SPECIAL ISSUE IN HONOR OF PROFESSOR S. TED OYAMA: 2014 ACS DISTINGUISHED RESEARCHER AWARD IN PETROLEUM CHEMISTRY AND STORCH AWARD IN FUEL SCIENCE

This special issue of Topics in Catalysis honors Professor S. Ted Oyama for his Awards in Petroleum Chemistry and Fuel Science Research. These awards were celebrated at two American Chemical Society (ACS) symposia in 2014. The first one, the ACS’s Distinguished Research Award in Petroleum Chemistry Symposium, took place at the 247th ACS National Meeting in Dallas, TX, during March 17-19, 2014 and the second one, the ACS’s Storch Award in Fuel Science Symposium, took place at the 248th ACS National Meeting in San Francisco, CA, during August 10-12, 2014. Professor Oyama received the 2014 ACS Distinguished Research Award in Petroleum Chemistry ‘‘for his substantial contributions to the field of heterogeneous catalysis’’ including the discovery of highly active transition metal phosphide catalysts for hydrotreatment of petroleum and coal-derived feedstocks and biomass refining, the development of new compositions, and the understanding of their reaction mechanisms by in situ spectroscopic techniques at high temperatures and pressures of reaction. Following this recognition, Professor Oyama was also awarded the 2014 ACS Storch Award in Fuel Science ‘‘for his broad contributions to the field of fuel science’’ including the production of hydrogen by catalytic reforming, selective oxidation of hydrocarbons, biomass conversion, their reaction kinetics and mechanisms, and spectrokinetic methods to study catalysts in situ at reaction conditions and theory and application of inorganic membranes for separation of hydrogen and fuel-relevant gases. This special issue consists of contributions by catalysis researchers who participated in the two ACS symposia honoring Professor Oyama’s Awards. Currently, Professor S. Ted Oyama holds dual appointments in the Chemical Systems Engineering Department at the University of Tokyo and the Chemical Engineering Department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech). He earned his PhD degree in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University in 1981, after which he has held positions in industry and academia: Research Engineer/Project Leader at Catalytica Associates, Inc. (1981–1986), Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley (1986–1988), Associate Professor at Clarkson University (1988–1993), Associate Professor (1993–1996), Professor (1996-Present), and Fred W. Bull Professor (1999–2009) at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Professor at the University of Tokyo (2010-Present), and Visiting Professor at University of Rio de Janeiro (1992), University Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris J. J. Bravo-Suárez (&) Chemical & Petroleum Engineering Department, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA e-mail: [email protected]