- Email: [email protected]
Dutch Catalysis Stronger in Unity
185 David Whan
Moves to University
of
HUII
Dr. David Whan, one of the Editors of Applied Catalysis, has moved from Imperial Chemical Industries (the old Agricultural Division based in Billingham) to join, as Senior Lecturer, the group working on catalysis at the University of Hull headed by Professor Peter Wells and Dr. Richard Moyes. He hopes there to be able to concentrate on teaching applied chemistry and doing research on topics such as catalyst preparation, paying particular attention to zeolite synthesis and copper-based catalysts; the latter topic will be a continuation of some of the research done by his colleagues and himself at ICI over the last few years, work which has attracted much attention from the whole catalysis community. David is a graduate of Queen’s University of Belfast where he did his Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Charles Kemball. (He and his colleague, Bertie Harper, were there known by their fellow students (including myself) for their prowess at “Shove-Ha’ penny”). After a year’s post-dot at Rice University in the United States, David moved in 1966 to the University of Edinburgh to join Professor Kemball, who had just been appointed to a chair there. Much of his research in Edinburgh had some relevance to industrial processes and, after many years of close liaison with industry (for example, through a major joint research programme on zeolite synthesis and characterisation, as well as a consultancy with ICI -from about 197 l), he was awarded an Industrial Fellowship by the Royal Society and the Science and Engineering Research Council and spent the period 1983 to 1985 with ICI Agricultural Division. Towards the end of that period, David was invited to remain permanently as a Research Associate and joined the company in 1985. At that stage, ICI Agricultural Division was one of the most active research laboratories
applied
Catalysis
-Volume
49 NO. 1 -April
working in the fields of catalysis; that this activity was not only applied in character was shown by the series of wide-ranging papers on methanol catalysis referred to above. Unfortunately, however, economical constraints and demand for restructuring impose changes at ICI. Other lines of research will open, especially as catalysis has become a topic attracting special support from the U.K. Science and Engineering Research Council who are making special efforts to stimulate research in that area. I know that David Whan feels that the creative and active atmosphere of Hull offer him substantial room for further scientific activity. We wish him well in his new surroundings. JULIAN ROSS Dutch Catalysis Stronger in Unity A catalysis Foundation Launched With a relatively large number of multinationals in the country, The Netherlands has played an important role in the development of chemical research and in research in heterogeneous catalysis in particular. For instance, in the period 1950-1970 Mars and Van Krevelen (DSM) were first to recognize that oxygen atoms of the catalyst were part of a catalytic oxidation cycle. In the same period, Schuit and Sachtler (Koninklijke/ Shell) proposed that local bond formation at the surface of the catalyst is more important than the collective electronic properties, a proposal that is nowadays generally accepted. A number of industrial experts have held part-time positions in the universities, thus promoting the interaction between academia and industry. Dutch chemists obtain part of their funds directly from their own universities. Moreover, they can apply for funds from the so-called second money stream. The latter funds are allocated on the basis of research proposals which are re-
3, 1989
186 fereed and then arranged in a sequence of priority. The refereeing of these proposals, as well as the reporting by the participating groups, are administered by the Netherlands Foundation for Chemical Research (SON). Through this foundation, university professors in various fields of chemistry, e.g. catalysis, meet regularly. Contacts between the various research groups are thus quite frequent. Moreover, a number of industrial chemists attend the SON-sponsored scientific meetings. It is currently felt that even closer ties between the various university research groups are needed. One reason is the feeling that there is inadequate funding of expensive instruments. Just as in other fields of chemistry, high level research requires the availability of sophisticated instrumentation. It will be easier to convince the funding organizations of the need of advanced instrumentation if the various catalysis groups act in unity. Another reason for establishing a closer cooperation is in the area of education. In their undergraduate programmes students are trained in inorganic, organic, and analytical physical, theoretical, chemistry and they also learn the principles of biochemistry. Catalysis is typically a field in which such disciplines are integrated. Integration, however, is almost totally absent in the undergraduate programme. A course is therefore being planned on a national level to introduce new graduate students to catalysis. To make this cooperation between the groups more effective, a Foundation for Catalysis in The Netherlands has now been established. The membership is broad; as well as catalytic chemists, it includes organometallic and coordination specialists. An eleven-member advisory board has been established, consisting mainly of the directors of research of a number of large companies, this should ensure a realistic balance between academic freedom and useful application. An executive committee consisting of the
