Steven Strauss, professor in the Colorado State University Department of Chemistry, has received the 2016 American Chemical Society Award for Creative Work in Fluorine Chemistry. The award, sponsored by the Juhua Group Technology Center in China, recognizes outstanding contributions to the chemistry of fluorine, the lightest halogen and most reactive chemical element in the periodic table.

Strauss is the author of more than 200 scientific publications and holds 10 U.S. and PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) patents. He is only the fourth U.S. chemist to receive this annual award in the past 12 years.

Strauss and his CSU co-workers design and synthesize highly fluorinated chemical compounds and materials for use in catalysts, medical diagnostics, industrial gas purification, lithium-ion batteries, solar cells, fuel cells, light-emitting diodes, and other molecular electronic devices.

Strauss’ lab collaborates with scientists and engineers at universities, national laboratories and companies in the U.S. and around the world. Some of Strauss’ compounds are distributed by Sigma-Aldrich for use by other chemists.

Strauss will be honored at an awards ceremony on March 15 at the ACS National Meeting in San Diego.