Professor Gabor Somorjai of the University of California at Berkeley was selected as the ACS Priestley Medal Awardee for 2008. The Priestley Medal is the highest honor of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and is named for Joseph Priestley, who reported the discovery of oxygen in 1774. Gabor is receiving this award, which will be presented at the spring 2008 ACS national meeting, “for extraordinarily creative and original contributions to surface science and catalysis.” Widely recognized by his peers as the father of modern surface science, he has authored more than 1,000 scientific papers and three textbooks on surface chemistry and heterogeneous catalysis, and has mentored more than 300 Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows.
Jim Dumesic is the 2007 Robert Burwell Lecturer
The North American Catalysis Society is pleased to announce that Professor James A. Dumesic is the recipient of the 2007 Robert Burwell Lectureship in Catalysis. Jim is the Steenbock Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison, Wisconsin. This award is sponsored by Johnson Matthey Catalysts Company and administered by the Society. The award consists of a plaque and an honorarium as well as a travel award to provide the recipient with funds for visiting any of the 14 local clubs comprising the Society. The award 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.
Bob Burwell was a catalytic explorer who used a combination of chemical knowledge and insatiable curiosity to dramatically expand the understanding of catalysis. It is a hard act to emulate, but Jim Dumesic’s excellence, leadership, and succession of important contributions to heterogeneous catalysis make him an ideal recipient for this prestigious award. He set the bar high in his graduate work extending the use of Mössbauer spectroscopy to relate magnetic properties of small particles to their structure and using that and other surface-specific measurements to explain the structure sensitivity of iron ammonia synthesis catalysts. Early in his career at Wisconsin he continued to combine spectroscopic and adsorption methods to a widening variety of problems, adding IR to the spectroscopic analysis and pioneering the use of calorimetry to gain new information on the energetics of adsorption and the energetic heterogeneity of surface sites. His development of microkinetic analysis in the early 90’s set a new standard for the modeling of the kinetic behavior of catalytic systems, combining knowledge of gas/solid behavior over a wide range of conditions and extending that knowledge with quantum computations to produce self consistent, robust quantitative predictions of performance. One of many examples of the power of the method is his elegant dissection of the kinetics of catalytic cracking. This superb body of work helped to earn him the Colburn and Wilhelm Awards of AIChE, the Emmett Award, and Election to the National Academy of Engineering in 1998. Remarkably, over the past five years he revolutionized the field of catalysis yet again by opening new directions for the generation of chemicals and fuels from biomass. He is quoted at the end of a feature Science article on his biomass work as saying “…no matter how technologies for biofuels and biorefining evolve, catalysis is sure to be an important part of the mix”. The picture of Jim’s contributions to catalysis would not be complete without mention of his service to the catalysis community and his teaching. He was the Editor of the Journal of Molecular Catalysis and until recently Associate Editor of the Journal of Catalysis. His teaching contributions were recognized by the Polygon Award and the Benjamin Smith Reynolds Award of the University of Wisconsin. His lectures in technical meetings are known for the clarity and the amusing vignettes he always adds. He has over 300 publications in collaboration with more than 40 PhD students who occupy prominent positions in academia and industry.
Local clubs should contact Professor Dumesic [dumesic@engr.wisc.edu] directly about speaking engagements over the next two years. More information on this award, the awards process, and previous awardees can be found inside the Awards folder on the NACS home page: www.nacatsoc.org
AIChE Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Practice Award
The American Institute of Chemical Engineers has asked the NACS to remind members about the approaching May 1, 2007 deadline for the AIChE Practice Award. This award is not connected to any NACS awards, nor does it involve participation by the NACS. The Practice Award requires AIChE membership for nominees.
Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Practice Award
Description: This award recognizes individuals who have made pioneering
contributions to industrial practice of catalysis and chemical reaction
engineering. The candidate must have made important and specific
technical contributions, verifiable by means of well-documented
evidential materials, to the invention, development, design or
implementation of industrial products, catalysts or processes through
ingenious and creative application of chemical reaction engineering
and/or catalysis concepts. Awardees will be selected based on their
contributions to the discovery and application of innovative catalysis or
reaction engineering solutions to technological problems, and/or
commercialization of new products and processes. Candidate must be an
AIChE member. Candidates may be from academia, national labs, or
industry.
