I am pleased to announce that Prof. Alexis T. Bell is the recipient of the 2018 NACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Catalysis. The award is co-sponsored by ExxonMobil and Clariant. It is awarded biennially in even-numbered years. The award consists of a plaque and an honorarium of $5,000. The plaque will be presented during the closing banquet ceremonies at the 2019 North American Meeting of the Catalysis Society.
The NACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Catalysis is given to a person who has advanced catalytic chemistry or engineering by significant service to the catalysis community in addition to their technical accomplishments.
Alex Bell’s distinguished service to the catalysis community has significantly advanced the field through a wide variety of leadership positions. He has been the Editor in Chief of Catalysis Reviews – Science and Engineering and Chemical Engineering Science. In addition, Alex has taken leadership roles that have greatly impacted catalysis. He was appointed as Chair of a Panel on New Directions in Catalytic Science and Technology for the National Research Council from 1989–91. He organized a workshop on the subject and led the writing of a report entitled Catalysis Looks to the Future. Oral presentations based on the report were made to House and Senate committees dealing with science and technology. The findings of the report served to launch and strengthen research programs in catalysis in many parts of the world and provided direction and supporting information for many research proposals submitted in the US. Alex has also served in leadership positions for workshops designed to help shape DOE programs that impact catalysis. In addition to these special assignments Alex has also taken on leadership roles in the NACS and international catalysis societies. Alex established this record of service while advancing the knowledge of catalysis with the publication of over 700 technical publications, with an h‑index of 111. He has established leadership roles in mechanistic studies using vibrational spectroscopies and kinetic analysis for a variety of catalytic reactions, and applications to catalysis of theory ranging from molecular dynamics to bond order conservation methods to density functional theory. This most impressive body of work has been widely recognized, including election to the National Academies of both Engineering and Science.
The time required for these tasks was substantial, but the benefits to the catalysis community were huge and made possible only by Alex’s unique combination of skill and commitment. The community is very thankful to Alex for these important contributions.
Christopher W. Jones
VP, North American Catalysis Society