Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2003, 42, 1537
1537
A Tribute to John Sinfelt I have followed very closely the career of John Sinfelt ever since he joined what was then the Standard Oil of New Jersey (now Exxon), following his doctoral studies at the University of Illinois. I was at the time a consultant at Exxon, and I followed John’s long industrial career until he retired. It is not contrary to the discreet personality of John to emphasize his profound influence in heterogeneous catalysis, a field where exaggerations abound because of its economic importance. I shall try to illustrate John’s impact on catalysis. The translation of scientific and engineering knowledge to the catalytic market place remains a step that requires an intuitive mastery of catalysis coupled with a persuasive sense of communication. During his long and productive career, John exhibited both the mastery and the communication just mentioned. His impact has been uniquely important because John combined the inventiveness required for scientific discovery with the ability to engineer his work to many successful applications in industry. John succeeded though repeated scientific discoveries and engineering applications, without ever preaching. John Sinfelt is a prominent role model in the famous marriage between science and its applications as preached by Pasteur long ago. In a very demanding and very secretive industrial environment, John managed to become a role model to those who practice catalytic science, not only in the secretive industrial environment but also in universities worldwide. A special issue in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research to honor John is not only a fitting tribute to a very nice guy but a graphic example of the magic connection between Science and Money, as stressed by a world leader in industrial catalysis, Haldor Topsoe. The legacy of John Sinfelt is his unshakable belief in chemical kinetics to advance catalytic science and engineering. John’s impact on the field exceeds by much the impact of his own scientific and engineering contributions.
Michel Boudart Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-5025 IE020812Z
10.1021/ie020812z CCC: $25.00 © 2003 American Chemical Society Published on Web 03/11/2003
