Jean-Marie Tarascon, University of Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France – Prix Pierre Süe

Jean-Marie Tarascon gained his Ph.D. from the University of Bordeaux, France, in 1981. He joined Cornell University, USA, as a post-doctoral researcher, before entering the Bell Laboratories and, after that, Bellcore, both New Jersey, USA. He joined the University of Picardie Jules Verne in 1995, where he works on the design of electrodes based on new materials, including organic materials, and on new processes for the development of more efficient and safer Li-ion batteries.

Marc Fontecave, Collège de France, Paris – Prix Achille-Joseph Le Bel

Marc Fontecave gained his Ph.D. from the University of Paris VI, France, in 1981. He did post-doctoral research at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, before joining the faculty at Joseph Fourier University, Grenoble, France. He has been a professor at the Collège de France since 2008. His research is centered around metal-catalyzed biotransformations such as iron-sulfur cluster based redox catalytic systems and the mechanism of the biosynthesis of polymetallic structures within proteins and enzymes.

Maurizio Peruzzini, University of Florence, Italy – Prix Franco-Italien

Maurizio Peruzzini gained his Ph.D. from the University of Florence in 1979. In 1986 he joined the Italian National Research Council (CNR) of which he is currently the research director. His research centers on the activation of small inorganic and organic molecules, with particular emphasis on functionalization of white phosphorus mediated by transition metals, transition-metal hydrides, molecular hydrogen complexes, and hydrogen-storage via hydride compounds. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry.

Stephen Mann, University of Bristol, UK – Prix Franco-Britannique

Stephan Mann studied chemistry at the University of Manchester, UK, and gained his Ph.D. from the University of Oxford, UK. He joined the faculty at the University of Bath, UK, in 1984 and was promoted to full professor in 1990. In 1998, he moved to the University of Bristol, UK, where he currently heads the Centre for Organized Matter Chemistry. His research focuses on the chemical synthesis, characterization, and emergence of complex forms of organized matter.

Graham Hutchings, Cardiff University, UK – Prix Franco-Britainnique

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.

Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania, USA – Prix Franco-Polonais

Krzysztof Matyjaszewski gained his Ph.D. from the Polish Academy of Sciences in 1976 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Florida, USA, in 1977. From 1978–1984, he was a research associate of the Polish Academy of Sciences. From 1984–1985, Matyjaszewski held appointments at the University of Paris, France, first as a research associate and then as a visiting professor. In 1985, he joined Carnegie Mellon, where he founded and currently directs the Center for Macromolecular Engineering. Matyjaszewski was honored for his work on ARTP polymerization methodology and for his strong collaborations with research groups in Paris, Strasbourg, and Bordeaux. Matyjaszewski is also on the Editorial Board of the new journal ChemPlusChem.

Jean-Cyrille Hierso, Université de Bourgogne, France, – Prix de Chimie de Coordination

Jean-Cyrille Hierso studied chemical physics at the Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, and obtained his Ph.D. in 1997. He carried out postdoctoral work at the CNRS Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry in Toulouse, France, and the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. In 2001, Hierso was appointed as Maître de Conférences (assistant professor) at the Université de Bourgogne, and was made professor in 2009. His research interests include the properties and coordination chemistry of polydentate ferrocenyl phosphine ligands, and catalytic cross-coupling reactions with these ligands.

This award was presented in January, 2012.

J. Antoine Baceiredo, Institut de Chimie de Toulouse, France – Prix de la Division in Organic Chemistry

J. Antoine Baceiredo obtained his Ph.D. at the Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France, in 1982. In 1985, he joined the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA, for postdoctoral research. In 1992, he was promoted to Directeur de Recherche CNRS at the Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination (LCC) in Toulouse, France. He remained at LCC until 1999, when he joined the Laboratoire Heterochimie Fondamentale et Appliquée (LHFA). He is currently Director of the Institut de Chimie de Toulouse. Baceiredo’s research interests are mainly focused on Group 13–15 heteroelements, in particular the synthesis of mixed bisylide systems as asymmetric carbon atom sources and the development of inorganic ylides

Gwilherm Evano, Université de Versailles, France – Prix Acros in Organic Chemistry

Gwilherm Evano obtained his Ph.D. from the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France, in 2002. After postdoctoral research with J. Panek at Boston University, USA, he joined the Institut Lavoisier at the Université de Versailles, France, in 2003 as Chargé de Recherche. Evano’s research interests are in synthetic chemistry with particular emphasis on natural product synthesis, copper-mediated reactions, and the chemistry of heteroatom-substituted alkenes and alkynes.