Deadline: May 1, 2007
Procedure: Nomination packages should include a 2‑page (maximum) double
spaced nomination statement, a 2‑page CV, and up to four supporting
letters. Submit the nomination electronically to Phillip E. Savage,
University of Michigan (psavage@umich.edu).
Award: A plaque and cash award of $1,000
Presentation: The award is presented annually at the Division Reception or Dinner. The recipient is also invited to give a special lecture at the AIChE Annual Meeting.
Past Recipients
- 2006 Larry Smith
- 2005 Robert Farrauto
- 2004 Stephen B. Jaffe
- 2003 Israel Wachs
- 2002 Teh C. Ho
- 2001 Thomas R. Keane
- 2000 L. Hegedus
Burwell Nominations now open — closing April 1, 2007
The Robert Burwell Lectureship in Catalysis
The Robert Burwell Lectureship in Catalysis is sponsored by Johnson Matthey Catalysts Division and administered by The North American Catalysis Society. It is to be awarded biennially in odd-numbered years. The award consists of a plaque and an honorarium of $5,000. 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 award 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 will be 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.
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. Nomination packages should indicate the nominee’s qualifications, accomplishments, a nominating letter, a seconding letter and a biography of the nominee. A critical evaluation of the significance of candidate’s qualifications should be made as well as a statement of the particular contribution(s) on which the nomination is based. Nomination packages for the Award must be received by on 1 April 1 2007.
All nomination packages (one ELECTRONIC COPY) for the Burwell Award 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.
Alexis Bell selected for the 2007 Michel Boudart Award
Professor Alexis Bell has been selected for the 2007 Michel Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis. The award consists of a plaque and a prize. The 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. The Award selection process emphasizes accomplishments and contributions published within the five preceding years. Candidates are nominated without any restriction of national origin, thus reflecting the international scope of the career and contributions of Michel Boudart.
Alex Bell has been Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, since 1967. He is a world-class leader in experimental as well as theoretical aspects of catalysis and has made a number of lasting contributions to the elucidation of reaction mechanism, the development of structure property relationships, novel methods for chemical synthesis, and the development and application of theoretical methods for catalytic systems. He has elegantly demonstrated how detailed characterization coupled with well-defined kinetic studies and theory can be used to help identify active sites and elucidate the controlling reaction mechanisms for a number of important catalytic reactions over complex metal, metal oxide and zeolite catalysts. His detailed efforts have provided unique insights into the controlling chemistry for N2O decomposition over Fe-ZSM 5, methanol synthesis from CO and CO2 over Cu/ZrO2, the dehydrogenation and selective oxidation of alkanes over vanadium oxides as well as other important catalytic systems. He has demonstrated how the combination of theory and experiment can be exploited to establish the nature of the active sites and thus tailor the design of new materials. Alex recognized the value of in situ methods early in his career and has had great impact on the development of spectroscopic methods in catalysis.
Although experimental methods have been fundamental to Alex’ success, he was one of the first to realize that the identification of plausible reaction intermediates cannot always be made by experimental techniques. Alex and his group have developed a novel biasing transition state search algorithm that can systematically identify multiple pathways, thus eliminating the need for expert intuition. The success of this approach was demonstrated for a wide range of different reaction systems and in particular for reaction paths where other known search strategies have failed. In the isolation of actual transition states, a novel “string” mathematical method was developed that presents a major improvement to the currently-used nudged-elastic band and conjugate gradient methods. The methods have been incorporated into the QChem commercial software code and when used to model catalytic systems will have a lasting impact on homogeneous, heterogeneous and biocatalysis.
In addition to his outstanding research accomplishments, Alex is a leader in educating students and advancing the field of catalysis and reaction engineering. He is the Editor in Chief of Catalysis Reviews and is on the editorial board of many important journals in catalysis. He has been involved in the organization of many events for the North American Catalysis Society and the International Congress on Catalysis, where he is the current President. In these leadership positions, and as a spokesman for catalysis in the National Academy of Engineering, Alex has had great impact in guiding and focusing the field of catalysis and in helping to set and maintain the standards needed to keep it thriving.
Alex will give a plenary lecture at the 2007 North American Catalysis Society (NACS) meeting in Houston as well as at the meeting of the European Federation of Catalysis Societies (EFCATS) in Turku, Finland. The Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis is sponsored by the Haldor Topsøe Company and is administered jointly by the NACS and the EFCATS. The Award is presented biennially in odd numbered years. More information on this award and the award process can be found in the Awards folder on the NACS home page www.nacatsoc.org.
