Bert Weckhuysen has been awarded the 2025 Michel Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis. The Michel Boudart Award recognizes and encourages individual contributions to the elucidation of the mechanism and active sites involved in catalytic phenomena and to the development of new methods or concepts that advance the understanding and/or practice of heterogeneous catalysis.
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Catalysis Connected 2025: Envisioning the Refinery of the Future
On April 16-17, approximately 140 scientists from across Europe convened in Rotterdam for the third edition of Catalysis Connected. Following successful previous gatherings in Utrecht (2019) and Veldhoven (2022), this year’s conference continued its mission of exploring catalysis as an enabling science while strengthening vital connections between academia, industry, and society. The event was jointly
A Reunion in Rotterdam: 25 Years at Utrecht University and 100 PhD Students of Bert Weckhuysen
In the evening of Tuesday, April 15, around 140 former and present PhD students, postdocs, and colleagues of Bert Weckhuysen gathered at Loetje in Rotterdam to celebrate two milestones: Bert’s 25th anniversary at Utrecht University, where he started as Full Professor in 2000, and his 100th PhD promotion in Utrecht with Jim de Ruiter’s PhD
Celebrating a Decade of Multiscale Catalysis Science & Technology Research : MCEC’s Final Symposium
On April 15th, 2025, researchers gathered in Rotterdam to celebrate the 10-year journey of the Multiscale Catalytic Energy Conversion (MCEC) research center — a decade of interdisciplinary research, collaboration, and innovation. MCEC is a Gravitation Program, which has been funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) with financial support from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. The Final
Utrecht University and East China University of Science and Technology Celebrate Partnership
On Monday, April 14, Utrecht University and East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) held a ceremony to celebrate their academic collaboration, started in June 2024 by establishing a joint research center (JRC). The delegation from ECUST was headed by ECUST Vice President Prof. Li Chunzhong. Utrecht University hosts were Prof. Bert Weckhuysen, an
PhD defense Jim de Ruiter: Keeping an Eye on Copper: Mechanistic insights into Copper Catalysed CO2 Electroreduction
Congratulations to Dr. Jim de Ruiter for an Excellent PhD Defense. Jim has successfully defended her PhD thesis, supervised by Prof. Bert Weckhuysen and Dr. Ward van der Stam. Jim’s PhD thesis examines the catalytic mechanisms of electrochemical CO₂ reduction on copper catalysts using in situ Raman spectroscopy. His research focused on two key areas:
Mariangela Biggiero received the NIOK lecture award for her presentation at the NCCC 2025 conference
We congratulate Mariangela Biggiero on receiving the NIOK lecture award for her presentation “Quasi simultaneous X-ray absorption and diffraction to study activation and regeneration of an indium-bismuth catalyst for CO₂ electroreduction at high current density” at the NCCC 2025 conference. This this presentation, Mariangela presented the recent results of her PhD research on the stability
Sebastian Rejman received an RSC poster award for his poster at the NCCC 2025 conference
We congratulate Sebastian Rejman on receiving the RSC poster award for his poster “Executable Manuscripts as Jupyter Notebooks: The Next Evolution in Scientific Publishing?” at the NCCC 2025 conference. In this poster, Sebastian commented on the future of scientific publications and methods to make the executable. according to Sebastian, the scientific paper we know today
Earl L. Muetterties Memorial Lectureship in Chemistry of Bert Weckhuysen at UC Berkeley
Bert Weckhuysen gave within the frame of the Earl L. Muetterties Memorial Lectureship in Chemistry at the University of California (UC) at Berkeley two lectures, interacted with the scientific staff members, as well as had several meetings with the new generations of scientists, including PhD students and postdoctoral fellows, making it a very fruitful and
Catalysis Connected: Shaping the Refinery of the Future
Catalysis Connected is a conference series focused on advancing catalysis research. Launched in 2019, the conference brings together researchers, industry professionals, and academics to share knowledge and collaborate across disciplines. After successful events in Utrecht (2019) and Veldhoven (2022), the next conference is announced: Date: 16 & 17 April 2025 Location: RotterdamThe conference will explore
Bert Weckhuysen selected as 2024-2025 Francqui Chair at the University of Antwerp
Bert Weckhuysen has been selected as the ‘2024-2025 Francqui Chair’ at the University of Antwerp (Belgium), which is a prestigious academic chair awarded annually by the Francqui Foundation. This Chair aims to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange between Belgian universities and international scholars. It is granted to distinguished scholars from other Belgian universities or eminent
PhD defense Xuan Liu: Unveiling the electrolyte effects of CO2 electroreduction to CO and H2 evolution from the interfacial pH perspective
Congratulations to Dr. Xuan Liu for an Excellent PhD Defense. Xuan has successfully defended her PhD thesis, supervised by Prof. Marc Koper and Prof. Bert Weckhuysen. In her thesis, Xuan devised an in-situ interfacial pH sensor and visualized the evolution of interfacial pH during the electroreduction of CO2 to CO and H2 evolution. She found