News overview
All 2024 news
Bert Weckhuysen received an honorary doctorate from Ghent University
On 22 March 2024, Bert Weckhuysen received an honorary doctorate (“Doctor Honoris Causa”) from Ghent University for his groundbreaking contributions to develop structure-performance relationships in the field of catalysis by making use of innovative in-situ and operando spectroscopy tools. His research outcomes are major in the path towards the realization of a more sustainable and
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Utrecht University hosted the 4th SUNER-C Consortium Meeting
The SUNER-C members came together in Utrecht on 7 March to discuss the project progress, address the challenges, and plan the finalizing and reporting of the project. During the event, the work packages (WP) leaders presented the progress of their WP and discussed the reporting progress; also, the members discussed plans for the participation of
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Angela Melcherts received the NIOK Lecture Award for her presentation at the NCCC 2024 conference
PhD student Angela Melcherts received the NIOK Lecture Award for her presentation “Tuning Metal-Support Interactions in the CO2 Hydrogenation over Ni Supported on Titania Polymorphs”. Angela presented the results of her research about the mechanistic pathways of catalytic CO2 methanation over nickel supported on different titanium dioxide polymorphs (i.e., anatase, rutile, and brookite). She used
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PhD defense Mark Mangnus: Mystifying Photoluminescence Mechanisms Unraveling and exploiting non-ideal behavior of luminescent nanomaterials
Congratulations to Dr. Mark Mangnus for an Excellent PhD Defense. Mark has successfully defended his PhD thesis, supervised by Prof. Bert Weckhuysen, prof. dr. Alfons van Blaaderen, and dr. Freddy Rabouw. In his thesis, Mark studied lanthanide doped materials. These materials have well-defined emission energies that are barely affected by the host crystal in which
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Bert Weckhuysen will receive an honorary doctorate from Ghent University
Ghent University is awarding an honorary doctorate to Bert Weckhuysen, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry & Catalysis at Utrecht University. The doctorate is a special honor for his exceptional scientific achievements. The honorary doctorate will be awarded during the Dies Natalis of Ghent University, on Friday, March 22. Professors Veronique van Speybroek and Kevin van Geem
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PhD defense Shuang Yang: Structure−Performance Relationships of Copper and Post−Transition Metals in Electrochemical CO2 Reduction
Congratulations to Dr. Shuang Yang for an Excellent PhD Defense. Shuang has successfully defended her PhD thesis, supervised by Prof. Bert Weckhuysen and Dr. Ward van der Stam. Shuang has studied the effect of post-transition metals (Bi, Pb & Sn) on the properties of Cu for electrochemical CO2 reduction, aiming to convert CO2 into valuable
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Advice to the Minister of Education, Culture and Science on Starting and Incentive Grants
In 2023 a committee has been installed to advice the minister of Education, Culture, and Science, Robbert Dijkgraaf, as well as all Dutch university boards on how the so-called “starters- & stimuleringsbeurzen” have to be best organized and invested within the university organizations. The chair of the committee was Bert Weckhuysen, who had the complex
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Thimo Jacobs received the 1st prize for his poster at MaterialenNL Conference
PhD student Thimo Jacobs received the 1st prize for his poster “Mapping Temperatures during CO2 Conversion in Both Space and Time” at the MaterialenNL Conference. Thimo presented his work on measuring spatio-temporal variations in the local temperature on the micrometer length scale during carbon dioxide methanation over a TiO2-supported Ni catalyst. More info: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.3c05622
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PhD defense Iris ten Have: Spectroscopy of the Catalytic Hydrogenation of CO and CO2
Congratulations to Dr. Iris ten Have for an Excellent PhD Defense. Iris has successfully defended her PhD thesis, supervised by Prof. Bert Weckhuysen and Dr. Florian Meirer. In her PhD thesis, Iris described surface-sensitive spectroscopy as a promising analytical tool for a better understanding reaction and deactivation mechanisms in heterogeneous catalysis. She set the stage
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PhD defense Luca Carnevale: Microreactors for In Situ Single Catalyst Particle Characterization Using Advanced Imaging Techniques
Congratulations to Dr. Luca Carnevale for an Excellent PhD Defense. Luca has successfully defended his PhD thesis, supervised by Prof. Mathieu Odijk and Prof. Bert Weckhuysen. Luca has developed microreactors for in-situ characterization of single catalyst particles, thereby expanding a.o. the pressure limitations. His research contributes to advancing innovative microfluidic devices for investigating heterogeneous catalysts
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Bert Weckhuysen appointed as a Honorary Professor at East China University of Science & Technology
On November 17, Professor Bert Weckhuysen was appointed as a Honorary Professor at the School of Chemical Engineering of East China University of Science & Technology (ECUST, China). Professor Xuan Fuzhen, President of ECUST, attended and awarded the Honorary Professorship. The appointment ceremony was hosted by Professor Li Chunzhong, Dean of the School of Chemical
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Bert Weckhuysen appointed as a Honorary Professor at Tianjin University
On November 14, 2023, Bert Weckhuysen, was appointed as a Honorary Professor at the School of Chemical Engineering of Tianjin University (China). Gong Jinlong, Vice President of Tianjin University, Professor Fan Xiaobin, Dean of the School of Chemical Engineering, and representatives of teachers and students attended the awarding ceremony. The full press release can be
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Bert Weckhuysen was elected as a Honorary Fellow of Chinese Chemical Society
On November 13, 2023, the Chinese Chemical Society held a ceremony at the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, to confer the Honorary Fellowship to Professor Bert Weckhuysen. Professor Zhao Yuliang, Vice President of the Chinese Chemical Society, presented the certificate to Professor Bert Weckhuysen. The ceremony was presided over by Professor Ma
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Symposium “Nanoplastics: Origin, Structure and Fate”
Small is beautiful. We have organized a focused conference on the frontiers of micro- and nanoplastics research, discussing the challenges to understand a.o. nanoplastics formation, including its potential harm. The symposium took place on November 20th and 21st in the Museum Speelklok of Utrecht, The Netherlands. The aims of the symposium were to bring together (young)
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Clarivate names Bert Weckhuysen one of the world’s most cited scientists
Bert Weckhuysen has been recognized as one of the world’s most cited scientists by ClarivateTM. Each year, the Clarivate™ company identifies worldwide a select group of scientists who have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their respective fields of research. Weckhuysen’s work has been recognized as being among the top 1% of most cited in
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PhD defense Ahmed Ismail: The Chemical Dynamics of Water Splitting Oxides
Congrats to Dr. Ahmed Ismail for a very good PhD defense! Ahmed explored a.o. femtosecond X-ray spectroscopy, thereby making use of a unique X-ray free electron laser, to study metal oxides, splitting H2O in H2 & O2. Wishing you all success, Ahmed!
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PhD defense Max Werny: Probing the Morphology, Composition and Temperature of Olefin Polymerization Catalyst Particles with Microscopy and Spectroscopy
Congratulations to Dr. Max Werny for an excellent PhD defense. Max has successfully defended his PhD thesis, supervised by Prof. Bert Weckhuysen and Dr. Florian Meirer. Max has used fluorescence, infrared, electron & X-ray microscopy to investigate the morphology & break-up of olefin polymerization catalysts. In his PhD thesis, Max describes how an analytical toolbox,
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New video about the Da Vinci Project featuring Fieke Sluijs and Bert Weckhuysen
You will find below a new video introducing the Da Vinci project, in collaboration with the Instituut voor Interdisciplinaire Studies (IIS) at Universiteit van Amsterdam. Find out more about the Da Vinci project here.
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Bert Weckhuysen gives 2023 Utrecht Science Lecture
Bert Weckhuysen gives 2023 Utrecht Science Lecture The theme of the second Utrecht Science Lecture, during the Utrecht Science Week (September 27-October 6) revolved around sustainable collaboration, which is pivotal for the rapid advancement of a circular economy (an economy where waste is entirely repurposed). Businesses alone cannot solve this, nor can the realm of
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Stanford University has released its global list of scientists that represents the top 2% in various disciplines, Bert Weckhuysen being one of them
Bert Weckhuysen has been listed in the World Ranking Top 2% Scientists’ list, compiled by Stanford University, at position 1426 (for single recent year data pertain to citations received during calender year 2022) and 2125 (for career-long data are updated to end-of-2022). Now in its 6th iteration, this list identifies the world’s leading researchers, representing
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PhD defense Silvia Zanoni: Characterization of Supported Metallocene Catalysts for Ethylene Polymerization
Congratulations to Dr. Silvia Zanoni for her great defence of her PhD work: “Characterization of Supported Metallocene Catalysts for Ethylene Polymerization” on September 6th. Wishing you all success! This project aimed to a thorough investigation of the support role in the polymerization reaction catalyzed by metallocenes, in order to understand the mechanism behind the significant
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Robin Vogel received a poster award at the 15th European Congress on Catalysis
PhD student Robin Vogel won a poster award at the 15th European Congress on Catalysis (EuropaCat2023) in Prague (Czech Republic). His poster “Operando Luminescence Thermometry of Propane Dehydrogenation Catalysis” was selected as one of the 10 poster prizes from a strong field of over several hundreds of posters.
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Bettina Baumgartner receives VENI NWO grant
Bringing molecules together: Photoredox chemistry squeezed into small pores This research proposal of Bettina Baumgartner aims to make chemical reactions more energy efficient. The goal is to convert CO2 and CH4 into basic chemicals using only sunlight. It is a translation of biological processes that help to convert molecules, such as photosynthesis. Experimental setups based on
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Interview for Chemistry Views “Enjoy Being Like a Detective”
“Bert Weckhuysen, Professor at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, is renowned as a pioneering and world-leading expert in researching heterogeneous catalysts. During the 49th IUPAC World Chemistry Congress held in The Hague, The Netherlands, he will be honored with the inaugural Chemistry Europe Award […]” Bert was interviewed by Vera Koester for @ChemistryViews about @ChemEurope, the
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PhD defense Erik Maris: Mapping Porous Solid Catalysts with Fluoresecent Molecules and Nanoparticles
Congratulations to Dr. Erik Maris for an outstanding PhD defense. Erik has used fluorescence microscopy to map pore structure & connectivity in porous (zeolite) catalyst materials by monitoring single molecules & carbon dots. Wishing you all success! To reduce our dependency of fossil resources, we have to develop alternative manufacturing processes to produce our materials,
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Conference celebrating the Launch of the Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry
@UniUtrecht‘s new Institute for Sustainable & Circular Chemistry was launched on June 10 with Eelco Vogt as director. We (re)design, synthesize & investigate molecules and materials for circularity and sustainability. The website of the ISCC can be found here.
