Biography
Scott received her Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Iowa State University, under the direction of Jim Espenson and Andreja Bakac, on the activation of O2 and transition metal-catalyzed oxidation mechanisms. She was a NATO Postdoctoral Fellow with Jean-Marie Basset at the Institut de recherches sur la catalyse (CNRS) in Lyon, France, before joining the faculty of the University of Ottawa (Canada) where she was named a Canada Research Chair in 2001. In 2003, she moved to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she currently holds the Duncan and Suzanne Mellichamp Chair in Sustainable Catalysis.
She has joint faculty appointments as a Distinguished Professor in both Chemical Engineering and in Chemistry & Biochemistry. She is an Associate Editor for ACS Catalysis, a member of the Board of Reviewing Editors for Science, and a member of Scientific Advisory Boards at the Fritz Haber Institute, SUNCAT, SSRL, NREL, JBEI, Ames Lab, and PNNL. Her research interests include the design of heterogeneous catalysts with well-defined active sites for the efficient conversion of conventional and new feedstocks, as well as environmental catalysts to promote air and water quality. She develops new kinetic and spectroscopic methods to probe reaction mechanisms. In 2014, she founded the Mellichamp Academic Initiative in Sustainable Manufacturing and Product Design at UC Santa Barbara, where she now leads an interdisciplinary program in research and education involving faculty from chemistry, chemical engineering, materials, environmental science, industrial ecology, technology management, political science, economics, and science communication.
Academic and Professional Appointments
2021-present Executive Editor ACS Catalysis
2020-2022 Chair, Academic Senate University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
2014-present Duncan & Suzanne Mellichamp Academic Initiative Professor University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
2014-present Distinguished Professor University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
2013-present Associate Editor ACS Catalysis
2003-present Professor of Chemical Engineering University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
2003-present Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
1998-2002 Associate Professor of Chemistry University of Ottawa, Canada
1994-1998 Assistant Professor of Chemistry University of Ottawa, Canada
1992-1994 NATO Postdoctoral Fellow Institutionalization de recherches sur la catalyse, Lyon, France
1992 Postdoctoral Fellow Ames Laboratory (DOE), Ames IA, USA
Research Interests
• Sustainable catalysis and routes to renewable energy, fuels and chemicals;
• Applications of surface organometallic chemistry to active site characterization and thin film fabrication;
• Inorganic reaction kinetics and mechanisms, especially related to the activation of small molecules;
• Development and application of operando-spectroscopic methods to the study of interfacial reactions;
• Design of new heterogeneous catalysts for olefin polymerization, metathesis and oxidation;
• Catalytic conversion of unconventional feedstocks, including biomass and synthetic polymers.
Teaching
• Advanced Reaction Engineering
• Advanced Catalysis
• Scientific Writing
• Engineering Thermodynamics
• Separation Process Engineering
Bestowed Awards and Honors
2020 Chair Gordon Research Conference on Catalysis (postponed to 2022)
2019 Eastman Lecturer University of California, Berkeley
2019 Boulder Scientific Lecturer Colorado State University
2019 Kurt Wohl Memorial Lecturer University of Delaware
2018-2021 Chang Jiang International Visiting Professor Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
2018 John van Geuns Lecturer University of Amsterdam
2017-2021 Board of Reviewing Editors Science
2017 Grace Hopper Distinguished Lecturer University of Pennsylvania
2017 Vladimir N. Ipatieff Lectureship in Catalysis Northwestern University
2016 Visiting International Professorship Université de Lille 1 – Sciences et Technologies
2013-present Associate Editor ACS Catalysis
2012 Visiting Professorship for Senior International Scientists Chinese Academy of Sciences
2008 Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
2001 Miller Visiting Research Professorship University of California – Berkeley
2001-2002 Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Surface Organometallic Catalyst Design
2000 YWCA Women of Distinction Award (Information Technology and Science)
1999 Premier's Research Excellence Award (Ontario)
1999 University of Ottawa Young Researcher of the Year Award
1998, 1999 Union Carbide Innovation Recognition Award
1997 Cottrell Scholar of Research Corporation
1994-1999 NSERC Women’s Faculty Award
1994 John Charles Polanyi Prize in Chemistry
1992-1994 NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship
1991 Research Excellence Award, Iowa State University
1989 Teaching Excellence Award Iowa State University
1987-1991 1967 Centennial Post-graduate Scholarship NSERC
1987 Gold Medal in Chemistry University of Alberta