Dec. 27, 2004
Contact: Donna Dennis Muñoz                                        
Public Affairs Specialist, University Communications
915/747-5747 or 915/491-8907


The American Microchemical Society (AMS) has awarded UTEP’s Jorge Gardea-Torresdey, Ph.D., with the prestigious 2004 A.A. Benedetti-Pichler Award for significant achievements in microchemistry.

Gardea-Torresdey is the Dudley Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science and Engineering, and chair of the Department of Chemistry at UTEP.

His scientific achievements are recognized nationally and internationally, including research that uses alfalfa plants to harvest nanoparticles of gold.

He authored or co-authored more than 170 refereed publications and book chapters, and holds five U.S. patents for environmental remediation. Current research projects are funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Air Force.

Gardea-Torresdey serves on the editorial boards of the Microchemical Journal; the Journal of Hazardous Materials; Applied Spectroscopy Reviews; Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry; Advances in Environmental Research; Scientiae Naturae; and Ciencia en la Frontera.

He received the UTEP Distinguished Achievement Award for Research in 2001.