Barteau wins 2001 Catalysis Club of Philadelphia Award

Mark Barteau, Robert L. Pigford Professor of Chemical Engineering, received the 2001 Catalysis Club of Philadelphia Award during the club's annual spring symposium held, May 31, at Clayton Hall.

The award was given to Barteau in recognition of his contributions to the field of catalysis, a chemical process in which a substance is added to a chemical reaction to facilitate the reaction without being altered itself. There are estimates that catalysis–based processes represent 90 percent of current chemical processes and generate 60 percent of today's chemical products. Catalysts are growing in importance in fields ranging from environmental protection to pharmaceuticals and the processing of high performance materials.

According to the Catalysis Club, Barteau was selected this year's recipient to honor his "advances and elucidation of surface chemistry and the demonstration of the application of such discoveries to the invention of new catalysts and processes."

Barteau received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Stanford University in 1981. He joined UD's chemical engineering department in 1982 and has been affiliated with its Center for Catalytic Science and Technology since then. In 1994, he was named the Robert L. Pigford Professor of Chemical Engineering. Two years later, he became director of the center, and, he was named chairperson of the chemical engineering department in 2000. Has written more than 150 journal articles and papers on catalysis.

Throughout his career at UD, he has won numerous awards and distinctions including the 2000 International Catalysis Award from the International Association of Catalysis; the American Chemical Society's Ipatieff Prize; the Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis from the Catalysis Society, and the Allan P. Colburn Award given by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. In 1988, he was selected one of the Outstanding Young Men of America.

–Barbara Garrison