About the Center
Catalysis--the process by which the rate and products of chemical reactions are altered by a substance unchanged by reaction--is at the core of the chemical and petroleum industries. It has been estimated that catalysis-based processes represent 90% of current chemical processes and generate 60% of today's chemical products. In addition to traditional roles in these industries, catalysts are of growing importance in fields ranging from environmental protection to pharmaceuticals and the processing of high performance materials.
Recognizing the central role of catalysis in industrial practice, the Center for Catalytic Science and Technology was founded at the University of Delaware in 1978. The Center has pioneered multidisciplinary research in the scientific and engineering principles of catalysis. Over the last two decades, the Center has provided research opportunities in all aspects of catalysis to more than 300 students and postdoctoral fellows in the academic departments, Chemical Engineering and Chemistry & Biochemistry, which it spans. The hallmark of the Center's research continues to be its strong connection to industrial practice. These ties have been forged through a number of mechanisms, including the Center's Industrial Sponsors Program, industrially supported grant and contract research, collaborative projects with industrial scientists and engineers, and industrial sabbaticals and exchanges of research personnel. The Center's laboratories, virtually all newly constructed or renovated since 1993, and wide range of research instrumentation represent one of the foremost facilities for catalysis research in academia.
The mission of the Center for Catalytic Science and Technology is the education of students via relevant research in the multidisciplinary field of catalysis science. The "products" of this venture include not only the participating researchers, more than 70% of whom have historically gone on to positions with Center Industrial Sponsors, but also a substantial body of publications in scientific literature, as well as a significant patent portfolio.
We invite you to learn more about our Center. Requests for additional information may be addressed to:
Professor Dionisios G. Vlachos
Director, Center for Catalytic Science and Technology
University of Delaware
Colburn Laboratory
Department of Chemical Engineering
Newark, DE 19716
Phone: (302) 831-2830
Fax: (302) 831-2085
E-Mail: vlachos@udel.edu