ACS Award For Creative Work In Fluorine Chemistry: Steven H. Strauss

Sponsor: Juhua Group Technology Center, China

Citation: For the synthesis and application of highly fluorinated superweak anions and structural and spectroscopic characterization of perfluoroalkylated fullerenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Current position: professor of chemistry, Colorado State University

Education: B.A., chemistry, Franklin & Marshall College; M.S., Ph.D., inorganic chemistry, Northwestern University

Strauss on his biggest research challenge: “Becoming a ‘self-taught’ fluorine chemist is probably the biggest challenge I have had in my career. Handling fluorine and highly-fluorinated reactive compounds effectively and safely requires specialized equipment, knowledge, and skill, and most fluorine chemists receive years of formal training in the laboratories of senior fluorine chemists. I became a fluorine chemist years after getting my Ph.D. because I became interested in studying extremely reactive cations, which required the synthesis of highly fluorinated, weakly coordinating anions.”

What his colleagues say:“Strauss is one of the few chemists who has worked in both organic and inorganic chemistry and has also spanned both fundamental studies and applied chemistry. He truly has contributed to the areas of synthesis, spectroscopy, and the technological development of fluorine chemistry.”—Karl O. Christe, University of Southern California