Harold Kung Wins 2009 Thiele Award from AIChE

September 22, 2009

Harold Kung, professor of chemical and biological engineering at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, will be awarded the 2009 Ernest W. Thiele Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Chicago Section.

The award is presented annually to a Midwest region member of AIChE who has made outstanding contributions to advance the practice of chemical engineering. The award is sponsored by BP and consists of a plaque and a $1,000 honorarium.

Kung is a world leader in the field of heterogeneous catalysis research and the development of novel materials and processes. He applies his expertise to the critical areas of sustainability, renewable energy and environmental chemistry.

Currently Kung and his research group are focused on the synthesis of novel nanomaterials for catalytic applications to minimize energy consumption and environmental impact and on new lithium-ion battery technologies, such as new forms of electrodes for improved electrical energy storage.

During his career Kung has made significant contributions in various areas of heterogeneous catalysis, starting with seminal work that demonstrated the relationship between surface atomic structures of an oxide and its chemical and catalytic properties. He has led the field in studying oxide-based catalysts for the removal of the atmospheric pollutant nitric oxide by reduction with hydrocarbons in an oxidizing atmosphere. More recently, Kung became the first to synthesize an internally functionalized hollow nanosphere that can be used to trap and bind molecules and metal complexes.