DECHEMA Awards for Catalysis

The DECHEMA Gesellschaft für Chemische Technik und Biotechnologie e. V. (Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology) has awarded two prizes at the 15th International Congress on Catalysis (ICC 2012) in Munich, Germany. The awards were presented at a ceremony during the conference dinner on July 5, 2012.

Otto Roelen Medal 2012
The Otto Roelen Medal 2012 was awarded to Professor Javier Pérez-Ramírez, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, for his outstanding contributions to the field of catalysis, which also have strong industrial relevance, such as his development of novel catalysts for the gas-phase oxidation of hydrogen chloride (Deacon process).

Javier Pérez-Ramírez studied chemical engineering at the University of Alicante, Spain. In 2002 he completed his doctorate at the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. From 2002–2005 he worked for Norsk Hydro and Yara International, Norway. He then returned to academic research and joined the faculty at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ), Spain. After research fellowships at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, and the University of Caen, France, he was appointed in 2010 as a full professor at the ETH Zurich. He also serves as a member of the Editorial Board of Advanced Functional Materials.

His research focuses on the development of new catalytic materials and reactor engineering concepts favoring more sustainable manufacturing processes.

Alwin-Mittasch Prize 2012
The Alwin-Mittasch Prize 2012 was shared by Professor Graham Hutchings, Cardiff Catalysis Institute, UK, and Professor Takashi Tatsumi, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. Both researchers are recognized for their work extending both the fundamentals of catalysis and their application in industrial practice. In particular, Graham Hutchings was honored for his innovative research in the field of precious metal catalysis, and especially for his pioneering work on gold catalysis. Takashi Tatsumi was honored for the discovery of novel titanium zeolites and their transfer into industrial oxidation processes.

Graham Hutchings studied chemistry and gained his Ph.D. from University College London, UK. He joined ICI, Teesside, UK, as Scientific Officer and later as Research and Production Manager. He left industry in 1984 to take up a position as Assistant Director, Leverhulme Centre for Innovative Catalysis, University of Liverpool, UK. In 1997, he moved to Cardiff University where he is Professor of Physical Chemistry and Director of the Cardiff Catalysis Institute.

His research focuses on gold nanoparticles as catalysts, the design of selective oxidation and hydrogenation catalysts, and chirally modified zeolite catalysts for enantioselective hydrogenation.

Takashi Tatsumi studied chemical engineering at the University of Tokyo, Japan, where he also obtained his Ph.D. He worked as a research assistant at the University of Tokyo and Texas A&M University, USA. He then joined the faculty at the University of Tokyo as associate professor before moving to Yokohama National University, Japan, as full professor in 1998. Since 2005 he has been professor in the Department of Catalytic Chemistry in the Chemical Resources Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology. Tatsumi is also a member of the Editorial Board of ChemSusChem.

His research focuses on the synthesis and catalytic applications of novel zeolites and mesoporous materials as well as the design of catalytic reactions toward green chemical synthesis.