well as co-electrolysis of CO2 and H2O on perovskites. More recently, they have been working on mid-temperature electrocatalytic NH3 production from N2 and H2O, providing a route for distributed NH3 production as an alternative to the Haber-Bosch process. Dr. Ozkan’s contributions to heterogeneous catalysis include studies in oxidation catalysis, environmental catalysis, hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis reactions as well as reforming reactions. In all of these studies, her focus has been understanding the nature of active sites and tailoring the surface properties to achieve desired catalytic functions.
Jingguang Chen
President, North American Catalysis Society
Johannes Lercher is the recipient of the 2023 Michel Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis
I am pleased to announce that Professor Johannes Lercher of TU München and PNNL is the recipient of the 2023 Michel Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis. The Award is sponsored by the Haldor Topsøe Company, and is administered jointly by the North American Catalysis Society and the European Federation of Catalysis Societies. It is awarded biennially in odd-numbered years. Professor Lercher will give plenary lectures at the meetings of the North American Catalysis Society (NAM) and the European Federation of Catalysis Societies (EuropaCat). The award consists of a plaque and a prize of $6,000. The plaque will be presented during the closing banquet ceremonies at the 2023 North American Meeting of the Catalysis Society (NAM28 in Providence).
The Michel Boudart Award recognizes and encourages individual contributions to the elucidation of the mechanism and active sites involved in catalytic phenomena and to the development of new methods or concepts that advance the understanding and/or practice of heterogeneous catalysis.
Professor Lercher is recognized for seminal contributions to define and quantify the centers that bind reacting molecules, to characterize the environment around these centers, and to quantify the impact that the solid and/or mobile environment has on the reacting molecules. Addressing this complexity required pioneering work in characterizing “simultaneously” the solid as well as mobile phase under conditions relevant for the catalytic transformation. The approach enabled, however, to tie together understanding of the impact of liquid-solid interfaces on the reacting molecules and the additional influences by external electric potentials. The profound analysis of the catalytic phenomena at the microscopic level, studying the influence of short- and long-range interactions between the reactant molecules and the solid catalysts has strongly influenced our way to understand how reactions occur on solid catalysts. The holistic approach linking advanced physicochemical characterization of catalysts and their action with detailed kinetic analyses has opened a new paradigm to catalysis research.
Please join me in congratulating Professor Lercher!
Jingguang Chen
President, North American Catalysis Society
Announcement of 2023–2024 Paul H. Emmett Award Winners
I am pleased to announce the winners of the 2023–2024 Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis. This award recognizes and encourages individual contributions in the field of catalysis with emphasis on discovery and understanding of catalytic phenomena, proposal of catalytic reaction mechanisms and identification of and description of catalytic sites and species. The award winner must not have turned 46 on April 1st of the award year. The award is sponsored by WR Grace & Co and managed by the North American Catalysis Society. The award consists of a plaque and an honorarium of $5,000. The plaque will be presented during the closing banquet ceremonies at the 2023 North American Meeting of the Catalysis Society (NAM28), scheduled to be held on June 18–23, 2023, in Providence. The awardees will also present a Plenary Lecture at the NAM meeting.
The NACS Board has recently approved to honor up to two Emmett awardees every two years. The two awardees for the 2023–2024 cycle are (listed alphabetically):
2023 Winner: Professor Aditya Bhan, University of Minnesota
2024 Winner: Professor Yuriy Román-Leshkov, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Professor Aditya Bhan and his group are recognized for bringing analytical formalisms and detailed experimentation to elicit kinetic and mechanistic information, verified against thermodynamic measurements and strictures, into hydrocarbon reaction systems of significant complexity and practical utility. His group has provided critical insight into how and why catalytic processes occur, both as they form desired products and as they lead to unselective or deactivating side paths for a number of important industrial catalytic processes including methanol-to-hydrocarbons catalysis, non-oxidative and oxidative alkane conversion, partial oxidation of olefins, hydrodeoxygenation, and dehydration. These studies have brought concepts of chemical kinetics and thermodynamics to derive fundamental insights into catalysis on zeolites, carbides, oxides, metals, and MOFs. His group has brought new concepts and definitions to the kinetic analysis of heterogeneous catalytic systems in developing a kinetic description of site ensembles on catalytic surfaces, in demonstrating rate functions of an overall reaction with many elementary steps can be written in a form analogous to the microscopic law of mass action, and in developing mathematical models describing rates and reversibility in complex reaction networks.
Professor Yuriy Román-Leshkov and his group combines catalyst synthesis, kinetic studies, and reactor design to study chemical transformations related to the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. A distinctive focus has been the design of reactive environments in solid catalysts to improve activity and selectivity by using electric fields, confinement, and site cooperativity as means to control reaction rates. His work on Lewis acid zeolites has improved our understanding of how the metal center, intrapore confinement of reactants/solvents, and framework polarity influence rates for the conversion of bio-derived oxygenates in the liquid phase. This includes transfer hydrogenations, isomerization-lactonization sequences, and C‑C coupling reactions of carbohydrates, furan-derivatives, and keto-acids, to produce a wide range of value-added chemicals. Yuriy has made important contributions to the areas of sustainable aviation fuels and plastic waste deconstruction through his work on selective hydrodeoxygenation of lignin into aromatics and hydrogenolysis of polyolefinic plastic waste with earth-abundant catalysts. Lastly, his collaborative efforts to bridge concepts in thermo- and electrocatalysis have resulted in foundational insights into how interfacial electric fields influence thermochemical reaction rates even for systems disconnected from external wiring.
