Chemistry professor selected as Sloan Research Fellow

March 17, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Chemistry professor Adam S. Veige was selected as a 2010 Sloan Research Fellow, the only researcher to be so honored in Florida.

The Sloan Research Fellowships promote fundamental research by early-career scientists and scholars who show outstanding promise. Each year, 118 researchers are awarded two-year fellowships in recognition of distinguished performance and the potential to make substantial contributions in their field.

Veige’s research focuses on the design, creation, and study of novel inorganic molecules. By studying these molecules and their associative catalytic processes, Veige hopes to reveal more efficient and inexpensive synthetic methods for application in the production of fertilizers, polymers and pharmaceuticals.

Veige’s research has led to a process for preparing chiral catalysts that can be used to improve the production of medicinal drugs. This technology has been patented and licensed to the international manufacturer Strem Chemical Co.

Veige’s research group also studies ways to improve catalytic nitrogen fixation, a process used to create ammonia for fertilizers, explosives, and other products. The most common method to do this is the Haber-Bosch process, which requires high pressure and high temperature reaction conditions.

“The process sustains life on the planet” said Veige, pointing out that 100 million tons of fertilizer are produced yearly, contributing to about one-third of the world’s food supply.

Veige’s research aims to cleave dinitrogen from the air, allowing nitrogen fixation to be done at ambient temperatures and pressures. On an industrial scale, this would result in significant global reductions in energy usage and costs associated with fertilizer production.

“It’s one of the holy grails of chemistry” Veige said.