image: Rasika Dias, a distinguished research professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The University of Texas at Arlington, has been named a 2025 fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of chemical sciences. The Royal Society of Chemistry, based in the United Kingdom, is the world’s oldest professional society of chemists. Founded in 1841, it has more than 54,000 members. “I am honored to receive this recognition from the Royal Society of Chemistry, which underscores the contributions of my research group members,” Dr. Dias said.
Credit: UTA
Rasika Dias, a distinguished research professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The University of Texas at Arlington, has been named a 2025 fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of chemical sciences.
The Royal Society of Chemistry, based in the United Kingdom, is the world’s oldest professional society of chemists. Founded in 1841, it has more than 54,000 members.
“I am honored to receive this recognition from the Royal Society of Chemistry, which underscores the contributions of my research group members,” Dr. Dias said.
He is the second chemistry faculty member to be named a Royal Society of Chemistry fellow, joining Daniel Armstrong, the Robert A. Welch Professor of Chemistry, who was honored in 2009.
“This is a tremendous and well-deserved honor for Dr. Dias,” said Morteza Khaledi, dean of UTA’s College of Science. “He has been conducting highly impactful research in inorganic and organometallic chemistry at UTA for many years. He also excels in teaching and in service to the department and the University.”
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Dias researches catalysis, olefin-paraffin separation, ethylene effects on plants, luminescent materials and reaction intermediates. His research group has made several important discoveries and reported structures and properties of rare copper, silver and gold complexes, particularly those with small gaseous ligands such as ethylene, acetylene and carbon monoxide.
He holds several patents and has published more than 250 articles in peer-reviewed journals, collecting more than 18,000 citations.
Dias recently coauthored a series of papers and a patent describing the discovery of a novel class of non-porous materials that allow the separation of ethylene from ethylene-ethane mixtures to generate high-purity ethylene gas. This solid materials-based olefin-paraffin separation method could serve as an alternative to the highly energy-consuming cryogenic distillation process.
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In one of his recent collaborations, Dias coauthored a publication in Nature Communications that describes a simple path to introduce an important sulfur-containing functional group, methyl sulfone, to nitrogen-containing heterocycles, resulting in highly useful precursors for medicinal and coordination chemistry.
Dias has received the Wilfred T. Doherty Award of the Dallas-Fort Worth Section of the American Chemical Society (2009) and the Southwest Regional American Chemical Society Award (2009), among other honors. Most recently, he was named a 2025 senior member of the National Academy of Inventors.
At UTA, he has received awards for research, teaching and service and is a member of the UTA Academy of Distinguished Scholars. He serves or has served on the editorial advisory boards of the peer-reviewed journals Inorganic Chemistry, Polyhedron and Dalton Transactions.
About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)
Celebrating its 130th anniversary in 2025, The University of Texas at Arlington is a growing public research university in the heart of the thriving Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. With a student body of over 41,000, UTA is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System, offering more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Recognized as a Carnegie R-1 university, UTA stands among the nation’s top 5% of institutions for research activity. UTA and its 280,000 alumni generate an annual economic impact of $28.8 billion for the state. The University has received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and has earned recognition for its focus on student access and success, considered key drivers to economic growth and social progress for North Texas and beyond.