Analytica Chimica Acta editor honoured by ACS

The American Chemical Society has named UTA’s chemist Purnendu “Sandy” Dasgupta the recipient of its 2011 chromatography award.

Dasgupta is being honored by the largest scientific society for his ground-breaking work in the field of chromatography, air pollution, drug development, among other things.

Dasgupta will receive the award in March 2011 from the American Chemical Society committee. Along with his award he will also receive $5,000, which is sponsored by Supelco Inc., a labratory equipment distributor.

“I’m of course tickled and honored that I will be receiving this award, but I really didn’t think I’d be getting it I don’t consider myself to be a chromatographer,” he said.
Each year new scientists are nominated for the chromatography award, and previous nominees are able to stay on the nomination board for three years. Chromatography is the method of seperating and identifying the components of a complex mixture.

Dasgupta is a Jenkins Garrett Professor and joined the faculty in 2007 after a career at Texas Tech. During his career at Texas Tech he became known as the youngest professor to become the Paul Whitfield Horn Professor.

Whenever an individual or group donates to a university, they may use the money to name chairs or professorships. Donations usually cover the salary for those positionsw.

“I think this award is not for something that Sandy did yesterday,” said Daniel Armstrong, Robert A. Welch Chemistry chairman. “This is something that has happened through his career, it’s not an overnight thing,” he said.

Armstrong was the American Chemical Society’s 1999 winner of the Chromatography Award, and nominated Dasgupta for the award this year.

Dasgupta has mentored more than 100 undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students. He has worked 330 peer-reviewed papers, written over 30 book chapters, has given about 300 lectures world-wide, is an editor for a science magazine and currently holds 18 U.S. patents.

Biochemistry senior Darshan Patel hasn’t had Dasgupta as a professor but he’s familiar with his work.

“I’m definitely a huge fan, the guy’s got like 20 U.S. patents,” he said.

Patel said Dasgupta’s work with sickle cell anemia is ingenious.

Though Dasgupta has never sought personal recognition or awards, his work has been recognized by the American Microchemical Society,the Dow Chemical Co., the Society of Toxicology and Pharmacology, to name a few.

“We are absolutely proud of him,” Armstrong said. “It’s our outstanding chemistry department has helped make this one of the top five analytical chemistry departments in the nations in the last five years,” he said.
Source: http://www.theshorthorn.com/content/view/20085/265/