Conference: Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Reproducibility in Homogeneous Catalysis

Through this project, a workshop addressing reproducibility of research in homogeneous catalysis will be conducted. The workshop is led by Dr. Rory Waterman of the University of Vermont with co-organizers Drs.

Jillian Dempsey (University of North Carolina), Abigail Doyle (University of California, Los Angles), and Aaron Sadow (Iowa State University). By convening experts from the academy, industry, U.S. funding agencies and national laboratories, and the broad homogeneous catalysis research community, assessment of the challenges for reproducible homogeneous catalysis will be performed.

From that assessment, actionable opportunities to address these challenges will be proposed as well as suggestions to enhance the training of new researchers and professionals in catalysis to strengthen the domestic catalysis workforce. The wealth of discoveries in homogeneous catalysis—a central tool for industries including pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, agriculture, and energy—must remain transferable to allow further advances and economic growth.

Ensuring that there are no inherent barriers to this knowledge transfer is key to solving a variety of current and future challenges, creating economic and employment opportunity, fostering new discovery, and preparing the next-generation science workforce.

The Workshop in Reproducibility of Homogeneous Catalysis, supported by the Divisions of Chemistry and Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems, is planned for late 2025. This workshop will bring together at least 50 students, early-career researchers, and senior-level technical experts, selected by a scientific advisory committee that includes representatives from leading scientific journals and societies as well as academia and industry.

Work in the fall will leverage community input through virtual and in-person meetings in the prior spring and summer. The workshop products will consist of a report followed by one or more journal articles that will be concurrently available in open-access format that summarize findings, challenges, and recommended best practices for homogeneous catalysis and training next generation STEM professionals.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.