12-07-2011

Grace celebrates award for catalysis research

W. R. Grace & Co announced that Professor Bert Weckhuysen of Utrecht University in The Netherlands has received the 2011 Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis. The award is sponsored by Grace Davison, an operating segment of W. R. Grace & Co., and is administered by The North American Catalysis Society (NACS).

The purpose of the award is to recognize and encourage individual contributions in the field of catalysis. Professor Weckhuysen was selected by a NACS committee of scientists and engineers based on his development and use of in-situ spectroscopic methods to probe solids at the micrometer and nanometer scale during their activation and functioning as catalysts. By literally shining light into a reactor tube under relevant reaction conditions, Professor Weckhuysen and his research team have been able to unravel the important fundamentals of catalyst operation. This work has led to new insights for developing new or improved catalyst formulations—needed to build a more sustainable society based on fossil and renewable resources.

A plaque and an honorarium of $5,000 were bestowed to Professor Weckhuysen at the closing ceremony of the 22nd Meeting of The North American Catalysis Society held in Detroit, Michigan. Professor Weckhuysen presented a plenary lecture during the meeting.

“At Grace, we understand the importance of advancing scientific research to prepare for the future,” remarked Dr. George Young, Vice President of New Business Development for Grace Davison. “By sponsoring such achievements, we hope to encourage the advancement of research in all the sciences.”

The award is named after Paul H. Emmett, a major figure in the history of catalysis chemistry who spent a significant portion of his career as the Chair of the Chemical Engineering Department at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Bert Weckhuysen is a full professor of inorganic chemistry and catalysis at Utrecht University. He has co-authored more than 260 publications in scientific journals and has received research awards from several associations and institutions, including the Royal Dutch Chemical Society, The Max Buchner Research Foundation in Germany, the Netherlands Organization of Catalysis Industries and the South African Catalysis Society. He is an elected member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Science and Art and of the European Academy of Science.

Professor Weckhuysen has served as the scientific director of the Dutch Research School for Catalysis (NIOK) since 2003, and of CatchBio, a catalytic biomass conversion research program partially funded by the Dutch government, since 2007. In addition, he serves on several boards and panels for national and international research. Professor Weckhuysen received both his master’s degree in chemical and agricultural engineering and his Ph.D. from Leuven University in Belgium.

For more information, please visit www.grace.com.