Larry Curtiss
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Larry A. Curtiss is an American
chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...
and researcher. He was born in Madison. WI. in 1947. He is a distinguished fellow and group leader of the Molecular Materials Group in the Materials Science Division at the
U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...
's (DOE)
Argonne National Laboratory Argonne National Laboratory is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Lemont, Illinois, Lemont, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1946, the laboratory is owned by the United Sta ...
. In addition, Curtiss is a senior investigator in the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), a DOE Energy Storage Hub, and was the deputy director of the Center for Electrochemical Energy Science, a DOE Energy Frontier Research Center. Curtiss is a specialist in developing quantum chemical methods for accurate energy calculations and applying these methods to energy- and material-related problems, including those related to
catalysis Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...
, batteries, and carbon materials. His work has been cited over 67,000 times. Curtiss is a fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
.


Early life and education

Curtiss received his
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in chemistry from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
in 1969. He then attended
Carnegie-Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a Private university, private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became t ...
, where he completed his
master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in
physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...
in 1971, and his
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in physical chemistry in 1973. While a graduate student, he worked under the supervision of pioneering chemist Sir John Anthony Pople, who won the
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
in chemistry for his work on computational methods in quantum chemistry. Curtiss's thesis focused on quantum chemical studies of hydrogen bonded complexes. After graduating in 1973, he became a research fellow at
Battelle Memorial Institute Battelle Memorial Institute (or simply Battelle) is an American private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. History The institute was founded in 1929 by Gordon Battelle. Originall ...
in
Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
until 1976. Curtiss joined Argonne in 1976 as a research associate in Argonne's former Chemical Technology Division, where he rose through the ranks to become senior scientist in 1988. In 1998, Curtiss was appointed to his current position as senior scientist and group leader of the Molecular Materials Group within Argonne's Materials Science Division. From 2006 until 2009, he was also an acting group leader at the
Center for Nanoscale Materials The Center for Nanoscale Materials is one of five Nanoscale Science Research Centers the United States Department of Energy sponsors. The Center is at Argonne National Laboratory location in Lemont, Illinois. The Center for Nanoscale Materials at ...
, and from 2004 until 2018, Curtiss was a senior fellow of the University of Chicago/Argonne Computation Institute. In 2000, Curtiss was named an Argonne Distinguished Fellow.


Research

Developing and applying computational chemistry methods Curtiss helped develop the Gaussian-n series of quantum chemical methods for accurate energy calculations (G1, G2, G3, and G4 theories). These methods are for calculating the thermochemical properties of molecules and ions. Modeling lithium-ion batteries and beyond-lithium-ion batteries Curtiss is also involved in developing so-called "beyond-lithium-ion" batteries, such as lithium-sulfur and lithium–air batteries. He helped create a Li-O2 battery that runs on lithium superoxide. Curtiss and researchers from Argonne and the University of Illinois also designed a lithium-air battery that works in a natural air environment for over 700 charge and discharge cycles, surpassing previous technology.


Honors and awards

* Named a Distinguished Fellow of Argonne National Laboratory, 2000 * Elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1997


Select Recent Publications

* Accurate quantum chemical energies for 133000 organic molecules, B. Narayanan, P.C. Redfern, R.S. Assary, L.A. Curtiss, Chem. Sci., 10, 7449-7455 (2019). doi:10.1039/C9SC02834J * Tuning the electrolyte network structure to invoke quasi-solid state sulfur conversion and suppress lithium dendrite formation in Li–S batteries, Q. Pang, A. Shyamsunder, B. Narayanan, C. Y. Kwok, L. A. Curtiss, L. F. Nazar, Nature Energy (2018) doi:10.1038/s41560-018-0214-0 * Lithium-Oxygen Batteries with Long Cycle Life in a Realistic Air Atmosphere, M. Asadi, B. Sayahpour, P. Abbasi, A. T. Ngo, K. Karis, J. R. Jokisaari, C. Liu, B. Narayanan, M. Gerard1, P. Yasaei, X. Hu, A. Mukherjee, K. C. Lau, R. S. Assary, F. Khalili-Araghi, R. F. Klie, L. A. Curtiss, Amin Salehi-Khojin1, Nature, 555, 502 (2018). DOI:10.1038/nature25984 * Perspective: Size selected clusters for catalysis and electrochemistry, A. Halder, L. A. Curtiss, A. Fortunelli, S. Vajda, J. Chem. Phys. 148, 110901 (2018). DOI: 10.1063/1.5020301 * The Role of Nanotechnology in the Development of Battery Materials for Electric Vehicles, J. Lu, Z. Chen, Z. Ma, F. Pan, L. A. Curtiss, K. Amine, Nature Nanotechnology 11, 1031–1038 (2016). DOI:10.1038/nnano.2016.207 * A Lithium-Oxygen Battery Based on Lithium Superoxide, J. Lu, Y. J. Lee, X. Luo, K. C. Lau, M. Asadi, H.-H. Wang, S. Brombosz, J. G. Wen, D. Zhai, Z. Chen, D. J. Miller, Y. S. Jeong, J.-B. Park, Z. Z. Fang, B. Kumar, A. Salehi-Khojin, Y.-K. Sun, L. A. Curtiss, K. Amine, Nature 2016, 529, 377. DOI:10.1038/nature16484 * Transition metal dichalcogenides as highly active catalysts for carbon dioxide reduction, Mohammad Asadi, Kibum Kim, Cong Liu, Aditya Venkata Addepalli, Pedram Abbasi, Poya Yasaei, Patrick Phillips, Amirhossein Behranginia, José M. Cerrato, Richard Haasch, Peter Zapol, Bijandra Kumar, Robert F. Klie, Jeremiah Abiade, Larry A. Curtiss, Amin Salehi-Khojin, Science, 353, 467-470 (2016). DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf4767


Patents

*Lithium air batteries having ether-based electrolytes, (2016). *Lithium-oxygen batteries incorporating lithium superoxide, (2017). *Selective Oxidation of Propane to Propylene Oxide, (2019).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtiss, Larry Living people 20th-century American chemists Argonne National Laboratory people University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Carnegie Mellon University alumni American Association for the Advancement of Science Year of birth missing (living people)