1989 - Ph.D - Chemistry Global R & D Manager @ Johnson Matthey Catalysis & Chiral Technologies, USA
Dr. Thomas J. Colacot received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from IIT Madras in 1989, following a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Kerala in 1981 and 1983, respectively. After his post-doctoral stint in the US, Dr. Colacot went on to pursue an education in management, acquiring an MBA from Pennsylvania State University in 2005, while working at Johnson Matthey. Before joining Johnson Matthey in 1995, Dr. Colacot had also worked as a Research Associate at Southern Methodist University (TX, USA) on a project funded by Advanced Technology Program, as an Assistant Professor at Florida A&M University, and as a Post-Doctoral/Teaching Fellow at University of Alabama. Having climbed up the ranks from Development Associate, Dr. Colacot is currently promoted to Johnson Matthey Technical Fellow from Global R&D Manager in Homogeneous Catalysis.
As a researcher, Dr. Colacot has focused on many areas of homogenous catalysis, particularly becoming proficient in palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling. He also has extensive experience in organometallic and organic syntheses, and in process chemistry. His work is reflected in several patents to his name, more than one hundred peer-reviewed publications, and numerous invited lectures and seminars spanning India, USA, China, and Europe. His recently edited book: New Trends in Cross Coupling: Theory and Applications by the Royal Society of Chemistry is widely used in academia and industry. Through his work, Dr. Colacot is credited with being a leading influence in developing exceptional catalytic systems for the advancement of metal-catalyzed synthetic organic chemistry for real world applications such as drug development, OLED’s/liquid crystals and agriculture. His emphasis in designing catalysts and catalytic processes has been on their applicability in industrial settings, particularly pertaining to agriculture, electronics and medicine.
Dr. Colacot’s contributions to the field have resulted in many awards and accolades, amongst them the prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry 2012 Applied Catalysis Award and Medal, 2016 CRSI Medal by the Chemical Research Society of India and election to Fellowship of the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK. He is the first Indian to be awarded the American Chemical Society (ACS) Award in Industrial Chemistry in 2015. He also received the 2015 IPMI Henry Alfred Award (2015) from the International Precious Metal Institute.
For his unparalleled commitment in bridging the gap between academia and industry, and his path-breaking contributions as a chemist, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to confer this award upon Dr. Thomas Colacot.
