[1][2][3] His other research interests included organometallic chemistry, organic photochemistry,[4] organic chemistry, metallocenes[5] and the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds containing sulfur, selenium, and tellurium.
[7] Cowan was one of the dominant, world-renowned figures in physical organic chemistry during his thirty-year career.
[9] Cowan and his students have authored 190 scientific articles, four patents and two monographs.
[10] He co-authored a book with Ronald Drisko entitled Elements of Organic Photochemistry (ISBN 978-1-4684-2130-9).
[citation needed] He received a number of major awards including Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship (1968-1970), Guggenheim Fellowship, University of Basel, Switzerland (1970-1971), elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1989) and the Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist for the University of Heidelberg, Germany (1992- 1993).