applied
C&al@
- Volume 49 No. 1 -
following persons is responsible for the day to day affairs of the foundation, backed by a larger committee of seven members. The first office-bearers of the foundation, who make up the executive committee, are: Professor Dr. R.A. van Santen, Technical University Eindhoven, Chairman; Professor Dr. W. Drenth, University at Utrecht, Secretary/Treasurer; Professor Dr. V. Ponec, University at Leiden. New Dutch Prize in Catalysis Another organisation which helps to preserve the links between Dutch catalysis chemists is the Catalysis Section of the KNCV (Royal Dutch Chemical Society). This organises a yearly meeting, in alternative years in a university and in an industrial laboratory (the next meeting will be held at Dow Chemicals, Terneuzen, in May), as well as the well-known fouryearly Roermond Conference on Catalysis. The KNCV has just announced the introduction of a Catalysis Prize to be presented to a young scientist (under 30 years old) every two years. The prize will be awarded on the basis of the PhD thesis or, for candidates based in industry, equivalent publications. Triphase
Catalysis
A bibliography of this title has been published by R.H. Chandler Ltd., 21 The Avenue, Braintree, Essex, CM7 6HY, England. In a press release describing the publication, we read that this subject has expanded greatly since Regen first (JACS, 97 (1975) 5956) coined the term. Initially, Regen experimented with simple nucleophilic substitution reactions but very soon he had envisaged a wider range of triphase catalytic processes and other authors began to build on his ideas. The bibliography collects together work on the subject over the last years, using as far as possible the authors’ own words but with an abstract supplied where one
April 3, 1989
Moves to University
of
HUII
Dr. David Whan, one of the Editors of Applied Catalysis, has moved from Imperial Chemical Industries (the old Agricultural Division based in Billingham) to join, as Senior Lecturer, the group working on catalysis at the University of Hull headed by Professor Peter Wells and Dr. Richard Moyes. He hopes there to be able to concentrate on teaching applied chemistry and doing research on topics such as catalyst preparation, paying particular attention to zeolite synthesis and copper-based catalysts; the latter topic will be a continuation of some of the research done by his colleagues and himself at ICI over the last few years, work which has attracted much attention from the whole catalysis community. David is a graduate of Queen’s University of Belfast where he did his Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Charles Kemball. (He and his colleague, Bertie Harper, were there known by their fellow students (including myself) for their prowess at “Shove-Ha’ penny”). After a year’s post-dot at Rice University in the United States, David moved in 1966 to the University of Edinburgh to join Professor Kemball, who had just been appointed to a chair there. Much of his research in Edinburgh had some relevance to industrial processes and, after many years of close liaison with industry (for example, through a major joint research programme on zeolite synthesis and characterisation, as well as a consultancy with ICI -from about 197 l), he was awarded an Industrial Fellowship by the Royal Society and the Science and Engineering Research Council and spent the period 1983 to 1985 with ICI Agricultural Division. Towards the end of that period, David was invited to remain permanently as a Research Associate and joined the company in 1985. At that stage, ICI Agricultural Division was one of the most active research laboratories
applied
Catalysis
-Volume
49 NO. 1 -April
