ENI award
Encyclopedia
The ENI Award is a prize awarded by the Italian
oil and gas company ENI with the aim of encouraging better use of energy sources and increased environmental research. The strict award guidelines and the notable names on the selection committee (including Nobel
laureates) make ENI a coveted award. List of ENI award winners include Nobel laureates like Harold W. Kroto and Alan Heeger
.
Some websites and magazines have called the ENI award the "Nobel prize of energy research". The scientific committee of the ENI award includes representatives from Stanford University
, MIT, Cambridge
, University of Stuttgart
, Florida State University
, University of Pisa
, University of Texas at Austin
, and others. The annual ENI award was officially launched in July 2007, foreseen by the group’s Technological Master Plan. The ENI award extends and replaces the Eni-Italgas Prize, previously known as the Italgas Prize, which in 2006 had reached its XIX edition.
In subsequent years 63 researchers, from 10 countries, have been awarded: Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United States of America. Included in the number are three Nobel prize-winners. More than 800 researchers from around the world have submitted their research projects, to which should be added the numerous personalities who have guaranteed or been a part of the various evaluation commissions.
The distinguished representatives of the international scientific community who have received the ENI award in the past include Sir Harold W. Kroto, Nobel Prize winner in 1996 for Chemistry and now member of the Eni Award Scientific Commission; Alan Hegger, Nobel Prize 2000 for Chemistry; and Theodor Wolfgang Haensch, winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize for Physics.
, one of the most important living geneticist
s who, in 2000, announced that he was the first to have complete a map of the human genome
. The prize was awarded for late 2007 research paper, published in the journal Science
, in which he created a synthetic chromosome in the laboratory while working on the DNA of bacteria. Venter's results are a fundamental step towards synthetic genes, which promise an unlimited range of revolutionary applications in the energy and environmental fields, such as new processes for the sequestration of CO2 or the regeneration of polluted environments. In terms of energy, this research opens the road to the design of new metabolic paths for the production of innovative biofuels from organic materials.
The Science and Technology prize was awarded ex aequo to Arthur J. Nozik (U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Laboratory in Golden, Colorado) and Stefan W. Glunz (Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg, Germany), both active in the field of the conversion of solar energy using photovoltaic technology.
The two Research Debut prizes have been awarded to the young researchers Silvia Cereda (Università di Milano Bicocca) and Gian Luca Chiarello (Università degli Studi di Milano) for research that promises interesting developments in the field of energy production.
research. He is one of the most frequently cited scientists in North America. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of the J. Craig Venter Institute
, a not-for-profit
, research and support organization dedicated to researching human, microbial, plant and environmental genomics, exploring social and ethical issues in genomics, and seeking alternative energy solutions through genomics. The J. Craig Venter Institute has two divisions: the Institute for Genomic Research
(TIGR), founded by Dr. Venter in 1992; and the Center for the Advancement of Genomics.
Dr. Venter began his formal education after a tour of duty as a Navy Corpsman
in Danang
, Vietnam
from 1967 to 1968. After earning both a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry
and a Ph.D. in Physiology
and Pharmacology
from the University of California at San Diego
, he was appointed professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo
and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute
. In 1984, he moved to the National Institutes of Health
campus where
he pioneered a revolutionary new strategy for rapid gene discovery. At TIGR, Venter and his team decoded the genome of the first free-living organism, the
bacterium Haemophilus influenzae, using his new whole genome shotgun technique
. TIGR has sequenced more than 50 genomes to date using Dr. Venter's techniques.
In 1998, Dr. Venter founded Celera Genomics to sequence the human genome. The successful completion of this research culminated with the February 2001
publication of the human genome in the journal Science. He and his team at Celera also sequenced the fruit fly, mouse and rat genomes. Dr. Venter and his
team at the Venter Institute continue to do genomics research and have recently published several important papers covering such areas as
environmental genomics, synthetic genomics and the sequence and analysis of the dog genome.
Dr. Venter is the author of more than 200 research articles and is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, public honors, and scientific awards. These
include the 2001 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize and the 2002 Gairdner Foundation International Award
. Dr. Venter is a member of numerous
scientific organizations including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
, and the American Society for
Microbiology. In 2004 Dr. Venter was one of the first 38 people to be selected by Desmond Tutu
’s Foundation for Peace as part of the 'Hands that Shape
Humanity' world exhibition.
is a Senior Research Fellow
at the U.S. DOE
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
(NREL) and Professor Adjoint in the Chemistry Department at the University of Colorado, Boulder
. He received his BChE
from Cornell University
in 1959 and his PhD in Physical Chemistry from Yale University
in 1967. Before joining NREL in 1978, then known as the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), he conducted research at the Allied Chemical Corporation
and American Cyanamid Corporation
.
Dr. Nozik's research interests include size quantization effects in semiconductor
quantum dots and quantum well
s, the applications of these nanostructures to solar photon conversion, photogenerated carrier relaxation dynamics in semiconductor structures, photoelectrochemistry of semiconductor molecule interfaces, photoelectrochemical energy conversion, photocatalysis
, and the optical, magnetic and electrical properties of solids. He has published over 160 papers and book chapters in these fields, and holds 11 U.S. patents. He has served on numerous scientific review and advisory panels and received several awards in solar energy research.
