2007 and 2008 Rylander Award Winners Announced

The 2007 and 2008 Paul N. Rylander Award winners, respectively, are Brian R. James of the University of British Columbia and John F. Hartwig, Kenneth J. Rinehart Jr. Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

James has made seminal contributions, over a period of 45 years, to homogeneous catalysis by transition-metal complexes, especially those of platinum metals. His research interests have focused mainly on activation of small molecules in their interactions with organic substrates. He was the first to report on the use of Ru complexes with chiral phosphines and sulfoxides as precursors for catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation.

Hartwig's group has developed a series of catalytic reactions for organic synthesis, including palladium-catalyzed aminations of haloarenes, palladium-catalyzed α-arylation of carbonyl compounds, hydroaminations of vinylarenes and dienes, iridium-catalyzed enantioselective allylations of amines and alcohols, and the terminal functionalizations of alkanes.

The Rylander Award is given by the Organic Reactions Catalysis Society to individuals who have made significant contributions to the use of catalysis in organic reactions. The winners will receive their awards during the 22nd Conference of the Organic Reactions Catalysis Society in April 2008 in Richmond, Va.