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Radio interview NOS ntr Kennis & Co with Bert Weckhuysen
In order to solve the biggest problems, you have to understand the smallest objects. Bert Weckhuysen was invited to give an interview for the new NTR-podcast Kennis & Co to discuss catalysis and its contribution to a more sustainable and circular society. More information can be found here: https://www.nporadio1.nl/nieuws/wetenschap-techniek/06f2c683-abb3-42cb-a43d-cd3cd3d5372a/nieuwe-podcast-kennis-co
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Paper “Restructuring of titanium oxide overlayers over nickel nanoparticles during catalysis” published in Science
We show in Science Magazine how different reduction temperatures alter the support-metal nanoparticle interaction. “Metal nanoparticles can interact so strongly with reducible oxide supports that the particle becomes coated with the metal oxide during the initial reduction steps. Monai et al. used scanning transmission electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy to explore how titanium oxide
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Former PhD student Charlotte Vogt selected as Chemical & Engineering News’s Talented 12 Class of 2023
“Catalysts spur the world’s economy, but they still hold many mysteries. “One-third of global gross domestic product relies on catalysts, and yet do we really understand how they operate under working conditions? Absolutely not,” says Charlotte Vogt, an assistant professor of chemistry at the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology.” Charlotte also received the 2023 Beilby medal:
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SUNER-C Consortium Meeting & Vision Workshop
Unlocking the Renewable Energy Future! The second @sunergy_eu consortium meeting took place on February 15 & 16 in Brussels. We also held a workshop towards a shared vision & European roadmap on solar fuels (a.o., chaired by Ann Magnuson & Huub de Groot). Keynote lecture by James Durrant @durrant_group. Read more on the SUNERGY website.
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Angela Melcherts received a poster award at the 24th Netherlands’ Catalysis and Chemistry Conference
PhD student Angela Melcherts won a poster award at the 24th Netherlands’ Catalysis and Chemistry Conference (NCCC) in Noordwijkerhout. Her poster “Understanding Nickel-Support Interactions in Catalytic CO2 Hydrogenation with Modulation Excitation Infrared Spectroscopy” (Angela) was selected from a strong field of over 160 posters.
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Ellen Sterk received a poster award at the 24th Netherlands’ Catalysis and Chemistry Conference
PhD student Ellen Sterk won a poster award at the 24th Netherlands’ Catalysis and Chemistry Conference (NCCC) in Noordwijkerhout. Her poster “What is the Best Nickel Metal Facet for the Steam Methane Reforming and Sabatier Reactions?” was selected from a strong field of over 160 posters.
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Bert Weckhuysen appointed as the new Editor-in-Chief of Catalysis Science & Technology
“The rapid development of sustainability in chemistry, energy, and materials science ask for a flagship broad-scope interdisciplinary scientific journal in the field of catalysis that not only fosters fundamental science in the more traditional catalysis fields, but also brings in new, often somewhat more remotely developed methods, materials, and insights that not only inspire, but
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Bert Weckhuysen awarded the 2023 Inaugural Chemistry Europe Award
Chemistry Europe, an association of 16 chemical societies from 15 European countries publishing a family of high-quality scholarly journals and the magazine ChemistryViews, recognizes outstanding contributions to chemistry with its new Chemistry Europe Award. The 2023 Chemistry Europe Award will go to Bert Weckhuysen, Professor at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, who is being honored “for
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PhD defense Thomas van Swieten: The design and application of luminescent thermometers: A closer look at biases and uncertainties
PhD student Thomas van Swieten defended on January 25 successfully his PhD thesis at Utrecht University. His PhD thesis focuses on the elucidation of the biases and uncertainties when using luminescence thermometry for accurately determining the local temperature in solid matter. This work was a cooperation with the section Condensed Matter and Interfaces of the
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PhD defense Bas Terlingen: The re-use of the by-product hydrochloric acid to generate valuable compounds
Congratulations to Dr. Bas Terlingen for an excellent PhD defense! Bas has successfully defended his PhD thesis, supervised by Prof. Bert Weckhuysen. He developed catalysts for the methane oxychloriniation reaction & used operando Raman spectroscopy. The re-use of the by-product hydrochloric acid to generate valuable compounds The manufacturing of thermoplastics, such as polyurethanes, generates large
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Interview of Bert Weckhuysen in de Volkskrant
Prof. Weckhuysen from the Utrecht Univeristy, SUNER-C coordinator, talks about artificial photosynthesis in this interview 14th October 2022 Artificial photosynthesis: ‘The next step for sustainable energy’ Prof. Weckhuysen explains that the supply and demand of renewable energy often do not match – for example, there is not enough power from the solar panels in the
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PhD defense Sophie van Vreeswijk: Advanced Zeolite Characterisation Methods to Investigate the Methanol-to-Hydrocarbons Reaction
Sophie has successfully defended her PhD thesis. Her supervisor was Prof. Bert Weckhuysen. Congratulations Sophie! Exploration of Non-Commodity Zeolite Framework for Small Molecule Activation: Acidity, Reactivity and Coke Formation Zeolites are widely used solid catalysts. Although there are more than 235 zeolite frameworks reported, almost all zeolite-based catalytic processes are performed by a limited number
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PhD defense Nikolaos Nikolopoulos: Waste-derived Zeolites and Shaped Catalyst Bodies for the Methanol-to-Hydrocarbons Reaction
Nikos has successfully defended his PhD thesis. His supervisor was Prof. Bert Weckhuysen. Congratulations on this achievement! Europe faces major challenges to guarantee its future raw-materials supply chain and as indicated in the EC’s new Circular Economy Action plan, a diversified and sustainable access to critical raw materials (CRMs) must involve maximizing the potential of
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Laura Zoutendijk did a Research Stay in New York City
This summer, Laura spent a couple of week in New York City to visit a partner from her consortium. You might have already seen some astonishing pictures from Central Park coming from her side, but she also made some progress on her research in the labs there. Read her full story here: https://auroraresearch.eu/aurora-insights-a-research-exchange-in-new-york/
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Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry (UU) launched!
Last month, Utrecht University launched the new Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry (ISCC)! “Firmly rooted in chemistry, ISCC seeks collaborations outside the field to contribute to the sustainability transition, with a focus on molecules and materials for circularity.” The ISCC is formed by the members of the UU hub of the ARC CBBC, as
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PhD defense Xinwei Ye: Structure-Performance Relationships in the Selective Catalytic Reduction
PhD defense of Xinwei Ye Xinwei Ye has successfully defended her PhD thesis. Her supervisor was Prof. Bert Weckhuysen and Dr. Florian Meirer. Congratulations on this achievement! Combustion of diesel fuel in automotive engines leads to the formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) that are harmful to the environment. The Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) is a
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Loreta Muscarella received an NWO XS grant for groundbreaking research project
Loreta Muscarella (ICC) has received an NWO XS grant of 50.000 euro for groundbreaking research into photocatalysis. In this project, indoor pollution will be tackled by developing a smart perovskite-based photocatalyst that can simultaneously degrade a wide variety of indoor pollutants by fully exploiting the indoor light. Read more at: https://www.nwo.nl/en/news/twenty-six-groundbreaking-research-projects-launched-open-competition-domain-science-xs-0 Source: website Inorganic Chemistry and
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PhD defense Roozbeh Valadian: Porous Catalyst Characterization Using X-ray Nano Tomography and Pore Network Modeling
PhD defense Roozbeh Valadian This PhD thesis focuses mainly on the characterization of complex porous materials at the low micrometer and sub-micron length scale. The characterization techniques used in this PhD Thesis can be classified into two synchrotron-based X-ray microscopy (XRM) techniques: i) X-ray holotomography and ii) correlative ptychographic X-ray computed tomography (PXCT) and X-ray
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4 M€ grant to accelerate innovation on solar fuels and chemicals, and to support the transition toward a fossil-free EU economy
Under the umbrella of the SUNERGY pan-European initiative, the newly funded SUNER-C programme will strengthen the solar fuels and chemicals community within Europe. To mitigate climate change, our society must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and find solutions to move away from fossil resources, while undergoing a gradual transition from a linear to a circular
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Ina Vollmer & Ward van der Stam received an NWO XS grant for curiosity-driven research
Ina Vollmer and Ward van der Stam (both ICC) have each received an NWO XS grant of 50.000 euro for curiosity-driven research into new ways to recycle plastic and CO2. Ina will use solid organometallic catalysts in an innovative ball mill to convert polyolefins. Ward will develop a unique combined X-ray diffraction and fluorescence setup
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1.9 M€ Project by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) to study Light-Catalyst interactions to Sense & Steer Chemical Reactions
AMOLF and Utrecht University have been awarded a 1.9 M€ research project by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) Key Technologies 2020-2023 programme to develop radically new catalytic reactors using plasmonic systems. The project entitled “Sensing and Steering Catalytic Reactions with Light” (CatLight) is a multidisciplinary collaboration between AMOLF (Alarcon-Llado, Albrecht, Ehrler, Garnett and Polman), Utrecht
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Bert Weckhuysen, winner of the Max Planck Frontier Award 2022
The Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion (MPI CEC) has awarded this year’s Max Planck Frontier Award to Prof. Bert Weckhuysen. He receives the prize for his excellent research in the field of chemical energy conversion. Prizewinners are nominated in a highly competitive procedure by the institute’s staff council. This year’s award ceremony was part of the
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Publication | Favoring the Methane Oxychlorination Reaction over EuOCl by Synergistic Effects with Lanthanum
Metal symbiosis for better catalysis ARC CBBC PhD-candidate Bas Terlingen from Utrecht University recently published his work in scientific journal ACS Catalysis. But what was this publication all about? In general, Bas’ research is focused on recycling HCl. HCl is a by-product in many industrial chemical processes, and is often seen as waste. What if
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A light-based thermometer to change chemistry, by Daan Groefsema (UU)
Are you curious how a new type of thermometer can contribute to our mission to greenify chemistry? Watch Daan’s pitch about his research! Recently, a selection of our PhD-candidates followed a training about pitching their research for a broad audience. Among these researchers was Daan Groefsema from the UU. Daan’s research focuses on the development
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Doe maar Duurzaam
Om grote stappen te maken in de verduurzaming van de chemische industrie moeten we vele talenten en disciplines met elkaar verbinden en samenwerken. Bert Weckhuysen in RTL Doe Maar Duurzaam: ‘We moeten de verbinders van de toekomst opleiden die in staat zijn het bedrijfsleven, de overheid en de kennis met elkaar te verbinden. Het ARC
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In an interview, Bert Weckhuysen, Eline Hutter & Freddy Rabouw reflect on the new recognition and rewards system; “It is not black and white”.
Bert Weckhuysen and two younger scientists reflect on recognition and rewards ‘Utrecht University abandons the impact factor as a benchmark for recruitment and selection or promotion.’ This could be read on the Nature website last summer. Numerous positive reactions follow worldwide. However, there is also criticism. In an open letter on ScienceGuide, Dutch academics (mostly professors) warn that the new recognition
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Publication | Two for the price of one: Researchers design unique catalyst to make carbon-neutral transportation fuels
An important step towards a carbon-neutral society is making transportation fuels like diesel and gasoline from carbon-neutral carbon sources like biomass, waste plastic, and even CO2. Because diesel and gasoline have quite different hydrocarbon structures, combining these two functions into one catalyst material had so far eluded researchers. A team of researchers from Utrecht University
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Publication | Metal or Metal Oxide, That’s The Question
ICC scientists, in cooperation with the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, have discovered new fundamental insights into the reaction mechanism of CO2 hydrogenation. CO2 hydrogenation is one of a set of important reactions that can help solve the problems related to global warming caused by CO2 in the atmosphere. The reaction converts the harmful CO2
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Publication | Towards Solving the Puzzle of Active Sites in Catalysis
Catalysts are used in essentially all chemical processes to increase their efficiency and lower energy costs. They help by making the desired reaction pathways faster, or more favorable compared to undesired reaction pathways. To do so, the catalyst must associate with the molecules that need to be converted using active sites at the catalyst
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A needle in a haystack: weeding out dead catalyst
Catalysts are important materials that are used to increase the resource and energy efficiency of chemical reactions and processes. Although catalysts operate in cycles that normally restore their initial activity over and over again, they do deactivate over time. ICC Researchers at Utrecht University and University of Twente have now developed a powerful analytical tool
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ICC Researchers solve mystery of ‘structure-insensitive’ catalytic reactions
A team of researchers from the ICC group at Utrecht University has solved one of the fundamental mysteries in catalysis: the paradox of structure insensitivity. The work was a collaboration with Technion Institute of Technology, Eindhoven University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Stony Brook University, and the Paul Scherrer Institute, and was published today in Nature
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Judging by quality in a world with too many pieces of the puzzle
One of the themes of the Utrecht University Open Science Programme is developing a new vision on Recognition and Rewards: no longer should researchers be evaluated based on the impact factor of the journal in which they publish their research results or on how often their articles are cited, laid down in the so-called Hirsch-index (often abbreviated to h-index).
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Jim de Ruiter wins Poster Award at INTERECT 2021
Jim de Ruiter has won the Poster Award for his poster “Time Resolved Spectral Footage of CO2 Electroreduction on Copper Catalysts” during the INTERECT conference in Valencia, organized by nanoGe. Source: website Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis
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ICC-Alumna Charlotte Vogt wins Clara Immerwahr Award
ICC-alumna Dr. Charlotte Vogt was awarded the 2022 Clara Immerwahr Award by UniSysCat, a cluster of excellence at four universities and four research institutes in the Berlin/Potsdam area. The Clara Immerwahr Award “promotes equity and excellence in catalysis research, and promotes young female scientists at an early stage of their career”, and “is associated with a
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PhD defense Koen Bossers: On the Fragmentation Behavior of Ziegler-Type Catalysts During the Early Stages of α-Olefin Polymerization
PhD defense of Koen Bossers In this PhD thesis the fragmentation behavior of Ziegler-type polyolefin catalysts was studied using advanced chemical imaging techniques. The fragmentation behavior plays a crucial part during the polymerization of a-olefins such as ethylene and propylene to ensure a well-controlled polymerization process, prevent reactor fouling and facilitate facile processing of the obtained
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ICC lab outing: graffiti!
Photo taken during the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis Lab Outing at IKEA Utrecht. This image was made following all Covid-19 regulations in force at the time of the event. The group experienced creativity in a different way at the lab outing, where the art of graffiti was performed. With supervision of the talented artists from Graffitifun, every
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Bert Weckhuysen about Green Chemistry in NPO radio
Making the industry more sustainable is crucial to combating global warming. And chemistry plays an especially important role in this. Without chemistry, all necessary sustainability transitions are doomed to fail, says professor Bert Weckhuysen. He explains what ‘Green Chemistry’ can contribute to a sustainable future. Listen to the full ‘Fragment’ here. Source: NPO radio
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PhD defense Maarten Jongkind: Effect of Metal-Alkyl Components on the Formation of Active Sites in Chromium-Based Ethylene Polymerization
PhD defense of M.K. Jongkind MSc The annual production of plastics is soon expected to exceed the 400 million metric tons, of which polyethylene has the largest market volume share. The polyolefin industry currently stands as one of the most mature, sustainable, and efficient technologies relying on fossil, and more recently also renewable, feedstocks. These
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Weekend van de Wetenschap
A few of our PhD candidates and tenure track assistant professors hosted three fun and inspiring activities during the Weekend of the Wetenschap. What did they come up with? Let’s see: At Utrecht University Huygen Jöbsis (UU) together with Nicole van Leeuwen (UvA) used Lego to show that MOLECULES ARE LIKE BUILDING BLOCKS: you can stick them
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Best Oral Contribution Prize from MDPI Energies Journal goes to Ward van der Stam
For his presentation ‘Probing the Dynamics of CO2 Electroreduction with Time-Resolved Raman Spectroscopy’ Ward van der Stam received the Best Oral Contribution Prize from the MDPI Energies Journal at the nanoGe Fall Meeting. Congratulation on this great achievement!
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MCEC Demonstrator appears in ‘Glotcast’
Weckhuysen group member, Ward van der Stam (UU) starred in an episode of ‘Glotcast’, a podcast series with open conversations between scientists, students, inhabitants, and organizations in the city of Utrecht that take place at AKWAGLOT in the Utrecht Singel. Hosts Marij Swinkels and Vincent Tijseling discover how the chemical decomposition of CO2 is one of the
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PRESS RELEASE | Greenification of the chemical industry one step closer by the extension of ARC CBBC
Companies and universities take a leading role in the development of sustainable chemistry, energy and materials. Renewable energy and sustainable materials, such as coatings and catalysts, are one step closer now that the collaborating parties in the Advanced Research Center Chemical Building Blocks Consortium (ARC CBBC) will once again collaborate for five years on making the chemical
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PhD defense Khaled Khalili: Operando Attenuated Total Reflection-Infrared Spectroscopy of Biomass Conversion Processes
PhD defense K. Khalili MSc Dr. Khaled Khalili has successfully defended his PhD thesis. His supervisor was Prof. Bert Weckhuysen. Congratulations on this achievement!
