Presse-Information

Otto Roelen Medal for Lutz Ackermann, Georg August University of Göttingen /Germany

Professor Dr. Lutz Ackermann, Georg August University of Göttingen /Germany, receives the Otto Roelen Medal 2024. This prize will be awarded by DECHEMA and the German Catalysis Society (GeCatS) in recognition of his fundamental achievements in the functionalization of unreactive bonds with organometallic catalysts in research and application, including electrochemical methods. It is endowed with 5,000 Euros and sponsored by OQ Chemicals. The medal will be presented at the 57. Jahrestreffen Deutscher Katalytiker (March 13th -15th2024) in Weimar/Germany.

Lutz Ackermann's research focuses on the development and application of novel concepts for sustainable catalysis. He is working on electrocatalysis, late-stage functionalization and bond activation for a benign molecular architecture with complete selectivity control. To unlock the full potential of this strategy, he mainly exploits abundant 3d transition metal catalysis and utilizes Machine Learning to reduce resource-intensive synthetic optimization processes. This enables a resource-economic diversification of target molecules from small molecules to (bio)polymers. The areas of application range from the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries to materials science.

Lutz Ackermann studied Chemistry at the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel /Germany, and received his PhD at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung Mülheim, Ruhr/Germany in 2001. After a postdoctoral stay at UC Berkeley/USA, he initiated his independent research career in 2003 at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich/Germany. In 2007, he became Full Professor (W3) at the Georg August University of Göttingen and has also been a Principal Investigator at the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research since 2017. His recent awards and distinctions include an AstraZeneca Excellence in Chemistry Award (2011), ERC Consolidator Grant (2012), highly-cited researcher (2014-2023, Web of Science), Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz-Price (2017), ERC Advanced Grant (2021) and Werner Siemens-Stiftung (WSS) Research Award (2023). 

Otto Roelen Medal

The Otto Roelen Medal has been awarded by the German Catalysis Society (GeCatS) every two years since 1997. It is endowed with 5,000 Euros. Founded by the international chemical company OQ Chemicals (www.chemicals.oq.com), it honours outstanding scientific achievements in the field of catalysis, which also have a strong industrial relevance. As a research and innovation-driven company, OQ Chemicals (formerly known as Oxea), founder of the worldwide technically significant oxo synthesis, has been supporting international catalysis research efforts for many years.

German Catalysis Society

The German Catalysis Society (GeCatS) is the platform for the entire German catalysis community in the area of research and application. Currently it has about 1,100 members from industry and academia. GeCatS promotes the scientific and technical dialogue between industry, universities, non-university research institutes and research policy institutions and represents the interests of the catalysis community on a national and international level. The German Catalysis Society is supported by DECHEMA, VDI-GVC, GDCh, DGMK und DBG.

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