Ziad El-Rassi is Oklahoma Chemist of the Year

Ziad El-Rassi, professor of chemistry at Oklahoma State University (OSU), has been named 2007 Oklahoma Chemist of the Year by the ACS Oklahoma Section.

El-Rassi was born in Lebanon and received his early education in Beirut. After receiving a Ph.D. from Claude-Bernard University in Lyon, France, he took a visiting assistant professorship at ??cole Centrale de Lyon. He then joined Yale University as an associate research scientist and subsequently was promoted to senior research scientist. He then moved to OSU in 1988.

El-Rassi is being recognized for his research in capillary electrophoresis. His recent work has led to several advances, including the development of fused-silica capillaries with hydrophilic coatings for the high-resolution separation of proteins, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates and the characterization of chiral surfactants and other chiral selectors for the separation of a wide range of enantiomers.

The award consists of a plaque and a $1,000 cash prize. El-Rassi's other honors include the Sigma Xi Lectureship Award (2004), the Regents Distinguished Research Award (2005), and the Oklahoma Academy of Science's Scientist of the Year Award (2006).