公益財団法人 本田財団
104-0028 東京都中央区八重洲2-6-20
Tel 03-3274-5125 Fax 03-3274-5103 http://www.hondafoundation.jp

PRESS RELEASE
September 27, 2011
UC Berkeley Chemist Dr. Gabor Somorjai to Receive Honda Prize 2011 forHis Pioneering Contributions to Surface Chemistry that
Established the Foundation of Today’s Sophisticated Catalysis

The Honda Foundation, a public-interest incorporated foundation created by Honda
Motor‟s founder Soichiro Honda and his younger brother Benjiro Honda, and currently
headed by Hiroto Ishida, is pleased to announce that the Honda Prize 2011 will be awarded toDr. Gabor Somorjai, Professor of Chemistry at the University of California Berkeley, U.S.A., for
his pioneering contributions to surface science. His introduction of basic chemical approaches
to solid-state physics revolutionized the understanding of the nature of surface interactions
when scientific data on surfaces were scarce, and elevated the study of catalysis to themainstay of surface science. Dr. Somorjai becomes the 32nd laureate of the Honda Prize1.

Catalytic chemistry benefits millions of people via its extensive studies of functional
materials, especially by finding ways to efficiently synthesize useful substances under specific,
mild conditions. Some examples include ammonia-based fertilizers, polyethylene and otherplastic polymers, amino acids synthesized by using the Nobel laureate Dr. Noyori‟sasymmetric hydrogenation process, and catalytic converters that clean up car exhaust. On theecotechnological front, it is expected that further sophistication of metallic catalysts would
substantially reduce the cost of fuel cell production. Dr. Somorjai‟s finding that the molecules
produced in reactions are controlled by the size and shape of catalyst nanoparticles led to theevolution of green chemistry that produces only the desired product molecule without thechemical waste byproducts. In steps toward a green economy, photocatalytic processes holdthe key to efficiently make large amounts of hydrogen fuel – the ultimate clean energy – fromsunlight and water.

Half a century ago, when Dr. Somorjai began his surface studies, the scientific knowledgeof what occurs on surfaces was very little despite experts‟ recognition of its high importance.
1

Honda Prize: Japan‟s first international science and technology awa rd inaugurated in 1980. It is recognized
as one of the most important awards of the world by the U.S. International Congress of Distinguished Awards.

As a chemist, Dr. Somorjai felt the need to understand and visually describe surface
interactions at the molecular level for which he almost single-handedly developed necessary
techniques and instrumentation. His unique, chemical approaches to surfaces led to theestablishment of catalyst chemistry, and elevated it to the mainstay of surface science. His
peers naturally began to hail him as the “father of modern surface chemistry”.

Today many of Dr. Somorjai‟s discoveries serve as the foundation of chemical processes
that are extensively studied and used in industry and academia. For example, the chemistry ofcatalyst particle surfaces is the key technology behind the production of high-octane gasoline
and various pharmaceutical products, while chemical reactions on electrode surfaces are usedin the electroplating process to produce fuel cells and other forms of batteries. His findings
paved the way for changing the composition and property of ice surfaces for high-speed ice
skating rinks, and for advanced ultrathin coating of metal, glass and semiconductor surfaces.
Dr. Somorjai‟s achievements are also used in areas such as medicine, biochemistry,photochemistry, microelectronics, and magnetic storage industry.

In more academic terms, Dr. Somorjai‟s major academic achievements to this date include:
1. Development of single-crystal model surfaces to understand catalysis and other surface
interactions and extrapolate the results to more complex surfaces. His synthesis of
uniform metal and bimetallic nanoparticles in the 1-10 nm size range and controlled
shape extended model surface studies of catalysis in a range that overlaps thenanoparticles utilized in catalyst-based technologies.
2. Establishment of Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) crystallography todetermine the surface structures of crystalline materials and adsorbed layers ofmolecules.
3. Development and application of reaction cells working at high reactant pressures(atmospheres) and low pressures (10-7 to 10-3 Pa) to bridge the pressure gap that stands
between traditional surface analysis and newer catalytic reaction studies.
4. Development of non-linear laser optics techniques based on sum frequency generation(SFG) vibrational spectroscopy and its application to chemical analysis of structure andbonding of adsorbed molecules on surfaces at high pressures and under catalytic
reaction conditions.
5. Development of applications of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to be used underhigh reactant pressures during chemical reactions.

6. Development of the application of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to be used
under high reactant pressures.
These new instruments permit the monitoring of the surfaces during reactions thus
revealing the molecular details of surface chemical processes.

As outlined above, Dr. Somorjai‟s manifold, unique inquiry into the nature and depth ofsurface interactions has laid the foundation of surface chemistry. It even contributes toaddress some of environmental challenges modern industry has been faced with. The Honda
Foundation believes his services to society are appropriate for the Honda Prize as anembodiment of the ideals of ecotechnology2.

