The American Chemical Society (ACS) has named WRI Chief Scientific Advisor John Schabron to the 2014 class of ACS Fellows. This honor recognizes “scientists who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in chemistry and made important contributions to ACS, the world’s largest scientific society.”

As WRI Vice President Jean-Pascal Planche told a group of more than 150 at the Petersen Asphalt Research Conference in July, “The American Chemical society has more than 161,000 members, but only 99 were named as fellows for 2014. This is a great honor for John and for WRI.”

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. It is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences.

At WRI, Dr. Schabron manages projects in petroleum and residua upgrading, compatibility, asphalt chemical characterization, product forensics, and environmental analysis. Major oil companies have recognized the value of his heavy oil research by providing annual cash donations since 1998.

Between 2005 and 2012, Schabron led projects with the Electric Power Research Institute, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the U.S. Department of Energy, and instrument vendors that contributed to the EPA protocols for calibrating mercury monitors used by coal-fired power plants.

A prolific inventor, Schabron is named on 20 U.S. patents. Examples of these technologies are the Diesel Dog® Soil Test Kit for measuring heavy fuel contamination in soil and X-Wand® for measuring trichloroethylene in soil and water.

Major oil and asphalt companies are currently using his patented Asphaltene Determinator (AD), and automated Saturates, Aromatics, and Resins-AD (SAR-ADTM) analysis technologies to gain insight into heavy oil characteristics.

Schabron has authored more than 200 publications and reports and serves as a reviewer for several journals, including ASTM Journal for Testing and Evaluation, Analytical Chemistry, Energy and Fuels, Environmental Science and Technology, Fuel, and Fuel Science & Technology International.

In 2013, he served as an invited keynote speaker at the Petrophase conference organized by the French Petroleum Institute in Paris.

Schabron organizes the annual American Chemical Society (ACS) International Heavy Oil Symposium and since 2006 has served as the ACS Energy and Fuel Division Region 1 Representative (Western US, British Columbia, and Alberta).

The 2014 Fellows will be recognized at the ACS Fellows Ceremony and Reception on August 11, 2014, during the Society’s 248th National Meeting and Exposition in San Francisco.