Michael Hermata, 2025 Midwest Award Winner
Michael Harmata was born in 1959 in Chicago, Illinois, and spent his first 20 years in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. He graduated as valedictorian from St. Michael the Archangel elementary school in 1973 and from Thomas Kelly High School in 1977. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois–Chicago in 1980 without debt, aided by Campbell’s Soup and a research experience with Jacques Kagan. He completed his PhD under Scott Denmark at UIUC in 1985. Seeking a California experience, he pursued an NIH postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University with Paul Wender. In 1986, he began his career at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he is now the Norman Rabjohn Distinguished Professor of Chemistry.
Professor Harmata’s research focuses on pericyclic reactions of reactive intermediates, with additional interests in molecular recognition and supramolecular chemistry, particularly involving Kagan’s ether and Tröger’s base. He has published over 350 peer-reviewed articles with more than 7,000 citations and has secured extensive funding from the NSF and other organizations. He has received the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellowship, is a Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and has delivered numerous invited lectures. He has also won several teaching awards at the University of Missouri–Columbia and is active in the American Chemical Society and Organic Chemistry Day.
In his spare time, Professor Harmata, who has earned a black belt in Taekwondo, enjoys N scale model trains, building and flying model rockets, collecting stamps and coins, and keeping tropical fish. He has a growing stack of books to read, including Angela Merkel’s “Freedom.” While he embraces the philosophy of “Dare to be Dull,” he enjoys exploring its limits.
The award will be presented at the 2025 Midwest Regional Meeting of the ACS, October on Monday, October 13th, held at the University of Missouri–Columbia.
