CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Thomas B. Rauchfuss, professor of chemistry and director of the School of Chemical Sciences at the University of Illinois, has been selected as the 2002 recipient of the ACS Award in Inorganic Chemistry from the American Chemical Society.
The award, which recognizes Rauchfuss for his outstanding research in the preparation, properties and reactions of inorganic substances, will be presented April 8 at the ACS meeting in Orlando, Fla.
Rauchfuss research focuses on the synthesis and reactivity of new inorganic and organometallic compounds. His current work includes the design of organometallic boxes, bowls and tubes as nanoscale containers; the synthesis of look-alike enzymes that produce hydrogen; and the development of new catalysts for removing sulfur from petroleum for cleaner-burning fuels.
Rauchfuss earned his bachelors degree in chemistry in 1971 from the University of Puget Sound and his doctorate in chemistry in 1976 from Washington State University. He joined the UI faculty in 1978.
Founded in 1876, the ACS has more than 163,000 members worldwide.