Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series 2006-2007

“Hurry Up! Catalysis and Chemical Change”

Wednesday, May 2
1065 Kemper Hall
4:10 p.m.
Reception to follow in Kemper Hall Lobby

Bruce Gates

Bruce Gates is a distinguished professor of chemical engineering at UC Davis. His contributions to the study of catalysis have been recognized with election to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

One of four organizations that make up the National Academies, NAE was established by Congress to advise the nation on a wide range of scientific issues. Gates is the eighth current or retired faculty member from UC Davis to be elected to the National Academy of Engineering; the late Robert Fridley, Ray Krone and Roy Bainer were also members.

Gates’ research lab tries to understand how catalysts work, and endeavors to make new, better ones. A catalyst is anything that makes a chemical reaction run faster, without itself being consumed. Catalysts do not change the chemical equilibrium, but do change how quickly that equilibrium is reached. In his lab, Gates builds synthetic catalysts – for example, a pyramid of four or six iridium atoms – and attaches them to a solid surface. When a reaction is completed, the products can be washed away and the catalyst used again.

Gates’ interest in catalysis began when he was an undergraduate at UC Berkeley taking a course on chemical reactions and catalysis as part of his major in chemical engineering. An undergraduate research experience led him to graduate school at the University of Washington, Seattle. Gates then won a Fulbright scholarship to study at the University of Munich in 1966-67, where he has returned several times as a visiting professor.

Returning to the U.S., Gates worked for Chevron for two years before taking a position as assistant professor at the University of Delaware, where he stayed for more than 20 years. While there, he made important contributions to hydroprocessing, a technique used in oil refineries to remove contaminants from fuel. From 1981 to 1988 he was director of the Center for Catalytic Science and Technology, a collaboration between the University of Delaware and industry.

In 1992 Gates, a California native, was asked to join the Department of Chemical Engineering – later merged with the Division of Materials Science – at UC Davis.