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Kosolapoff Awards
The G. M. Kosolapoff Lecture series is sponsored by the Auburn section of the American Chemical Society and the Auburn University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The award is named after Gennady Michael Kosolapoff who came to Alabama Polytechnic Institute in 1948. (Alabama Polytechnic Institute was re-named Auburn University in 1960.) The award is presented to chemists and biochemists in recognition of outstanding scientific contributions. Among the list of 30 awardees are 12 Nobel Laureates and 28 National Academy Members, scientists who have made transformative impacts on the world through their research.
2019 Recipient of the Kosolapoff Award
Since 1986, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry has brought together past and future generations of chemistry professionals through an annual lecture series, the Auburn – G.M. Kosolapoff Award Lecture, which is sponsored by the American Chemical Society, Auburn Section.
Speakers from prestigious universities including Harvard, Purdue, Stanford, Columbia, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have shared their research at Auburn University for this event over the past three decades. The 2019 recipient of this award is Dr. Sharon Hammes-Schiffer from Yale University.
Dr. Hammes-Schiffer spoke on February 13 on the topic Enzymes: The Engines of Biology. She shared insight about chemical reactions in condensed phases. The three areas of her research includes proton-coupled electron transfer reactions, enzymatic processes, and non-Born-Oppenheimer electronic structure methods.
Read more about the 2019 recipient and view her lecture.
2018 Recipient of the Kosolapoff Award
Congratulations to Dr. Marcetta Y. Darensbourg of Texas A&M University. She was the recipient of the 2018 Kosolapoff Award from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Sciences and Mathematics at Auburn University.
Dr. Darensbourg presented "Old Biology Inspires New Chemistry: The Hydrogen Economy from Pond Silt to Photovoltaic/Fuel Cells" to a packed room in the Sciences Classroom Center Building.
Dr. Darensbourg holds the title of Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M and teaches courses on inorganic and organometallic chemistry.
2017 Recipient of the Kosolapoff Award
The 2017 Kosolapoff Award was presented to Princeton Professor of Chemistry, David MacMillan. In a packed room at the Sciences Classroom Center, he gave his lecture: “Why is Catalysis of Value to Society?”
MacMillan is a James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Princeton University, and served as Department Chair from 2010 - 2015. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Research Page: 
; Nobel laureate: 
; National Academy Member: 
| 1986 --- William N. Lipscomb |
| 1987 --- Herbert C. Brown |
| 1988 --- Michael J. S. Dewar |
| 1989 --- Donald J. Cram |
| 1990 --- Henry Taube |
| 1991 --- Derek H. R. Barton |
| 1992 --- Allen J. Bard |
| 1993 --- Richard E. Smalley |
| 1994 --- Dudley R. Herschbach |
| 1995 --- William von Eggers Doering |
| 1996 --- Rudolph A. Marcus |
| 1997 --- Mario J. Molina |
| 1998 --- Richard N. Zare |
| 1999 --- Jacqueline K. Barton |
| 2000 --- Josef Michl |
| 2001 --- Harry B. Gray |
| 2002 --- Ahmed H. Zewail |
| 2003 --- John D. Roberts |
| 2004 --- Kenneth N. Raymond |
| 2005 --- Ronald Breslow |
| 2006 --- Kyriacos C. Nicolaou |
| 2007 --- Robert H. Grubbs |
| 2008 --- Barry M. Trost |
| 2009 --- Koji Nakanishi |
| 2010 --- Robert H. Crabtree |
| 2011 --- Eric N. Jacobsen |
| 2012 --- Thomas J. Meyer |
| 2013 --- Ei-ichi Negishi |
| 2014 --- Daniel G. Nocera |
| 2015 --- Edward I. Solomon |
| 2016 --- John E. Bercaw |
| 2017 --- David W. C. MacMillan |
| 2018 --- Marcetta Y. Darensbourg |
| 2019 --- Sharon Hammes-Schiffer |
Last Updated: 03/06/2019