The Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences Winner Announced

Héctor D. Abruña Wins 2025 Dreyfus Prize, Conferred in Electrochemical Processes

The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation has announced that Héctor D. Abruña, the Émile M. Chamot Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University, is the recipient of the 2025 Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences. The international biennial Prize, which includes a $250,000 award, is conferred this year in Electrochemical Processes. A public award ceremony is planned to be held at Cornell later this year.

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Héctor D. Abruña of Cornell University announced as recipient of the 2025 Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences. Photo Credit: Jason Koski/Cornell University

Abruña receives this top honor for his pivotal contributions to Electrochemical Processes. He is recognized for revolutionizing the fundamental understanding of electrochemical interfaces using X-ray, TEM, and mass spectrometric methods and for the development of novel materials for electrochemical devices.

H. Scott Walter, President of the Dreyfus Foundation, remarked, “The Dreyfus Foundation is thrilled to celebrate the foundational accomplishments of Héctor D. Abruña in the field of Electrochemical Processes with the Foundation’s most prestigious award – the Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences.”

Abruña has developed new in-situ/operando techniques for the study of fuel cells and batteries. He has pioneered and applied techniques such as transmission electron microscopy and differential electrochemical mass spectrometry, which have proven vital to the fundamental understanding and to improving the performance and capacity of batteries and fuel cells.

Abruña is also forging new paths in the development of molecular electronics that promise to reshape electrical power grid transmission, drive device miniaturization, and create the high-performance materials needed for batteries and fuel cells. These new devices have the potential to empower the next generation of electric vehicles and aircraft.

He has demonstrated that ordered intermetallic phases exhibit extraordinary electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of small organic molecules, such as formic acid, for practical use in fuel cells. These materials, as nanoparticles, are tolerant/immune to poisoning by adsorbed CO and sulfur-containing impurities, retain their crystalline structure and electrocatalytic activity, and have been commercialized.

Abruña has developed many powerful and effective new techniques to achieve groundbreaking advances in light-emitting devices, sensors, and biosensors. He has used these techniques to synthesize and optimize fundamentally new materials with enhanced performance applications for batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors.

Abruña’s considerable repertoire of new techniques includes the use of X-ray-based methods such as surface extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), X-ray standing waves, and surface diffraction to probe electrochemical interfaces. His study of the underpotential deposition of metal monolayers onto single crystal electrode surfaces revealed key structural and compositional information vital to understanding the (phase) formation of these important materials. Abruña’s pioneering advances make it possible to visualize atomic and molecular phenomena in electrochemical systems.

“Through pioneering techniques and new materials, Abruña is driving major advances in energy storage and sustainable transportation,” stated Milan Mrksich, Chair of the Scientific Affairs Committee and Board Member of the Dreyfus Foundation, as well as Henry Wade Rogers Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University. “We are proud to recognize these scientific contributions with this year’s Dreyfus Prize in Electrochemical Processes.”

“Abruña’s innovations in imaging and materials development are redefining what’s possible for batteries, fuel cells, and molecular electronics,” stated Matthew Tirrell, Dreyfus Foundation Senior Scientific Advisor and Board Member, as well as D. Gale Johnson Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at The University of Chicago. “Combined with his strong support for both his students and community, he is incredibly deserving of this top honor in the field.”

Abruña is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, as well as a Fellow of the International Society of Electrochemistry and a Fellow of the Electrochemical Society. His many awards and honors include Grahame Award of the Electrochemical Society, the Electrochemistry Award of the American Chemical Society, the Faraday Medal in Electrochemistry of the Royal Society, the Electrochimica Acta Gold Medal from the International Society of Electrochemistry, the Frumkin Memorial Medal from the International Society of Electrochemistry, the American Chemical Society’s National Award in Analytical Chemistry, and the Global Energy Prize. In 2024, he was awarded the Enrico Fermi Award, one of the oldest and most prestigious science and technology honors bestowed by the U.S. government. Working closely with his students, he is cofounder of several start-up companies in the energy space, including Factorial Energy (Dr. Yingchao Yu; Ph.D. 2014), Ecolectro (Dr. Gabriel Rodríguez-Calero; Ph.D. 2014, and Conamix (Dr. Stephen Burkhardt; Ph.D. 2012). These companies are revolutionizing and redefining the electrical energy generation and storage landscape.

At Cornell, he served as Chairman of the Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (with Geoff Coates as Associate Chair) from 2004-2008 and is currently director of CABES (Center for Alkaline Based Energy Solutions) a Dept. of Energy supported Energy Frontier Research Center.

Abruña is also deeply committed to the advancement of underrepresented groups in science through dedicated mentorship. Many of these young scientists are leading the way in transitioning society to new carbon-neutral energy sources. He was honored with Cornell’s Faculty Champion Award for these efforts. He has also been proactive in outreach to young people especially from his native Puerto Rico. Fifteen of his Ph.D. students and 44 of his Post-Docs have gone on to academic positions worldwide. He has also leveraged funding, via the Abruña Energy Initiative (along with Danielle Hanes, Dr. Paul Mutolo, and Michael Lenetsky), to develop a resilient and sustainable hydrogen-based grid for the island of Vieques (Puerto Rico), which was devastated, as was most of Puerto Rico, by Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Abruña stated, “It is a great and deeply humbling honor to be awarded the 2025 Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, a storied leader in the chemical sciences. However, the real credit goes to all the people in my research group as well as collaborators, world-wide, who for the past 43 years have contributed with ideas, effort, dedication, and loyalty. The credit and merit are theirs, and I will be, most humbly, accepting the award on their behalf.”

On a more personal note, he feels enormously fortunate to have two amazing brothers, Fernando (architect in Puerto Rico) and Rubén (filmmaker in Switzerland), and a wonderful wife, Celia. Arbuña said, up in heaven, his parents Fernando and Minerva keep a close watch on all.

The Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences, initiated in 2009, is conferred in a specific area of chemistry each cycle. It is the highest honor of the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation.

About the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation

The purpose of the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation is to advance the science of chemistry, chemical engineering, and related sciences as a means of improving human relations and circumstances throughout the world. Established in 1946 by chemist, inventor, and businessman Camille Dreyfus as a memorial to his brother Henry, the Foundation became a memorial to both men when Camille Dreyfus died in 1956. Throughout its history the Foundation has sought to take the lead in identifying and addressing needs and opportunities in the chemical sciences through a series of programs and awards. Learn more about the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation by visiting its website.

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