Herbert W. Roesky, emeritus Professor, University of Göttingen, Germany, and former president of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, has been awarded the Heinrich Roessler Prize by the Chemistry Education Division of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh, German Chemical Society). The prize awards outstanding contributions to chemistry teaching. Roesky is recognized for helping to modernize chemistry education and for his work popularizing science, such as with the spectacular chemistry experiments described in his book Chemical Curiosities.
The prize was awarded at the 29. Fortbildungs- und Vortragstagung der GDCh-Fachgruppe Chemieunterricht in Freiburg, Germany, on 14. September 2012 .
Herbert Roesky studied chemistry at the University of Göttingen and gained his Ph.D. on high-pressure fluorination reactions in 1963. He did post-doctoral research at DuPont, Delaware, USA, before returning to Göttingen to complete his Habilitation, which he received in 1967. In 1971 he moved to Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, as Professor of Inorganic Chemistry. In 1980 Roesky returned once more to the University of Göttingen, this time in the role of Professor and Director at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry. He remained at Göttingen until his retirement in 2004.
Roesky’s research focuses on inorganic and organometallic chemistry, in particular organometallic fluorides, metallasiloxanes, metallacycles, metallaphosphonates, alumoxanes, main-group and metal clusters, and coordination polymers.
Efficient Preparation of Fluorine Compounds,
Herbert W. Roesky (Ed.),
John Wiley & Sons, New York, USA, 2012.
ISBN: 978-1-118-07856-3
Experiments in Green and Sustainable Chemistry,
Herbert W. Roesky, Dietmar Kennepohl, (Eds.)
Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany, 2009.
ISBN: 978-3-527-32546-7
Chemical Curiosities: Spectacular Experiments and Inspired Quotes,
Herbert W. Roesky, Klaus Möckel,
Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany, 1996.
ISBN: 978-3-527-29414-5
