Michel Boudart

Michel Boudart (18 June 1924 in Brussels, Belgium – 2 May 2012 in Palo Alto, California) was the William M. Keck Sr. Professor of Chemical Engineering Emeritus at Stanford University.

He earned his BS and MS from the University of Louvain in 1944 and 1947 respectively and earned his PhD in chemistry at Princeton University in 1950 under the guidance of Hugh Stott Taylor. He was a professor at Princeton until 1961 and briefly at University of California, Berkeley where he help to establish their program in catalysis and reactions engineering.

Joining Stanford University in 1964, he was best known for his role in establishing the Stanford Chemical Engineering department and his work in catalysis. In 1994, he became a professor emeritus. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the California Academy of Sciences.

Personal life Born in Brussels, during the Second World War, he was accepted to the University of Louvain but the university was closed. He was married to his wife Marina d'Haese Boudart. They were avid world travelers and had a daughter and three sons.