Catalysis of Organic..

xxvPrefaceThis volume of Catalysis of Organic Reactions compiles 57 papers presented atthe 21st conference organized by the Organic Reactions Catalysis Society, (ORCS)(www.orcs.org). The conference occurred on April 2-6, 2006 in Orlando, Florida,where these papers reported on significant recent developments in catalysis asapplied to production of chemicals.Each of the papers documenting these developments and published here wasedited by ORCS members (drawn from both academia and industry) and was peerreviewedby experts in related fields of study.The volume is organized into the following sections reflecting symposia in theconference program (including papers presented as posters):I- Catalysis in Organic SynthesisII- Catalytic OxidationIII-Catalytic HydrogenationIV- Novel Methods in Catalysis of Organic ReactionsV- Acid and Base CatalysisVI-“Green” CatalysisVII-Other Topics in CatalysisThe Catalytic Hydrogenation section includes the 2006 Murray Raney AwardLecture by Professor Isamu Yamauchi, Osaka University, Japan. Similarly the NovelMethods section features an invited lecture by Gadi Rothenberg, University ofAmsterdam, the 2006 Paul N. Rylander Award winner. 2005 Rylander Awardwinner Jean-Marie Basset is also acknowledged for presenting a lecture in thesymposium on Catalysis in Organic Synthesis.A number of recent emerging themes in catalysis appeared repeatedly in thevarious symposia. Examples include novel homogeneous and immobilizedorganometallic catalysts, semi-empirical calculation methods for catalyst selection,and synthetic processes based on “renewable”, agriculturally-derived feedstocks (e.g.oils and sugars). There is a remarkable diversity of topics, some of which defied oursimple attempts at sorting into a small number of categories. This reflects the currentdegree of specialization within our broad subject area.Support from our sponsors greatly contributed to a successful conference.Specifically we thank these organizations: W. R. Grace (Davison Catalysts), ParrInstrument, Degussa, North American Catalysis Society, ACS-PRF, Air Products andChemicals, CRI Catalysts, Engelhard,, Eli Lilly & Co., Merck & Co., Süd Chemie,Umicore, Amgen and Nova Molecular Technologies, Inc.As Chairman I greatly appreciate the dedication, teamwork and perseveranceexhibited by our ORCS Board members Alan Allgeier, Mike Ford, Anne Gaffney,Kathy Hayes, Steve Jacobson, Yongkui Sun, John Super, and Angelo Vaccari, andExecutive Committee members Mike Prunier, Helene Shea, and John Sowa. Andfinally I am most thankful to my wife Zsuzsanna and son Tim for their unendingsupport, tolerance, and love during my tenure as chairman and editor-in-chief.