Dr. François Gabbaï, the Arthur E. Martell Chair of Chemistry and Distinguished Professor at Texas A&M University, is the recipient of the 2026 American Chemical Society (ACS) Award in Organometallic Chemistry. This prestigious national award recognizes Gabbaï’s groundbreaking contributions and leadership in the field, making him the fourth Texas A&M chemist to earn this honor. He joins an elite group including Marcetta Darensbourg (2017), the late F. Albert Cotton (2001), and John Gladysz (1994).
Gabbaï’s research, supported by several funding agencies including The Welch Foundation, The National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and the ACS Petroleum Research Fund has focused on Lewis acidic compounds, especially involving p-block and late transition metal elements. His group’s work includes designing novel organometallic scaffolds that support a number of functions including catalysis, molecular recognition and anion transport across biological membrane mimics. Beyond its direct connection to organometallic chemistry, a more fundamental aspect of his activities targets novel compounds that challenge accepted chemical bonding paradigms, adding to the transformative nature of his program.
“Professor François Gabbaï has been an international leader in both areas suggested by the hybrid name of this award: organic and metals/inorganic chemistry,” said Dr. Marcetta Darensbourg, a previous recipient of this award and longtime colleague. “Indeed, the breadth of his fundamental insight and deep knowledge of physical and theoretical concepts extends into the structures and reactivity of almost all elements in the periodic table. His curiosity about how things work — or might work — on an atomistic-molecular level leads him into ground-breaking discoveries of such far-flung applications as fluoride sensors that work in water and F18 positron emission tomography. He speaks fast with a French accent and his Ph.D. is from U.T. in Austin, but Aggies like him anyway! He is simply a terrific scientist and a delightful, hard-working colleague.”
After completing his Ph.D. at the University of Texas under Alan Cowley and postdoctoral work in Germany, Gabbaï joined the Texas A&M Department of Chemistry in 1998. Since then he has served our institution in a number of functions, including as department head. He is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the Royal Society of Chemistry, an associate editor for the journal Chemical Science and a recipient of multiple awards, including the 2016 ACS F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry.
He speaks fast with a French accent and his Ph.D. is from U.T. in Austin, but Aggies like him anyway! He is simply a terrific scientist and a delightful, hard-working colleague.
“This award recognizes decades of advances in fundamental science at the front of the highly competitive field of organometallic chemistry,” said Lane Baker, head of the Department Chemistry. “Joining Marcetta Darensbourg, F. Albert Cotton and John Gladysz, Gabbaï is the fourth member of the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M to receive this award, which underscores the continued intellectual leadership of Texas A&M in the chemical community.”
The 2026 ACS Award in Organometallic Chemistry will be presented to Gabbaï at the March 2026 national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Atlanta.