Wilhelm Ostwald -- "1853-1932, German physical chemist and natural philosopher; b. Latvia. He won the 1909 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on catalysis, equilibrium, and rates of reaction. He also studied color and originated the Ostwald process for preparing nitric acid. In this process, ammonia mixed with air is heated and led over a catalyst (platinum). It reacts with oxygen to form nitric oxide, which is then oxidized to nitrogen dioxide; this in turn reacts with water to form nitric acid."-Web site
Ostwald won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1909 for his work on catalysis, chemical equilibrium, and reaction velocities.
