OU professor receives 2004 Oklahoma Chemist Award

Daniel Resasco, the Sam Wilson professor of chemical engineering and George Lynn Cross research professor at the University of Oklahoma, has received the 2004 Oklahoma Chemist Award, which is sponsored by the five Oklahoma sections of the American Chemical Society.

Resasco is best known for his work in heterogeneous catalysis and nanotechnology, specifically single-wall nanotubes, which conduct heat better than any other known material and can carry electrical currents 100 times greater than copper. Their electrical, insulation and mechanical properties are expected to lead to such scientific and medical advances as a three-dimensional chip capable of holding more memory than the human brain, and medical tools that could conduct molecular-scale surgery, target specific cells in a cancer patient or even repair DNA. Resasco has pioneered a catalytic method for selective production of nanotubes called CoMoCAT that is expected to dramatically lower the price of single-wall nanotubes and provide a tailored method of making specific types of nanotubes.

“Daniel Resasco is very deserving of this award,” said W. Arthur Porter, dean of the College of Engineering. “The single-wall-nanotube and the CoMoCAT process have the potential to change the economy of Oklahoma by being to our state what the microchip has been to Silicon Valley, Calif.”

Among his many other honors, Resasco has received the prestigious Yale Science and Engineering Association’s Award for Advancement of Basic and Applied Science for his contributions to science, Bernardo Houssay Award from the Research Council of Argentina for his work on metal-supported interactions and Exxon Engineering Award for his research in catalysis and engineering. At OU he was a member of the inaugural class of Presidential Professors in 1996 and in 1999 was honored with the Regents’ Award for Superior Research.

Resasco serves as associate editor of the Journal of Catalysis as well as on the board of the journal Applied Catalysis. He also serves on the Economic Development Generating Excellence task force established last year by Gov. Brad Henry.