Page 8 - CEMS News Winter 2021

FACULTY NEWS
Dauenhauer named MacArthur Fellow
“Genius Grant” rewards faculty who illustrate originality and creative pursuits.
Professor Paul Dauenhauer been named a 2020 fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Dauenhauer is a recipient of a “genius grant” that is given to faculty who illustrate originality and creative pursuits in their field of study. Damien Fair from the University of Minnesota Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain received the same award. Fellows receive $625,000 stipends that are bestowed with no conditions. Recipients may use the money as they see fit to further their pursuits.
Dauenhauer, the Lanny Schmidt Honorary Professor, conducts research on developing new technologies for converting biomass—materials derived from organic, renewable sources—into the chemical building blocks of products that are currently sourced from fossil fuels. Dauenhauer has demonstrated new methods for producing high yields of p-xylene (a key chemical for making polyester and plastics like soda bottles) and isoprene (a critical component of synthetic rubbers) from renewable resources such as wood, crop waste, and other types of refuse. The costs associated with his approach and quality of the resulting chemicals are comparable to production from petrochemical sources.
He has also developed an entirely new class of surfactants (chemical compounds that enable cleaning agents to mix with water) from sugar and fatty acids with the potential to replace petrochemical-based versions used in a large array of cleanser formulations, including detergents, soaps, and personal care products. Dauenhauer’s surfactants have increased biodegradability and exhibit novel and desirable properties not found in conventional detergents.
“It is a great honor to be selected for the Macarthur Fellowship,” Dauenhauer said. “Our laboratory took immense intellectual risk to develop new, frontier technologies in renewable materials and sustainable energy storage, and these have paid off with the dedication and hard work of our incredible students at the University of Minnesota. I am proud of all of their
Professor Paul Dauenhauer received a prestigious MacArthur “Genius Grant” for his research on renewable materials and sustainable energy storage. Photo credit: Richard Anderson Photography.
accomplishments and am pleased to see our collective work highlighted by this award.”
Dauenhauer received his PhD from CEMS under the mentorship of longtime University of Minnesota Professor Lanny Schmidt.
“This is a great day for Paul, a great day for the University of Minnesota, and a great day for the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science,” said Dan Frisbie, head of the University of Minnesota Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.
Excerpt from a news release written by Rhonda Zurn, College of Science and Engineering.
Visit the MacArthur Foundation website to watch a brief video about Paul Dauenhauer: https://www.macfound.org/fellows/1056/
8 www.cems.umn.edu