History

One Hundred Years of Colloid Symposia

By Ramanathan Nagarajan, U.S. Army Futures Command, 2023

One hundred years have elapsed since the first National Colloid Symposium took place in June 1923 at the University of Wisconsin. This symposium has continued to not only exist through the Great Depression and the Second World War, but has shown consistent growth, as the scientific influence of colloid and surface science within the academia has grown and its technological importance has broadened to include wide range of industrial applications in energy, environment, agriculture, personal care products sectors, and the critical area of nanomedicine. A brief descriptive review of the colloid symposia over the hundred years is given, colored by the personal points of view of the author who has organized five of these symposia. The evolution of these symposia from its early stable state that existed for nearly the first 50 years, characterized by 20 to 30 papers being presented in a single session, to its current form, where ten or more parallel symposia are held with 400 to 600 presentations, is traced.

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History of the Division

By Robert L. Rowell, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2001

The early history centered around the National Colloid Symposium since the first Symposium was held in 1923 at the University of Wisconsin, three years before establishment of the Division in 1926. No meetings were held in 1933 and during the war years 1943-45. Two papers summarize the first forty years (1, 2). These papers were reprinted in Vol. I (3) of the five-volume series of books that chronicled the 50th National Colloid Symposium that heralded the 50th anniversary of the Division in 1976 and was the first Symposium to bear the new name: International Conference on Colloids and Surfaces. Volume I covered the lead areas: Forces at Interfaces, Catalysis, Aerosols, Solid Surfaces, Water at Interfaces, Rheology of Disperse Systems, Stability and Instability, Membranes, Surface Thermodynamics and Liquid Crystals. Volumes II – V contained contributed papers on similar topics as well as Emulsions, Surfactants, Adsorption, Wetting, Surface Tension, Hydrosols, Biocolloids, Polymers, Monolayers and general papers thus defining the field at the opening of the current update which focuses on the period 1976-2001. An earlier report in the ACS Centennial volume (4) summarizes the history from another point of view.

We first highlight the officers who have chaired the Division in the 25-year period, Table 1. It is their leadership that has overseen, directed and fostered the growth and development of the Division to meet the needs of the growth and development of the discipline during the period.

One person must not fall through the cracks of history. Gabor A. Somorjai who chaired the Division in 1975 and introduced the idea of continuing symposia which set the tone of programming at the two annual ACS meetings and has persisted to this day. The current list of Continuing Symposia in Table 2 reflects the many research thrusts of our discipline. Comparison of the topics in Table 2 with the topics of the 50th Anniversary Meeting listed above reveals the changes and development of the field.

The scientific contributions of our Division and discipline are best summarized in the publications of those who have been honored with awards. The oldest such award is the ACS Award in Colloid or Surface Chemistry, which was established in 1952 and supported until 1993 by The Kendall Company. Sponsorship was assumed by Procter & Gamble Company effective with the 1994 presentation. Since this history has not been summarized before, a complete list of awardees is given in Table 3. We are fortunate to have two publications (5, 6) giving some of the Award addresses.

In 1991 a new ACS Award was established: the Arthur W. Adamson Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Surface Chemistry sponsored by Occidental Petroleum Corporation. A nominee must have demonstrated extensive contributions to the advancement of surface chemistry. Activities recognized by the award may include such fields as teaching, writing, research and administration. Award recipients are listed in Table 4.

The Division has also recognized innovation and excellence in graduate research in colloid and surface chemistry. The oldest award, the Victor K. La Mer Award for an outstanding Ph.D. thesis accepted by a U.S. or Canadian university was first given in 1970. A complete list of awardees is given in Table 5.

For a number of years, the Division administered a graduate fellowship in colloid and surface chemistry that was sponsored by Procter & Gamble Co. The fellowship award was made to the recipient’s academic department to be used entirely to support the direct costs of the recipient’s PhD research. A list of the awards is given in Table 6.