Dr. Nozik has been a Senior Editor of The Journal of Physical Chemistry
since 1993. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society
and the American Association for the Advancement of Science
, and a member of the American Chemical Society, the Electrochemical Society
, the Materials Research Society, and the Society of Photo Optical Instrument Engineers.
in Freiburg, Germany. Stefan Glunz received his degree in Physics at the Albert-Ludvigs-Universitat in Freiburg 1991 and in 1995 he received his PhD Thesis in silicon solar cell
s after researching at the Fraunhofer ISE. His group concentrates on new technologies such as metallization and laser-chemical processing techniques in silicon solar cell production and research. Among other achievements, his group holds the internationally acknowledged world record for the conversion efficiency of multticrystalline silicon solar cells (20%). A crucial part of his work involves close cooperation with the photovoltaics
industry to put new technologies into production. Stefan Glunz’s high-efficiency solar cell group consists technicians, engineers and academics.
Prof. Glunz is the author or co-author of over 130 conferences and 40 journal publications on high-efficiency silicon solar cells. He is also an editor
for several high standard scientific journals such as the journal of Applied Physics, Progress in Photovoltaics, and Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, and is a member of scientific committees and the chairman of numerous international photovoltaic conferences.
The Renewable and Non-Conventional Energy award was given to Martin Green. It is presented for advanced R&D results in renewable and non-conventional energy sources.
The Protection of the Environment award was awarded to Gérard Férey. It is presented for outstanding research and innovation in areas concerning the environmental impact of human activities, specifically protection and restoration of the environment, with a special focus on research and innovative technologies to eliminate local pollutants and CO2 to improve environmental conditions.
The two Research Debut awards, given to young scholars to promote research in Italy, have been assigned to Alberto Cuoci and Loredana De Rogatis. They cover the same areas as the three international awards: research and technological innovation in hydrocarbons, renewable and non-conventional energy, and protection and restoration of the environment.
, was built in 1994 with a National Science Foundation loan and is part of a consortium led by the university itself. The Laboratory hosts numerous visiting scientists from different fields and gives them access to the extremely powerful magnetic fields that are generated there. It is the largest and highest-powered magnet laboratory in the world. With these high output magnets Alan G. Marshall, co-invented the technique known as the Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance (FT-ICR), a high resolution method for the accurate determination of mass. Thanks to the high resolution techniques created by the group to identify the molecular components of complex chemical compounds such as blood or oil, they have been able to obtain detailed pictures which enable scientists to understand and predict with accuracy the reactions and properties of these complex compounds.
Marshall graduated in 1965 with a degree in Chemistry from Northwestern University
and earned his PhD in Physic Chemistry in 1970. He began his academic career at University of British Columbia
and Ohio State University
, then moved to Florida State University in 1993.
Alan Marshall has written 469 scientific publications, holds numerous patents as a result of his research, and received many recognitions from universities and important institutes such as the American Institute of Chemists and the American Chemical Society. He is a member of several scientific committees and has also been on the board of many specialized magazines.
and computerized simulations of oil reservoirs, as well as in geochemical processes and basin fracture analysis. In the past 35 years Professor Settari has been involved in numerous engineering studies on petroleum recovery as well as in the development of several projects for the R&S and software for this purpose.
Professor Settari graduated in Mechanical Engineering in 1965 from the Technical University of Brno
, and went on to get his PhD in Hydrocarbon Engineering Research from the University of Calgary
where he still teaches and conducts research (he holds the Encana/Petroleum Society of CIM Endowed Chair in petroleum engineering). He boasts almost 40 years of experience working with private businesses in the petroleum extraction sector, both as a consultant as well as through research and consulting companies that he has started through the years.
In 1978 he started a pioneer project based on the use of modelling in hydraulic fracturing, and in 1984 he focused his attention on a project aimed at investigating complex intercurrent processes in the in-situ thermal recovery of bituminous sand. His current research interests focus on the geomechanical and fracture aspects of oil basins and on production by means of coupled simulation.
Tony Settari has written over 120 articles on oil basin engineering, simulation, geomechanics, hydraulic fracturing
and other relevant issues. During his career he has received several nominations such as the Society of Petroleum Engineers
(SPE) Distinguished Lecturer (he then became Distinguished Member in 2003). In 2008 SPE also awarded him with the Anthony B. Lucas Gold Medal. He is also a member of the Canadian Institute of Mining
and APEGGA.
in Sydney
since 1999. He is also the Executive Director of Research at the Australian Research Council
Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence and the Research Director of the CSG Solar company.
Martin Green graduated in engineering from Queensland University
in 1970 and received his masters degree in 1971. He then went on to study at McMaster University
where he obtained his PhD in Solar Energy Research, gradually becoming a noted person in the field. He has been awarded numerous scientific prizes such as the 1999 Australia Prize and the Karl Böer Solar Energy Medal of Merit Award assigned by the Delaware University in 2003 for his innovative studies on solar cells.
In 1999 Green was elected a member of the Australian Academy of Science. He is also a member of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering as well as of the Institute of Electronic Engineers. Between 1977 and 1984 he has been a visiting professor at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
in Belgium, a visiting consultant at the Solar Energy Research Institute of Colorado and a visiting professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology
in China.
