Congratulations to Dr. Robin Vogel for an Excellent PhD Defense, who successfully defended his PhD thesis, supervised by Prof. Bert Weckhuysen and Dr. Freddy Rabouw. In his PhD thesis, Robin has explored how industrial catalysts used in hydrocarbon conversion become deactivated by carbon deposits. Using time-resolved spectroscopy, he studied how laser light interacts with catalysts
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Bert Weckhuysen Presented with 2025 Michel Boudart Award at North American Catalysis Society Meeting
At the 29th North American Catalysis Society Meeting (NAM29), held in June 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia (USA), Professor Bert Weckhuysen was formally presented with the 2025 Michel Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis. This biennial award, jointly administered by the European Federation of Catalysis Societies (EFCATS) and the North American Catalysis Society (NACS), honors
Sibylle Schwartmann Received the Green Chemistry Best PhD Talk Award at the International Conference on Renewable Resources & Biorefineries
We congratulate Sibylle Schwartmann on receiving the Best PhD Talk award of RSC Green Chemistry at the International Conference on Renewable Resources & Biorefineries (RRB 2025) in Turku/Åbo, Finland, June 2-4, 2025, for her lecture “Electro-Oxidation of β-O-4 Model Compounds Monitored in a Chamber-Separated Cell via In Situ ATR-IR Spectroscopy”. Sibylle presented her research on
Mariangela Biggiero Received the Best Poster Prize at the Electrochemistry National Symposium
We congratulate Mariangela Biggiero on receiving the best poster prize at the Electrochemistry National Symposium for her poster “Development of in situ ATR-IR spectroscopy for interfacial characterization of industrial catalysts and binders during CO2 electroreduction”. In this poster, Mariangela presented an in situ Attenuated Total Reflectance Infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy approach that bridges fundamental characterization techniques
Bert Weckhuysen Receives Prestigious 2025 Michel Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis
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.
Bert Weckhuysen Delivers Inaugural Francqui Chair Lecture at University of Antwerp
On April 23, Bert Weckhuysen presented his inaugural lecture as the recipient of the Francqui Chair at the University of Antwerp. The event began with a welcome address by Prof. Dr. Sabine van Doorslaer, Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, followed by Prof. Dr. Herwig Leirs, Rector of the University, who shared a brief overview
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. Mariangela presented the recent results of her PhD research on the stability of In2O3 catalyst