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MCEC Demonstrator Videos
Behind the scenes, our MCEC Demonstrator Teams have been working thoroughly on their projects. To give you a glimpse of what waits ahead, we visited each team this summer to get a better understanding of their project, their goals and expectations. Pyrolystrator Christia Jabbour, Ina Vollmer, Michael Jenks, Ferdy Coumans, Jérôme Simons, and Dr. Florian
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Webinar Recycable Plastic
Society is facing a major challenge in the area of sustainability. The demand for energy and materials such as plastics is increasing, but CO2 emissions and the amount of waste must be reduced. For this, we need to develop better production processes. The speakers in this webinar highlight the challenges and possible solutions for
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PhD defense Stijn Hinterding: Beyond the ensemble; Excited-state dynamics unveiled by single-nanoparticle spectroscopy
PhD defense S.O.M. Hinterding MSc Technologie waarbij licht wordt omgezet speelt een belangrijke rol in onze moderne samenleving. Denk bijvoorbeeld aan smartphones, LED-lampen en zonnepanelen. Hoewel dergelijke apparaten al ver ontwikkeld zijn, kan het nog beter: een hogere efficïentie, langere levensduur en een lager gewicht. Quantum dots zijn enorm kleine deeltjes van slechts een paar
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Greenifying chemistry: back to the drawing table. An interview with Anne-Eva Nieuwelink
Innovation in the chemical sector is crucial for a more sustainable society. In our way towards the greenification of chemistry we have to join forces, get back to the drawing table and reinvent chemistry. New chemistry for a sustainable future is the title of ARC CBBC’s prestigious new multilateral program. 17 principal investigators from various universities will work
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Freddy Rabouw receives prestigious VIDI-grant
Freddy Rabouw was awarded a VIDI grant from the NWO Talent Scheme. The VIDI grant, for researchers who have already conducted several years of research after their PhD, involves a scholarship of 800,000 euros intended for the development of their own research line, and allows for the appointment of one or two PhD students. Freddy
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ARC-CBBC hub explained
Ina Vollmer and Matteo Monai, ICC’s new assistant professors (see May 1 news item) have prepared a video explaining the tools and techniques available at the Utrecht ARC-CBBC hub. The ARC CBBC infrastructure is available for everyone affiliated with ARC-CBBC, including ARC-CBBC researchers who work at other universities. The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/KT6XAGG-fTk Source: website Inorganic Chemistry
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Da Vinci Project 2020-2021 Reunion at Strand Oog in Al
To festively celebrate the end of the Da Vinci Project 2020-2021 program, a Comenius Teaching Fellow project conceptualized and lead by Prof. Weckhuysen, a physical reunion was organized for the students and the external partners at Strand Oog in Al (Utrecht). This year marked the second edition of the interdisciplinary honours program, in which groups
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In Situ Nano-Spectroscopy on Surface-Anchored Metal-Organic Frameworks
PhD defense of Guusje Delen “A new view on nanomaterials in action.” Small materials, large effects: because of their size, nanomaterials usually behave differently than their larger counterparts. For example, they are often better at absorbing and converting gasses, such as CO2 or poison gases. But why? To answer this we need new microscopes to
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The Birth, Life and Death of Surface-Mounted Metal-Organic Frameworks
PhD defense of Laurence Mandemaker In this Ph.D. Thesis, thin layers of solid catalysts were studied using advanced microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. These catalysts, better known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), consist of metal clusters which are interconnected with linker molecules, building a 3D porous crystalline structure with many potential applications. The thesis focusses on the
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Comenius Senior Fellowship for Bert Weckhuysen
After having received a Comenius Teaching Fellowship to launch the Da Vinci Project for BA students in 2019, Bert Weckhuysen now also received a Comenius Senior Fellowship to expand it for MA students in the frame of the Utrecht University, Technical University of Eindhoven and Wageningen University and EWUU Strategic Alliance! Sustainable development and the
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And then there was light: the sun powers new chemistry
In an article that appeared in de Telegraaf today, ICC researchers Eline Hutter, Matteo Monai, and Bert Weckhuysen are interviewed about the conversion of CO2 to methane using sunlight. Although the conversion of CO2 to methane (the Sabatier reaction) has been known since the early 1900’s, it has gained quite some attention recently as one of the solutions to
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Where has all the plastic gone? Ina Vollmer & Florian Meirer interviewed about plastic in the environment
Ina Vollmer and Florian Meirer have been interviewed for an in-depth article about plastic in the environment: 99 percent of all the plastics in the ocean is missing. We know it went in, but we have no clue where it’s headed. One thing is certain though: plastic is never really gone. The question is: where did it go?
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Clothing kills the virus
The Covid-pandemic has demonstrated that we need to be ready for rapidly spreading threats, like a new biohazard, but also pollutants, or toxins. This is especially important for the front-line workers exposed to the threat, like doctors and nurses, and other first responders. In a paper published in Nature Reviews Chemistry, ICC researchers review the
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Bert Weckhuysen explains smell of asphalt processing plant on Radio 1
Neighbors of an Asphalt-processing plant in den Bosch are concerned about the smell emanating from the plant, and fear for exposure to benzene. Bert Weckhuysen was interviewed to explain how chemical plants can safely operate in the vicinity of built-up areas. The interview (in Dutch) can be found at https://www.nporadio1.nl/blok-toine/uitzendingen/3572079-2021-05-05. The interview is in the second
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Matteo Monai and Ina Vollmer appointed assistant professors at ICC and ARC CBBC
The ICC scientific staff was recently expanded with two new tenure-track assistant professors: Ina Vollmer and Matteo Monai, presently post-docs at ICC, will join the team of ICC and ARC CBBC (https://arc-cbbc.nl). Ina will work on the selective low temperature conversion of plastic waste, while Matteo will attempt to push the boundaries of rational catalysts
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Bert Weckhuysen speaks out on research funding
In an interview in DUB, the news site of Utrecht University, Bert Weckhuysen speaks out on the funding system for academic research. What is needed, is a sustainable model for education and science. One of the conditions is fair funding, another is a fair personnel policy. Weckhuysen notes that many of his colleagues structurally work extreme
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Reinventing Chemistry Together: Successful anniversary symposium of ARC-CBBC
In ARC-CBBC, industry, academia and government cooperate to redesign the chemical industry, and drastically reduce its environmental footprint. Led by Bert Weckhuysen (UU-ICC), Hans Kuipers (Eindhoven University of Technology) and Nobel-Prize winner Ben Feringa (Groningen University), the consortium celebrated its fifth anniversary on April 22, 2021. Distinguished guests Mona Keijzer, State Secretary for Economic Affairs
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Freddy Rabouw receives support for KIEM GOCHEM project in collaboration with the start-up Seaborough Research B.V.
Freddy Rabouw has been awarded 50 k€ for his new KIEM project entitled “Helder rood licht dankzij slimme energieomzetting” (Bright red light thanks to smart energy conversion). He will implement the project together with Seaborough Research B.V., an innovative start-up from Amsterdam in the lighting industry. In this project, the partners aim to design –
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PhD student Romy Riemersma has been elected to the University Council!
We are very proud of Romy for being elected to the University Council as part of the Utrecht PhD Party. We hope that this service will offer Romy an excellent opportunity for her to develop other professional skills during her PhD. Congratulations and we wish you a fruitful University Council membership, Romy!
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Charlotte Vogt selected for Forbes 30 under 30 – Appointed Assistant Professor at Technion, Haifa
ICC-graduate Charlotte Vogt was selected for the prestigious Forbes 30 under 30 Europe 2021 list. Charlotte was selected in the Science and Healthcare section of the list, for her studies of catalytic reactions that can help prevent climate change, including ammonia synthesis and CO2 reduction. The Forbes list recognizes science and healthcare entrepreneurs that are inventing the future from the atom
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ARC CBBC Reinventing Chemistry Together Symposium
Chemistry is everywhere. It is in our everyday consumer products. At the same time, it lies at the heart of some of the world’s present-day challenges. To act on climate change and sustainability challenges, the Dutch government, industry and scientists have joined forces to head to a better future. Since 2016, the Advanced Research Center
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Bert Weckhuysen co-editor of new conference proceeding on Computational Modeling
Together with Kurt Wüthrich, Laurence Rongy and Anne De Wit, Bert Weckhuysen was co-editor of the recently published conference proceeding of the 25th Solvay Conference on Chemistry, entitled ‘Computational Modeling – From Chemistry to Materials to Biology‘. The book highlights the records of the discussions on the current and future perspectives in the field, from chemistry
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Poster and presentation awards at the 2021 NCCC conference
Great successes at the 22nd Netherlands Catalysis and Chemistry Conference (NCCC)! Iris ten Have has received the NIOK Lecture Award for the best presentation for her talk titled “Identifying Aldehyde Functionalities as a Source for Polyaromatics during Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis” with co-authors Alexander P. van Bavel, Adriaan J. A. Duijndam, Robert Geitner, Tianbai Huang, Stephan Kupfer,
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Poster Award for Sophie van Vreeswijk from the Faraday Discussions
PhD student Sophie van Vreeswijk has received a Poster Award during the Faraday Discussions. Her poster entitled “Atom Probe Tomography and Operando Spectroscopy Reveal Nano-scale Compositions, Clustering and Conking Behaviour during the Zeolite-Catalysed Methanol-to-Olefin Process” reported results on reaction mechanisms in catalysis, Congratulations to this achievement, Sophie!
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Bert Weckhuysen appointed Honorary fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society
Bert Weckhuysen was recently appointed Honorary Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society. He was elected for his contributions in the use of in-situ spectroscopy technology to study catalytic processes, as well as energy conversion and carbon dioxide conversion, and his important contributions to scientific research cooperation with the Chinese chemical industry and the education of young scholars.
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Interview with Ina Vollmer on plastic waste recycling
Plastic: chicken or egg of the waste cycle – That’s the topic Prof. Bert Weckhuysen (chair, UU), Jaap den Doelder ( TU/e), Ina Vollmer (UU) and Lonneke Slenders (Ioniqa) will discussed during the MCEC Focus Session at CHAINS 2020. On this occasion, we asked Ina Vollmer about her views on this matter. How could we deal with
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Research into microplastics and nanoplastics and chemical substances
Bert Weckhuysen and Florian Meirer are involved in two major European Horizon 2020 projects that are all connected with research into substances that are harmful to our health. A brief impression of the projects is provided below. Risks of microplastics and nanoplastics during pregnancy and early life Roel Vermeulen (AURORA project coordinator) Plastic in the
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Binder Effects in Catalyst Extrudates
PhD defense of Suzanne Verkleij Zeolite-based catalysts have many applications in the (petro-)chemical industry and these catalysts are often used in large, meters-high reactors. Zeolites are often a fine powder and if a large reactor is filled with this fine powder, it is difficult to get a gas or fluid through the reactor. For this
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Iron Carbides and Sodium-Sulphur Promotion in Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Catalysts
PhD defense of Pasi Paalanen Currently, hydrocarbons are used in the vast majority of modern industrial processes leading to the production of transportation fuels, plastics, coatings and other materials. In the foreseeable future the current primary source for these hydrocarbons, namely crude oil from Earth’s crust, will be depleted and new alternatives as a source
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VENI Research Awards for Ina Vollmer and Matteo Monai
Ina Vollmer and Matteo Monai both received NWO’s prestigious 2020 Veni grant. Ina’s research will focus on putting polymers under strain for more recycling gain while Matteo will work on designing robust nickel catalysts for cleaner hydrogen production. We congratulate Ina and Matteo on their wonderful achievements! Putting polymer under strain for more recycling gain
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Matteo Monai wins the ‘RK Grasselli 2020’ Award
This yearly award (at its first edition) is presented to Italian researchers under the age of 37 who have made exceptional contribution to gas phase catalysis. The award consists of a plate, a prize of 2000 euros and an invited lecture at the University of Bologna. On September 24th 2020, Matteo received the award from Prof.