He has written over 300 articles that have been published in specialized magazines such as Solid-State Electronics, Nature, and Advanced Solar Energy Conversion. With his research group he has focused on the study of solar cell efficiency
limiting factors, and is credited for having improved silicon cell performance by 25%. With his ongoing research, Green thus contributes to performance improvement and to a likely increased use of solar energy.
Professor Ferey is an international expert on porous solids
, on which he has had published over 450 articles in specialized magazines such as the Journal of Solid State Chemistry, Solid State Sciences, Chemistry of Materials, Angewandte Chemie International Edition
, the Journal of the American Chemical Society
and Science.
His research group, based at the Institut Lavoisier of the University of Versailles where G. Ferey is a professor, is formed by a few young researchers and is assisted by researchers and engineers from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). Their research is focused on inorganic and hybrid porous solids with microscopical holes (MOFs) which are particularly useful in the petrochemistry, catalysis, gas separation and fine chemistry fields. This field of research is becoming increasingly relevant due to the importance of these materials in hydrogen and CO2 storage as well as in the production of electrode materials because of their combination of inorganic (metal ions) and organic components (mostly stiff organic molecules that make up 1-, 2- or 3-dimensional porous structures).
Professor Ferey owns patents for his research and has received many important scientific recognitions, such as his admission to the Académie des sciences de l'Institut de France in 2003, his Royal Society of Chemistry Fellowship in 2005 and the Gay-Lussac-Humboldt Award presented to him by the Alexander Von Humbolt Foundation. He has been and still is on the advisory board of several scientific magazines (Inorganic Chemistry
, the Journal of Solid State Chemistry, Chemistry of Materials
). Between 1988 and 1992 he was the Deputy Director of the CNRS Chemistry Department, and is currently the President of the National Committee of Chemistry.
The New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons Prize was assigned "ex aequo" to Avelino Corma, The Instituto De tecnologia Quimica Upv-Csic (Valencia), for his important discoveries about the synthesis of new catalysts to improve the refinement of the heaviest oil fractions and to Mark Knackstedt, Australian National University
(Canberra), for his pioneering research into the location and characteristics of oil-fields, grounded on high resolution and 3D images of rock structures.
The Renewable and Non-Conventional Energy Prize was assigned to Angela Belcher, MIT (Boston), for her innovative and fundamental research project on the principles of development of the natural systems that can reconvert and use energy.
The Protection of the Environment Prize was awarded to François Morel, Princeton University
, for his important discovery of a new class of enzymes that plays a crucial role in CO2 transport and fixation.
The Debut in Research Prizes were awarded to Lorenzo Fagiano, Polytechnic University of Turin
(Turin), for a dissertation that represents an important ad innovative contribution on high altitude wind power generation and that includes theoretical analyses, systems planning, simulations and economic analyses.
and to
Matteo Mauro (University of Milan
, Department of Inorganic Chemistry “L. Malatesta”) for a research project on high-efficiency energy devices with a strong potential for application to light-emitting systems with low energy loss, based on innovative electroluminescent components.
Avelino Corma
Avelino Corma is Research Professor and Director of the ITQ at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia since 1990. His current research field are structured nanomaterials and molecular sieves as catalysts, covering aspects of synthesis, characterization, and reactivity in acid-base and redox catalysis.
Professor Corma studied Chemistry at the University of Valencia, where he obtained his BA in 1973 and later, in 1976, he then obtained the Ph.D. “with honours” at the Chemical Engineering Department from the University Complutense of Madrid. In 1979 he became Associated Researcher at the Institute of Catalysis in Madrid after two years of postdoctoral work at the Chemical Engineering Department of Queen’s University in Canada with Professor B. W. Wojciechowski, and in 1987 was appointed Research Professor.
He has been collaborating for research projects with many important companies who deal with catalysis, such as Shell, BP-Amoco, ExxonMobil, Total, Elf, Repsol, and Enichem, among the others. Thanks to his important research work Professor Corma is also member of the Royal Academy of Engineering of Spain, of the Academia Europaea, and of the National Academy of Engineering USA. He is Fellow of The Royal Society of Chemistry and Member of the Scientific Boards of numerous institutions and prestigious journals, such as the Max-Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung (Germany), BP, the Journal of Catalysis, Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, Catalysis Letters, Japanese Catalysis Surveys, Catalysis Reviews: Science and Engineering, the Journal of Molecular Catalysis and the Journal of Physical Chemistry. He is also Scientific Advisor for BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, Rhodia, Albemarle, Sumitomo, Sasol, CEPSA, Conoco-Phillips.
He has written about 800 articles on these subjects in international journals, three books, and a number of reviews and book chapters. He is co-author of more than 100 patents; 11 of them have been commercialized.
Professor Corma’s work allowed him to be awarded with numerous prizes, including the DuPont Award on New Materials, the Spanish National Award on Science and Technology, the F.G. Ciapetta and E.J. Houdry Awards of The North American Catalysis Society, the Gabor A. Somorjai Award from the American Chemical Society, the François Gault Award of the European Federation of Catalysis Societies. He is Doctor Honoris Causa of the Utrecht University, Technical University of Munich, UNED from Madrid, Jaime I University and Universitat of Valencia.