In 1990 the Division established a new award with the support of the Henkel Corporation. The Henkel Corporation Research Fellowship in Colloid and Surface Chemistry consists of an award of $20,000 each year for 2 years, to be used entirely for the Fellow’s stipend, scientific travel and other direct research costs during the final 2 years of doctoral thesis research at an accredited university within the United States. Award winners are listed in Table 7.

In 1985, a new ACS journal was born, Langmuir, the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids. The story of its birth (from a survey of some thousand academics, industrial and government scientists with the enthusiastic endorsement of the Executive Committee of the ACS Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry and carried out by following Society procedures) is related in some detail in the initial issue (7).

Each year at the Fall meeting of the Society, the Division selects two well-known scientists, each to present a lecture having some common theme. The one lecture emphasizes the “dry” or solid-vacuum or solid-gas interface, and the other, the “wet” or liquid interface, including disperse systems (7). The early papers in the series were published in Langmuir. A list of the Langmuir Lecturers is given in Table 8.

The history of the Division is also generated in active symposia in several secretariats, which meet jointly with other Divisions. A list of the current secretariats is given in Table 9.

Finally, some perspective should be given to the overall technical programming of the Division. Above we have mentioned the Continuing Symposia, listed in Table 2, that are held at the Annual Spring and Fall ACS Meetings. But what has happened to the Colloid Symposium (now known as the Colloid and Surface Science Symposium) which was historically a single-session meeting devoted to a single topic surrounding the research area of one distinguished overseas guest plenary lecturer? The 1972 Symposium, the 46th, held at the University of Massachusetts was the last single-session meeting. By the time of the 50th meeting, which was also the 50th anniversary of the Division, parallel sessions were well established. At the recent 74th Colloid and Surface Science Symposium held at Lehigh, there were 8 parallel symposia in addition to general papers and a poster session. Needless to say, the task of organizing such a large and complex event is a special contribution, which must be recognized by listing the institutions and chairs who have carried on the traditions. This important update is included in Table 10.

The breadth and depth of colloid and surface chemistry are highlighted in the attached tables. The achievements and contributions are too numerous and varied to be listed here but can be appreciated by reading the works of those cited in the tables and the references given as an introduction to the wide world of colloid and surface chemistry at the close of the twentieth century.

Tables

Table 1. Division Chairs

1976 W. H. Wade

1977 T. Fort, Jr.

1978 W. K. Hall

1979 J. P. Kratohvil

1980 J. T. Yates, Jr.

1981 J. A. Mann

1982 G. L. Haller

1983 A.I. Medalia

1984 R. R. Rye

1985 D.W. Goodman

1986 R.L. Rowell

1987 A.T. Bell

1988 R. Rajagopalen

1989 J. L. Gland

1990 B.J. Kinzig

1991 E. L. Kugler

1992 D.W. Osborne

1993 C. T. Campbell

1994 R. A. Mackay

1995 J. B. Benzinger

1996 A. Morfesis

1997 N. E. Turner

1998 J. Texter

1999 Barbara K. Warren

2000 Alice P. Gast

2001 Arthur T. Hubbard

2002 Darsh T. Wasan

2003 Andrew J. Gellman

2004 James A. Schwarz

2005 Maria Santore

2006 Eric W. Kaler

2007 Francisco Zaera

2008 Robert Tilton

2009 Deborah E. Leckband

2010 Wilfred T. Tysoe

2011 John Walz

2012 Vicki Grassian

2013 William Ducker

2014 Michael Trenary

2015 Robert J. Hamers

2016 Daniel Schwartz

2017 Howard Fairbrother

2018 Eric Borguet

2019 Lorena Tribe

2020 Kathleen Stebe

2021 Matthew Lynch

2022 James Batteas

2023 Lauren Zarzar

2024 Marina Ruths

Table 2. Continuing Symposia

A. Molecular Processes at Solid Surfaces
B. Catalysis
C. Surfactants and Association Colloids
D. Surface Chemistry in Biological and Medical Applications
E. Colloidal Particles
F. Electrochemical Surface Science
G. Foams, Gels and Self-Assembled Films
H. Tribology: Friction, Wear and Lubrication
I. Colloid and Surface Chemistry of Advanced Materials
J. Interfacial Chemistry and the Environment
K. Colloids in Cosmetics, Pharmaceuticals and Foods
L. Polymer Interfaces
M. Interfaces in Nanotechnology
N. Computer Simulations in Surface and Colloid Chemistry
O. New Techniques in Surface and Colloid Chemistry
P. Protein Interfaces
Q. Nanoparticles and Porous Solids

