The award citation highlights Delgass' distinguished and sustained contributions to the field of chemical reaction engineering. It reads: "For fundamental advances in the understanding and engineering of catalysts through pioneering contributions in techniques for catalyst characterization, reaction and catalyst chemistry, and catalyst design."

Delgass has been a faculty member in the School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue since 1974. He was named the Maxine Spencer Nichols Professor in 2007. He retired in May 2012 and is continuing to contribute to the school as an emeritus professor.