Mark Knackstedt
Knackstedt was awarded a BSc from Columbia University in Chemical Engineering (1985) and obtained a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Rice University in 1990. From 1990 been resident at the Department of Applied Mathematics at Australian National University (ANU); since 2005 he has been Professor of Applied Mathematics at ANU and Visiting Professor at the School of Petroleum Engineering at University of NSW (UNSW).
With his research group he has led a significant “Digital Materials” research effort (>25 staff & students) which has pioneered the study of real-world materials in three-dimensions via a two-pronged approach: sophisticated structural measurements with state-of-the-art tomographic and microscopy methods coupled with sophisticated image analysis and numerical modeling tools. This combined development allows for a new numerical laboratory approach to the study of complex disordered materials. Numerical measurements performed directly on images can in some cases be performed with similar accuracy and considerably reduced complexity and cost than corresponding laboratory measurements.
This development provides petroleum engineers and geoscientists with a new image-based core analysis technology which can enhance conventional core analysis techniques and allows analysis of unconsolidated cores, sidewall cores and drill cuttings which are not suitable for conventional laboratory measurement. The importance to the industry is illustrated by the membership of an ANU/UNSW research sponsorship by leading oil and gas industry companies including Shell, ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Total. He is presently CTO of Digital Core, a private company set up last year to offer this advanced technology to industry at large.
Knackstedt was awarded the George C. Matson Award by the AAPG in 2009 and is a current (2009-2010) and past (2006-2008) Society Distinguished Speaker of the SPWLA. The groups work has been awarded Best Paper at the 2004 Annual Symposium of the SPWLA and Best Paper at the 2008 Society of Core Analysts meeting. Ongoing research of the group includes further development and integration of experimental 3D imaging techniques and studies of the role of surface and colloid chemistry phenomena underlying oil recovery.
Angela M. Belcher
Angela Belcher holds a BA in Creative Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara (1991), and in 1997 she received a PhD in Chemistry from the same University. Before joining the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2002, she has been a member of the faculty of the University of Texas, Austin, from 1999 to 2002.
Dr. Belcher is now the Germeshausen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Biological Engineering at MIT; she is a materials chemist with expertise in the fields of biomaterials, biomolecular materials, organic-inorganic interfaces and solid state chemistry. The focus of Prof. Belcher’s research is understanding and using the process by which nature makes materials in order to design novel hybrid organic-inorganic electronic and magnetic materials on new length scales. Her research is very interdisciplinary in nature and brings together the fields of inorganic chemistry, materials chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology and electrical engineering.
Her researches in new materials have applications in many fields such as solar cells, batteries, catalysts, medical diagnostics and basic single molecule interactions related to disease.
Thanks to her innovative researches she has received many awards including, the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering (2000), the Du Pont Young Investigators Award (1999) and the MacArthur Fellowship Award in 2004. Her research was covered in a July 2001 Forbes magazine cover story on nanotechnology and in 2007 Time Magazine has defined her as a “Climate-change hero”.
François Morel
François Morel is the Albert G. Blanke, Jr. Professor of Geosciences at Princeton University
. Before joining the Princeton faculty in 1994, he served for many years as professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Professor Morel received his Licence-ès-Sciences (BS) in Applied Mathematics at the University of Grenoble, where he also obtained the Diplôme d’Ingénieur in 1967. A few years later, in 1971, he earned a PhD in Engineering Sciences at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.
Author of more than 150 articles, several books and book chapters, his research interests lie in theoretical, laboratory and field investigations of: coordination chemistry, surface chemistry and photochemistry of trace elements in natural waters; interactions between the chemistry and microbiota in aquatic systems; Oceanic primary production and Biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and bioactive trace elements.
His academic career is covered by several important recognitions: from 1998 to 2006 he was Director of the Princeton Environmental Institute, and from 1991 to 1994 Director of the R. M. Parsons Laboratory at MIT. He has been awarded the C.C. Patterson Medal of the Geochemical Society in 2001, the Maurice Ewing Medal of the American Geophysical Union in 2005, as well as the Urey Medal, from the European Association for Geochemistry in 2009, and was elected to the U.S National Academy of Sciences in 2009.
François Morel has been Visiting Professor in many Universities like the Ecole Normale Supèrieure - Paris, the Université Piere et Marie Curie - Paris VI, Université Louis Pasteur – Strasbourg and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne.
His research work has been highly appreciated both in the public and in the private sector: he has been Member of several Panels of the National Research Council, the National Advisory Committee for Oceans and Atmosphere and the Conseil Scientifique of the Institut National de l’Environnement Industriel et des Risques among others. Finally he is a Member of several professional societies, including the American Geophysical Union, the American Society for Microbiology, the American Chemical Society and the Geochemical Society.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
oil and gas company ENI with the aim of encouraging better use of energy sources and increased environmental research. The strict award guidelines and the notable names on the selection committee (including Nobel
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
laureates) make ENI a coveted award. List of ENI award winners include Nobel laureates like Harold W. Kroto and Alan Heeger
Alan J. Heeger
Alan Jay Heeger is an American physicist, academic and Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry.Heeger was born in Sioux City, Iowa to a Jewish family. He earned a B.S. in physics and mathematics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1957, and a Ph.D in physics from the University of California,...