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Water in Zeolite Pores: Modelling of Water-Active Site Interactions
PhD defense of Katarina Stanciakova Katarina Stanciakova has successfully defended her PhD thesis. Her supervisor was Prof. Bert Weckhuysen. Congratulations on this achievement!
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Walter Benjamin Fellowship awarded to Nina Genz
Nina S. Genz received a Walter Benjamin Fellowship from DFG (German research foundation) for the research project “Insights into CO2 Hydrogenation: Tuning the Selectivity towards Alcohols by Investigating Ni-Fe Bimetallic Catalysts”. Nina will be funded for 24 months and perform her research project within the group of Bert Weckhuysen. She will study these bimetallic catalysts for unravelling
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Florian Meirer promoted to Associate Professor
As of September 2020 Dr. Florian Meirer was promoted to Associate Professor (UHD) in the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group. He is very much looking forward to continue his work at Utrecht University. Congratulations on this great achievement! Source: website Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis
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Anne-Eva Nieuwelink defends PhD in first MCEC Joint Doctorate degree with University of Twente
On 16 September Anne-Eva Nieuwelink defended her PhD at both Utrecht University and the University of Twente (UT). Her counterpart Jeroen Vollenbroek, who mainly did his research at the UT, already defended his PhD in January, but Nieuwelink’s defense had to be rescheduled due to the pandemic. The two researchers form the first MCEC Joint
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Aromatization of Oxygenates over Zeolite Catalysts
PhD defense of Beatriz Luna Murillo Beatriz Luna Murillo has successfully defended her PhD thesis. Her supervisors were Prof. Bert Weckhuysen and Prof. Pieter Bruijnincx. Congratulations on this achievement!
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Best Student Presentation Award for Sophie van Vreeswijk
PhD student Sophie van Vreeswijk received the Best Student Presentation Award at the virtual 2020 Oak Ridge National Laboratory CNMS User Meeting. She used atom probe tomography to image in 3-D the chemical composition of zeolites. Congratulations to the award!
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Breaking Molecular Traffic Jams with Finned Nanoporous Materials
New Porous Catalyst with Ultra-small Fins Facilitates Molecular Transport Thousands of chemical processes used by the energy industry and for other applications rely on the high speed of catalytic reactions, but molecules frequently are hindered by molecular traffic jams that slow them down. Now an entirely new class of porous catalysts has been invented, using
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Eelco Vogt appointed as Professor of Heterogeneous Catalysis for Refinery Processes
Professor by Special Appointment joins Utrecht University on a structural basis. As of 1 August, Prof. Eelco Vogt is appointed as Professor of Heterogeneous Catalysis for Refinery Processes in the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis research group. Since November 2014, Vogt had been affiliated with the same research group as a Professor by Special Appointment, on
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Freddy Rabouw receives Heineken Young Scientists Award
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has announced the names of four young researchers who will receive the Heineken Young Scientists Award in 2020. The Utrecht based physicist/chemist Freddy Rabouw wins the prize in the category Natural Sciences. The Heineken Young Scientists Awards are important incentive prizes for young researchers whose outstanding
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Researchers develop wavy nanosurfaces for better optical components
Publication in Nature A team of researchers from Utrecht and Zürich have developed a new method for the production of wavy surfaces with nanometre precision. In the future this method could be used, for instance, to make more efficient and compact optical components for data transmission. The researchers are publishing their results today in Nature. Utrecht
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Waarom kan je het onderste puntje van je ijshoorntje beter niet opeten?
Kijk jij ook altijd zo uit naar dat onderste chocoladepuntje van je Cornetto? Scheikundige Bert Weckhuysen (Universiteit Utrecht) niet, en hij vertelt in geuren en kleuren waarom. Source: gezondheid.be
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“It took me an eternity to understand that I had to move on”
The PhD defense of Charlotte Vogt would take place on 18 March 2020. She had looked forward to that day for over a decade. After four years of hard work this would be the big day. The day she would be awarded her doctorate degree. But with 1 day to spare before her defense, everything
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Metal-Organic Frameworks: Defects, Spectroscopy and Catalysis
PhD defense of Miguel Rivera Torrente Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) materials consist of metal ions or clusters (usually transition metal ions in alkaline earth ions) bound to multidentate organic ligands that regularly create 3-D networks with micro (or meso) porous cavities. This means that they are often crystalline, although very recently disordered in amorphous MOF materials
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Bert Weckhuysen has been awarded a LIFT project
A total of fourteen projects will start in 2020 with research that will impact the business community. The Launchpad for Innovative Future Technology (LIFT) funding instrument of the Dutch Research Council (NWO) is designed to stimulate public-private partnership between at least one company and one knowledge institution. A total of approximately 4 million euros has been made available
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The greatest treasure a professor can give to society is students
Watch here Bert Weckhuysen explain his vision on what is the key to the success of science in a Chemistry Europe movie clip.
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Structure Sensitivity in Catalysis
PhD defense of Charlotte Vogt On April 18, Charlotte Vogt has successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled ‘Structure Sensitivity in Catalysis’. She has been awarded her doctoral degree with cum laude honors. Congratulations on this great achievement! Structure Sensitivity in Catalysis Supported metal catalysts play a major role in the chemical industry and are essential
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Characterization of Ni-Mo based Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution from Water
PhD defense of Jochem Wijten Jochem Wijten has successfully defended his PhD thesis. His supervisor was Prof. Bert Weckhuysen. Congratulations on this achievement!
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The best Poster Prize to Luke Parker at the 21st NCCC
Postdoc Luke Parker received the best Poster Prize during the 21th Netherlands Catalysis & Chemistry Conference (NCCC) in Noordwijkerhout. He developed an environment-sensitive probe to visualize diffusion into single zeolite particles, and found a Si/Al ratio dependency.
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NWO ENW Open Competition Groot grant for the Weckhuysen group
Bert Weckhuysen (as main applicant) and Florian Meirer have received and ENW Open Competiton Groot grant for their project entitled “Nanoplastics: Origin, Structure and Fate” in collaboration with Utrecht University researcher of physical oceanography, Erik van Sebille, NIOZ-University of Amsterdam-affiliated microbial ecologist, Linda Amaral – Zettler and Irene Groot, a chemist studying heterogeneous catalyst with
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2.5 million euros for public-private research towards more sustainable steel production
Total of four public-private projects granted to Weckhuysen group members within NWO ENW-PPS A public-private consortium led by prof. Bert Weckhuysen and Ward van der Stam (Chemistry), has been awarded an NWO grant for the project “Transforming carbon-rich industrial waste gases of metallurgical plants into valuable products.” Together with Tata Steel, Leiden University and M2i, the researchers will work
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ARC CBBC sets the foundation for new chemistry
ARC CBBC is a unique collaboration between leading academic groups and the industry. This national research centre explores sustainable chemical products and processes that will lead to renewable energy use, lower feedstock consumption and less generation of waste. The consortium is still expanding its research infrastructure and sees opportunities to contribute to the European Green
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Oriented Zeolite Membranes: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications
PhD defense Donglong Fu Zeolites and zeotype materials are heavily used in chemical industry as heterogeneous catalysts for the manufacturing of transportation fuels, chemicals and materials, such as polymers. This interest stimulates continuous research, both in academia and industry, to develop and apply new zeolite materials as well as improved catalytic, adsorption and separation technologies.
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Kick-off of the SUNERGY initiative
Over 100 stakeholders of the Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs) SUNRISE and ENERGY-X gathered on February 5-6, 2020 in Brussels for the kick-off meeting of SUNERGY, a large-scale research and innovation (R&I) initiative in the area of fossil-free fuels and chemicals. Renewable energy experts from academia, industry and policy addressed the current opportunities and challenges
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‘Dare to fail’
Students find solution for sustainability related challenge in new Da Vinci Project “Name something that is not the capital of France.’ Five bachelor students who were among the first to join the new honours programme Da Vinci Project, laugh looking back at their response to this ‘design thinking exercise’. Laura Knops: “We started to name cities
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Bert Weckhuysen, Pearlman Lecturer at the Weizmann Institute of Science
Bert Weckhuysen has been invited by the Faculty of Science of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as well as by the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) to give lectures and visit the research groups. At WIS he gave the honorable annual 2020 Pearlman Lecture on January 27. He presented his scientific vision on the field
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The report of the Weckhuysen committee of KNAW is published
The Dutch Research Council (NWO) currently spends twice as much money on strategic research than on independent research. These two types of scientific research are equally important and therefore the relationship between them must be balanced, writes the KNAW in its report, Evenwicht in het wetenschapssysteem. For this, the budget for independent research at NWO must
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New Assistant Professor at the Utrecht hub: Eline Hutter
Dr. Eline Hutter started as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor of ARC CBBC’s hub in the Weckhuysen group. She will build up a research team within the consortium that will focus on photocatalysis research. Hutter brings in knowledge and experience on the interaction of matter with light and will use that to contribute to the
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Extensive collaboration between Jeroen Vollenbroek (UT) and Anne-Eva Nieuwelink (UU) leads to first MCEC Joint Doctorate degree
On Friday, January 24, the first-ever joint doctorate degree of the MCEC Research Center was granted to Jeroen Vollenbroek. Jeroen Vollenbroek received his PhD degree from both the University of Twente and Utrecht University. Collaboration The PhD thesis of Jeroen Vollenbroek proofed a fine marriage between microreactor technology and catalysis. Each chapter is based on
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Bert Weckhuysen appeared in the Brunner door de Bocht show
Bert Weckhuysen has been invited to the Brunner door de Bocht show in RTV Utrecht where he explained the reasons for the increasing number of transportation fuels and how research contributes to the making fuels greener for a better and more sustainable future (in Dutch).
