Professor Emeritus Vincenzo Balzani, University of Bologna, Italy, has been awarded the second Primo Levi Award from the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh, German Chemical Society) and the Italian Chemical Society (Società Chimica Italiana, SCI). The award was presented at a ceremony at the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome on December 6, 2019. The laudatio was held by Chemistry Nobel Laureate Jean-Pierre Sauvage.
The prize is named after the Italian Jewish chemist, writer, and Holocaust survivor Primo Levi and honors chemists or scientists from related disciplines who promote human rights and improve the dialogue between chemistry and society. Vincenzo Balzani receives the prize for his deep commitment to the societal aspects of science and to the ethical behavior of scientists, and the strong effort to promote science for peace and a better world, to reduce poverty and stop wars.
Vincenzo Balzani studied chemistry at the University of Bologna, Italy. He became Assistant Professor there in 1963 and Assistant Professor at the University of Ferrara, Italy, in 1968. He returned to Bologna as Associate Professor in 1969 and became Full Professor of Chemistry in 1973. From 1977 to 1988, he was the Director of the Photochemistry and Radiation Chemistry Institute of the National Research Council, Washington, D.C., USA. He remained at the University of Bologna until his retirement in 2010.
His research interests covered a wide range of topics: photochemistry, photophysics, supramolecular chemistry, electron-transfer reactions, molecular-level devices and machines, nanotechnology, and photochemical solar-energy conversion.
Among many other honors, Balzani has received the Gold Medal “S. Cannizzaro” from the SCI in 1988, the Porter Medal for Photochemistry in 2000, the Prix Franco-Italien from the Société Chimique de France (SCF, French Chemical Society) in 2003, and the Blaise Pascal Medal from the European Academy of Sciences in 2009. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and the European Academy of Sciences, among other learned societies. Balzani is an Honorary Member of the Editorial Board of Chemistry – A European Journal.
From left: Matthias Urmann, President of the GDCh, Vincenzo Balzani, Fabio Levi, Angela Agostiano, President of the SCI
Selected Publications
- Solar-driven chemistry: towards new catalytic solutions for a sustainable world,
Vincenzo Balzani, Gianfranco Pacchioni, Maurizio Prato, Adriano Zecchina,
Rend. Lincei Sci. Fis. Nat. 2019, 30, 443–452.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-019-00836-2 - Mechanistic insights into two-photon-driven photocatalysis in organic synthesis,
Marianna Marchini, Andrea Gualandi, Luca Mengozzi, Paola Franchi, Marco Lucarini, Pier Giorgio Cozzi, Vincenzo Balzani, Paola Ceroni,
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2018, 20, 8071–8076.
https://doi.org/10.1039/c7cp08011e - Photoredox Catalysis: The Need to Elucidate the Photochemical Mechanism,
Marianna Marchini, Giacomo Bergamini, Pier Giorgio Cozzi, Paola Ceroni, Vincenzo Balzani,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017, 56, 12820–12821.
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201706217 - The Hydrogen Issue,
Nicola Armaroli, Vincenzo Balzani,
ChemSusChem 2011, 4, 21–36.
https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201000182 - Photochemical Conversion of Solar Energy,
Vincenzo Balzani, Alberto Credi, Margherita Venturi,
ChemSusChem 2008, 1, 26–58.
https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.200700087 - The Future of Energy Supply: Challenges and Opportunities,
Nicola Armaroli, Vincenzo Balzani,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 52–66.
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.200602373
Selected Books
- Photochemistry and Photophysics: Concepts, Research, Applications,
Vincenzo Balzani, Paola Ceroni, Alberto Juris,
Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2014.
ISBN: 978-3-527-33479-7 - Powering Planet Earth: Energy Solutions for the Future,
Nicola Armaroli, Vincenzo Balzani, Nick Serpone,
Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2013.
ISBN: 978-3-527-33409-4 - Energy for a Sustainable World: From the Oil Age to a Sun-Powered Future,
Vincenzo Balzani, Nicola Armaroli,
Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2011.
ISBN: 978-3-527-32540-5
Also of Interest
- 100th Birthday: Primo Levi,
Catharina Goedecke,
ChemViews Mag. 2019.
https://doi.org/10.1002/chemv.201900078
Italian Jewish chemist, writer, and Holocaust survivor - Inaugural Primo Levi Prize for Roald Hoffmann,
ChemViews Mag. 2017.
Award honoring chemists who promote human rights - Grand Prix 2016 de la Fondation de la Maison de la Chimie,
ChemViews Mag. 2017.
Professor Emeritus Vincenzo Balzani, Bologna, Italy honored - Think What Nobody Has Thought,
Martin Preuss
ChemViews Mag. 2014.
https://doi.org/10.1002/chemv.201400067
V. Balzani, one of the most cited chemists worldwide, talks about responsibility of scientists to share their knowledge, and his secrets of success
