Gabor A. Somorjai Award For Creative Research In Catalysis: Donna G. Blackmond

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AWARDS Gabor A. Somorjai Award For Creative Research In Catalysis: Donna G. Blackmond ShareShare onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail C&EN, 2016, 94 (1), pp 31–43January 4, 2016Cite this:C&EN 94, 1, 31-43Figure1of1Sponsor: Gabor A. & Judith K. Somorjai Endowment Fund Citation: For fundamental kinetic and mechanistic studies that help to bridge the gap between heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis of organic reactions. Current position: professor of chemistry, Scripps Research Institute Education: B.S., M.S., chemical engineering, University of Pittsburgh; Ph.D., chemical engineering, Carnegie Mellon University Blackmond on what gets her inspired:“I take inspiration from the story—no doubt apocryphal—of Sir Isaac Newton developing the theory of gravity after an apple fell on his head. I like to question observations: ‘How, and why, did that happen?’ I like to think of research as the crafting of pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and the inspiration and exhilaration comes from making the pieces fit together.”What her colleagues say: “Her scholarship, the creative techniques she introduced and used to obtain informative kinetic measurements and analyses, and her tenacity at solving unsolvable mechanistic problems with clarity are legendary.”—Dale L. Boger, Scripps Research Institute