Michael Organ
Research has evolved over the years, particularly in the way that industry and academic scientists collaborate. Hear the story of two research projects that began as very fundamental science, but ended up developing commercially available products that helped solve long-standing problems spanning industries from pharmaceuticals to electronics.
Michael Organ, a long-time professor at York University until recently, is the 2018 NSERC Polanyi Prize winner.
Currently the director of the Centre for Catalysis Research and Innovation (CCRI) at the University of Ottawa, Organ will deliver the talk, “Academic/Industrial Research: A Perfect Marriage?” on Tuesday, Feb. 26.
There will be refreshments, from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by Organ’s talk, from 7 to 8 p.m., in Room 103 of the Life Sciences Building, Keele Campus. Click here to reserve your spot.
Organ’s research pioneered the concept of microwave-assisted, continuous flow organic synthesis as well as several unique technologies that underpin these efforts. These include new microwave applicator design, metal-film coated flow reactors to promote organic transformations, extreme temperature and pressure reactor and process design, continuous in-line analysis, and hands-free, intelligent process optimization and monitoring using in-house created software.
His group’s effort in catalysis has led to the creation of a broadening series of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-based organometallic complexes that have shown unsurpassed reactivity and selectivity in a wide number of cross-coupling applications. This family of catalysts (coined PEPPSI for pyridine-enhanced precatalyst preparation, stabilization, and initiation) has been commercialized and is used widely including at scale in the commercial manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API).
Organ received his PhD at the University of Guelph before becoming an NSERC Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University. He has worked at Indiana University-Purdue University and York University.
The event is presented by the Royal Canadian Institute for Science, York University and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.