Frank Derbyshire
1997 Henry H. Storch Award
Frank Derbyshire
Frank Derbyshire, Director of the Center for Applied Energy Research at the University of Kentucky and Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, is the recipient of the 1997 Henry H. Storch Award of the American Chemical Society. The Storch Award, sponsored by the Division of Fuel Chemistry from 1964 to 1986, by Exxon Research & Engineering Co. from 1987 to 1996, and by the American Chemical Society in 1997, is given annually to an individual who has made the greatest contribution in the last five years to fundamental or engineering research on the chemistry and utilization of coal or related materials. The award consists of $5,000, a plaque and an expense allowance of up to $1,500 for travel to the meeting at which the award will be presented.
Frank Derbyshire graduated with a first class honors B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Manchester University followed by a M.Eng. from McMaster University, Ontario and returned to England to complete a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the Imperial College in London. His career in coal research began in 1975 with the Coal Research Establishment of the National Coal Board at Stoke Orchard, Cheltenham where he performed research on coal liquefaction and catalytic upgrading of coal. He then worked at Mobil R&D Corporation, Central Research Division, in Princeton, NJ on the conversion of coal to liquid fuels. In 1982 he became an Associate Professor in Fuel Science at The Pennsylvania State University where he developed his interest in the use of carbon as a catalyst support. In 1986-1987 he was a Visiting Research Fellow with the Carbon Research Group in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Loughbrough University where he worked on solvent mediated coal dissolution and on the production of carbon/carbon composites. He later joined Sutcliffe Speakman Carbons Limited as Research Director before moving in 1989 to become Director of the Center for Applied Energy Research at the University of Kentucky. Professor Derbyshire is an active member of several Divisions of the American Chemical Society and served as Program Chair for the 1995 Fuel Chemistry Division Meetings. In 1987 he was awarded the R.A. Glenn Award by the Fuel Chemistry Division.
Apart from his wide interests in carbonization, catalysis, coal liquefaction and coal utilization in general, Frank Derbyshire has further interests in activated carbons with selective adsorptive or catalytic properties that can be applied to the resolution of environmentally related problems, especially in the treatment of air and water quality. Since 1991, the Center for Applied Energy Research has held a two day Workshop on Adsorbent Carbons in Lexington, KY just prior to the Biennial Conference on Carbon.
Frank Derbyshire presently holds 13 patents and has has over 150 papers presented and published in conference proceedings and academic journals. He has published extensively and authoriatively on various aspects of coal liquefaction and on the production and use of activated carbons. The contribution of this work to our scientific knowledge and understanding clearly demonstrates that he is a worthy addition to the list of 31 distinguished recipients of this award.