Professor Joseph Francisco

Winner: 2022 Centenary Prize

University of Pennsylvania

For pioneering and creative applications of computational chemistry to the field of atmospheric chemistry, and for excellence in communication.

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The real importance of atmospheric science is that it allows me to make that connection between chemistry and the earth sciences. Making those connections drives my curiosity.

Professor Francisco is applying new tools from experimental physical and theoretical chemistry to solve atmospheric chemical problems. His research is advancing our understanding of chemical processes in the atmosphere at the molecular level so that we can make better choices and decisions for a sustainable planet. This approach has led to important discoveries of new chemistries occurring at the interfaces of cloud surfaces as well as fundamental new types of chemical bonding that control these processes. Learning that there is more chemistry occurring than previously known is exciting and brings us closer to thinking about innovative solutions to our present environmental challenges.

Read winner biography

Joseph S Francisco received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1977 and his PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1983. He then trained as a Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge in England, and then returned to MIT as a Provost Postdoctoral Fellow. He was also a Visiting Associate in Planetary Science at the California Institute of Technology. He is the President's Distinguished Professor of Earth and Environmental Science and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania.

Professor Francisco is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. He currently serves as an Executive Editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, and also sits on the Governing Board of the National Research Council. He was President of the American Chemical Society in 2010.

Q+A

How did you first become interested in chemistry?

I grew up in the shadow of oil refineries and chemical processing plants in Beaumont, Texas. As a kid, I would walk and play on the railroad tracks that ran through my neighbourhood and carried trains loaded with chemicals in and out of the refineries. I was curious as to what the droplet materials were left behind from the tankers on the train tracks. I would bend down, pick up the materials and then go to the library to read up on the substances that I came across on the train tracks. I got my first chemistry lesson.

Who or what has inspired you?

I was raised by my grandparents who left school in second and third grades to work on sugar cane and cotton plantations. They were really encouraging of all the pursuits I had and encouraged me to do the best at whatever I did. College was never mentioned by my grandparents. The first mention of college came as a result of a chance meeting with a man who was trying to find his way through my neighbourhood. That encounter resulted in a shift in direction for me. The man passing by was Dr. Richard Price, the first African American mathematics professor at Lamar University. I offered to walk him to his destination. During that walk, we chatted about my work in high school and my ambitions. It was the first time I had talked about college and the possibility for me. It was a truly important moment for me. I later realised that it was one of those moments of being at the right place at the right time.

What motivates you?

One of the things I learned is that I really enjoyed the research. It allows me to express my curiosity. I learn to identify good and important problems. When you are looking at problems in the environment, chemistry alone is not going to help you have the best impact. You need to understand how chemistry couples with other environmental processes. The real importance of atmospheric science is that it allows me to make that connection between chemistry and the earth sciences. Making those connections drives my curiosity.

What has been a challenge for you (either personally or in your career)?

Being willing and courageous to challenge the status quo.