It is with tremendous sadness that we share the news that Gabor A. Somorjai, revered colleague and leading researcher in surface science and catalysis, has passed away at the age of 90.
Professor Somorjai was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1935. During World War II and the Hungarian Revolution, he was studying chemical engineering at the Technical University in Budapest. In 1956, he left Budapest to pursue his academic career at UC Berkeley, where he earned his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1960. He then joined the research staff at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center in New York before returning to Berkeley as an assistant professor of chemistry in 1964. Professor Somorjai rose through the ranks of the professoriate and was appointed as University Professor in 2002. In addition to his faculty appointment, Professor Somorjai was a Faculty Senior Scientist and Group Leader of the Surface Science and Catalysis Program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Professor Somorjai is widely considered the father of modern surface chemistry. Over his career, he studied the structure, bonding, and reactivity at solid surfaces on the molecular scale, and his work significantly advanced our understanding of fundamental chemical processes and has had practical applications in various fields and industries, including pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and automotive. He developed new techniques for characterizing surfaces at the molecular level, including sum frequency generation surface vibrational spectroscopy (SFG) and high-pressure scanning tunneling microscopy (high pressure STM) and high pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ambient pressure XPS).
Professor Somorjai was recognized with the Priestley Medal (2008), the National Medal of Science (2002), and the Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1998), among his numerous other awards and honorary doctorates from prestigious institutions. In addition, he was an Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences (1979) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1983).
In June 2015, Professor Somorjai retired from his faculty position but remained active in research, mentoring, and contributions to academia, notably through the Gabor A. and Judith K. Somorjai Visiting Miller Professorship Award, a special visiting professorship program he created that supports early-career visiting scientists through the campus's prestigious Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science.
Please join us in honoring and remembering this beloved colleague, who will be greatly missed within our community and beyond.