Stephan's work uses fundamental studies to develop new methods for producing useful chemical products. He is best known for his work on frustrated Lewis pairs, which has enabled the development of metal-free methods of hydrogenationcatalysis. Stephan has also devised new approaches for the activation of small molecules such as alkynes and olefins. Other highlights include research on compounds that contain both early and late transition elements, and studies of the chemistry of both zirconium–phosphorus complexes and catalytic phosphorus–phosphorus bonds. In his early career, Stephan's work provided new insights and understanding of ligand design and synthesis for reactivity and catalysis. In the 1980s and 1990s, his work focused on synthesis and applications of "early-late" heterobimetallic complexes, zirconium-phosphorus and titanium-sulfur chemistry. In the mid-1990s, Stephan discovered a new class of olefin polymerization catalysts, that was commercialized in NOVA Chemical's plant in Joffre, Alberta, Canda, the largest solution polymerization plant in the world. This development placed Stephan as one of a handful of chemists worldwide whose fundamental advances have translated to commercial success, widespread use and impact.
Awards and honours
Prof. Stephan has received considerable recognition for his work including the 2001 Alcan Award. He received an Av Humboldt Foundation Senior Research Award in 2002, the 2003 NSERC Synergy Award, the 2004 Ciapetta Lectureship Award from the North American Catalysis Soc., and the 2005 LeSueur Memorial Award from the Canadian Soc. Chemical Industry, 2005. He was appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2005. Stephan was also appointed a Canada Research Chair appointments at Windsor in 2005 and in Toronto in 2008 and reappointed in 2015. He has been awarded a Killam Research Fellowship, a re-invitation from the Humboldt Foundation for a Senior Research Award and the Ludwig Mond Award and Lectureship and the 2013 H.M. Tory Medal from the Royal Society of Canada. In 2013, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, We note that the only other U of T Chemist with this distinction is Nobel Laureate John Polanyi. In 2014, he was elected a Corresponding Member of North-Rhein-Westfaelia Academy of the Sciences and Arts and was awarded Applied Catalysis Award, Canadian Green Chemistry and Engineering Award and CIC Medal. In 2015, he was a Distinguished Adjunct Professor, King Abdulaziz University and became only the second chemist to be named an Einstein Visiting Fellow at the Technical University of Berlin for 2016-2019. He has been 1 of 4 Canadian Chemists on the Thompson-Reuters "Highly Cited Researcher" in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and was named to the 2015 list of "Most Influential Scientific Minds."
