ACS Award in Chromatography: Robert T. Kennedy

Sponsor: MilliporeSigma

Citation: For the development of innovative techniques in miniaturization of chemical separations and microfluidics for highly sensitive analysis of biological compounds.

Current position: Willard Professor of Chemistry, professor of pharmacology, and Distinguished University Professor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Education: B.S., chemistry, University of Florida; Ph.D., chemistry, University of North Carolina

Kennedy on what gets his creative juices flowing: “Believe it or not, it’s writing a proposal. As I dig into thinking about the goals of a proposal and working through the problems, I can get into a flow and find that I can pick up inspiration from a wide variety of inputs such as talks, conversations with colleagues, and students. I particularly like it when I get an idea from an unexpected source outside my normal research area.”

What his colleagues say: “Describing Bob’s research accomplishments takes many superlatives. He has an extremely impressive track record in terms of research and innovation in separation sciences, electrochemistry, mass spectrometry, and bioanalytical chemistry, and is one of the select few individuals who is shaping the entire field of analytical chemistry.”—Jonathan V. Sweedler, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign