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Biographical Sketch
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Professor G. K. Surya Prakash, Ph.D., was born in 1953 in Bangalore, India. He earned a B.Sc (Hons) in chemistry from Bangalore University and an M.S. in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Prakash came to US in 1974 and joined Professor George Olah’s group at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio to pursue graduate work. He moved with Professor Olah to the University of Southern California (USC) in 1977 to help establish the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute and obtained his Ph.D. in physical organic chemistry at USC in 1978. He joined the faculty of USC in 1981 and he is currently a Professor and the holder of the George A. and Judith A. Olah Nobel Laureate Chair in Hydrocarbon Chemistry at the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute and Department of Chemistry. He also serves as the Scientific Co-Director of the Institute. His primary research interests are in superacid, hydrocarbon, synthetic organic & organofluorine chemistry, with particular emphasis in the areas of energy and catalysis. He is a co-inventor of the proton exchange membrane based direct oxidation methanol fuel cell. Professor Prakash is a prolific author with more than 560 peer-reviewed scientific papers and holds 21 patents. He has also co-authored or edited 8 books. He has received many awards and accolades including two American Chemical Society National Awards: 2004 for his achievements in the area of fluorine chemistry and 2006 for his contributions to hydrocarbon chemistry. More recently, he has received the 2006 Richard C. Tolman Award from the Southern California section of the American Chemical Society for his scientific contributions to Southern California and the 2007 Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India. He is a fellow of the American Association of Advancement of Science and a Member of the European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Humanities. He also sits on several Editorial Boards of Chemical Journals.
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Education
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 B.S. , Bangalore University, India, 1/1972
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M.S. , I.I.T., Madras, India, 1/1974
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Ph.D. , University of Southern California, 1/1978
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Description of Research
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Summary Statement of Research Interests
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Since 1989, Prakash has worked with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)/Caltech to develop the methanol fuel cell as part of a project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. He has engineered a membrane that blocks methanol; representing a major break-through in terms of commercializing the methanol fuel-cell technology. His work has many practical applications. For instance, Toshiba is currently working on building a laptop powered by the technology.
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Research Specialties
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Professor Prakash and his group's research interests are in the area of Synthetic Organic, Mechanistic and Hydrocarbon chemistry related to energy. Our projects cover a wide range of subjects in the area of selective fluorinations, oxidations, energetic materials, reductions, stereoselective reactions, electrochemical synthesis, hydrocarbon activation and isomerization, direct oxidation fuel cells, lithium ion battery electrolytes, electrochemistry, polymer chemistry, superacid catalyzed reactions, stable carbocation chemistry, application of ab initio and DFT theory and NMR chemical shift calculations. Our group also utilizes extensively all the modern spectroscopic and analytical tools in organic structure characterization as well as in mechanistic studies.
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Detailed Statement of Research Interests
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Synthetic Organic Chemistry:
We mainly emphasize the development new reactions and reagents, which greatly benefit practicing synthetic organic chemists. Although our goal is not target molecule synthesis oriented, development of single step selective and stereoselective transformations is of immense value in general organic synthesis. Preparation of selectively fluorinated organic compounds is of importance in medicinal chemistry. We have developed many fluorination protocols based on pyridinium polyhydrogen fluorides (ionic liquids) as a room temperature nucleophilic fluorinating agent. Many of the methods replace the use of highly toxic HF and elemental fluorine. Selective fluoroalkylations were also achieved by the use trifluoromethyl- and perfluoroalkyltrialkylsilanes. Related perfluoroalkylations using sulfur-based reagents have shown great promise. A number of silicon reagents such as trialkylsilanes, trimethylsilyl nitrile and azide have been developed as useful synthons. A new ionic hydrogenation methods using trialkylsilanes as reducing agent has resulted in general ether synthesis method. Increasingly superacids serve as excellent high acidity medium for electrophilic reactions (superelectrophilic activation). Using CF3SO3H or BF3-H2O as a high acidity and non-oxidizing medium a host of new reactions for deactivated aromatics such as iodination, acylation, nitration etc., are being developed. Use of solid strong acid catalysts such as Nafion-HR (an ionomeric perfluoroalkane type sulfonic acid) and gallium triflate (a recyclable strong Lewis acid) are also being investigated. New polymer bead chemistry at nanoscale (nanochemistry) has been ongoing. The nanometer scale polymer spheres with pendant surface functionalities serve as hosts for metal nanoparticles, which can be used as catalysts.
Mechanistic Studies:
These studies involve generation of reactive electrophilic intermediates such as carbocations, carbodications, halonium ions, diazonium ions, oxonium ions, acylium ions, thioacylium ions, nitrenium ions, silicenium ions and selenonium ions in low nucleophilicity highly acidic solvent systems and their characterization using low temperature broad-band nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H, 2H, 13C, 19F, 17O, 29Si, 77Se, 15N, 35Cl, etc.,). Other techniques such as infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are also employed to characterize their structures. Using the above methods, a wide variety of trivalent (classical) and bridged (non-classical) carbocations have been characterized along with some new aromatic cationic systems. Several empirical correlations to relate positive charge density and chemical shifts were developed. Other reactive intermediates studied include carbanions and oxonium ylides. In conjunction with these studies a wide array of two-dimensional NMR techniques and special pulse sequences are routinely employed. Solid-state 13C NMR spectra of carbocation salts are also routinely obtained using cross polarization magic angle spinning techniques (CPMAS). In this area ab initio and DFT calculations are routinely employed to delineate structure and energetics of complex carbocation structures. The minimized structures are also used in NMR chemical shift calculations.
Hydrocarbon, Energy and Related Chemistry:
Utilization of saturated hydrocarbons including methane as raw materials to synthesize value added compounds. Use of hydrocarbons and oxygenated hydrocarbons (particularly methanol) as fuels in direct oxidation fuel cells. Hydrocarbon isomerization, functionalization (nitration, carbonylation, hydroxylation, sulfuration, etc.,) and synthesis of polycyclic cage hydrocarbons. Polymerization of ethylene and alfa-olefins to polyolefins by aluminum subhalide chemistry. Polymerization of unusual monomers. Proton conducting polymer electrolytes for fuel cells and lithium ion batteries. Superacid facilitated upgrading of fossil fuels (such as coal, methane, etc.) to industrially useful feedstocks. Electrochemical reduction of anthropogenic carbon dioxide to methanol and related derivatives. Development of the Methanol economy conceptR.
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Honors and Awards
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Endowed Chair, George A. and Judith A. Olah Nobel Laureate Chair in Hydrocarbon Chemistry, 1/1/1997-
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Distinguished Alumnus Award, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India, 2006-2007
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George A. Olah Annual Lecturer, 2006-2007
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Richard C. Tolman Award, Southern California Section of American Chemical Society, 2006-2007
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American Chemical Society George A. Olah National Award in Hydrocarbon or Petroleum Chemistry, 2005-2006
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Fellow of the American Association of Advancement of Science , 2005-2006
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NASA Space Act Board Award, New Fuels For Direct Oxidation Fuel Cells, 2004-2005
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American Chemical Society National Award for Creative Work in Fluorine Chemistry, 2003-2004
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USC Associates Award For Creativity In Research And Scholarship, 2000
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JPL/TAP Group Achievement Award for Low Crossover Membranes for Methanol Fuel Cells, 1998-1999
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Phi Kappa Phi Faculty Recognition Award for Research and Scholarship, 1983-1984
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Service to the University
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Administrative Appointments
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Scientific Co-Director, Loker Hydrocarbon Res. Institute, 2007-2008
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