Published in the January 2 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, 2023 ACS National Award winners—Part I
Neil M. Donahue
2016 Pittsburgh Award Winner and Lord University Professor of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University Neil M. Donahue won the 2023 National ACS Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science and Technology. This award is sponsored by the Aerodyne Research and the ACS Division of Environmental Chemistry and will be presented for the inception and development of the volatility basis set to represent organic particulate matter in the atmosphere.
From C and E News:
Donahue on his scientific hero: “My father, Thomas Donahue, was a real rocket scientist who started the use of sounding rockets with leftover ordinance. He ultimately discovered that ‘Venus was all wet,’ and this was the title he wanted for the article describing findings of the Pioneer Venus Multiprobe.” What Donahue’s colleagues say: “Neil has been a principal player in virtually every important intellectual development in the field of atmospheric chemistry and aerosol formation over the past 2 decades. His work has consistently shifted the paradigms of atmospheric chemistry.”—John Seinfeld, California Institute of Technology
Peter Wipf
2012 Pittsburgh Award Winner and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Peter Wipf won the 2023 National ACS Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry. The award is sponsored by MilliporeSigma and will be presented for the discovery of innovative methods in heterocyclic and strain-release chemistry and the development of novel strategies to synthesize complex natural and unnatural molecules.
From C and E News:
Wipf on his most memorable project: “Two of my students discovered serendipitously an early-transition-metal-mediated cascade reaction that introduced nine new C–C bonds. When we thought about possible mechanisms, we speculated that a bicyclo[1.1.0]butane might serve as a key intermediate. Amazingly, this actually turned out to be the case, and it started a still ongoing, most stimulating research effort on the chemistry of bicyclobutanes in my lab.”
What Wipf’s colleagues say: “Peter’s work has contributed significantly to virtually every aspect of modern organic synthesis. He is one of the scientific leaders in this field, and dozens of his novel small molecules are used as probe molecules for biological pathways and as therapeutic lead structures.”—Dennis Curran, University of Pittsburgh