Avelino Corma - Biographical Note#
AVELINO CORMA was born in Moncofar (Castellón) in 1951. Studied Chemistry at University of Valencia (1967-1973) and received the Ph. D. “with honours” at the University COMPLUTENSE of Madrid in 1976. After two years of postdoctoral work at the Chem. Eng. Dep. at Queen’s University in Canada with Professor B. W. Wojciechowski returned to Spain and obtained a position as associated researcher at the Instituto de Catalysis in Madrid (1979). In 1987 was nominated Research Professor. He has been the founder and director of the Instituto de Tecnologia Química (UPV-CSIC) at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia since 1990.
His current research field is structured nanomaterials and molecular sieves as catalysts, covering aspects of synthesis, characterization, and reactivity in acid-base and redox catalysis. He intends to carry out a rational design of catalysts with single and multisites for performing one step or multistep cascade reactions. In this working methodology starts from fundamentals and combines theoretical calculations with advanced synthesis techniques, catalyst characterization and detailed reactivity studies.
He has directed 30 PhDs and written about 700 articles on these subjects in international journals, three books, and a number of reviews and book chapters. He is co-author of more than 100 patents, ten of them have been commercialized, among which can be highlighted: a) The isopar process for short chain paraffin isomerization, for CEPSA and SUDCHEMIE (with more than 20 plants world wide); b) Propylene oxide commercialized by SUMITOMO on exclusive bases (two plants); c) Catalyst for natural gas transformation with a multinacional company (three plants started December 2007).
He is actively collaborating in research projects with major oil refining, chemicals and fine chemicals companies.
He is a Member of the Royal Academy of Engineering and of the Royal Academy of Science of Spain, The European Academia, Member of the National Academy of Engineering USA, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of several Research Institutes and companies.
He is the recipient of various awards, including: the Dupont Award on New Materials, Spain National Award on Science and Technology, the Ciapetta, Houdry and Boudart Awards of the North American Catalysis Society, the F. Gault Award of the European Catalysis Society, The Gabor Somorjai Award from the ACS, and the Alwin Mittasch Award of DECHEMA. Humboldt Research Award from the Humboldt Foundation. He has received the D.A. Breck Award of the IZA, the National Award on Science and Technology of México, the Paul Sabatier Award of the French Society of Chemistry and the Award of the Iberoamerican Federation of Catalysis Societies (FISOCAT). The Gold medal of the Royal Chemical Society of Spain. He has been nominated “Doctor Honoris Causa” by Utrecht University, Universidad Nacional a Distancia de Madrid, Technique Universität München, Univesidad Jaime I de Castellón, and Universidad de Valencia.