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ARC CBBC running on full power
Chemical companies are aware of the fact that their production processes need to change fundamentally and are exploring their options. Think of turning CO2 emissions into carbon feedstock or implementing renewable energy in their production processes. With that in mind, the Advanced Research Center Chemical Building Blocks Consortium (ARC CBBC) was established. Scientific Director Bert Weckhuysen
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Bert Weckhuysen: ‘Successes don’t stand on their own’
Plea for showing more realistically how research comes about ‘Of course, Bert Weckhuysen is happy with all the success. Among other achievements: three publications on the covers of respectively Nature Catalysis, Chemistry European Journal, and ACS Catalysis. Articles in daily and weekly newspapers and plenty of attention on the Utrecht University website. Weckhuysen is proud of what his group has
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TIME to SHINE Plasmon-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Catalysis
The PhD thesis of Katinka Wondergem focusses on the development of Shell-Isolated Nanoparticle-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SHINERS) in the field of heterogeneous catalysis. SHINERS is a relatively new technique and has the potential to analyze catalytic processes on the nanoscale. This is achieved by using gold nanoparticles as ‘nanoantennae’ and bringing them in close proximity of
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Watch Charlotte Vogt explaining her research in 1 minute
In this short eye-opener video, Charlotte Vogt explains how her research will help to solve climate change, one of the greatest challenges of our time. The KNCV eye-openers is an online stage where talented young scientists can explain their research in a 1-minute video. To watch more eye-opener videos, click here.
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Team science leads to breakthrough in CO2 conversion
“Collaboration is an essential condition for this degree of impact” Researchers from the universities of Utrecht and Eindhoven, together with chemical concern BASF, have unraveled the mechanism behind CO2 conversion. “We were able to solve this puzzle thanks to a fantastic partnership”, says research leader Bert Weckhuysen. “This research result is the culmination of a series
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Niels Stensen Fellowship for Charlotte Vogt
PhD student Charlotte Vogt is one of the Niels Stensen Fellows of 2019. As a Niels Stensen Postdoctoral Fellow, she will develop and apply new spectroscopic techniques to study electrocatalytic processes for the conversion of carbon dioxide to useful products. The project will be hosted by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and will be co-hosted
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Karl-Ziegler-Guest Professorship awarded to Bert Weckhuysen
The Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung in Mülheim (Germany) has awarded Prof. Bert Weckhuysen with their annual Karl Ziegler Guest Professorship. Weckhuysen, Distinguished University Professor Catalysis, Energy and Sustainability at Utrecht University, is staying in Mülheim from 28 to 30 October. The Max-Planck-Institut honors Weckhuysen “for his outstanding achievements in the field of operando characterization of catalysts.” The Karl Ziegler Guest
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Matteo Monai wins ‘Young Researcher of the Year’ Eni award
We are proud to announce that Matteo Monai has won the Eni award for ‘Young Researcher of the Year’. Every year, this award is presented to two researchers under the age of 30 who have received a research doctorate in an Italian university. Last week Thursday, on 10 October 2019, Matteo received the award from
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Bert Weckhuysen treedt terug als voorzitter Tafel Chemie
Per 1 augustus jl. heeft prof. Bert Weckhuysen (Universiteit Utrecht) zijn voorzitterschap van de NWO Tafel Chemie neergelegd. Hiermee wil Weckhuysen zijn onafhankelijkheid als voorzitter van de KNAW-commissie Weckhuysen waarborgen, de commissie die dit najaar de optimale verhouding tussen de talentgerichte financiering, thematisch georiënteerde programma’s en open competitie van NWO onderzoekt. Patricia Dankers (Technische Universiteit
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A look inside the Utrecht hub with scientific director Bert Weckhuysen
In the latest edition of the Verf&Inkt (Paint&Ink) Magazine, Bert Weckhuysen gives us a look into the lab of the Utrecht hub. That is where part of the research for the flagship project on coatings is carried out. Sneak preview of the interview ARC CBBC aims to contribute to a more sustainable future through the
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Chemical Building Blocks from Fermented Wastewater by Chemocatalytic Conversion
PhD defense of Egor Fufachev Egor Fufachev has successfully defended his PhD thesis. His supervisors were Prof. Pieter Bruijnincx and Prof. Bert Weckhuysen. Congratulations on this achievement!
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Utrecht chemists develop unprecedentedly precise nanosensor for catalytic reactions
Publication in Nature Catalysis In order to develop better and more efficient catalysts, it is important to know precisely what happens during a catalytic reaction. Chemists from Utrecht have developed a new nanosensor that provides an unprecedented level of detail regarding the local temperature and relevant chemical substances on the surface of the catalyst. The
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Deepening the knowledge of our scientists at Catalysis Connected
At the end of August, from 24 – 27, a large number of ARC CBBC’s researchers had the opportunity to dive into the world of catalysis during Catalysis Connected. 16 engaging lectures divided over 4 days were given in the beautiful venue Museum Speelklok in Utrecht. There was a lot of interaction between the lecturers
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New Insights in the Activation and Deactivation of Cobalt-Titania Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Catalysts
PhD defense of José Moya Cancino The work presented in this PhD thesis focuses on the activation and deactivation processes of a Co/TiO2 Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) catalyst by using a range of powerful in-situ or operando spectroscopy and microscopy methods. In Chapter 2 the activation and deactivation process of single Co/TiO2 catalyst particles have been
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Metal-oxide Photoelectrodes for Water Splitting: Effect of Co-catalyst and Nanostructuring
PhD defense of Iván Garcia Torregrosa Iván Garcia Torregrosa has successfully defended his PhD thesis. His supervisors were Dr. Monica Barroso and Prof. Bert Weckhuysen. Congratulations on this achievement!
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Charlotte Vogt wins the 2019 Female Scientist Award of the Israel Vacuum Society
The Israel Vacuum Society (IVS) is awarding its 2019 Female Scientist Award to Charlotte Vogt for her “outstanding early-career achievements”. Charlotte Vogt completed her bachelor’s and master’s research in the group of prof.dr.ir. Bert Weckhuysen at the Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science of Utrecht University (the Netherlands), who ultimately also became her current PhD supervisor.
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Poster Awards to our group members
PhD student Anne-Eva Nieuwelink and postdoctoral fellow Marianna Gambino have received Best Poster Award at the 25th International Congress on X-ray Optics & Microanalysis in Lombard (IL, USA, August 2019). Congratulations on this great achievement!
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The research of Charlotte Vogt is discussed in BNR
Karlijn Meinders, the scientific editor of BNR explains how carbon-dioxide could be used to produce new fuel. In the 4 minute discussion, Charlotte Vogt also appears and describes how her research project connects to this grand challenge. You can listen to the conversation here (in Dutch).
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Freddy Rabouw has received an NWO ENW Open Competition Klein grant
NWO has awarded an ENW-Klein grant for the project ‘Optical control over the blinking behavior of colloidal quantum dots’ to Freddy Rabouw (ICC/SCMB). The project aims at developing a new method for super-resolution fluorescence microscopy with colloidal quantum dot labels. This method relies on switching the labels on and off, which the researchers will achieve
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Best Poster Award for Anne-Eva Nieuwelink
PhD student Anne-Eva Nieuwelink was awarded the prize for best poster at the MCEC Annual Meeting 2019. Congratulations!
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Infrastructure Fund for the Faculty of Science
The Executive Board has granted funding for four investments in research infrastructure in which the Faculty of Science researchers are involved. The four projects will receive a total of almost 3.5 million euros. In June, the Executive Board announced that a total of eight proposals had been honored with funding, for a combined total of
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Ward van der Stam appointed as tenure track assistant professor at the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group
In March 2019, Ward initially started as a postdoc in the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis (ICC) group, but recently, his position was changed into Tenure Track Assistant Professor. He will work together with Bert Weckhuysen on the synthesis and in-situ characterization of size- and shape-controlled colloidal metal electrocatalyst nanoparticles in order to understand the reaction
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Lewis Acidity in Cracking and Polymerization Catalysis
PhD defense of Marjolein Velthoen Cracking and polymerization processes are important industrial processes. In cracking, crude oil fractions are cracked into useful products, such as gasoline, LPG, and small molecules such as propylene and ethylene. In the polymerization process, these small molecules (monomers) are connected to form one large molecule (polymer). In both chemical processes,
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European grant for converting greenhouse gas into valuable liquid chemicals
The European Research Council has awarded a Proof of Concept grant of 150,000 euros to a team of Utrecht catalysis researchers led by Prof. Bert Weckhuysen. The researchers will use the money to further develop methods for converting CO2 into valuable liquid chemicals. The ERC Proof of Concept grants are intended to explore the commercial and innovative potential
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Toponderzoeker en Spinozaprijswinnaar ontvangt prijs à €50.000,- voor innovatief onderwijs
Prof. dr. ir. Bert Weckhuysen (scheikunde) heeft de Teaching Fellowbeurs van het Comeniusprogramma ontvangen, waarmee de Minister van Onderwijs excellent en bevlogen docentschap zichtbaar stimuleert. De Spinozaprijswinnaar draagt hiermee nadrukkelijk bij aan de vernieuwing van onderwijs. “Ik ben ontzettend trots en het voelt als mijn eerste onderzoeksbeurs”, aldus de al gelauwerde Weckhuysen. Het geld gaat naar een nieuw
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Annual symposium in Eindhoven
On Tuesday 16 April, we enjoyed the second annual ARC CBBC symposium, celebrating the visit of our international Scientific Advisory Board for evaluation of this year’s research proposals. This year, the event was hosted by the Eindhoven University of Technology, one of our three hubs, at their campus. In the university’s own theater, the ARC
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Nieuw vak om duurzaamheidsproblemen aan te pakken
Leren door te doen, dat is de kern van een nieuw onderwijsproject voor derdejaars bachelorstudenten die concreet aan de slag willen met duurzaamheid. De Universiteit Utrecht introduceert hiermee het onderwijsconcept Design Thinking. Hoe kan je het inzamelen van plastic afval efficiënter maken? Hoe zorg je ervoor dat mensen hun gedrag aanpassen en de auto vaker laten
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MCEC at U-talent Conference
On Tuesday, April 16, Anne-Eva Nieuwelink and Robin Geitenbeek gave a presentation on luminescence thermometry for visitors of the U-Talent Conference. U-Talent is a collaboration between Utrecht University, Hogeschool Utrecht and more than 40 partner schools from the Utrecht region. The goal of U-Talent is to strengthen regional science education in secondary education and in the bachelor phase of higher education. To
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Shell-Isolated Nanoparticle-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Heterogeneous Catalysis
PhD defense of Thomas Hartman Heterogeneous catalysts are essential in the chemical industry for preparing useful materials from feedstock chemicals. Research in heterogeneous catalysis is beneficial for two reasons: firstly, improving the applied catalysts will result in more efficient industrial reactions; secondly, implementing novel catalysts could give us new useful chemical reactions and products. However,
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Comenius Teaching Fellow Scholarship for Bert Weckhuysen
Bert Weckhuysen (ICC) received a grant of 50k Euro for innovation in academic education: “The Da Vinci Project: Towards an active learning-by-doing approach to training a new generation of true connectors in the field of sustainability”. This course, which will be launched in the academic year 2019-2020, will complement the current Utrecht University honors program
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Step-by-step plan for examining chemical reactions
It is suddenly made possible for scientists all around the world to investigate the relationship between the structure and function of molecules during a chemical reaction. In Nature Protocols, chemists of Utrecht University and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the UK are publishing a detailed protocol for tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy as an analytical technique. In another
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“I’ve always been more inclined towards the sustainable route”
Interview with Michael Jenks, second-phase MCEC PhD at Utrecht University In 2017, MCEC was granted the Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND; a grant from the European Research Council which is designed to stimulate excellence in researchers’ training, mobility, and career development. The grant, with a value of 1.7 million euros, will be deployed to attract and involve more
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Utrecht twice in ‘final’ for European billion-euro grant
The European Commission is once again preparing to start billion-euro ‘flagship’ science initiatives. Of the 33 consortia that submitted a proposal last year, six are still left after a two-step selection process. Utrecht researchers are participating in two of these consortia: Time Machine and Energy-X. The consortia that are still in the running have now
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Power to methane, a promising route for storage of renewable energy from sun and wind
Charlotte Vogt, Matteo Monai, Gert Jan Kramer and Bert Weckhuysen recently published in Nature Catalysis on the renaissance of the Sabatier reaction. This work focusses on CO2 reduction towards value chemicals such as methane. This power-to-methane concept tackles two problems: renewable energy storage via an electrochemical intermediary step and CO2 valorization. For further reading click here.
