NAE ELECTS NEW MEMBERS IN 2013 The National Academy of Engineering elected 69 members and 11 foreign associates last month. The academy now totals 2,250 U.S. members and 211 foreign associates. Individuals are elected to NAE on the basis of outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice, or education. Of the new members and foreign associates, 20 are scientists who work in chemistry-related areas or are members of the American Chemical Society. The chemistry-related new members are James M. Anderson, Case Western Reserve University, for researching interactions between tissue and biomaterials and developing medical devices; Peter L. Andresen, GE Global Research Center, for predicting and preventing stress corrosion cracking in nuclear materials; Lorenz T. Biegler, Carnegie Mellon University, for contributing to large-scale nonlinear optimization theory and its application; COU RT ESY O F SHAN N O N STAHL
achievements “could transform chemical production, from commodities to pharmaceuticals,” Landis believes. In the case of the pharmaceutical industry, Stahl explains, oxidation reactions are typically avoided because they’re often difficult to control. Stahl’s research group, however, is working alongside several companies in the pharmaceutical industry to address this challenge. The UW Madison chemistry professor says he is “pretty optimistic” that the collaboration will lead to approaches for using aerobic oxidation reactions in large-scale pharmaceutical synthesis within the next few years. Despite such impact on the world of organic chemistry, Stahl, 42, admits that he feels like somewhat of an outsider to the field. A former undergraduate at Stahl the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Stahl earned a Ph.D. in transition-metal organometallic chemistry under John E. Bercaw at California Institute of Technology and carried out postdoctoral research in bioinorganic chemistry under Stephen J. Lippard at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “I still consider myself an inorganic chemist,” he maintains, “but the ability to impact the world of organic chemistry is quite satisfying.” Stahl finds extensive synergy between the two worlds. “A fundamental understanding of transition-metal reactivity and inorganic chemistry can be used as a foundation to design new chemical reactions and impact the way people make organic molecules,” he believes. “After all, most redox-active catalysts are transition metals.” For his years of accomplishments, Stahl has amassed numerous accolades, including a National Science Foundation Career Award in 2001, a Camille Dreyfus TeacherScholar Award in 2003, and an Alexander von Humboldt Senior Research Award in 2010. It’s an impressive résumé that colleagues such as Landis can’t help but admire. “Shannon Stahl has an extraordinary record of achievement for his 12 years as an independent researcher, and his scholarly trajectory is still trending strongly upward,” Landis concludes. “Stahl is eminently worthy of the honor associated with the Cope Scholar Award.”—JEFF HUBER
Donna G. Blackmond,
Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, Calif., for studying catalytic organic reactions and chiral amplification;
Blackmond
Dawn A. Bonnell,
University of Pennsylvania, for developing atomic-resolution surface probes; Craig T. (Tom) Bowman, Stanford University, for researching pollutant formation processes in combustion systems;
Frank
Thomas F. Degnan Jr.,
ExxonMobil Research & Engineering, for contributing to novel catalytic processes for lubricant, fuel, and petrochemical production; Curtis W. Frank, Stanford University,
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for elucidating molecular organization in soft materials; Charles F. Gay, Applied Materials, for leadership in the global photovoltaic industry; Ganesh Kailasam, Dow Chemical, for developing processes to produce high-performance polymers; Charles E. Kolb, Aerodyne Research, for developing instruments to measure air pollution and aerosols; Enrique J. Lavernia, University of California, Davis, for contributing to novel processing of metals and alloys; James C. Liao, University of California, Los Angeles, for advancing metabolic engineering of microorganisms to produce fuels and chemicals; Bruce E. Logan, Pennsylvania State University, for developing microbial electrochemical technologies for wastewater treatment and sustainable energy generation; Edward W. Merrill, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for contributing to biocompatible materiAnderson als, biorheology, and biomedical engineering education; Eric S. G. Shaqfeh, Stanford University, for contributing to dynamics and rheology of complex fluids; and Rex W. Tillerson, ExxonMobil, for leadership in the production of hydroBonnell carbons in remote and hostile environments. Three foreign associate members fall into this group. Richard H. Friend, University of Cambridge, for researching and commercializing organic polymer semiconductor devices; Henrik Kolb Topsøe, Haldor Topsøe, Lyngby, Denmark, for developing and researching hydrodesulfurization catalysts; and KeChang Xie, Chinese Academy of Engineering, Beijing, for elucidating the molecular structure and reactivity of coal.— Logan
SOPHIA CAI
