UC professor awarded for lifetime achievement in photocatalysis
Chemical Engineering Professor Panagiotis Smirniotis received the 2024 David F. Ollis Award
Since 1994, Panagiotis (Peter) Smirniotis has been a valuable member of the University of Cincinnati's College of Engineering and Applied Science and is known for impactful, interdisciplinary research focusing on various environmental and energy problems.
Recently, the chemical engineering professor was honored with the inaugural David F. Ollis Award for lifelong achievements from the International Scientific Society of Semiconductor Photocatalysis and Solar Energy Conversion. The award is named after the influential professor and pioneer in the field of chemical engineering and photocatalysis.
Panagiotis (Peter) Smirniotis has been at the University of Cincinnati since the early 90s. Photo/Corrie Mayer/UC CEAS Marketing.
Smirniotis was presented the award at the society's international meeting for his decades of work in the field. Upon his initial appointment at UC, he started by developing advanced models to derive intrinsic kinetic properties of photoreactions and inventing new photoreactors to eliminate kinetic falsification. He developed advanced photocatalysts to reduce toxic organic species found in both gaseous and aqueous streams. The origin of these toxins can be anywhere from industrial buildings to residential areas. For his work on the development of methodologies to eliminate the threats of chemical and biological warfare agents, Smirniotis received the 1999 Young Investigator Award from the U.S. Army, as well as two awards from NATO in the early 2000s for work in this area. He has secured more than $1.5 million in funding for his work on photocatalysis.
Traditionally, photocatalysts use ultraviolet light that requires electricity to be produced. Smirniotis created new families of photocatalysts that can operate with light in the visible part of the spectrum. The process does not require electricity to produce UV light. This revolutionary type of catalysis can be applied in many avenues of life including chemical manufacturing, energy generation and self-cleaning processes.
Smirniotis is internationally recognized in the field of catalysis, and the applications of his innovative research are robust, inlcuding the economic production of hydrogen, removal of greenhouse gases, producing cleaner liquid fuels, and more. At UC, he received the 2021 George Rieveschl Award for Distinguished Scientific Research and attributes much of his success and earning of this recognition to his dedicated graduate students.
Featured image at top: Peter Smirniotis is internationally recognized for his work in photocatalysis. Photo/Corrie Mayer/CEAS Marketing
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