Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis

Sponsored by the Gabor A. and Judith K. Somorjai Endowment Fund

Talk to experts in the field of heterogeneous catalysis, and it becomes immediately apparent that they admire James A. Dumesic, the Steenbock professor of chemical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Dumesic's research and publications are characterized by "elegant studies that are rigorously executed and clearly explained," comments Enrique Iglesia, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Iglesia adds that Dumesic "has consistently been one step ahead of the field, charting a path of remarkable clarity of thought and intellectual honesty for the rest of us to follow."

Not long ago, the understanding of catalytic processes was based primarily on phenomenology, and catalyst development was referred to as a black art, according to Jens K. NØrskov, a professor of theoretical physics at the Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby. "But now we are witnessing a profound change," NØrskov says. "In the last two decades, the field has developed a strong scientific basis, and Jim Dumesic has been one of the leaders in this development."

One of Dumesic's key contributions comes from his pioneering work in developing a new microkinetic description of catalytic reactions. The microkinetic approach relates microscopic and elementary reaction mechanism events to macroscopic kinetics of catalytic processes. Microkinetic models enable researchers to link the performance of a catalytic system to the properties of the catalyst and the molecules undergoing reactions. The work is described in Dumesic's book, "The Microkinetics of Heterogeneous Catalysis," already considered a classic.

In addition to the recognition he has received for his work in kinetics, Dumesic is also recognized for his contributions in other areas of catalysis. For example, in the past few years, his research group has discovered methods for metal-catalyzed reforming of biomass compounds in aqueous media. The group has also developed calorimetric techniques and other procedures for elucidating acid-catalysis mechanisms.

Dumesic, 56, earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1971 from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He continued his education in chemical engineering at Stanford University under the direction of professor Michel Boudart and earned a Ph.D. degree in 1974.

After graduate school, Dumesic conducted research as a NATO postdoctoral fellow at the Centre de Cinetique Physique et Chimique in Nancy, France, and as a U.S.-U.S.S.R. exchange fellow at the Institute of Chemical Physics in Moscow. He was appointed assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1976, and was promoted to associate professor in 1979 and then to professor in 1982.

Over the years, Dumesic has been honored with various awards and distinctions. In 1989, for example, he won the North American Catalysis Society Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis, and in 1998, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Dumesic serves as an editor of the Journal of Catalysis and has published nearly 300 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

The award address will be presented before the Division of Colloid & Surface Chemistry.-Mitch Jacoby