Helmut Schwarz receives the Gerhard Ertl Lecture Award 2023
An honor for his achievements in the field of chemistry
Prof. Dr. Helmut Schwarz is a distinguished physical organic chemist whose pioneering studies of reaction mechanisms via mass spectrometric techniques shaped our understanding of elementary
processes involved in catalysis, organometallic bond activation and functionalization, and atmospheric chemistry. Apart from his pace-setting research, Helmut Schwarz has been invested in bolstering academic institutions in Germany and beyond -- whether as co-founder of the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, as Vice-President of the German Science Foundation, or as president of the Humboldt Foundation, to name just a few. For his outstanding research and services to the academic community, he received numerous national and international prizes and awards, among them ten honorary degrees, the Karl Ziegler Prize, the Leonardo da Vinci Award, as well as the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
In 2008, the three Berlin universities (Freie Universität, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität) and the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society established the Gerhard Ertl Lecture Award to commemorate Gerhard Ertl's Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which he received in 2007. The award honors outstanding research personalities from Gerhard Ertl's wider research environment in the field of catalysis. This award, sponsored by BASF, includes prize money, a one-week research stay at the participating Berlin institutions and a festive keynote lecture.
The prize is awarded for the 16th time by a commission consisting of members of the Berlin universities - Joachim Sauer (HU Berlin), Matthias Drieß (TU Berlin) and Eckart Rühl (FU Berlin) - and the directors of the Fritz Haber Institute. Gerhard Ertl advises the commission on the selection of candidates.
The award ceremony is currently scheduled for December 11, 2023. Prof. Schwarz will give a lecture entitled „The Methane Challenge – A Cold Approach to a Hot Problem“ .