Table 3. ACS Award in Colloid or Surface Chemistry

Recipients sponsored by the Kendall Company

1954	Harry N. Holmes	1974	W. Keith Hall
1955	John W. Williams	1975	Robert Gomer
1956	Victor K. La Mer	1976	Robert J. Good
1957	Peter J.W. Debye	1977	Michael Boudart
1958	Paul H. Emmett	1978	Harold A. Scheraga
1959	Floyd E. Bartell	1979	Arthur W. Adamson
1960	John D. Ferry	1980	Howard Reiss
1961	Stephen Brunauer	1981	Gabor A. Somorjai
1962	George Schatchard	1982	Gert Erlich
1963	William A. Zisman	1983	Janos H. Fendler
1964	Karol J. Mysels	1984	Brian E. Conway
1965	George W. Halsey, Jr.	1985	Stig E. Friberg
1966	Robert S. Hansen	1986	Eli Ruckenstein
1967	Stanley G. Mason	1987	John T. Yates, Jr.
1968	Albert C. Zettlemoyer	1988	Howard Brenner
1969	Terrell L. Hill	1989	Arthur T. Hubbard
1970	Jerome Vinograd	1990	J. Michael White
1971	Milton Kerker	1991	W. Henry Weinberg
1972	Egon Matijevic	1992	David C. Whitten
1973	Robert L. Burwell, Jr.	1993	D. Wayne Goodman

Table 4. Arthur W. Adamson Award for Distinguished Service in The Advancement of Surface Chemistry

Sponsored by Occidental Petroleum Corporation

1993	David M. Hercules	1998	Kenneth B. Eisenthal
1994	Gabor A. Somorjai	1999	John T. Yates, Jr.
1995	W. Henry Weinberg	2000	Alvin W. Czanderna
1996	Robert Gomer	2001	John M. White
1997	Robert W. Madix	2002

Table 5. Victor K. LaMer Award

1970	Charles W. Querfeld	Department of Physics	Clarkson College of Technology
1971	Edward McCafferty	Department of Chemistry	Lehigh University
1972	Donald E. Brooks	Department of Biochemistry	University of Oregon
1973	W. Henry Weinberg	Department of Chemical Engineering	University of California Berkeley
1974	Stephen L. Brenner	Department of Chemistry	Indiana University
1975	Michele Flicker	Department of Chemistry	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1976	Felix T. Hong	Department of Biophysics	Rockefeller University
1977	Hung Dah Shih	Department of Materials Science	SUNY, Stony Brook
1978	Frederick A Putnam	Department of Chemical Engineering	Carnegie-Mellon University
1979	Eduardo D. Glandt	Department of Chemical Engineering	University of Pennsylvania
1980	Wilson Ho	Department of Physics	University of Pennsylvania
1981	Michael Deeba	Department of Chemistry	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
1982	Mark A. Bartau	Department of Chemical Engineering	Stanford University
1983	David G. Weklie	Department of Materials Science	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
1984	Jeffry Harwell	Department of Petroleum Engineering	University of Texas, Austin
1985	Syed Qutubbuddin	Department of Chemical Engineering	Carnegie-Mellon University
1986	Manoj K. Chaudhury	Department of Chemical Engineering	SUNY, Buffalo
1987	Peter S. Kirlin	Department of Chemical Engineering	University of Delaware
1988	James P. Ebel	Department of Chemical Engineering	Carnegie-Mellon University
1989	John M. Vohs	Department of Chemical Engineering	University of Delaware
1990	Andrea K. Myers-Beaghton	Department of Chemical Engineering	Princeton University
1991	Antonios G. Mikos	Department of Chemical Engineering	Purdue University
1992	Andrew D. Johnson	Department of Chemistry	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1993	Robert D. Tilton	Department of Chemical Engineering	Stanford University
1994	Paul E. Laibinis	Department of Chemistry	Harvard University
1995	Vicki L. Colvin	Department of Chemistry	University of California Berkeley
1996	Frank M. Zimmerman	Department of Physics	Cornell University
1997	John Levins	Department of Chemical Engineering	University of Pennsylvania
1998	Darrell Velegol	Department of Chemical Engineering	Carnegie-Mellon University
1999	Younan Xia	Department of Chemistry	Harvard University
2000	Yunfeng Lu	Department of Chemical Engineering	University of New Mexico
2001	Garth J. Simpson	Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry	University of Colorado