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Reduce, Reuse & Recycle – Bert Weckhuysen at PAC Symposium 2019
The PAC-symposium is an annual chemistry symposium for students organized by students. The symposium is organized by Stichting PAC, which is formed each year by students from four study associations: ACD, CDL, U.S.S. Proton and VCSVU. This years’ 25th programme centers around the theme ‘Back to the Future‘ and is held at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Today, in his lecture, Prof. Bert
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Lecture Bert Weckhuysen at Royal Institution London
Earth to earth, dust to dust, carbon to carbon: Bert Weckhuysen sketches the ingredients for a truly circular economy. In his lecture at the Royal Institution in London, he explained how catalysis research can contribute to a cleaner world, and how politics and government need to play an essential part by introducing adequate legislation. Read more
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Utrecht hub celebrates lab opening
Today, the research institute ARC CBBC is opening its first lab in Utrecht. In collaboration with the chemical sector, university researchers will work on fundamentally new principles for the development of current and future energy carriers and materials. “To be able to find really sustainable solutions, we will have to think radically different.” Reach climate
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Luminescence Thermometry: Fundamentals and Applications
PhD defense Robin Geitenbeek Over the past decades, scientific progress has resulted in the ability to produce, process and manipulate materials on smaller length scales, all the way to the nanometer (10-9 m) regime. To manipulate processes on smaller length scales, it is also important to monitor relevant parameters (e.g. pressure or temperature) on this nanometer
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Support Stability and Strong Metal-Support Effects in Catalysis: From Nanoparticles to Single Atoms
PhD defense Fang Liu Heterogeneous catalysis plays a central role in many chemical processes, such as petroleum refining, renewable energy production, medicine manufacturing, fine chemicals production, and automotive exhaust treatment. The main task of heterogeneous catalysis scientists is to develop catalytic materials that exhibit high activity and selectivity towards the formation of desired reaction products
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Prizes for Anne-Eva Nieuwelink and Guusje Delen
PhD student Anne-Eva Nieuwelink (left) was awarded a poster prize at CHAINS 2018 and PhD student Guusje Delen (right) won an award for the best oral presentation at MOF2018.
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Bio-fuel production by cascade ex-situ catalytic lignocellulosic fast pyrolysis and subsequent upgrading by deoxygenation, with focus on catalyst deactivation and regeneration
PhD defense Ana Hernández Giménez The production and upgrading of bio-oil from lignocellulosic biomass have been addressed in this PhD thesis, a topic of considerable importance given the world’s energy needs and the common aim of seeking for renewable sources. Particularly this case is driven by the legally binding target of 10% renewable energy in
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Ellen Sterk wins AkzoNobel Graduation Prize for Chemistry and Process Technology 2018
The Royal Netherlands Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW) has named Ellen Sterk as the winner of the AkzoNobel Graduation Prize for Chemistry and Process Technology 2018. Ellen Sterk completed her Master’s in Nanomaterials at Utrecht University, and will soon start working as a PhD candidate in the research group led by Prof. Bert Weckhuysen
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Advanced Characterization of Large Zeolite Crystals and Their Use in the Methanol-to-Hydrocarbons Process
PhD defense Özgün Attila Zeolites are crystalline microporous aluminosilicates, which are hydrothermally robust. They have a uniform microporous framework that allows control over shape selectivity. ZSM-5 is a type of zeolite that is suitable for the important acid-catalyzed Methanol-to-Hydrocarbons (MTH) process. This process is a type of hydrocarbon conversion process where methanol is converted into
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Poster prize for Thijs Verkaaik
PhD candidate Thijs Verkaaik (ICC) won a poster prize for his work entitled “Photothermal Suzuki Cross-Coupling using Bimetallic Nanorods”, authored by Thijs Verkaaik, Roos Grote, Nicole Meulendijks, Francesc Sastre Calabuig, Pascal Buskens, and Bert Weckhuysen. The conference “Nanotechnology Crossing Borders” was held in Geleen, The Netherlands. More details and pictures can be found on this website. Source: website Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis
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Fluorescent ‘breathalyzer’ makes optimisation of catalysts much easier
A breath test instead of a blood test. That’s how much easier it is to use the test for industrial catalysts developed by chemists at Utrecht University. The test uses fluorescent molecules to literally show whether catalyst 1, 2, or 3 works better than the others. This makes it much easier to work on improving
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Bert Weckhuysen engages in dialogue with activists
During the MCEC-KNAW symposium last December, a group of environmental activists protested the presence (and invitation) of Shell. Bert Weckhuysen was interviewed by online magazine Down to earth (‘platform for green journalism’) for their column ‘Onder vuur’ (‘Under attack’), in which people or organizations who have been under attack for their green ambitions or promises (or lack
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50th birthday celebration of Bert Weckhuysen
On October 5th, Bert Weckhuysen celebrated his 50th birthday with an event of diverse programs. His group participated in multiple lectures and activities during the day, starting with the informative presentation of Dr. Alison Stoddart, the chief editor of Nature Reviews Materials, followed by a team building workshop. In the afternoon, the program continued with
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Prize of the Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft Laser- technik e.V. (WLT) to Robert Geitner
Postdoc Robert Geitner (ICC), working with a Research Fellowship from the German Research Foundation in the Weckhuysen group, received the Prize of the Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft Laser- Technik e.V. (WLT) for his contributions to the application of Raman and coherent anti-Stokes scattering microscopy. The WLT Prize is awarded annually for outstanding accomplishments in the field of
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Interview Bert Weckhuysen in Chemistry World
Bert Weckhuysen was interviewed for Chemistry World under the heading “Lights-Camera-Catalysis”. You can read the interview on this website.
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Poster Prize for Joel Schmidt
Postdoctoral scholar Joel Schmidt won a Catalysis Science & Technology poster prize award at the 8th Tokyo Conference on Advanced Catalytic Science and Technology (TOCAT8). At the conference, he presented a poster titled: “Template-Framework Interactions in Tetraethylammonium-Directed Zeolite Synthesis.” Source: website Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis
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MCEC Call for 38 PhD candidates
MCEC is looking for highly motivated and creative PhD candidates in the fields of Chemistry, Physics and/or Engineering, who aspire to jointly and multidisciplinary address one of the grand challenges of today: sustainable energy conversion. Please visit this page for more information. Source: website MCEC
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Prof. Bert Weckhuysen on the cover page of the 2017 annual report of Utrecht University
The annual reports are available here.