.
Some websites and magazines have called the ENI award the "Nobel prize of energy research". The scientific committee of the ENI award includes representatives from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, MIT, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, University of Stuttgart
University of Stuttgart
The University of Stuttgart is a university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized in 10 faculties....
, Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
, University of Pisa
University of Pisa
The University of Pisa , located in Pisa, Tuscany, is one of the oldest universities in Italy. It was formally founded on September 3, 1343 by an edict of Pope Clement VI, although there had been lectures on law in Pisa since the 11th century...
, University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, and others. The annual ENI award was officially launched in July 2007, foreseen by the group’s Technological Master Plan. The ENI award extends and replaces the Eni-Italgas Prize, previously known as the Italgas Prize, which in 2006 had reached its XIX edition.
Award selection
The Award’s Scientific Committee – which has the role of evaluating the candidates and assigning the prizes, is of the highest level and comprises researchers and scientists from some of the world’s most advanced research institutes, and includes the Nobel prize-winner Sir Harold Kroto.In subsequent years 63 researchers, from 10 countries, have been awarded: Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United States of America. Included in the number are three Nobel prize-winners. More than 800 researchers from around the world have submitted their research projects, to which should be added the numerous personalities who have guaranteed or been a part of the various evaluation commissions.
The distinguished representatives of the international scientific community who have received the ENI award in the past include Sir Harold W. Kroto, Nobel Prize winner in 1996 for Chemistry and now member of the Eni Award Scientific Commission; Alan Hegger, Nobel Prize 2000 for Chemistry; and Theodor Wolfgang Haensch, winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize for Physics.
2008 recipients
The Research and Environment prize was awarded to the American scientist J. Craig VenterCraig Venter
John Craig Venter is an American biologist and entrepreneur, most famous for his role in being one of the first to sequence the human genome and for his role in creating the first cell with a synthetic genome in 2010. Venter founded Celera Genomics, The Institute for Genomic Research and the J...
, one of the most important living geneticist
Geneticist
A geneticist is a biologist who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a researcher or lecturer. Some geneticists perform experiments and analyze data to interpret the inheritance of skills. A geneticist is also a Consultant or...
s who, in 2000, announced that he was the first to have complete a map of the human genome
Human genome
The human genome is the genome of Homo sapiens, which is stored on 23 chromosome pairs plus the small mitochondrial DNA. 22 of the 23 chromosomes are autosomal chromosome pairs, while the remaining pair is sex-determining...
. The prize was awarded for late 2007 research paper, published in the journal Science
Science (journal)
Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
, in which he created a synthetic chromosome in the laboratory while working on the DNA of bacteria. Venter's results are a fundamental step towards synthetic genes, which promise an unlimited range of revolutionary applications in the energy and environmental fields, such as new processes for the sequestration of CO2 or the regeneration of polluted environments. In terms of energy, this research opens the road to the design of new metabolic paths for the production of innovative biofuels from organic materials.
The Science and Technology prize was awarded ex aequo to Arthur J. Nozik (U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Laboratory in Golden, Colorado) and Stefan W. Glunz (Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg, Germany), both active in the field of the conversion of solar energy using photovoltaic technology.
The two Research Debut prizes have been awarded to the young researchers Silvia Cereda (Università di Milano Bicocca) and Gian Luca Chiarello (Università degli Studi di Milano) for research that promises interesting developments in the field of energy production.
Craig Venter
J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., is regarded as one of the leading scientists of the 21st century for his invaluable contributions in genomicGenomics
Genomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...
research. He is one of the most frequently cited scientists in North America. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of the J. Craig Venter Institute
J. Craig Venter Institute
The J. Craig Venter Institute is a non-profit genomics research institute founded by J. Craig Venter, Ph.D. in October 2006. The Institute was the result of consolidating four organizations: the Center for the Advancement of Genomics, The Institute for Genomic Research, the Institute for...
, a not-for-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, research and support organization dedicated to researching human, microbial, plant and environmental genomics, exploring social and ethical issues in genomics, and seeking alternative energy solutions through genomics. The J. Craig Venter Institute has two divisions: the Institute for Genomic Research
The Institute for Genomic Research
The Institute for Genomic Research was a non-profit genomics research institute founded in 1992 by Craig Venter in Rockville, Maryland, United States. It is now a part of the J. Craig Venter Institute.-History:...
(TIGR), founded by Dr. Venter in 1992; and the Center for the Advancement of Genomics.
Dr. Venter began his formal education after a tour of duty as a Navy Corpsman
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in Danang
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
from 1967 to 1968. After earning both a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
and a Ph.D. in Physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
and Pharmacology
Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...
from the University of California at San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, he was appointed professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...
and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
The Roswell Park Cancer Institute is a comprehensive cancer research and treatment center located in Buffalo, New York. Founded in 1898 by Dr. Roswell Park, it was the first dedicated medical facility for cancer treatment and research in the United States. The facility is involved in drug...
. In 1984, he moved to the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
campus where
he pioneered a revolutionary new strategy for rapid gene discovery. At TIGR, Venter and his team decoded the genome of the first free-living organism, the
bacterium Haemophilus influenzae, using his new whole genome shotgun technique
Shotgun sequencing
In genetics, shotgun sequencing, also known as shotgun cloning, is a method used for sequencing long DNA strands. It is named by analogy with the rapidly-expanding, quasi-random firing pattern of a shotgun....
