Welch Award honors pioneer of femtochemistry
Ahmed H. Zewail of the California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, CA) received the 1997 Robert A. Welch Award in chemistry. The Welch Foundation presents the $300,000 annual award to recognize outstanding contributions to chemistry for the betterment of humankind. Zewail uses ultrafast techniques to probe chemical reactions as they occur in real time. "Dr. Zewail has given birth to a new era in chemistry," said Richard J. V. Johnson, Welch Foundation chairman. "His novel applications of technology have allowed scientists, for the first time, to really see what is happening at the molecular level."
"Understanding molecular behavior is the prerequisite to understanding just about anything else in our chemical and biological universe. How atoms and molecules behave as chemical reactions unfold is the core of femtochemistry," commented Zewail. "I am greatly honored that our contribution has been recognized by the Welch Foundation. I am equally pleased that the efforts of my students, postdoctoral fellows, and colleagues have made it possible for femtochemistry to reach out across such diverse areas of science and technology throughout the world." Zewail is an editorial adviser for Laser Focus World.