MEMBER NEWS


AWARDS NEWS Joy for Julien


Julien Vantourout is this year’s Young Chemist in Industry award winner. Julien is an industrial PhD student at GSK and the University of Strathclyde and won the prize for his presentation on the limitations of the Chan-Lam amination of aryl boronic acid used in medicinal and process chemistry. How do you feel about winning the award? Winning the Young Chemist in Industry 2017 award was a real honour. I was delighted and grateful to be granted the first prize considering the number of great talks that were delivered during the day. My presentation highlighted my PhD work focusing on the development of new catalytic methodologies at the interface of industry and academia. I am thrilled the effort I put in this project, with the help of both my supervisors – Allan Watson and Albert Isidro-Llobet – was acknowledged by the organising committee. Why did you decide to enter the competition? Each year, the symposium brings together high-quality projects conducted in industry. It is also a great opportunity for young scientists to meet and present their research to a wide panel of industrial and academic scientists. It was certainly the most relevant event to attend as an industrial PhD student. Tell us about your research and its applications My research focuses on the chemotype reactivity issue in the Chan-Lam amination reaction. This useful C-N bond formation is widely used in both medicinal and process chemistry but encounters major limitations when using aryl boronic acid pinacol esters (BPin) instead of the parent boronic acids. In April 2016, we published a Journal of Organic Chemistry paper that outlined the development of a set of conditions to afford the efficient coupling of aryl BPin species using stochiometric amounts of copper acetate. Then, we decided to try to understand the basis of the BPin reactivity issue. We performed a full mechanistic study, determining the origin of the amine chemotype reactivity, identifying key reactive intermediates, and demonstrating the pivotal role of boron-based by-products. This led us to find a simple solution to the BPin reactivity problem, which involved manipulating the oxidation from Cu(I) to Cu(II) and exploiting three synergistic roles of boric acid. The resulting conditions were published in Journal of the American Chemical Society.


AWARDS NEWS Dooley honoured


The Society of Chemical Industry, America Section (SCI America), has announced that the 2018 SCI Chemical Industry Medal will be presented to Cal Dooley, former Member of Congress and current President and CEO of the American Chemistry Council. He will receive the medal at a dinner in his honour on 6 March 2018 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The SCI


Chemical Industry Medal honours an individual whose leadership, commitment and contributions have been responsible for


substantial progress and


performance of the chemical industry. In addition to being an active guiding force in the leadership of their organisation during periods of expansion, challenging conditions, or new directions, recipients are known for service rendered to the industry as a whole. ‘Cal Dooley is celebrated for his role in


strengthening the competitive position of US chemical manufacturers by advocating for a business and regulatory climate that drives innovation, supports job growth and enhances safety,’ said Chris Pappas, president and CEO of Trinseo and chair of SCI America. ‘Under Cal’s leadership, ACC has achieved some of its greatest successes in recent memory, including the modernization of chemicals management regulation. His leadership and vision have helped enact policies that enable the growth of the


AWARDS NEWS Castner medal goes to Walsh


In November 2017, Professor Frank C Walsh was presented with the Castner Medal, which SCI awards biennially to an authority on applied electrochemistry in a subject connected with chemical research. Established in 1946, the medal is named


after American chemist Hamilton Castner (1858–99), best known as a pioneer in the field of industrial electrochemistry. He discovered the chloralkali process for caustic soda manufacture, resulting in the now world- famous mercury cell for the electrolysis of brine. His process was patented in 1892 and was soon established in many parts of the world, making full use of SCI connections. In his medal lecture, Walsh summarised a


lifetime effort devoted to the development of advanced electrodes with enhanced performance for industrial electrochemical applications, as well as large-scale corrosion management (historical submarines and large ships, for example), and improved metal finishing methods. Speaking with the experience of a 40-year


combined career in academia and industry, Walsh began his lecture with a statement of the important research needs and good experimental practice in real-world, applied electrochemistry.


For the full review please see: http://bit.ly/2hpApDg


business of chemistry, while protecting health, safety and the environment in our nation.’ Dooley’s leadership has been critical


to ensuring that policymakers understand the link between the chemical industry and growth in America’s manufacturing sector that will drive US competitiveness, boost exports and create new, high-paying jobs. These achievements have created a more favourable environment for the business of chemistry in the US – contributing to the industry’s historic growth during his tenure, which currently stands at US$180 billion in new capital investment and 300 new industry projects including new manufacturing facilities, expansions and restarts of sites that had been shuttered during the economic downturn. In 2016, Dooley was recognised as one of the most influential lobbyists in Washington by The Hill magazine. His effectiveness stems from the relationships he built during his 12 years in the US House of Representatives. As a moderate Democrat representing Central California from 1991 to 2004, he served on the House Agriculture Committee, as well as the House Resources Committee. ‘During his time in Congress and in his


current role, Cal has built a reputation as a pragmatic, pro-business moderate, whose personal integrity commands the respect of federal regulators and legislators on both sides of the aisle,’ said Pappas. A fourth-generation farmer, Dooley holds


a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of California, Davis and, as a Sloan Fellow, earned a master’s degree in management from Stanford University.


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