working in the fields of catalysis; that this activity was not only applied in character was shown by the series of wide-ranging papers on methanol catalysis referred to above. Unfortunately, however, economical constraints and demand for restructuring impose changes at ICI. Other lines of research will open, especially as catalysis has become a topic attracting special support from the U.K. Science and Engineering Research Council who are making special efforts to stimulate research in that area. I know that David Whan feels that the creative and active atmosphere of Hull offer him substantial room for further scientific activity. We wish him well in his new surroundings. JULIAN ROSS Dutch Catalysis Stronger in Unity A catalysis Foundation Launched With a relatively large number of multinationals in the country, The Netherlands has played an important role in the development of chemical research and in research in heterogeneous catalysis in particular. For instance, in the period 1950-1970 Mars and Van Krevelen (DSM) were first to recognize that oxygen atoms of the catalyst were part of a catalytic oxidation cycle. In the same period, Schuit and Sachtler (Koninklijke/ Shell) proposed that local bond formation at the surface of the catalyst is more important than the collective electronic properties, a proposal that is nowadays generally accepted. A number of industrial experts have held part-time positions in the universities, thus promoting the interaction between academia and industry. Dutch chemists obtain part of their funds directly from their own universities. Moreover, they can apply for funds from the so-called second money stream. The latter funds are allocated on the basis of research proposals which are re-
3, 1989
186 fereed and then arranged in a sequence of priority. The refereeing of these proposals, as well as the reporting by the participating groups, are administered by the Netherlands Foundation for Chemical Research (SON). Through this foundation, university professors in various fields of chemistry, e.g. catalysis, meet regularly. Contacts between the various research groups are thus quite frequent. Moreover, a number of industrial chemists attend the SON-sponsored scientific meetings. It is currently felt that even closer ties between the various university research groups are needed. One reason is the feeling that there is inadequate funding of expensive instruments. Just as in other fields of chemistry, high level research requires the availability of sophisticated instrumentation. It will be easier to convince the funding organizations of the need of advanced instrumentation if the various catalysis groups act in unity. Another reason for establishing a closer cooperation is in the area of education. In their undergraduate programmes students are trained in inorganic, organic, and analytical physical, theoretical, chemistry and they also learn the principles of biochemistry. Catalysis is typically a field in which such disciplines are integrated. Integration, however, is almost totally absent in the undergraduate programme. A course is therefore being planned on a national level to introduce new graduate students to catalysis. To make this cooperation between the groups more effective, a Foundation for Catalysis in The Netherlands has now been established. The membership is broad; as well as catalytic chemists, it includes organometallic and coordination specialists. An eleven-member advisory board has been established, consisting mainly of the directors of research of a number of large companies, this should ensure a realistic balance between academic freedom and useful application. An executive committee consisting of the
applied
C&al@
- Volume 49 No. 1 -
following persons is responsible for the day to day affairs of the foundation, backed by a larger committee of seven members. The first office-bearers of the foundation, who make up the executive committee, are: Professor Dr. R.A. van Santen, Technical University Eindhoven, Chairman; Professor Dr. W. Drenth, University at Utrecht, Secretary/Treasurer; Professor Dr. V. Ponec, University at Leiden. New Dutch Prize in Catalysis Another organisation which helps to preserve the links between Dutch catalysis chemists is the Catalysis Section of the KNCV (Royal Dutch Chemical Society). This organises a yearly meeting, in alternative years in a university and in an industrial laboratory (the next meeting will be held at Dow Chemicals, Terneuzen, in May), as well as the well-known fouryearly Roermond Conference on Catalysis. The KNCV has just announced the introduction of a Catalysis Prize to be presented to a young scientist (under 30 years old) every two years. The prize will be awarded on the basis of the PhD thesis or, for candidates based in industry, equivalent publications. Triphase
Catalysis
A bibliography of this title has been published by R.H. Chandler Ltd., 21 The Avenue, Braintree, Essex, CM7 6HY, England. In a press release describing the publication, we read that this subject has expanded greatly since Regen first (JACS, 97 (1975) 5956) coined the term. Initially, Regen experimented with simple nucleophilic substitution reactions but very soon he had envisaged a wider range of triphase catalytic processes and other authors began to build on his ideas. The bibliography collects together work on the subject over the last years, using as far as possible the authors’ own words but with an abstract supplied where one
April 3, 1989