. TIGR has sequenced more than 50 genomes to date using Dr. Venter's techniques.
In 1998, Dr. Venter founded Celera Genomics to sequence the human genome. The successful completion of this research culminated with the February 2001
publication of the human genome in the journal Science. He and his team at Celera also sequenced the fruit fly, mouse and rat genomes. Dr. Venter and his
team at the Venter Institute continue to do genomics research and have recently published several important papers covering such areas as
environmental genomics, synthetic genomics and the sequence and analysis of the dog genome.
Dr. Venter is the author of more than 200 research articles and is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, public honors, and scientific awards. These
include the 2001 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize and the 2002 Gairdner Foundation International Award
Gairdner Foundation International Award
The Gairdner Foundation International Award is given annually at a special dinner to three to six people for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a precursor to winning the Nobel Prize in Medicine; as of 2007, 69 Nobel...
. Dr. Venter is a member of numerous
scientific organizations including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, and the American Society for
Microbiology. In 2004 Dr. Venter was one of the first 38 people to be selected by Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
’s Foundation for Peace as part of the 'Hands that Shape
Humanity' world exhibition.
Arthur J. Nozik
Dr. Arthur J. NozikArthur Nozik
Arthur Nozik is a researcher at the National Renewable Energy Lab . He is also a professor at the University of Colorado, which is located in Boulder. He researches quantum dots in semiconductor at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and is a chemistry professor at the University of Colorado...
is a Senior Research Fellow
Research fellow
The title of research fellow is used to denote a research position at a university or similar institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a principal investigator...
at the U.S. DOE
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory , located in Golden, Colorado, is the United States' primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is a government-owned, contractor-operated facility; it is funded through...
(NREL) and Professor Adjoint in the Chemistry Department at the University of Colorado, Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
. He received his BChE
Bachelor of Engineering
The Bachelor of Engineering is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at universities in Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland , Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Korea,...
from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1959 and his PhD in Physical Chemistry from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1967. Before joining NREL in 1978, then known as the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), he conducted research at the Allied Chemical Corporation
Allied Corp.
Allied Chemical Corporation was a major American company with operations in the aerospace, automotive, oil and gas industries. It evolved from the Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation....
and American Cyanamid Corporation
American Cyanamid
American Cyanamid was a large, diversified, American chemical manufacturer, founded by Frank Washburn in 1907. It was the only United States firm manufacturing the polio vaccine of the Sabin type....
.
Dr. Nozik's research interests include size quantization effects in semiconductor
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
quantum dots and quantum well
Quantum well
A quantum well is a potential well with only discrete energy values.One technology to create quantization is to confine particles, which were originally free to move in three dimensions, to two dimensions, forcing them to occupy a planar region...
s, the applications of these nanostructures to solar photon conversion, photogenerated carrier relaxation dynamics in semiconductor structures, photoelectrochemistry of semiconductor molecule interfaces, photoelectrochemical energy conversion, photocatalysis
Photocatalysis
In chemistry, photocatalysis is the acceleration of a photoreaction in the presence of a catalyst. In catalysed photolysis, light is absorbed by an adsorbed substrate. In photogenerated catalysis, the photocatalytic activity depends on the ability of the catalyst to create electron–hole pairs,...
, and the optical, magnetic and electrical properties of solids. He has published over 160 papers and book chapters in these fields, and holds 11 U.S. patents. He has served on numerous scientific review and advisory panels and received several awards in solar energy research.
Dr. Nozik has been a Senior Editor of The Journal of Physical Chemistry
Journal of Physical Chemistry A
The Journal of Physical Chemistry A is a scientific journal which reports research on the chemistry of molecules - including their dynamics, spectroscopy, kinetics, structure, bonding, and quantum chemistry...
since 1993. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
and the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, and a member of the American Chemical Society, the Electrochemical Society
The Electrochemical Society
The Electrochemical Society is a learned society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of electrochemistry and solid-state science and technology. It was founded in 1902 as the American Electrochemical Society...
, the Materials Research Society, and the Society of Photo Optical Instrument Engineers.
Stefan W. Glunz
Professor Glunz is head of the Department of Silicon Solar Cells – Development and Characterization at Fraunhofer ISEFraunhofer Society
The Fraunhofer Society is a German research organization with 60 institutes spread throughout Germany, each focusing on different fields of applied science . It employs around 18,000, mainly scientists and engineers, with an annual research budget of about €1.65 billion...
in Freiburg, Germany. Stefan Glunz received his degree in Physics at the Albert-Ludvigs-Universitat in Freiburg 1991 and in 1995 he received his PhD Thesis in silicon solar cell
Solar cell
A solar cell is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect....
s after researching at the Fraunhofer ISE. His group concentrates on new technologies such as metallization and laser-chemical processing techniques in silicon solar cell production and research. Among other achievements, his group holds the internationally acknowledged world record for the conversion efficiency of multticrystalline silicon solar cells (20%). A crucial part of his work involves close cooperation with the photovoltaics
Photovoltaics
Photovoltaics is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material...
industry to put new technologies into production. Stefan Glunz’s high-efficiency solar cell group consists technicians, engineers and academics.
