Istvan Kiss receives St Louis Award from Section Chair Tabbetha Bohac
Dateline St Louis, October 27, 2023 — A symposium and banquet were held in honor of Dr Istvan Z Kiss, Professor of Chemistry at Saint Louis University and winner of the 53rd St Louis Section ACS Award.
Dr Kiss was selected by a jury composed of St Louis Section Directors for his outstanding contributions to the profession of chemistry and potential to further the advancement of the chemical profession.
The symposium on “Modeling and Controlling Complex Self-Organized Structures” was organized by Dr Kiss and Dr Alexei Demchenko, Chair of the Department of Chemistry, and was held in the awe-inspiring Pere Marquette Gallery, Duborg Hall, with its stunning stained glass windows. The attendees were welcomed by Dr Tabbetha Bohac, Chair of the Section. After her introduction, five colleagues selected by Dr Kiss from hither (Washington University) and yon (Northeastern and Florida State Universities) presented their talks. The closing act was Dr Kiss’ presentation on “Network Electrochemistry” summarizing his work from battery technology to microfluidics to circadian rhythms in biology.
from the Symposium: Left: Presentation by Dr. Jr-Shin Li, Right: Symposium participants (left to right) Alexei Demchenko, Istvan Kiss, K L Nikhil, Oliver Steinbock, Adilson Motter, Michael Sebek, Jr-Shin Li.
The Glen Echo Country Club was the site of the Award Banquet, immediately following the symposium and attended by almost fifty guests. The Banquet started with beverages and hors d’oeuvres (most popular food: candied bacon). Tabbetha Bohac figuratively rang the dinner bell, then introduced Dr Kiss and his wife Sneh, and thanked him and the other speakers for putting on a great symposium. She recognized other officers of the local section and former St Louis Award winners in attendance.
Everyone was then treated to a great dinner of salad, glazed salmon and Japanese cut striploin. While people were getting ready to enjoy their tiramisu desserts, Dr Demchenko introduced Dr Kiss once more, and Dr Bohac presented him with the Award plaque and honorarium.
Dr Kiss then regaled the attendees with his award lecture (intended to appeal to a more general audience), entitled “Adventures Through Sync and Chaos” detailing his path from a small town in Hungary experimenting with explosives, arriving at Saint Louis University performing innovative research on network theory of chemical and biological reactions. He cited the contributions of his students and collaborators to developments on oscillatory reactions with electrode arrays and lab-on-a-chip devices.
Group photo: front row: Sneh Kiss, Istvan Kiss, John A. Tetteh, Anita Limbu, Mahesh Imaduwa-Gamage, Fadi Alhalabi, back row: Jorge Ocampo, Sagnik Chakraborty, Devanand, Lawrence Bordoh, Michael Emmanuel, Michael Hankins, Michael Sebek.
After his talk, his research group presented him with a framed congratulatory citation. Tabbatha then brought the evening to a close, though many stayed to reminisce long after.
—submitted by J-S Taylor, St Louis Award coordinator
“Computers and the physics of complex biological systems”