Congratulations to Professor Bhan and Professor Román-Leshkov!
Jingguang Chen
President, North American Catalysis Society
Stephen R. Schmidt is the recipient of the 2023 Eugene J. Houdry Award in Applied Catalysis
I am pleased to announce that Dr. Stephen R. Schmidt of W.R. Grace is the recipient of the 2023 Eugene J. Houdry Award in Applied Catalysis. This award is sponsored by Clariant and is administered by the North American Catalysis Society. The award consists of a plaque and a prize of $5,000. The plaque will be presented during the closing banquet ceremonies at the 2023 North American Meeting of the Catalysis Society (NAM28 in Providence).
The purpose of the Eugene J. Houdry 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 applications.
Dr. Stephen R. Schmidt, Research Fellow at W.R. Grace, has been with the company since 1985. The centerpiece of Steve’s career has been acquiring leading expertise in hydrogenation catalysis and applying it to the development of new Raney® base metal catalysts. These catalysts are critical to the production of large volume chemicals such as the diamine monomer of Nylon 6,6, toluene diamine monomer for polyurethanes, the diol monomer of elastane (i.e., Spandex®) and sugar alcohols. They are also robust in both fixed bed and slurry reactor applications. Steve has also contributed to the science of characterizing the surfaces of these unique catalytic materials, by developing protocols for contending with nascent hydrogen associated with Raney® catalysts. He has also made ground-breaking contributions to multi-metallic Raney® catalysts including precious metal-modified Raney® catalysts and Fe-modified Raney® catalysts. Steve’s career bridges across several business units at Grace, including the development of high surface area silica, alumina, rare earths, and supports for polymerization and automotive exhaust catalysts. A hallmark of Steve’s career is his collaborative approach that has facilitated the development of new technology for both the catalyst manufacturer and the purchaser of his company’s catalyst products.
Jingguang Chen
President, NACS
Stuart Soled is the recipient of the 2023 NACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Catalysis
The NACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Catalysis recognizes an individual who advanced catalytic chemistry or engineering by significant service to the catalysis community in addition to technical accomplishments.
Statesmanship, scholarship, and service to our community describe the career of Stu Soled. From the trenches of industry, he has led in matters of science, technology, and pedagogy, while mentoring students in industry and academia. His eloquent lectures provide a model of rigor in the practice of catalysis, but also show the growth of human talent is inseparable from research achievements. His broad technological impact (100+ patents) and conceptual contributions to the scholarly literature are outstanding.
His nurturing and guidance in the evolution of academic centers, projects, and staff illustrate how Stu works to advance research and teaching in academic institutions. His mentorship at ExxonMobil is legendary; it has served to bridge demographic gaps and changes in strategic directions and to maintain a culture of rigor. His contributions to preserve and disseminate the history of catalysis, painstakingly gathered by Burt Davis over decades required hundreds of hours of editing and converting videographic media into accessible forms. Nearly 2000 videos, covering more than 50 years of lectures and interviews, are now available at the “Video History of Catalysis” YouTube channel. This serves as a repository of our community’s storied history of scientific and technological achievements.
Stu Soled represents, in spirit and impact, the definition of service.
Jingguang Chen
NACS President
28th Biennial ORCS Conference: Call for Abstracts Now Open!
In Memoriam: Kenzi Tamaru (1923–2020)
Kenzi Tamaru — A “titan of mechanism” who initiated the in-situ study of catalysts
On July 22, 2020, the scientific community lost Kenzi Tamaru, a pioneer in elucidating the mechanisms of heterogeneous catalytic reactions. His enduring legacy will be his insight that catalysts have to be studied at reaction conditions. This insight was the basis for the now widespread use of in situ and operando studies in catalysis.
