Paul Chirik, Princeton University’s Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Chemistry and associate director for external partnerships at the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, was among five recipients nationwide of the 2016 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards presented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Chirik was recognized for discovering a new class of catalysts that are used to produce silicones without using hard-to-obtain platinum, which could dramatically reduce the mining of ore and reduce costs, greenhouse-gas emissions and waste. The winners were recognized during a June 13 ceremony in Portland, Oregon.