California Institute of Technology Mellon Institute of Industrial Research Columbia University Oregon State University Paul Hugh Emmett (September 22, 1900 – April 22, 1985) was an American chemist best known for his pioneering work in the field of catalysis and for his work on the Manhattan Project during World War II.

Emmett also made significant contributions to BET Theory which explains the relationship between surface area and gas adsorption.

Emmett had a fear of public speaking, so he enrolled in the debate team in both high school and college to gain proficiency.

After completing his bachelor's degree in 1922, Emmett pursued his PhD in physical chemistry at the California Institute of Technology under Arthur F. Benton.

At the time, the California Institute of Technology was paying PhD students nearly double what other programs were offering, making the university an enticing choice for Emmett.

Emmett also served as a lecturer at George Washington University while in Washington, D.C.[5] Emmett joined Johns Hopkins University in 1937 to establish the Department of Chemical and Gas Engineering alongside Ralph Witt, Charles Bonilla, and Lloyd Logan.

During this period, Emmett published his famous work on the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) Theory, which later earned him a Nobel Prize in Chemistry nomination in 1967.

In 1955, Emmett moved back to Johns Hopkins University, albeit in a different department, as the William R. Grace Professor of Chemistry.

[5] Emmett's doctoral advisor, Arthur F. Benton, had studied under Hugh Stott Taylor at Princeton University.

Emmett worked with Benton to study the role of nickel catalysts in the formation of water from hydrogen and oxygen gas.

[10] Emmett's thesis was on the autocatalysis of the nickel and iron metal oxide reduction reaction with hydrogen gas.

Emmett also studied the synthesis and decomposition of ammonia over iron catalysts and gaseous adsorption during his 11 years at this lab.