The 32nd award ceremony for the Honda Prize will be held at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo
on November 17th, 2011. In addition to the prize medal and certificate, sub-prize money of 10
million yen will be awarded to the laureate.

For more information, contact the Honda Foundation via phone at +81-3-3274-5125 or via fax
at +81-3-3274-5103.
Honda Yaesu Building, 2-6-20 Yaesu, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0028, Japan
http://www.hondafoundation.jp/en/
You may also contact Honda Motor‟s Public Relations Department at +81-3-5142-1512.

2

Ecotechnology: Coined from „ecology‟ - the house of civilization - and „technology.‟ It has been put forward

since 1979 as the guiding philosophy for a better symbiosis between technology-driven civilization and nature.

Dr. Gabor A. Somorjai
University Professor (appointed by the Regents of theUniversity of California)
Professor of Chemistry, Chemistry Department,
University of California, Berkeley
Faculty Senior Scientist and Director, Surface Science &Catalysis Program, Materials Sciences Division,Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CAEducation
1960
1956

Ph.D., Chemistry, University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley), CA
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Technical University, Budapest, Hungary

Employment
1964-Present Professor, Department of Chemistry, UC Berkeley
Professor, 1972; Associate Professor, 1967; and Assistant Professor, 1964
1964-Present Faculty Senior Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
1960-64Research Staff, IBM, Yorktown Heights, New York
Somorjai was born in Budapest, Hungary, on May 4, 1935. He was a fourth year
student of Chemical Engineering at the Technical University in Budapest in 1956 at theoutbreak of the Hungarian Revolution. He left Hungary and emigrated to the United States,
where he received his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from the University of California,
Berkeley in 1960. He became a U.S. citizen in 1962.
After graduation, he joined the IBM research staff in Yorktown Heights, NY, wherehe remained until 1964. At that time, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Chemistry atthe UC Berkeley. In 1967, he was named Associate Professor, and in 1972 promoted toProfessor. Concurrent with his faculty appointment, he is also a Faculty Senior Scientist inthe Materials Sciences Division, and Director of the Surface Science and Catalysis Programat the Center for Advanced Materials, at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Hewas appointed University Professor by the UC Board of Regents in March of 2002.
Somorjai has educated 130 Ph.D. students and more than 200 postdoctoral fellows,
about 100 of which hold faculty positions and many more are leaders in industry, He is theauthor of more than 1000 scientific papers in the fields of surface chemistry, heterogeneous
catalysis, and solid state chemistry. He has written three textbooks, Principles of Surface
Chemistry, Prentice Hall, 1972; Chemistry in Two Dimensions: Surfaces, Cornell
University Press, 1981 Introduction to Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, Wiley-Interscience,
1994 and Introduction to Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, Second Edition, Wiley 2010;
and a monograph, Adsorbed Monolayers on Solid Surfaces, Springer-Verlag, 1979.

Awards and Honors
2011 ENI New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons PrizeBBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences
2009 Senior Miller Fellow, Miller Institute, UC, Berkeley
Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science Award
Excellence in Surface Science Award from the Surfaces in Biointerfaces Foundation
Fellow of the American Chemical Society
Honorary Membership, Chemical Society of Japan
2008 Priestley Medal from the American Chemical Society
2007 Langmuir Prize from the American Physical Society
2006 Remsen Award from the Maryland Section of the ACS
Honorary Fellow, Cardiff University
2003 Cotton Medal, Texas A&M University
2002 National Medal of Science
2000 American Chemical Society Award for Creative Research in Homogeneous or
Heterogeneous Catalysis
Linus Pauling Medal for Outstanding Accomplishment in Chemistry, American
Chemical Society, Puget Sound, Portland and Oregon Section
1998 Wolf Prize in Chemistry
1997 Von Hippel Award, Materials Research Society
1995 Chemical Pioneer, American Institute of Chemists
1994 Adamson Award in Surface Chemistry, American Chemical Society
1990 Honorary Membership in Hungarian Academy of Sciences
1989 Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry, American Chemical Society
Senior Distinguished Scientist Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
E.W. Mueller Award, University of Wisconsin
1986 Henry Albert Palladium Medal
1983 Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
1982 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Distinguished Scholar for Exchange with China
1981 Colloid and Surface Chemistry Award, American Chemical Society
1979 Member National Academy of Sciences
1978 Miller Professorship, UC Berkeley
1977 Emmett Award, American Catalysis Society
1976 Kokes Award, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
Elected Fellow, American Physical Society
1972 Unilever Visiting Professor, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
1969 Guggenheim Fellowship
Visiting Fellow, Emmanuel College, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Memberships
National Academy of Science
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Chemical Society
American Physical Society (Fellow)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (Fellow)
Cosmos Club, Washington DC