Amol Pophali Wins Prestigious Richard J. Kokes Award 

Amol Pophali, a doctoral candidate from the Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering at Stony Brook University, will be honored with the Richard J. Kokes Award from the North American Catalysis Society (NACS) at its 29th meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, June 8-13. This prestigious award recognizes outstanding doctoral research and contributions in the area of catalysis. 

Pophali, who works in Stony Brook’s Energy and Environmental Catalysis Laboratory, researches the development of novel catalyst preparation methodologies; characterization studies for knowing the properties of the catalysts; reaction and kinetics study of CO2 and CO conversions for sustainability; and the structure-activity relation using in-situ and operando spectroscopic techniques. To understand crucial and fundamental aspects of his research, Pophali also works at advanced facilities at Brookhaven National Laboratory in its NSLS-II and CFN divisions.

Pophali, who is mentored by Professor Taejin Kim of the Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, will present a talk on his findings at the conference. “It is a great honor to be the recipient of the well-known Richard J. Kokes Award. It will be a pleasure to present my work at such a global platform,” said Pophali. The title of his talk is ‘Development of supported metal oxide catalysts (MOx/CeO2) by novel one-pot chemical vapor deposition technique: structure and reverse water gas shift reaction (RWGS) study.’ 

He also reflected that the recognition will provide him with a sense of higher responsibility in contributing toward society. “I believe that I will be able to educate the audience with the need of current requirements in the field of heterogeneous catalysis and how our lab is able to address these by adopting novel catalyst synthesis measures, investigation of molecular, electronic and physical structure of the catalysts, and application towards a cleaner and sustainable environment for the future,” said Pophali. At the conference he plans to explain these finds, covering a broad range of measurements. 

“Amol was successfully able to discover unique scientific and engineered alternatives for conventional catalyst development that has potential at small- and large-scale levels with a cost-effective advantage,” said Professor Kim, his advisor. “In addition, he was able to optimize a catalyst for hydrogenation reaction that contributes to effectively utilizing CO2, a greenhouse gas, into fuels and solvents.”

Kim recognized that Pophali’s doctoral research encompasses all the critical aspects of heterogeneous catalysis; catalyst synthesis, structural investigation (ex situ, in situ and operando), and catalytic activity studies to experimentally validate the associated reaction mechanisms. “He has successfully supervised and is a mentor to undergraduate, master’s students, and his peers. During his doctoral research until now, Amol has also contributed toward energy and electrocatalysis, which is also an emerging field in catalysis society,” said Kim. 

“We are incredibly proud of Amol Pophali for receiving the prestigious Richard J. Kokes Award from the North American Catalysis Society,” said Dilip Gersappe, chair of the Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering. “Amol’s work not only advances the scientific understanding of catalyst design and performance but also contributes meaningfully to the global pursuit of cleaner, more sustainable technologies. We congratulate Amol and look forward to his continued success as a scholar and leader in the field.”  

“This conference will also help me to build research collaborations with folks from academia and industry moving forward for innovation in chemical engineering,” said Pophali. He and his coworkers are focused on researching the optimization of developed synthesis methodologies; extending work on new catalyst materials and chemical reactions moving toward green initiatives; and theoretical calculations and understanding of the catalyst structure and activity.

The Kokes Award is sponsored by the North American Catalysis Society and administered by the North American Meetings organization. The objective of the Richard J. Kokes Travel Award program is to encourage the participation of students in the biennial North American meetings.