Table 6. Procter & Gamble Graduate Fellowship in Colloid Surface Chemistry

1980	Bruce E. Koel	Department of Chemistry	University of Texas, Austin
1981	Eric Stuve	Department of Chemical Engineering	Stanford University
1985	James P. Ebel	Department of Chemical Engineering	Carnegie-Mellon University
1986	David M. Hrubowchak	Department of Chemistry	Pennsylvania State University
1987	Brial Moore	Department of Chemistry	UCLA
1988	Philip K. Vinson	Department of Chemical Engineering	University of Minnesota
1989	Kurt W. Kolasinski	Department of Chemistry	Stanford University
1990	Mark W. Grinstaff	Department of Chemistry	University of Illinois
1991	Michael A Meyer	Department of Chemical Engineering	University of Pennsylvania
1992	Carl L. Weisbecker

Table 7. Henkel Fellowships

1990	Maria Laso	University of California Berkeley
1991	John Levins	University of Pennsylvania
1992	Rick Maechling	Stanford University
1993	Brian Herr	Northwestern University
1994	Alan Esker	University of Wisconsin
1995	Ali Firouzi	University of California/Santa Barbara
1996	Christine Keating	Penn State University
1997	James Chamberlain	University of Arizona
1998	Michael Bevan	Carnegie-Mellon University
1999	Juanita Wickham	University of California Berkeley

Table 8. Langmuir Lecturers

1979	John Yates	University of Pittsburgh
	Janos Fendler	Clarkson University
1980	Michel Boudart	Stanford University
	Milton Kerker	Clarkson University
1981	Art Adamson	University of Southern California
	Robert Madix	Stanford University
1982	Ernest Yeager	Case Western Reserve University
	W. Keith Hall	University of Pittsburgh
1983	Paul Becher	Paul Becher Associates
	Paul Weisz	Mobil Research & Development, Princeton
1984	J.A. Mann	Case Western University
	Mark Cardillo	AT&T Bell Laboratories
1985	Egon Matijevic	Clarkson University
	R.L. Burwell, Jr.	Northwestern University
1986	Gerhard Ertl	Firitz-Haber Inst. de MPG, Berlin
	Benjamin Widom	Cornell University
1987	D. Fennel Evans	University of Minnesota
	K. Klier	Lehigh University
1988	J. Lunsford	Texas A&M University
	Ron Ottewill	University of Bristol
1989	George M. Whitesides	Harvard University
	Sylvia T. Ceyer	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1990	George L. Gaines, Jr.	Rensselaer Polytech Institute
	Gabor A. Somorjai	University of California, Berkeley
1991	Stig. Friberg	Clarkson University
	D.Wayne Goodman	Texas A&M University
1992	Alexis T. Bell	University of California, Berkeley
	Dennis Chapman	University of London
1993	Jacob N. Israelachvili	University of California, Santa Barbara
	J. Michael White	University of Texas
1994	Eli Ruckenstein	SUNY, Buffalo
	Benjamin Chu	SUNY, Stony Brook
1995	Alice P. Gast	Stanford University
	Cynthia M. Friend	Harvard University
1996	Gerhard J. Fleer	Wageningen University
	Graham J. Hutchings	University of Wales
1997	Matthew V. Tirrell	University of Minnesota
	William A. Goddard	California Institute of Technology
1998	Bjorn Lindman	University of Lund
	Srinivasan Manne	University of Arizona
1999	Hyuk Yu	University of Wisconsin
	Mark E. Davis	California Institute of Technology
2000	Marie-Paul Pileni	University Pierre et Marie Curie
	Hermann Gaub	Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich
2001	Malgorzota Borowko	Marie Curie Sklodowska University, Lublin
	James A. Schwarz	Syracuse University

