Bloch Lecture

The Herman Bloch Memorial Lectureship is sponsored by the Bloch family in honor of Dr. Herman Bloch, an alumnus of the department (SB '33, Ph.D '36), intended to 1) recognize the achievements of chemists and chemical engineers who made outstanding contributions to science while working in industry, like Dr. Bloch, and 2) promote creative dialogue between academic and industrial researchers. Dr. Bloch was a long-time employee of Universal Oil Products, where he began his career in 1936. Dr. Bloch is perhaps best known for inventing the catalytic converter in the 1950's, and held over 270 patents. Dr. Bloch was the deputy director of research of AlliedSignal Inc and previously served as the chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Chemical Society, and an active member of the Chicago community, serving as chairman of the Cook County Housing Authority. He also maintained an energetic devotion to the University of Chicago, and received its Distinguished Alumni Award for his outstanding professional contributions and his leadership in public service. Dr. Bloch received many awards throughout his career, including, but not limited to, the Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists in 1989, the Ernest J. Houdry Award in Applied Catalysis, the E. V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry in 1974, and the Richard J. Kokes Memorial Award and Lectureship from Johns Hopkins University in 1971. Dr. Bloch was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1975.

Biography: Herman Samuel Bloch was born in Chicago, Illinois on June 15, 1912 to Ukranian immigrants Aaron and Esther Bloch. He graduated Senn High School (Chicago, IL) in 1929 with high honors and the highest GPA ever by a graduate to that point. With a full tuition scholarship, Bloch attended the University of Chicago, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1933, with degrees in chemistry and physics. He continued his graduate studies in organic chemistry at Chicago, under Prof. Julius Stieglitz, and received his doctorate in 1936.

After receiving his doctorate, he joined Universal Oil Products Co., a research company specializing in the development of refining processes and products for the petroleum industry. In 1940, he married fellow University of Chicago graduate, Elaine Judith Kahn, with whom he had three children, Aaron, Janet, and Merry.

At the time that Dr. Bloch joined UOP, the petroleum industry was still using thermal cracking to product gasoline, including the usage of tetraethyl lead to increase the octane number to suitable values. One of the great achievements by UOP scientists was their application of acid catalysts in hydrocarbon reactions to maximize yields and formation of higher grade gasoline. Indeed, this was an early example of a practical application of carbocation chemistry. This had a particularly large impact in World War II, where higher grade gasoline enabled Allied pilots to hold a substantial advantage over German counterparts.

In his time at UOP, Dr. Bloch enacted fundamental research on the full range of hydrocarbon reactivity in the context of gasoline generation, including, but not limited to: isomerization, polymerization, cyclization, dehydrocyclization, and dehydrogenation, all initiatable via carbocation chemistry. A major contribution was the development of a process which enabled the alkylation of benzene using linear olefins, producing alkylbenzenes that were then sulfonated to produce biodegradable detergents. Though nearly fifty years old, 85% of the world's supply of linear alkylbenzene detergents today are made using this technology.

Dr. Bloch also led the team that focused on the development of a catalytic exhaust device for the cleanup of engine exhaust. Today, every automobile produced in the world must have a catalytic exhaust device to meet clean air standards.

Dr. Bloch passed away in 1990, and is survived by his wife, Judith, and his daughters Janet (AB Chicago; now a professor of history at the University of Miami, FL) and Merry (a popular author).

This biography is largely adapted from James P. Shoffner's biographical memoir of Dr. Bloch, from the National Academies Press.

Previous Awardees:

BLOCH LECTURES

• 2025  John Jumper

  2024  David Liu

  2021  Keith Joung

  2019  Greg Verdine

  2018  Carl Decicco

  2017  Jay Bradner

  2015  Phaedon Avouris

  2014  John Martin

  2014  Jay Keasling

  2013  Daniel G. Nocera

  2011  Frances Arnold

  2010  Robert Langer

  2010  Chad Mirkin

  2009  James A. Wells

  2007  Joseph M. DeSimone

  2007  James C. Stevens

  2004  R. Stanley Williams

  2004  David R. Walt

  2003  Dennis P. Riley

  2001  Edwin Chandross

  1999  Henry Weinberg

  1996  Paul Reider

  1995  Louis Brus

  1995  Ashit Ganguly

  1994  Costantino S. Yannoni

  1992  Miguel A. Ondetti