Jean Marie Basset

Jean-Marie Basset (born 9 June 1943) is a French chemist, currently the director of KAUST catalysis research center.

Professor Basset received his PhD in 1969 from the University of Lyon, France. After a postdoctoral position in Toronto he moved to the Institute of Catalysis in Lyon where he became vice-director. He is Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite. He came to CNRS in 1971 and has occupied several positions, including vice-director of the Institute of Catalysis Institut de recherches sur la catalyse et l'environnement de Lyon IRCEL Lyon. Dr. Basset also founded the consortium, "Actane," on alkane activation with 11 university labs and five companies. Since 1992, he also has served as scientific director of L’École Supérieure de Chimie Physique Electronique de Lyon (CPE Lyon), which is training 450 chemists and 350 physiscists in a three-year scholarship program. In 1987, he founded the Laboratory of Surface Organometallic Chemistry that became later the laboratory of Chemistry, Catalysis, Polymer, Process (C2P2) that he has held from 1994 to 2007. Professor Basset’s Lyon lab was home to 100 scientists, including Nobel Laureate Yves Chauvin who got his Nobel in 2005. He founded and served as President of a European Network on Catalysis, Integrated Design of Catalytic Nanomaterials for a Sustainable Production (IDECAT) which includes 40 labs and 20 companies.

Professor Basset holds various professional memberships: He is Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Academia Europaea, Member of the European Academy of Sciences European Academy of Sciences, Member of the French Academy of Technologies, Member of the French Academy of Sciences Academie des Sciences He is the recipient of several national and international awards: The Grand Prix de la Societe Chimique de France Grand Prix Pierre Sue, the «Grammaticakis Neuman» Award of the French Academy of Sciences, the «Alexander Von Humboldt» Award Humboldt Award, the Augustine award of the ORSC, the Distinguished Achievements Award of IMPI, the «Prix de l’Institut Français du Pétrole» from the Academy of Sciences, the «Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences» Award JSPS, the «Procope» Award for French–German collaboration. In 1991, he earned together with Prof. Wolfgang A. Herrmann the renowned scientific research award from the Max Planck Society. He gave several lectures tours including the "Pacific Coast Lecture », the Glen T. «Seaborg Lecture" GT Seaborg lecture (Université of Berkeley], the August-Wilhem-Von-Hofman-Vorselung“ Lecture.

He is the author of over 500 publications and 50 patents. His main research interests are the relations between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, the metathesis of olefins and alkanes as well as Ziegler–Natta depolymerization. He has discovered thanks to the discipline of Surface organometallic Chemistry, several new reactions: -The “Metathesis of alkanes” that transforms most acyclic paraffins into their higher and lower homologues, -the “Cleavage of alkanes by methane” a novel reaction linked to the activation of a C-H bond which is even more difficult to activate - that of methane – followed by a series of concerted pathways. The “Transformation of polyethylene to diesel range gasoline” that we also called “Ziegler-Natta Depolymerization”, -the “Non oxidative coupling of methane to ethane and hydrogen” which allows forming a C-C bond from methane alone, -the “Direct transformation of light alkanes to gasoline” which represents another facet of the metathesis of alkanes. The “Direct transformation of ethylene to propylene” a very simple new reaction in which a tungsten tris-hydride on alumina can transform catalytically 3 moles of ethylene into 2 moles of propylene. The dissociative activation of di-nitrogen on a single Tantalum atom.