Prashant Kamat, Rev. John A. Zahm Professor of Science at the University of Notre Dame, has been selected as the 2023 Crano Memorial Lecturer. The Crano Memorial Lecture Series is overseen by the Akron Section of the American Chemical Society and is named in honor of John C. Crano, a former chair of the Akron Section. Crano, a long-time employee of PPG who was instrumental in the development of a commercially viable photochromic lens, was also a Notre Dame alumnus, having received his B.S. degree in chemistry 1957 before completing his M.S. and Ph.D. at Case Western Reserve.
Kamat was selected for his pioneering contributions to fundamental research in chemical processes related to clean and efficient energy. While his research spans a broad range, three main areas encompass the bulk of his focus. First, his work in the design of nanostructure materials for energy conversion and storage, particularly in the development of hybrid assemblies next-generation solar cells, has enabled fundamental understanding of photoinduced processes in quantum dot and perovskite solar cells. Kamat’s lab also investigates photocatalysts and electrocatalysts for energy storage and solar fuels generation. This work has revealed key details about interfacial charge transfer processes and factors influencing photocatalytic and catalytic processes. Lastly, Kamat has made significant strides in the utilization of carbon nanostructures in sensing, fuel cell, and solar cell development, and in identifying salient properties of graphene, carbon nanotubes, and fullerene-based systems. His work has resulted in over 500 peer-reviewed publications, review articles, book chapters, and edited collections and has received over 75,000 citations.
Kamat received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Bombay University and completed his postdoctoral training at Boston University and the University of Texas at Austin. He is a Fellow of the Materials Research Society, the Electrochemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Chemical Society, and he is a Pravasi Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy. Kamat is a winner of the Porter Medal and the Richard E. Smalley Research Award and has been named to Clarivate/Thomson-Reuters “Highly Cited Researchers” list each year from 2014-2022. Kamat also serves as the Founding Editor-in-Chief of ACS Energy Letters and was previously a deputy editor for the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.
Originally published by at chemistry.nd.edu on February 14, 2023.