Johannes A. Lercher, Technical University of Munich, Germany, has been awarded the Alwin Mittasch Prize 2021 from the German Society for Catalysis (GeCatS), supported by BASF SE. The prize recognizes outstanding research that has led to a deeper understanding or widening of fundamentals in catalysis and its industrial applications. The award is endowed with EUR 10,000. The award lecture was given on March 19, 2021, at the annual meeting of German catalysis researchers.
Lercher’s work focuses on the fundamental understanding of catalysts and catalytic processes for the synthesis of energy carriers and chemical intermediates. Using state-of-the-art physicochemical methods, he develops new types of catalysts that enable chemical transformations at milder reaction conditions and with higher selectivity. The transformations include acid-catalyzed reactions such as the activation, functionalization, and transformation of alkanes, as well as metal (sulfide)-catalyzed reactions involving hydrogen.
Johannes A. Lercher studied chemistry at the Vienna University of Technology, Austria, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1980. After a post-doctoral stay at Yale University, New Haven, CT, US, he returned to Vienna as a University Lecturer. From 1993 to 1998, he was Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Twente, The Netherlands. In 1998, he accepted a Professorship in Technical Chemistry at the Technical University of Munich. Since 2011, he has also been Director of the Institute of Integrated Catalysis and Battelle Fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA.
Among other awards, Johannes A. Lercher has received the inaugural David Trimm and Noel Cant Lectureship of the Australian Catalysis Society in 2016, the R. B. Anderson Award of the Canadian Catalysis Society in 2015, and the Francois Gault Lectureship Award of the European Federation of Catalysis Societies in 2013. He has been President of the International Zeolite Association from 2001 to 2004 and of the European Federation of Catalysis Societies from 2013 to 2017, and he serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Catalysis.
Selected Publications
- Alkylation of lignin-derived aromatic oxygenates with cyclic alcohols on acidic zeolites,
Yuanshuai Liu, Guanhua Cheng, Eszter Baráth, Hui Shi, Johannes A. Lercher,
Appl. Catal. B 2021, 281, 119424.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2020.119424 - Ni/CeO2 promoted Ru and Pt supported on FeCrAl gauze for cycling methane catalytic partial oxidation—CPOX,
Gianluca Pauletto, Nicole Libretto, Daria C. Boffito, Jeffrey T. Miller, Andreas Jentys, Gregory S. Patience, Johannes A. Lercher,
Appl. Catal. B 2021, 286, 119849.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2020.119849 - Single-event kinetic model for methanol-to-olefins (MTO) over ZSM-5: Fundamental kinetics for the olefin co-feed reactivity,
Sebastian Standl, Felix M. Kirchberger, Tobias Kühlewind, Markus Tonigold, Maricruz Sanchez-Sanchez, Johannes A. Lercher, Olaf Hinrichsen,
Chem. Eng. J. 2020, 402, 126023.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.126023 - Towards Quantitative Catalytic Lignin Depolymerization,
Virginia. M. Roberts, Valentin Stein, Thomas Reiner, Angeliki Lemonidou , Xuebing Li, Johannes A. Lercher,
Chem. Eur. J. 2011, 17, 5939–5948.
https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201002438 - Aqueous-phase hydrodeoxygenation of bio-derived phenols to cycloalkanes,
Chen Zhao, Jiayue He, Angeliki A. Lemonidou, Xuebing Li, Johannes A. Lercher,
J. Catal. 2011, 280, 8–16.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcat.2011.02.001 - Highly Selective Catalytic Conversion of Phenolic Bio-Oil to Alkanes,
Chen Zhao, Yuan Kou, Angeliki A. Lemonidou, Xuebing Li, Johannes A. Lercher,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 3987–3990.
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.200900404
Also of Interest
- Alwin Mittasch Prize 2019,
ChemViews Mag. 2019.
Catalysis award for Piet van Leeuwen, INSA Toulouse, France - Alwin Mittasch Prize 2017,
ChemViews Mag. 2017.
David Cole-Hamilton, UK, and Xinhe Bao, China, honored for contributions to catalysis - Schlögl Awarded,
ChemViews Mag. 2015.
Professor Robert Schlögl, Berlin, Germany, was awarded the BASF-DECHEMA Alwin Mittasch Prize 2015
