PNNL

Congratulations to Dr. Daniel DuBois at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on receiving the American Chemical Society's Award in Inorganic Chemistry, a prestigious national honor. DuBois was chosen for his unique approach to designing inorganic molecular complexes to speed reactions. Instead of taking a hit-or-miss approach based on creating and testing endless variations to find the properties needed, he answered the fundamental questions, showing the scientific community "why" these materials behaved as they did, and how to use that knowledge to rationally develop improved catalysts. The work he led allows researchers to design these molecular complexes or catalysts to speed reactions under the right conditions.

"His work is the foundation we use to design a catalyst to do what we want to do. Without this basic knowledge, catalyst development relied largely on luck," said Dr. Monte Helm, who works with DuBois at the Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis, an Energy Frontier Research Center.

DuBois is an active member of the inorganic chemistry community. He has written or co-written 80-plus thorough, thoughtful articles, including a 2009 review article on catalysts that has garnered more than 100 citations. He is a popular speaker at major universities and conferences. He has served on review panels, including the Helmholtz Association in Germany and the Institute of Molecular Science in Japan. In addition, he is an outstanding project manager and an inspiring mentor.