Ensor Lecture

About the event

Gabor A. Somorjai, of University of California – Berkeley will give the 2017 Ensor Lecture on April 24.

Somarjai’s lecture,  titled, “The Surface Science Approach to Molecular Catalysis: Transition from Studies of Crystal Surfaces in Vacuum to High Pressure and Liquid Phase Heterogeneous, Homogeneous, and Enzyme Nanoparticle Catalysis” will be given in the CUB Junior Ballroom on Washington State University’s Pullman campus on Monday, April 24 at 12:10 pm. A reception will precede the event at 11 am.

Somorjai, is a leading researcher in the field of surface chemistry and catalysis, especially the catalytic effects of metal surfaces. For his contributions to the field, Somorjai won the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in1998, the Linus Pauling Award in 2000, the National Medal of Science in 2002, the Priestley Medal in 2008, the 2010 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Science, and the NAS Award in Chemical Sciences in 2013. In 2015, Somorjai was awarded the American Chemical Society’s William H. Nichols Medal Award.

A professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, Somorjai has published more than 1,200 papers and three textbooks on surface chemistry and heterogeneous catalysis, and is the most cited person in the fields of surface chemistry and catalysis.

The Ensor Lectureship was established in 2016 to encourage communication and collaboration on emerging ideas in any area related to chemical engineering, bioengineering, aerosol technology and nanotechnology. The recipient is selected by the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering based on his or her contributions to research.