UniSysCat warmly congratulates Prof. Dr. Graham Hutchings from Cardiff University for receiving the Gerhard Ertl Lecture Award 2024. The british chemist is a luminary in the field of chemistry and catalysis. He has been selected for the award because of his outstanding achievements in the development of novel heterogeneous catalysts: Prof. Hutchings' pioneering work with gold nanocrystals and gold palladium alloy catalysts has set new standards for selective oxidation reactions.
Hutchings is Professor of Chemistry at the University of Cardiff and founder of the Cardiff Catalysis Institute, which he led as Director from 2008 to 2019. In 2016, he became the first Regius Professor of Chemistry at Cardiff University. Being a pioneer in the field of heterogenous catalysis, his most important discoveries include gold catalysts, which made it possible to replace catalysts based on mercury. He is working on the design of selective catalysts for hydrogenation and oxidation, studying them using in situ spectroscopy. His career from technical associate at ICI Petrochemicals to Regius Professor of Chemistry at Cardiff University is characterised by numerous achievements and awards, including his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2009.
The Gerhard Ertl Lecture Award, named after UniSysCat's spiritus rector Gerhard Ertl who won the 2007 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, is an annual award that recognizes the outstanding work of researchers in the field of catalysis. Sponsored by BASF and established in 2008 by the three Berlin universities, UniCat (the predecessor of UniSysCat) and the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, the prize not only honours exceptional achievements, but also promotes the exchange of innovative ideas in catalysis research. The 2024 winner, Prof. Dr. Graham Hutchings, embodies the spirit of this prize through his pioneering contributions in this field.
The prize is awarded for the 17th time by a commission consisting of members of the Berlin universities - Joachim Sauer (HU Berlin), UniSysCat group leader Matthias Drieß (TU Berlin) and Eckart Rühl (FU Berlin) as well as the directors of the Fritz Haber Institute Berlin. Gerhard Ertl advises the commission on the selection of candidates.
We cordially invite to the Gerhard Ertl Lecture Award ceremony, which will be held on December 10, 2024, at the Fritz Haber Institute Berlin. Prof. Hutchings will deliver his award lecture on "Catalysis using gold containing materials".