The North American Catalysis Society (NACS)

NACS News

3/30/2008
US National Academy of Engineering recognizes new catalysis members

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has elected 65 new members and nine foreign associates, Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature," and to the "pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."

Two in our catalysis community include

Enrique Iglesia, Chancellor Professor, department of chemical engineering, University of California, Berkeley. For outstanding contributions to the understanding of catalyst structure-function relationships, the development of novel catalysts, and leadership in the field of catalysis.

Rutger Anthony van Santen, professor, department of chemical engineering and chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands. For pioneering work on the fundamentals of reaction mechanisms in heterogeneous catalysis.


More about Enrique Iglesia

Chancellor’s Professor of Chemical Engineering Enrique Iglesia has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Iglesia was elected “for outstanding contributions to the understanding of catalyst structure-function relationships, the development of novel catalysts, and leadership in the field of catalysis.” Iglesia has been involved in studies of heterogeneous catalysts for the direct and indirect conversion of methane to higher hydrocarbons, uses of light alkanes in desulfurization and de-NOx, reactions, dehydrogenation of light alkanes to alkenes and aromatics, catalytic reforming and cracking processes, low-temperature isomerization, alkylation, and combustion reactions.

Iglesia, who was born in Cuba, earned his B.S. at Princeton and his M.S. (1979) and Ph.D. (1982) from Stanford University. He was a Research Associate and Section Head of Catalysis Science at the Corporate Research Laboratories of Exxon Research and Engineering Co. before joining the Berkeley faculty in 1993. He is also a Faculty Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Vice President of the North American Catalysis Society, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Catalysis and the director of the Berkeley Catalysis Center.

Iglesia’s recent awards include the Humboldt Senior Scientist Research Award (2007); the Donald Sterling Noyce Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, University of California (2005); Ipatieff Professorship, Northwestern University (2005); Robert Burwell Award of the Catalysis Society (2005); and the George A. Olah Award in Hydrocarbon Chemistry of the American Chemical Society (2005).

Iglesia was among 65 new members and nine foreign associates elected to the NAE. This brings the total U.S. membership of NAE to 2,227 and the number of foreign associates to 194.

acknowledgement to the Univ. of Calif., Berkeley, College of Chemistry website,http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/Publications/news/2008/iglesia_national_academy.html

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