Scientist Profiles - Roy Periana

Roy Periana
Professor
Department of Chemistry

Professor Roy Periana immigrated to the United States when he was 17 years old to pursue a career as a chemist. Working his way through college as a busboy, he graduated with honors from the University of Michigan with a BSc in Chemistry. He then joined Dow Chemical, where he worked for two years. This work resulted in 10 patent applications. He then left Dow Chemical to pursue a PhD at the University of California, Berkeley.

At Berkeley he helped to pioneer the emerging field of low-temperature hydrocarbon chemistry and graduated summa cum laude after four years. With 15 offers in hand, Dr. Periana chose to move to the Monsanto Chemical Co. in St. Louis, MO.  Quickly, realizing that he was not a large company man, he left for a position with an early startup company in the Silicon Valley, Catalytica, Inc. Over the course of the next 10 years, he rose through the ranks of Catalytica from Research Chemist to Vice President of Research. During that time he was directly responsible for raising approximately $35 million. His work helped to take the company public with a $250 million capitalization. Also during this time he became one of the world's leading experts in the now established field of low-temperature chemistry for the conversion of hydrocarbon raw materials to fuels, chemicals, and power. His work there was highlighted by numerous invitations to the world’s leading universities and research institutes, interviews on National Public Radio, coverage by Wall Street, appearances on TV science shows, as well as two publications in Science, one of the most prestigious scientific journals in the world.  He is the key inventor of the only system that the world has developed for the efficient, lost-cost, low-temperature conversion of methane to methanol.

Coupled with changing management at Catalytica and the dot com meltdown, Dr. Periana chose to accept a position as Chemistry Professor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles in order to continue his work on the development of the next generation of catalysts for the 21st century. Here Professor Periana was tenured and became an acknowledged leader in the field of low-temperature catalysis. His work there was highlighted by substantial funding from oil companies as well as the National Science Foundation, and publication in Science and other leading journals. He taught and graduated six graduate students during this time.  At this point he was discovered by Dr. Lerner, the president of The Scripps Research Institute and offered a position as a full Professor. Professor Periana chose to move to Scripps Florida as he saw this as the next hot bed for technology development.

Professor Periana has already raised almost $1 million, with the promise for almost $7 million more in the next three to five years. His long-term plans at Scripps Florida will be to build a $100 million department focused on the development of the next generation of cleaner, cheaper fuels, chemicals, and energy for the 21st century.

Read more about the Periana lab.