Yury Gogotsi, PhD, director of the A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute in the College of Engineering, will be recognized with two awards from the American Chemical Society (ACS): the 2020 Philadelphia Section Award and the 2021 National Award in the Chemistry of Materials, sponsored by DuPont.
The ACS Philadelphia Section Award is presented yearly to a member or members “who by conspicuous scientific achievement has made important contributions to the field of chemistry and thereby aided the public appreciation of the profession,” according to the chapter. Gogotsi will receive the award during a virtual meeting in October.
Professor Yury Gogotsi with PhD student Christine Hatter
The ACS National Awards program is designed to encourage the advancement of chemistry in all its branches, to support research in chemical science and industry, and to promote the careers of chemists. The Award in the Chemistry of Materials is given to a nominee who emphasizes research “relating to materials of actual or potential technological importance, where a fundamental understanding of the chemistry associated with materials preparation, processing, or use is critical.” Gogotsi received it for his research on the synthesis of novel classes of carbon-based nanomaterials and the elucidation of the mechanisms involved in capacitive energy storage.
“It’s a great honor to join outstanding scientists, such as Alan MacDiarmid, Rustum Roy, Charles Lieber, Tom Mallouk, Paul Alivisatos, Jean-Luc Bredas, Robert Langer and many other as a recipient of this prestigious award,” Gogotsi said.
Gogotsi is one of the world’s most prominent and most cited researchers in the synthesis and surface modification of inorganic nanomaterials, as well as electrochemical capacitors. His team developed carbide-derived carbons, discovered new conical and polygonal carbon structures and he was part of a team of scientists who discovered MXenes, a new family of two-dimensional carbides and nitrides with wide-ranging capabilities. He recently published two forward looking review articles in the journals Nature Materials and Nature Reviews Materials (the highest impact journals in the materials field) on the state of the art and future research directions in materials for electrochemical energy storage used in batteries and supercapacitors.
One of the key factors in determining an awardee, according to the ACS, is the nominee’s “success as a mentor and colleague.” Christine Hatter, MS ’18, PhD ’20, worked with Gogotsi as part of her doctoral studies. Her research focused on using MXenes to their full potential to engineer the materials for improved energy harvesting and as well as EMI shielding capabilities. She is now a full-time research Scientist at DuPont.
"I first met Prof Gogotsi while participating in a Department of Energy-funded internship after completing my bachelor’s,” Hatter recalls. “His genuine enthusiasm for research and offer of support made me decide to pursue a doctorate degree. During my time at Drexel, Yury always made it a priority to promote his students whether it be support for travel to conferences, introductions with top scientists around the world, or nominating them for awards. His guidance and mentorship during my PhD was invaluable and helped cultivate my expertise currently used at DuPont.”
Gogotsi will receive the award at ACS 2021 Spring National Meeting in San Antonio, Texas in March 2021.
Related: Gogotsi recently explained his supercapacitor research for Drexel News Blog.