Nationality Hungarian-American Role Chemist Residence Hong Kong | Name Istvan Horvath Education University of Pannonia Fields Chemist | |
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Born Istvan T. Horvath
August 6, 1953 (age 70)
Budapest, Hungary ( 1953-08-06 ) Institutions City University of Hong Kong Known for Fluorous biphase catalysis, in situ spectroscopy Notable awards Fluorous Technology Award (2005)
Senior Humboldt Research Award (2006)
Green Chemistry Lecture Award (2008) Books Encyclopedia of Catalysis Online Edition, Green Chemistry for a Sustainable Future | ||
IOC Lecture Series - Evolutionary Model of Sustainability and Its Application in Chemistry
István T. Horváth is a Hungarian American chemist, working on greener and more sustainable chemistry since its inception. In particular, he focuses on homogeneous transition metal catalysis and in situ spectroscopy. He was highly involved and very influential in the now enormous field of fluorous solvents and technologies.
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Education
Horváth obtained his Diploma in Chemical Engineering (1977) and Ph.D. in Chemistry (1979) at Veszprem University in Hungary.
Career
Following his PhD, _Horváth went on to spend time at Yale University as a Postdoctoral research associate (1982–1984), and as a Scientific Co-worker at ETH Zurich (1984–1987). This was followed by a stint at ExxonMobil Corporate Research, Anandale, New Jersey (1987–1998). He re-entered academia at the Institute of Chemistry in Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest (1999–2009), but is currently a Chair Professor of Chemistry and the Head of the Department of Biology and Chemistry at the City University of Hong Kong.
Research
As of 2015 his research lies in the conversion of biomass into platform chemicals, and the development of more sustainable fluorous solvent-based processes. He proposed that gamma-Valerolactone (GVL) exhibits the most important characteristics of a sustainable liquid and it can be used for the production of both energy and carbon-based consumer products. It was confirmed by isotope labeling that fructose can be converted to hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) then to levulinic acid (LA) and formic acid (FA) and finally to GVL in GVL as the solvent. He is also the editor of numerous books and other peer-reviewed publications in the fields of catalysis, green chemistry, and fluorous technologies.
Awards and honours
Horváth was made an Honorary Member of the Accademia Nazionale di Scienze, Lettere e Arti Modena in 2010. He was elected Fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2014.