ACS Award in Colloid Chemistry: Håkan Wennerström

Sponsor: Colgate-Palmolive

Citation: For his outstanding contributions to our understanding and applications of the fundamental molecular interactions and forces in complex colloidal, soft-matter, and self-assembling systems.

Current position: professor emeritus in physical chemistry, Lund University

Education: M.S., chemical engineering, Lund University; Ph.D., physical chemistry, Lund University

Wennerström on his biggest research challenge: “Since my days as a graduate student, I have constantly struggled to understand quantum mechanics. I have used the theory to interpret spectroscopic observations and interactions of relevance in colloid science. The work on NMR relaxation highlighted the problem of time reversal symmetry. The interpretation problem is still an enigma, but I constantly make progress in my subjective understanding of the quantum theory.”

What his colleagues say: “He is one of our most influential colloidal chemists. Through his long career, he has had a tremendous impact on the field with work that spans from fundamental theory to applications. With his well-known textbook he has also contributed significantly to education.”—Ulf Olsson, Lund University

Please send announcements of awards to l_wang@acs.org.