Dr. Francis D'souza, distinguished research professor of the Chemistry Department at the University of North Texas (College of Science), has received the 2018 Doherty Award from the American Chemical Society. This prestigious honor is given for excellence in chemical research or chemistry teaching, meritorious service to ACS, establishment of a new chemical industry, solution of pollution problems, and/or advances in curative or preventative chemotherapy. Award winners must be a resident in the area served by the ACS DFW Section, and the work on which the award is based is typically done in this same geographical area. To celebrate his accomplishments, a large photo of the Dr. D'souza will be displayed permanently in the Gallery of Doherty Award Winners, Berkner Hall, and at the University of Texas at Dallas.
Dr. D'souza will also be honored at a banquet taking place at the Oakmont Country Club on November 1, where he will give a talk entitled, " Light Capture and Conversion by Mimicking Nature." Tickets are available for those who wish to attend; discounted tickets are offered to students for $10. More information on the Doherty award can be found at https://dfw.sites.acs.org, and past recipients can be viewed here.
Dr. D'souza research covers many areas of chemistry, nanophotonics, and materials science. His principal research interests include supra and nonamolecular chemistry of porphyrins and carbon nanomaterials, light energy harvesting, photoelectrochemistry and photovoltaics, electrochemical and photochemical sensors and catalysts, fluorescent chemosensors and biosensors conducting nanocomposite hybrid materials for energy storage and conversion.
Part of the UNT community since 2011, Dr. D'souza has nearly 400 publications in his name. He is the co-editor of the Handbook of Carbon Nanomaterials series, published by World Scientific Publications, the associate editor of the Journal of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines, associate editor of the Journal of Electrochemical Society, and an editorial board member of several other journals. Besides the Doherty Award, he has also received the Excellence in Research Award in 2006, became a Fellow in the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science in 2008, a Fellow of the Electrochemistry Society in 2010, a UNT Distinguished Research Professor in 2013, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2015, and a Fulbright Specialist earlier this year.