Table 9. Colloid and Surface Chemistry Secretariats

Macromolecular Secretariat

Catalysis and Surface Science Secretariat

Materials Secretariat

Biotechnology Secretariat

Table 10. Chairs of the Colloid and Surface Science Symposium

1977	51	SUNY Buffalo (Grand Island)	Robert J. Good
1978	52	University of Tennessee/ORNL	E. L. Fuller, Jr.
1979	53	University of Missouri-Rolla	Stig E. Friberg
1980	54	Lehigh University	Henry Leidheiser, Jr.
1981	55	Case-Western Reserve University	J. Adin Mann, Jr.
1982	56	Virginia Tech	James P. Wightman
1983	57	University of Toronto	A. W. Neumann
1984	58	Carnegie-Mellon University	G. D. Parfitt
1985	59	Clarkson University	E. Matijevic
1986	60	Georgia Tech	M. J. Matteson
1987	61	University of Michigan	Erdogan Gulari
1988	62	Penn State	R. Nagarajan William A. Steele Richard Hogg
1989	63	University of Washington	John C. Berg
1990	64	Lehigh University	Mohammed S. El-Aasser Gary W. Simmons
1991	65	University of Oklahoma	John Scamehorn Jeffrey H. Harwell
1992	66	West Virginia University	Duane H. Smith
			Martin Ferer
1993	67	University of Toronto	M. L. Hair
			A. W. Neumann
1994	68	Stanford University	Alice P. Gast
1995	69	University of Utah	Joseph D. Andrade
			Karin D. Caldwell
			Terry A. Ring
1996	70	Clarkson University	Stig E. Friberg
1997	71	University of Delaware	Eric W. Kaler
			Ralph D. Nelson, Jr.
1998	72	Penn State	Ramanathan Nagarajan
			W. A. Steele
			K. Osseo Asare
1999	73	M.I.T.	Paul E. Labinis
			T. Alan Hatton
2000	74	Lehigh University	Mohammed S. El-Aasser
			Maria M. Santore
2001	75	Carnegie Mellon University	Robert D. Tilton
			Stephen Garoff
2002	76	University of Michigan	Ramanathan Nagarajan Stacy G. Bike

References

1. “Remarks of J. H. Mathews at the Opening of the Fortieth National Colloid Symposium” J. Colloid Interface Sci. 1966, 22, 409-411.
2. “Early History of the National Colloid Symposium”, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 1966, 22, 412-418.
3. “Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. I. Plenary and Invited Lectures”, M. Kerker, A. C. Zettlemoyer and R. L. Rowell, Eds. Academic Press, N.Y. (1977).
4. “A Century of Chemistry” Produced for the ACS Centennial in 1976.
5. “Twenty Years of Colloid and Surface Chemistry – – The Kendall award Addresses”, K. H. Mysels, C. M. Samour and J. H. Holister, Eds., American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C. (1973).
6. “Eighteen Years of Colloid and Surface Chemistry – – The Kendall Award Addresses”, T. Fort and K. J. Mysels, Eds., American Chemical Society, Washington , D.C. (1991).
7. “A Journal is Born” by A. Adamson and “Why Langmuir” by K. J. Mysels, Langmuir 1985, 1, 1-3.