CatchBio scientific director professor Bert Weckhuysen (Utrecht University) will receive the 2011 Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis. In May 2011, Weckhuysen has also been elected as member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW). Professor Ben Feringa (University of Groningen) has been appointed vice president of the KNAW.
Paul H. Emmett award
The bi-annual Paul. H. Emmett award, established in 1971 and administered by The North American Catalysis Society (NACS), is given in recognition for Weckhuysen's pioneering development and use of in-situ spectroscopic methods to probe catalytic solids at the micrometer and nanometer scale during their activation and function.
The award consists of a plaque and an honorarium of $ 5.000, and will be presented during the 22nd North American Meeting of NACS in Detroit on 5-10 June 2011. It is the third time that the award is going to a scientist outside de US. Bert Weckhuysen will present a plenary lecture during this conference.
Weckhuysen is being recognized for his development and use of in-situ spectroscopic methods to probe solids at the micrometer and nanometer scale during their activation and their function as catalysts. These studies have led to fundamental insights into the distribution of active sites and the mechanism of molecular diffusion and deactivation phenomena in zeolite and Fischer-Tropsch catalysts. Specifically, spatial heterogeneities in activity, selectivity and coking within individual ZSM-5 zeolite crystals were detected using a novel combination of micro-spectroscopy and rate data and interpreted in terms of complex but broadly applicable zeolite intergrowth models directly relevant to molecular diffusion and to mesoporosity generation during synthesis. In other studies, X-ray microscopy combined with an in-situ reactor led to unprecedented details of nanoscale processes involved in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, especially as they pertain to the dynamic evolution and the catalytic relevance of the various inorganic and organic phases formed during catalysis.
KNAW membership and vice president KNAW board
In May 2011, Weckhuysen has been elected as member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). September 26th he will be officially installed. More information (in Dutch) can be found at the website of the KNAW.
Feringa, who was already member of the KNAW board, has now been appointed as vice president of the KNAW (starting June 1st). More information (in Dutch) can be found at the website of the University of Groningen and at the website of the KNAW.
Feringa, who was already member of the KNAW board, has now been appointed as vice president of the KNAW (starting June 1st). More information (in Dutch) can be found at the website of the University of Groningen and at the website of the KNAW.