D. Wayne Goodman

D. Wayne Goodman, 66, a professor of chemistry at Texas A&M University who made major contributions to the fields of surface science and catalysis, died on Feb. 27 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Born in Glen Allan, Miss., Goodman received a B.S. in chemistry from Mississippi College, in Clinton, in 1968 and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1974 at the University of Texas, Austin, under Michael J. S. Dewar.

After studying under a North Atlantic Treaty Organization fellowship in Germany, Goodman worked at the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards & Technology) for four years. In 1980, he joined Sandia National Laboratories, where he conducted research that established him as a leading figure in surface science and heterogeneous catalysis.

Goodman joined the Texas A&M faculty as a professor in the department of chemistry in 1988 and was named the Robert A. Welch Foundation Chair in 1998.

Research in Goodman’s lab was focused on chemisorption and on reactions at catalytic surfaces. Especially notable was his group’s work on catalysis via supported gold nanoparticles.

Goodman published more than 500 papers on research that helped transform catalysis from a primarily applications-oriented discipline to a highly sophisticated scientific enterprise.

He received the ACS Ipatieff Prize in 1983, the ACS Award in Colloid & Surface Chemistry in 1993, the ACS Arthur W. Adamson Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Surface Chemistry in 2002, and the ACS Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis in 2005.

Goodman joined ACS in 1977 and was elected into the inaugural group of ACS Fellows in 2009. He was also a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Physics, and the American Vacuum Society. He served as an associate editor of the Journal of Catalysis and was a member of the editorial boards of several other journals.

A private pilot, Goodman shared a love of aviation with his father, Grady, and his son, Jac.

He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Sandy; his son; and one grandson.