Kenzi Tamaru was born in Kamakura, Japan on Nov. 2, 1923, and was educated at the University of Tokyo, obtaining his B.S. in 1946, and his Ph.D. in 1950. In 1953 he was awarded a Fullbright Fellowship and went to work with Sir Hugh Taylor at Princeton University where he stayed until 1956. In Princeton Kenzi studied the decomposition of germane and got the insight of the need to study catalysts at reaction conditions. When he told Prof. Taylor of this concept he said “You are very ambitious”, repeating it, “You are very ambitious”. On returning to Japan, Kenzi started research on adsorption during catalysis, first at Yokohama National University, and then at the University of Tokyo. In Adv. Catal. 15 (1965) 65–90, he stated “The state of the surface which catalyzes reactions is not that of the surface in the absence of reactants. The properties of a catalyst surface to be studied should be those in the working state.” Today, the need to study catalysts at in situ conditions is universally recognized and is applied regularly using spectroscopic and transient techniques. Kenzi Tamaru liked to tell his students, “You have a good head, so think carefully”. This thinking was evident in him at an early stage. His grade school teacher recalled that when students were asked to name something that would not burn most students answered with things like stones or steel. Kenzi’s unique answer was “ashes”. Kenzi Tamaru’s application of what he liked to call “the Tamaru Method”, included in situ studies of MeOH decomposition on ZnO and Cr2O3, NH3 decomposition on W and Mo, and CO hydrogenation on Ru, and the phenomenon of adsorption-assisted desorption. Kenzi had close friendships with many distinguished individuals in the field, notably Michel Boudart, Wolfgang Sachtler, and Guo Xiexian, with whom he shared a common interest in chemical kinetics as well as personal relations. Kenzi Tamaru held many important positions including the presidencies of the Japan Chemical Society in 1989–1990, and the International Association of Catalysis Societies in 1988–1992. He was recognized with many awards, including the Japan Chemical Society Award in 1974, the Purple Agate in 1985, and the Japan Academy Award in 2000.
His presence will be missed but his contributions will endure.
Sourav Sengupta is the recipient of the 2022 F. G. Ciapetta Lectureship in Catalysis
I am pleased to announce that Dr. Sourav Sengupta of DuPont is the recipient of the 2022 F. G. Ciapetta Lectureship in Catalysis. The award is administered by the North American Catalysis Society and sponsored by the W. R. Grace & Co. It is to be awarded biennially in even-numbered years. The award consists of a plaque and an honorarium of $5,000. The recipient may be invited to lecture at some of the local catalysis clubs during the two-year period covered by this award.
Dr. Sourav Sengupta, a DuPont Laureate, has been with DuPont for over 30 years. He has made numerous industrially-impactful contributions in catalyst synthesis, reaction engineering, and process development, ranging from gasoline to advanced materials. Throughout his career he has invented, innovated, and implemented a plethora of new processes and products including, a cheaper and inherently safer process for the synthesis of an aramid monomer; a modular, on-site and on-demand HCN manufacturing process, using induction heating to directly heat Pt-Rh gauze catalyst; a novel fixed bed hydrogenation reactor technology to manufacture a key intermediate used in the synthesis of an inhalation anesthetic; and a higher activity sulfuric acid catalyst. Sourav and his team have more recently invented biomass hydrodeoxygenation catalysts for converting cellulose-derived molecules to alpha-omega diols by optimizing bicomponent cooperativity in surface reactions and harnessing the influence of water to reduce activation barriers. They also resolved a challenging catalyst deactivation problem for furan hydrogenation and improved catalyst productivity in the Bio-THF process. A collaborative leader and a great team player, Sourav knows how to get results by solving plant and process-related problems, combining an in-depth knowledge of the fundamentals of science with a keen sense of detail and a creative approach to work.
Congratulations!
Jingguang Chen
President, North American Catalysis Society
In Memoriam: James F. Roth (1925–2021)
James F. Roth of Warminster, PA, died on his 96th birthday, December 7, 2021.
Born in Rahway, NJ, Jim was a member of the first graduating class of the Bronx High School of Science, graduating at age 15. He enlisted in the Navy at 17 and was sent to school at the University of Pennsylvania and then Midshipman School at Columbia University. While Jim was serving as chief navigator on LST 477 during the battle of Iwo Jima, the ship was blasted with a 500 lb. bomb and hit by a Kamikaze plane.
After being discharged from the Navy with the rank of LTJG, Jim returned to college, earning a B.S. in Physical Chemistry from the University of West Virginia and a PhD from the University of Maryland.
During his career with Monsanto in St. Louis, MO, and Air Products in Allentown, PA, where he served as chief scientist and director of corporate research, Jim received recognition for his achievements as the principal inventor of processes for the commercial production of acetic acid and the production of linear olefins used to make biodegradable detergents. He received numerous awards, including the Kokes Award from Johns Hopkins University, the Houdry Award from the Catalysis Society of North America, and the Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Award from the American Chemical Society. He received the first award ever given by the American Chemical Society for Achievement in Industrial Chemistry. He was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering and was cited by the Chemical Heritage Foundation as one of the leading American chemists of the twentieth century. Jim was the 1988 recipient of the Perkin Medal for his achievements in catalytic research, considered the highest recognition for chemical achievements in the U.S.
When he wasn’t working, he and his wife Sharon (Mattes) Roth shared a 52-year adventure of world travel, symphonies, museums, opera, and fine dining. They spent their first 18 years of retirement in Sarasota, FL, and the next 14 years in independent senior adult communities in Dallas, TX, and Warminster, PA. Jim was lovingly cared for in his final year by his wife Sharon and caregiver Daionna Combs.
He is survived by his wife; daughter, Sandy Freeman (Mickey) of Allentown; sons Ed Roth (Sue) of New City, NY and Larry Roth (Colleen) of St. Louis, MO; step-son Ladd Hirsch (Cindy), 10 grandchildren; and 8 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his step-daughter, Lisa Phillips (Jim), and his sister, Phyllis Davis.
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