Professor Robert Davis has been selected for the 2007 Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis
Professor Robert Davis has been selected for the 2007 Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis. The award consists of a plaque and a prize. The purpose of the Award is to recognize and encourage individual contributions (under the age of 45) 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.
Since 2002 Bob has been Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia. Bob has made numerous lasting contributions to the fundamental science of heterogeneous catalysis with exceptional advances in acid, base, bifunctional acid/base, and base-promoted metal catalysis. He is recognized here for his pioneering contributions to the use of in-situ spectroscopic methods coupled with both steady-state and transient kinetic methods to elucidate how oxide supports and basic promoters alter the active catalytic sites for a variety of reactions, including the selective oxidation of hydrocarbons, acid/base conversions, and ammonia synthesis. A distinguishing characteristic of Bob’s research is its integration of multiple experimental techniques for characterizing heterogeneous catalysts and the kinetics of reactions occurring on their surfaces. Bob has employed a comprehensive set of spectroscopic tools including extended X‑ray absorption fine structure, X‑ray absorption near-edge structure, infrared, Raman, nuclear magnetic and electron spin resonance, adsorption microcalorimetry, electron microscopy together with steady state as well as transient kinetic analyses to determine the local electronic and geometric structure of the active site(s), the influence local environment, and the reactivity of novel supported catalysts under working conditions. This wide array of tools has enabled him to discover the fundamental features that control a wide range of important catalytic systems.
In addition to his outstanding research accomplishments, Bob has proven to be a leader in educating students and advancing the field of catalysis and reaction engineering. He is the co-author of a relatively new undergraduate/graduate textbook “Fundamentals of Chemical Reaction Engineering” published by McGraw-Hill. His leadership has also been well recognized by the field as Bob has chosen to lead the programming efforts for Catalysis in the Division of Catalysis and Reaction Engineering of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and currently serves as a Division Director. He has also organized and participated in a number of workshops to promote catalysis in Asia, South America and Africa for the National Science Foundation. He is one of the founders as well as the past President of the Southeastern Catalysis Society. He also recently chaired the 2006 Gordon Conference on Catalysis.
Bob will give a plenary lecture and be recognized at the 2007 North American Catalysis Society meeting in Houston. The Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis is sponsored by the Davison Chemical Division of W.R. Grace and Company. It is administered by The North American Catalysis Society and is awarded biennially in odd numbered years. More information on this award, the awards process, and previous awardees can be found inside the Awards folder on the NACS home page: www.nacatsoc.org.
New Award: Michel Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis
Michel Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis
An Award presented jointly by the North American Catalysis Society and the European Federation of Catalysis Societies.
The Michel Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis is sponsored by the Haldor Topsøe Company, and is administered jointly by the North American Catalysis Society and the European Federation of Catalysis Societies. The Award will be presented biennially in odd numbered years. The recipient will give plenary lectures at the biannual meetings of the North American Catalysis Society (NAM) and the European Federation of Catalysis Societies (EFCATS) (EuropaCat). The award consists of a plaque or object of art and a prize of $6,000. Up to an additional $2,000 will be made available for otherwise non-reimbursed travel expenses.
The 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. The Award selection process will emphasize accomplishments and contributions published within the five preceding years. Candidates may be nominated without any restriction of national origin, thus reflecting the international scope of the career and contributions of Michel Boudart.
The recipient of the Michel Boudart Award will be selected by a committee of renowned researchers appointed jointly by the Presidents of the North American Catalysis Society and the European Federation of Catalysis Societies. The selection shall be made without regard for age, sex, affiliation, or national origin.
Nominations should clearly state the qualifications and accomplishments of the nominee and should also include a biographical note and two supporting letters. 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.
One complete electronic copy of the nomination packages for the 2007 Boudart Award should be sent to the President of The North American Catalysis Society (John Armor; jnagcat@verizon.net) or the President of The European Federation of the European Catalysis Societies (Roel Prins; prins@tech.chem.ethz.ch) by 20 November 2006.
Nominations open for Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis
The Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis is sponsored by the Davison Chemical Division of W.R. Grace and Company. 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 $3,000. An additional $500 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 discovery and understanding of catalytic phenomena, proposal of catalytic reaction mechanisms and identification of and description of catalytic sites and species.
