Jean-Marie Basset (born 9 June 1943) is a French
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...
, and is currently the director of
KAUST
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST; ar, جامعة الملك عبد الله للعلوم و التقنية ') is a private research university located in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. Founded in 2009, the university provide ...
catalysis research center.
Biography
Jean Marie Basset is an engineer from the École Supérieure de Chimie Industrielle de
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
. He is doing a doctoral thesis under the supervision of Professor Marcel Prettre, a corresponding member of the institute. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
in Toronto and
Imperial College
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
(with Nobel Prize winner Prof. Wilkinson), he joined the
CNRS
The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe.
In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...
Catalytic Institute, where he became Deputy Director. He was then a founding member, along with Jean Claude Charpentier, of the École de Chimie Physique et Électronique de Lyon (CPE Lyon), where he became scientific director. He created the Surface Organometallic Chemistry Laboratory and then the Catalysis and Process Chemistry Laboratory COMS UMR CNRS-CPE-UCB 52, of which he is the director. He then became a founding member and director of the Catalysis Centre at
King Abdullah University of Science and technology
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST; ar, جامعة الملك عبد الله للعلوم و التقنية ') is a private research university located in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. Founded in 2009, the university provide ...
in 2008. He was President of a European Laboratory of Excellence (NOE) IDECAT, which includes 44 catalyst laboratories in Europe. He has been a member of the board of numerous institutions such as AXELERA (competition pole, chemistry and environment), CPE, the
Maison de la Chimie.
Research
Jean Marie Basset's only scientific objective was to bring together two a priori very different disciplines;
homogeneous catalysis
In chemistry, homogeneous catalysis is catalysis by a soluble catalyst in a solution. Homogeneous catalysis refers to reactions where the catalyst is in the same phase as the reactants, principally in solution. In contrast, heterogeneous catalysis ...
on the one hand (governed by the laws of molecular chemistry) and
heterogeneous catalysis
In chemistry, heterogeneous catalysis is catalysis where the phase of catalysts differs from that of the reactants or products. The process contrasts with homogeneous catalysis where the reactants, products and catalyst exist in the same phase. Ph ...
on the other hand (more oriented towards surface science). Yet catalysis (whether heterogeneous or homogeneous) is a discipline corresponding to the transformation of molecules into other molecules and macromolecules. Therefore, the rules of molecular chemistry should apply to the rationalization, at least partial, of heterogeneous catalysis phenomena. In particular, any heterogeneous catalyst intermediate must involve an organometallic surface fragment.
Jean-Marie Basset has thus developed "surface organometallic chemistry" which consists in reacting organometallic complexes resulting from molecular chemistry with oxide or metal surfaces. A whole new discipline of chemistry has emerged, of which he is the pioneer. The first step was to develop the tools necessary for the identification and advanced characterization of these new types of catalysts. Then he used these tools to demonstrate the first molecular cluster catalysis reaction. Then he discovered the transformation of polyolefins (plastics) into diesel. Then the alkane metathesis reaction, the coupling of methane to ethane and hydrogen, the metathesis of cycloalkanes, the transformation of ethylene to propylene, the cutting of alkanes by methane, the hydro metathesis of olefins, the metathesis of imines, the metathetic oxidation of olefins. All these new reactions of catalysis may have been the result of a predictive approach to catalysis, which is his current research focus. The rationalization of heterogeneous catalysis by design allows it to meet an industrial demand that is increasingly concerned with energy and the environment. Jean-Marie Basset has filed more than 50 patents in Europe and the United States, and works with the largest chemical and petrochemical groups.
Jean-Marie Basset is the author or co-author of nearly 1,000 scientific publications.
Honours and Awards
* 2017: Honorary Professor, Central South Central University (CN)
* 2017: Honorary Professor,
Fu Zhou University (CN)
* 2017: Member of the
National Academy of Inventors
The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) is a US non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging inventors in academia, following the model of the National Academies of the United States. It was founded at the University of South Florida in 2010. ...
(USA)
* 2015 : Honorary Professor,
Nanjing University
Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xianl ...
(CN)
* 2011: Member of the
European Academy of Sciences and Arts
The European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA, la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Europaea) is a transnational and interdisciplinary network, connecting about 2,000 recommended scientists and artists worldwide, including 37 Nobel Prize laure ...
(EU)
* 2008: Doctor Honoris Causa,
University of Xiamen
Xiamen University (; Southern Min: ''Ē-mn̂g-toā-o̍h''), colloquially known as Xia Da (; Southern Min: ''Hā-tāi''), is a national public research university in Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Founded in 1921 by Tan Kah Kee, a Chinese patriotic ...
(CN)
* 2008: Doctor Honoris Causa
Technical University of Munich
The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences.
Establis ...
(DE)
* 2006: Augustine Award of the ORCS (USA)
* 2005: Distinguished Achievements Award of IMPI (USA)
* 2003: Chevalier in the
Ordre national du Mérite
The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's esta ...
(FR)
* 2002: Visiting Professor at Hokkaido University (JAP)
* 2002: Member of the
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...
(FR)
* 2001: Member of the Académie des Technologies (FR)
* 1999: Speaker "August-Wilhem-Von-Hofman-Vorselung" (DE)
* 1998: "Prix de l'Institut Français du Pétrole", Académie des Sciences (FR)
* 1998: "SEABORG Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry (University of Berkeley) (USA)
* 1997: "Procope" prize for Franco-German collaboration (FR/DE)
* 1997: Grand Prize) "Prix Süe 1997" of the French Chemical Society (FR)
* 1993: Membre correspondent of the French Academy of Sciences (FR)
* 1992: "Grammaticakis Neuman" Prize from the French Academy of Sciences (FR)
* 1991: "Max Plank" Award, joint with Wolfgang Herrmann (DE)
* 1987: "
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
The is an Independent Administrative Institution in Japan, established for the purpose of contributing to the advancement of science in all fields of the natural and social sciences and the humanities.JSPSweb page
History
The Japan Society for ...
s" (JAP)
* 1987: "
Alexander Von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
" Award (DE)
* 1984: Speaker "Pacific Coast Lecturer West Coast" (USA)
References
External links
"Jean-Marie Basset", ''Scientific Commons''"Jean-Marie Basset", ''Google Scholar''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basset, Jean-Marie
1943 births
Living people
20th-century French chemists
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
Members of the French Academy of Technologies
21st-century French chemists