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Bert Weckhuysen to receive Robert B. Anderson Award for his contributions to catalysis research
Bert Weckhuysen will receive the 2018 Robert B. Anderson Award for his outstanding contributions to the fundamental understanding of the functioning of solid catalysts and the related development of advanced microscopy and spectroscopy methods. The Canadian Catalysis Foundation awards the prize every two years to an internationally recognised leader in the field of catalysis, without
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DPI grant for Florian Meirer and Bert Weckhuysen
The Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI) in its DPI 2.0 Call for Proposals has granted Bert Weckhuysen, Florian Meirer and Elena Groppo (University of Turin) a joint research program entitled Multi-scale investigation of silica-supported ethylene polymerization catalysts during the early stages of the reaction. The project aims to research polymerization catalysts in the early stages of the genesis of active
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Bert Weckhuysen and Emiel Hensen receive grant for ‘Chemergy’ research
The Alliance Fund between Utrecht University and Eindhoven University of Technology has awarded Bert Weckhuysen and Emiel Hensen 2 M euros for setting up a Virtual Research Institute (VRI) that integrates relevant expertise of both institutes. The VRI has the ambition to become a leading institute in the field of energy technologies relevant to a fossil-free, low-carbon society. The
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First ARC CBBC lab ready to be equipped
The new ARC CBBC lab room at hub location Utrecht is ready to be furnished. We can now start to equip our first labs. They will be finished at the end of the year, ready for use by our new PhD students and postdocs, some of whom have already started their work in ARC CBBC’s
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Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND grant for MCEC
The Gravitation Programme Netherlands Center for Multiscale Catalytic Energy Conversion (MCEC) has been awarded 1.7 million Euros to cover part of the costs for the participation of 16 ambitious new international students in its PhD training programme. The grant was awarded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND programme. “Our research into sustainable energy conversion addresses one of
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NWO grant for Florian Meirer
Florian Meirer (ICC), together with colleagues Katrien Keune (Rijksmuseum) and Koen Janssens (University of Antwerp), has been awarded funding for a project called “3D understanding of degradation products in paintings”. The research project focuses on studying and visualizing ‘in 3-D‘ the degradation processes that take place in paintings, with the aim of counteracting color degradation. Data
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Bert Weckhuysen receives Certificate for Achievements from the Belgian Ambassador
On February 7, 2018, Belgian Ambassador in the Netherlands, Chris Hoornaert, has awarded Professor Bert Weckhuysen a Certificate for Achievements (‘Oorkonde van Verdienste’) of the Christoffel Plantin fund for his contributions to the prestige and appeal of Belgium in the Netherlands. This honor was given during a luncheon with Belgian CEOs, CTOs and CFOs working
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Metal nanoparticles as catalysts for fast and efficient CO2 conversion
Researchers of our full partners Utrecht University and BASF made some big steps in designing catalysts for the conversion of CO2 into gas fuel. If you can apply this ‘power-to-gas’ principle with the use of solar energy, you can solve two problems at once: reduce CO2 emissions and create more flexible applications of sustainable energy.
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Tweede Kamerleden op werkbezoek bij de Universiteit Utrecht: “Drie steekwoorden die we willen onthouden als het gaat om Wetenschapsbeleid”
Universiteitshoogleraar Bert Weckhuysen was vrijdag 19 januari gastheer van een werkbezoek van een delegatie van de vaste Tweede Kamercommissie voor OCW. De Kamerleden wilden tijdens hun bezoek aan de Universiteit Utrecht graag kennismaken met het onderzoek naar duurzame materialen, zonnebrandstoffen en andere vormen van duurzame energie. “Stabiliteit, continuïteit en vertrouwen. Drie steekwoorden die we als
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Bert Weckhuysen appointed Distinguished Professor of Utrecht University
With effect from 1 January 2018, Bert Weckhuysen has been appointed Distinguished Professor in ‘Catalysis, Energy and Sustainability’ at Utrecht University. A great honour ‘It’s a great honour’, says Weckhuysen. ‘This will give me greater freedom to shape my scientific ambitions and social involvement. I am filled with positive energy as a result. I would
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BNR podcast: interview with Jochem Wijten
The podcast is about the production of artificial manure, without the high CO2 emissions that appear during the Haber-Bosch process. Wijten explains how the new method takes up CO2 and can create Ammonia (one of the main compounds of artificial manure) without using crude oil.Listen to the podcast, entitled “Kunstmest zonder fossiele brandstoffen” on BNR. Source: website
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C&EN cover story on Bert Weckhuysen
Chemical & Engineering News published a cover story on the work of ARC CBBC Executive Board member Bert Weckhuysen. The publication, entitled Hunting for the hidden chemistry in solid catalysts, elaborates on one of our consortium’s pillar research themes. Source: website ARC CBBC
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Jochem Wijten one of the 15 promissing talents of Utrecht University
DUB published an article about fifteen promising talents that are up to 25 years and already have been successful in their careers. In the article entitled “De Veelbelovende Vijftien van DUB”, the young talents are portrayed by photographer Ivar Pel. Read the full article on DUB. Source: website Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis
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Feature in Chemistry World – “A slice of microscopy”
The article entitled “A slice of microscopy”, describes how two combined microscopy techniques can be used in an “astonishing array of applications”. The combination of Focused Ion Beam-scanning and Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM) brings both high-resolution imaging and micromachining.The group of Bert Weckhuysen used the combined technique to analyze the pore structures of various industrial catalyst
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Article in Onderzoek Nederland
In the article entitled “Een wetenschapper biedt opties aan” (“A scientist offers options”), Bert Weckhuysen explains the importance of public-private interactions in order to achieve radical innovation.Weckhuysen: “Science and technology are still underfinanced in the Netherlands, which makes it essential for companies and academia to work better together”. For a government, it is not interesting
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Lectures at Universiteit van Nederland in the Media
In May 2016, Bert Weckhuysen appeared in a series of five lectures of the ‘Universiteit van Nederland’ (University of the Netherlands), in which he explains all about catalysis: from fuels, food, and plastics to air pollution control. The lectures were received with great enthusiasm by the public and are still a popular topic in the
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Our Catalyst research exhibited in “Future Observatory”
In the framework of Zero Footprint Campus, twelve artists are conducting artistic research at Utrecht Science Park (USP). Each in their own way, they draw inspiration from the material provided by their direct environment. Artist Maarten Vanden Eynde created the exhibition “Future Observatory”, located in the Sterrentoren building, located at the center of USP.The exhibition
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Bert Weckhuysen in de eerste aflevering van Captains of Chemistry “Met chemie kun je de nieuwe wereld maken”
“De wereld zonder chemie zou er heel simpel uitzien. Waarschijnlijk vergelijkbaar met hoe we in de Middeleeuwen leefden”, aldus Bert Weckhuysen in de eerste aflevering van de BNR-podcastserie Captains of Chemistry. Journalist Edwin Mooibroek kwam op bezoek in de laboratoria van de Universiteit Utrecht om te spreken met Weckhuysen en twee promovendi uit zijn vakgroep over
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Pasi Paalanen and José Moya-Cancino featured in ‘De Werkplek’ on DUB
Pasi Paalanen and José Moya-Cancino have their research topic in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Fischer-Tropsch fuels are a possible alternative for crude oil. Both PhD candidates work under the supervision of Bert Weckhuysen and have their workplace in the David de Wied building at Utrecht Science Park “de Uithof”. However, their work is not limited to the
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Chemistry World: Game of Go explains zeolite clogging
Chemistry World dedicated an article on a new model to explain zeolite clogging, based upon the board game “Go”.The model was built by Scientists from the Tsinghua University in China and published by Catalysis Science and Technology on April 20, 2017. As a catalysis expert, Bert Weckhuysen remarks: “The developed method is very interesting and
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Quotation in NRC on the direct conversion of CO2 into gasoline
Chemists of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, have found a method for the direct conversion of CO2 into gasoline. The conversion of CO2 into gasoline was already possible in three separate catalytic reactions, but the Chinese Chemists now have been able to combine the three catalytic properties in one “multifunctional” catalyst. The results were published
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Bert Weckhuysen receives Tanabe Prize for Acid-Base Catalysis
Utrecht chemistry researcher Bert Weckhuysen receives this year’s Kozo Tanabe Prize for Acid-Base Catalysis. The prize was initiated by the International Acid-Base Catalysis Group and bears the name of Kozo Tanabe, who pioneered many of the modern concepts in catalytic chemistry of acids and bases. The jury praises Weckhuysen for his “groundbreaking work on chemical imaging
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The CatchBio Magazine – Ten years of Biomass Catalysis
In November 2016, the CatchBio consortium celebrated a decade of high-level research on catalytic biomass conversion. In an article in Agro & Chemie (March 2017), scientific director Bert Weckhuysen speaks about the consortium, its achievements and the future for catalysis of biomass in the Netherlands and abroad. CatchBio is a Smartmix research program on Biomass Catalysis
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Poster award for Carolien Vis at IGCS2017
On 24th of March Carolien Vis won a Green Chemistry poster prize during the International Green Catalysis Symposium, in Rennes, France. The poster was entitled “Towards Tandem Catalytic Biomass Conversion in Pickering Emulsions”, Authors: Carolien M. Vis, Pierre-François M. Vittoz, Pieter C.A. Bruijnincx. The poster award consists of a coupon of the publisher the
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Marie Curie Grant for Mario De bruyn
The European Commission has granted a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellowship to Dr. Mario De bruyn. This three-year grant will allow Dr. De bruyn to execute his TAILORCAT project. The project is a collaboration between the University of Wisconsin at Madison (USA) and the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group at Utrecht University (the Netherlands). The first
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Zoran Ristanović receives the invitation to attend the 67th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting
The honorable invitation to the 67th Lindau Meeting is with special regard to excellence in research. The 67th Lindau Meeting will be dedicated to the field of chemistry. So far, 31 Nobel Laureates have confirmed their participation and will meet with 400 international young scientists. The opportunity to join the annual gathering of Nobel Laureates
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Bert Weckhuysen to receive Robert B. Anderson Award for contributions to catalysis research
Bert Weckhuysen will receive the 2018 Robert B. Anderson Award for his outstanding contributions to the fundamental understanding of the functioning of solid catalysts and the related development of advanced microscopy and spectroscopy methods. The Canadian Catalysis Foundation awards the prize every two years to an internationally recognized leader in the field of catalysis, without
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Marie Curie Grant for Matthias Filez
The European Commission granted a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowships to Matthias Filez. The 2-year grant will allow Matthias Filez to link zeolite porosity to molecular diffusion at the single crystal level and will be in strong collaboration with the research group of Prof. Maarten Roeffaers from KU Leuven (Belgium). Dr. Filez will receive up to 178.000 Eur to finance
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ARC CBBC starts with 39 academic members
The first 39 researchers have been selected for personal membership for the Advanced Research Center Chemical Building Block Consortium (ARC CBBC). The start of the first research projects in this research center is planned for the first half of 2017. 159 applicants After carefully reviewing all 159 applications by the Scientific Advisory Board, the Executive Board of ARC
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