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 sex, nationality or affiIiation. The award winner shall not have passed his/ her 45th birthday on April 1 of the award year, thus nomination documents should indicate the age and birthdate of the nominee. [The next award is the 2007 Award year for this Emmett Award (nominations due by November 1, 2006). Thus, nominees should not have passed their 45th birthday on April 1, 2007.] 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 should present the nominee’s qualifications, accomplishments, birthdate, 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 along with no more than two seconding letters.
Selection of the 2007 EmmettAward winner will be made by a committee of renowned scientists and engineers appointed by the President of The North American Catalysis Society. Nomination packages for the Award must be received by 1 November 2006.
All nomination packages (one ELECTRONIC COPY) for the Emmett Award should be addressed to John Armor, President, North American Catalysis Society; 1608 Barkwood Dr., Orefield, PA 18069 USA at jnagcat@verizon.net . An email receipt message will be sent to each nominator.
2007 Eugene J. Houdry Award to Stacey Zones
The 2007 Eugene J. Houdry Award in Applied Catalysis to Dr. Zones of Chevron Energy Technology Company, Richmond, CA, USA. The award is sponsored by Süd-Chemie, Inc., and administered by the North American Catalysis Society. 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.
Dr. Zones primary focus has been in the area of zeolites and zeolite catalysts. He has invented over 20 new zeolite materials. Perhaps Stacey’s most important commercial work has been the development of a proprietary zeolite that he invented and is used in the extremely successful second generation Isodewaxing® catalyst. This contribution has led to the expansion of the feeds useful for the preparation of lubricant oils, via the application of catalytic dewaxing. It was first successfully commercialized in a refinery in 1996. Since then Dr. Zones has played a role in Chevron’s Catalyst Group and Technology Marketing organizations in developing other zeolite-based technologies for use in refining, separations, and petrochemical applications. In addition, Dr. Zones has focused on scaling up zeolite synthesis routes, via the development of more cost-effective approaches.
Stacey will give a plenary lecture and be recognized at the 2007 North American Catalysis Society meeting in Houston. More information on this award, the awards process, and previous awardees can be found inside the Awards folder on the NACS home page: www.nacatsoc.org.
ORCS Presents Three Awards at 21st Conference
Three recipients were selected to receive awards for excellence in organic catalysis at the 21st Conference of the Organic Reactions Catalysis Society(www.orcs.org) sponsored by the Organic Reactions Catalysis Society(ORCS) on the week of April 2, 2006 in Orlando, Florida. The 2005 Paul N. Rylander Award went to Dr. Jean-Marie Basset, Laboratoire de Chimie Organometallique de Surface, CNRS, Lyon, France and the 2006 Paul N. Rylander Award was presented to Professor Gadi Rothenberg, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The 2006 Murray Raney Award, sponsored by the W. R. Grace Co., was presented to Professor Isamu Yamauchi, Osaka University, Japan.
The Paul N. Rylander Award is an annual award, sponsored by ORCS, made to an individual who has made significant contributions to the use of catalysis in organic reactions as exemplified by Paul N. Rylander. The Murray Raney Award is made to an individual who has made significant contributions to chemistry and the chemistry industry via catalyst technology based on that originally developed by Murray Raney.
Bassett’s research has been on the forefront of the correlation of reactions which occur at the active sites of heterogenized surface organometalllic catalysts and solution phase reactions of organometallic catalysts. This has allowed him to design well defined surface catalysts that catalyze reactions that sometimes won’t occur in the homogeneous phase. His presentation was titled “New Catalytic Reactions Discovered via Surface Organometallic Chemistry”.
Rothenberg’s research has provided novel, ligand-free catalysts for carbon-carbon coupling reactions, as well as unique catalysts for selective oxidative dehydrogenation. Recently he has developed high-throughput data analysis methods and catalyst descriptor models to better find the best homogeneous catalyst for a particular transformation. His presentation was entitled “How to Find the Best Homogeneous Catalyst”.
Yamauchi’s research investigated improved methods for preparing precursors to skeletal catalysts, novel bimetallic compositions, and application of improved copper catalysts to the hydration of acrylonitrile and hydrogenation of carbon dioxide. His talk was entitled “Synthesis and Features of New Raney Catalysts from Metastable Precursors”.
The proceedings of the meeting including the award addresses will appear in a future volume of the Chemical Industries series.