US National Academy of Engineering member to speak at Ensor Lecture

About the event

National Academy of Engineering member Maria Flytzani-Stephanopoulos will speak on the changing landscape of heterogeneous catalysts: single metal atoms as game-changers at the annual Ensor Lecture.

A reception will start at 3 p.m. followed by the lecture at 4 p.m. in the Spark building on the WSU Pullman Campus. 

Flytzani-Stephanopoulous is the recipient of many awards and distinctions, including the Tufts Distinguished Scholar Award, the Henry J. Albert Award of the International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI), the Giuseppe Parravano Memorial Award of the Michigan Catalysis Society, the Graduate Teaching and Mentoring Award of the Tufts School of Engineering, and the Carol Tyler Award of the Tufts School of Engineering, and the Carol Tyler Award of IPMI. Flytzani-Stephanopoulous holds honorary professorships at Tianjin University and the Beijing University of Chemical Technology, is a Fellow of the AAAS and the AIChE, and a member of the US National Academy of Engineering.

Novel catalyst designs aiming at the development of energy-efficient, low-cost and sustainable processes are of great interest of applications to fuels and chemical production, and to environmental pollution abatement. Identification of the active catalytic site and design of catalysts with 100% atom efficiency has been a longstanding goal in heterogeneous catalysis. A promising approach to reaching this goal through the controlled preparation of isolated single-atom heterogeneous catalysts has emerged in the recent literature. For catalytic metals, atomic dispersion affords better utilization, different (often better) selectivity than the extended metal, and new prospects for low-cost and green process development. 

The Ensor Lectureship in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering was established in 2016 to encourage communication and collaboration on emerging ideas in any area related to chemical engineering, bioengineering, aerosol technology and nanotechnology. David Ensor (’63, chemical engineering) and his wife, Sara, established the lectureship as a reflection of their deep interest in higher education and their strongly held belief in the empowerment that education provides for one’s life.