Professor Matthias Beller, Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT), Rostock, Germany, has been awarded the Wöhler Prize for Sustainable Chemistry by the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCH, German Chemical Society). The award recognizes pioneering contributions to the development and applications of sustainable chemistry. It was presented at the GDCh Wissenschaftsforum 2015 in Dresden, Germany, on August 30, 2015.
Professor Beller is honored for his work on sustainable bio-inspired iron catalyst systems. His research focuses on homogeneous catalysis, especially of transition-metal catalysts, aiming for the development of new, environmentally benign catalysts and synthetic protocols as well as their application in industry. Current activities include Fe-catalyzed oxidations and hydrogenations, hydroformylations, hydroaminomethylation and hydroamination, Pd- and Cu-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, and Rh- and Ru-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenations.
Matthias Beller studied chemistry at the Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany, where he finished his Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1989. After a postdoctoral stay with Barry Sharpless at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA, he worked in research at Hoechst AG, Frankfurt, Germany, for five years. In 1996, he became Associate Professor for Inorganic Chemistry at the Technical University of Munich, Germany, and in 1998 Full Professor at the University of Rostock, Germany. Since 2005, he is director of the Leibniz-Institut für Katalyse e.V. (LIKAT), Rostock.
Among other honors, Professor Beller has been awarded the Leibniz-Preis of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and the European Sustainable Chemistry Award. He is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and of the Akademie der Wissenschaften (Academy of the Sciences), Hamburg, Germany, and has been Vice President of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Association (Leibniz Association) since 2012. Among other commitments, he is Chairman of the Editorial Board of ChemSusChem, a member of the International Advisory Board of ChemCatChem, as well as a member of the Editorial Board of Angewandte Chemie and Chemistry – A European Journal, as well as a member of the Academic Advisory Board of Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis.
Selected Publications
- Sustainable Metal Catalysis with Iron: From Rust to a Rising Star?,
Stephan Enthaler, Kathrin Junge, Matthias Beller,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 3317–3321.
DOI: 10.1002/anie.200800012 - Regioselective Pd-Catalyzed Methoxycarbonylation of Alkenes Using both Paraformaldehyde and Methanol as CO Surrogates,
Qiang Liu, Kedong Yuan, Percia-Beatrice Arockiam, Robert Franke, Henri Doucet, Ralf Jackstell, Matthias Beller,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 4493–4497.
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201410764 - Solar Hydrogen Production by Plasmonic Au–TiO2 Catalysts: Impact of Synthesis Protocol and TiO2 Phase on Charge Transfer Efficiency and H2 Evolution Rates,
Jacqueline B. Priebe, Jörg Radnik, Alastair J. J. Lennox, Marga-Martina Pohl, Michael Karnahl, Dirk Hollmann, Kathleen Grabow, Ursula Bentrup, Henrik Junge, Matthias Beller, Angelika Brückner,
ACS Catal. 2015, 5, 2137–2148.
DOI: 10.1021/cs5018375 - Recent Applications of Palladium-Catalyzed Coupling Reactions in the Pharmaceutical, Agrochemical, and Fine Chemical Industries,
Christian Torborg, Matthias Beller,
Adv. Synth. Catal. 2009, 351, 3027–3043.
DOI: 10.1002/adsc.200900587 - Palladium-Catalyzed Carbonylation Reactions of Aryl Halides and Related Compounds,
Anne Brennführer, Helfried Neumann, Matthias Beller,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 4114–4133.
DOI: 10.1002/anie.200900013 - Sustainable Metal Catalysis with Iron: From Rust to a Rising Star?,
Stephan Enthaler, Kathrin Junge, Matthias Beller,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 3317–3321.
DOI: 10.1002/anie.200800012
Also of Interest
- French-German Bi-National Award for Matthias Beller,
ChemViews Mag. 2015.
Honoring outstanding discoveries in the field of catalysis - Emil Fischer Medal 2014,
ChemViews Mag. 2014.
Professor Matthias Beller, Leibniz-Institut für Katalyse (LIKAT), Rostock, Germany, honored - Wöhler Prize awarded to Rieger,
ChemViews Mag. 2013.
Professor Bernhard Rieger, Technische Universität München, was awarded the Wöhler Prize for Sustainable Chemistry - P. Anastas Awarded Wöhler Prize,
ChemViews Mag. 2012.
The Wöhler Prize for Sustainable Chemistry has been awarded to Paul Anastas, Yale University, USA, at the ACHEMA 2012 - Ferdi Schüth Receives the Wöhler Prize,
ChemViews Mag. 2011.
Ferdi Schüth, Max Planck Institute for Coal Research, Germany, receives GDCh prize for processes that conserve resources - Matthias Beller Awarded,
ChemViews Mag. 2010.
Matthias Beller will be presented with the first European Sustainable Chemistry Award for his work in the field of homogeneous catalysis
More awards presented at the WiFo