Prof. Glunz is the author or co-author of over 130 conferences and 40 journal publications on high-efficiency silicon solar cells. He is also an editor
for several high standard scientific journals such as the journal of Applied Physics, Progress in Photovoltaics, and Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, and is a member of scientific committees and the chairman of numerous international photovoltaic conferences.
2009 recipients
The New Frontiers in Hydrocarbons award was assigned "ex aequo" to Alan G. Marshall (USA) and Tony Settari (Canada). It is awarded for research into the exploration, advanced recovery, development, refinement, transportation and distribution of oil and natural gas.The Renewable and Non-Conventional Energy award was given to Martin Green. It is presented for advanced R&D results in renewable and non-conventional energy sources.
The Protection of the Environment award was awarded to Gérard Férey. It is presented for outstanding research and innovation in areas concerning the environmental impact of human activities, specifically protection and restoration of the environment, with a special focus on research and innovative technologies to eliminate local pollutants and CO2 to improve environmental conditions.
The two Research Debut awards, given to young scholars to promote research in Italy, have been assigned to Alberto Cuoci and Loredana De Rogatis. They cover the same areas as the three international awards: research and technological innovation in hydrocarbons, renewable and non-conventional energy, and protection and restoration of the environment.
Alan G. Marshall
Professor Marshall has been directing the ICR Program since 1993 within the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. The research centre, with its headquarters in Tallahassee at the Florida State UniversityFlorida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
, was built in 1994 with a National Science Foundation loan and is part of a consortium led by the university itself. The Laboratory hosts numerous visiting scientists from different fields and gives them access to the extremely powerful magnetic fields that are generated there. It is the largest and highest-powered magnet laboratory in the world. With these high output magnets Alan G. Marshall, co-invented the technique known as the Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance (FT-ICR), a high resolution method for the accurate determination of mass. Thanks to the high resolution techniques created by the group to identify the molecular components of complex chemical compounds such as blood or oil, they have been able to obtain detailed pictures which enable scientists to understand and predict with accuracy the reactions and properties of these complex compounds.
Marshall graduated in 1965 with a degree in Chemistry from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
and earned his PhD in Physic Chemistry in 1970. He began his academic career at University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
and Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
, then moved to Florida State University in 1993.
Alan Marshall has written 469 scientific publications, holds numerous patents as a result of his research, and received many recognitions from universities and important institutes such as the American Institute of Chemists and the American Chemical Society. He is a member of several scientific committees and has also been on the board of many specialized magazines.
Tony Settari
Tony Settari is an expert in reservoir engineeringReservoir engineering
Reservoir engineering is a branch of petroleum engineering that applies scientific principles to the drainage problems arising during the development and production of oil and gas reservoirs so as to obtain a high economic recovery....
and computerized simulations of oil reservoirs, as well as in geochemical processes and basin fracture analysis. In the past 35 years Professor Settari has been involved in numerous engineering studies on petroleum recovery as well as in the development of several projects for the R&S and software for this purpose.
Professor Settari graduated in Mechanical Engineering in 1965 from the Technical University of Brno
Brno University of Technology
Brno University of Technology is a university located in Brno, Czech Republic...
, and went on to get his PhD in Hydrocarbon Engineering Research from the University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
where he still teaches and conducts research (he holds the Encana/Petroleum Society of CIM Endowed Chair in petroleum engineering). He boasts almost 40 years of experience working with private businesses in the petroleum extraction sector, both as a consultant as well as through research and consulting companies that he has started through the years.
In 1978 he started a pioneer project based on the use of modelling in hydraulic fracturing, and in 1984 he focused his attention on a project aimed at investigating complex intercurrent processes in the in-situ thermal recovery of bituminous sand. His current research interests focus on the geomechanical and fracture aspects of oil basins and on production by means of coupled simulation.
Tony Settari has written over 120 articles on oil basin engineering, simulation, geomechanics, hydraulic fracturing
Hydraulic fracturing
Considerable controversy surrounds the current implementation of hydraulic fracturing technology in the United States. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the process of utilizing pressurized water, or some other liquid, to fracture rock layers and release petroleum, natural gas, or other...
and other relevant issues. During his career he has received several nominations such as the Society of Petroleum Engineers
Society of Petroleum Engineers
The Society of Petroleum Engineers is a not-for-profit professional organization whose mission is to collect, disseminate, and exchange technical knowledge concerning the exploration, development and production of oil and gas resources and related technologies for the public benefit and to provide...
(SPE) Distinguished Lecturer (he then became Distinguished Member in 2003). In 2008 SPE also awarded him with the Anthony B. Lucas Gold Medal. He is also a member of the Canadian Institute of Mining
Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum
The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum is a technical society of professionals in the Canadian minerals, metals, materials and energy industries. It was founded in 1898. In 2006, the organization had 12,000 national members...
and APEGGA.
Martin Green
Martin Green has held the position of inaugural Australian Federation Fellow and Scientia Professor at New South Wales UniversityUniversity of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
since 1999. He is also the Executive Director of Research at the Australian Research Council
Australian Research Council
The Australian Research Council is the Australian Government’s main agency for allocating research funding to academics and researchers in Australian universities. Its mission is to advance Australia’s capacity to undertake research that brings economic, social and cultural benefit to the...
Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence and the Research Director of the CSG Solar company.
Martin Green graduated in engineering from Queensland University
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
in 1970 and received his masters degree in 1971. He then went on to study at McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
where he obtained his PhD in Solar Energy Research, gradually becoming a noted person in the field. He has been awarded numerous scientific prizes such as the 1999 Australia Prize and the Karl Böer Solar Energy Medal of Merit Award assigned by the Delaware University in 2003 for his innovative studies on solar cells.
In 1999 Green was elected a member of the Australian Academy of Science. He is also a member of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering as well as of the Institute of Electronic Engineers. Between 1977 and 1984 he has been a visiting professor at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven is a Dutch-speaking university in Flanders, Belgium.It is located at the centre of the historic town of Leuven, and is a prominent part of the city, home to the university since 1425...
in Belgium, a visiting consultant at the Solar Energy Research Institute of Colorado and a visiting professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Huazhong University of Science and Technology
The Huazhong University of Science and Technology is a public, coeducational research university located in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. As a national key university, HUST is directly affiliated to the Ministry of Education of China. HUST has been referred as the flagship of China's higher...
in China.
He has written over 300 articles that have been published in specialized magazines such as Solid-State Electronics, Nature, and Advanced Solar Energy Conversion. With his research group he has focused on the study of solar cell efficiency
Solar cell efficiency
The efficiency of a solar cell may be broken down into reflectance efficiency, thermodynamic efficiency, charge carrier separation efficiency and conductive efficiency...
limiting factors, and is credited for having improved silicon cell performance by 25%. With his ongoing research, Green thus contributes to performance improvement and to a likely increased use of solar energy.
Gérard Férey
Professor Ferey is an international expert on porous solids
Porous medium
A porous medium is a material containing pores . The skeletal portion of the material is often called the "matrix" or "frame". The pores are typically filled with a fluid...
, on which he has had published over 450 articles in specialized magazines such as the Journal of Solid State Chemistry, Solid State Sciences, Chemistry of Materials, Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Angewandte Chemie
Angewandte Chemie is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that covers all aspects of chemistry. Its impact factor was 12.730 in 2010, the highest value for a chemistry-specific journal that publishes original research...
, the Journal of the American Chemical Society
Journal of the American Chemical Society
The Journal of the American Chemical Society is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1879 by the American Chemical Society. The journal has absorbed two other publications in its history, the Journal of Analytical and Applied Chemistry and the American Chemical Journal...
and Science.
His research group, based at the Institut Lavoisier of the University of Versailles where G. Ferey is a professor, is formed by a few young researchers and is assisted by researchers and engineers from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). Their research is focused on inorganic and hybrid porous solids with microscopical holes (MOFs) which are particularly useful in the petrochemistry, catalysis, gas separation and fine chemistry fields. This field of research is becoming increasingly relevant due to the importance of these materials in hydrogen and CO2 storage as well as in the production of electrode materials because of their combination of inorganic (metal ions) and organic components (mostly stiff organic molecules that make up 1-, 2- or 3-dimensional porous structures).
Professor Ferey owns patents for his research and has received many important scientific recognitions, such as his admission to the Académie des sciences de l'Institut de France in 2003, his Royal Society of Chemistry Fellowship in 2005 and the Gay-Lussac-Humboldt Award presented to him by the Alexander Von Humbolt Foundation. He has been and still is on the advisory board of several scientific magazines (Inorganic Chemistry
Inorganic Chemistry (journal)
Inorganic Chemistry is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Chemical Society since 1962. It covers research in all areas of inorganic chemistry...
, the Journal of Solid State Chemistry, Chemistry of Materials
Chemistry of Materials
Chemistry of Materials is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, published since 1980 by the American Chemical Society. Chemistry of Materials is currently indexed in: Chemical Abstracts Service , SCOPUS, EBSCOhost, British Library, Swetswise, and Web of Science.The current Editor is Professor Leonard V...
). Between 1988 and 1992 he was the Deputy Director of the CNRS Chemistry Department, and is currently the President of the National Committee of Chemistry.
2010 recipients
Prizes awarded in 2010 include:- New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons Prize
- Renewable and Non-conventional Energy Prize
- Protection of the Environment Prize
- Two Debut in Research Prizes
The New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons Prize was assigned "ex aequo" to Avelino Corma, The Instituto De tecnologia Quimica Upv-Csic (Valencia), for his important discoveries about the synthesis of new catalysts to improve the refinement of the heaviest oil fractions and to Mark Knackstedt, Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
(Canberra), for his pioneering research into the location and characteristics of oil-fields, grounded on high resolution and 3D images of rock structures.
The Renewable and Non-Conventional Energy Prize was assigned to Angela Belcher, MIT (Boston), for her innovative and fundamental research project on the principles of development of the natural systems that can reconvert and use energy.
The Protection of the Environment Prize was awarded to François Morel, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, for his important discovery of a new class of enzymes that plays a crucial role in CO2 transport and fixation.
The Debut in Research Prizes were awarded to Lorenzo Fagiano, Polytechnic University of Turin
Polytechnic University of Turin
The Polytechnic University of Turin is an engineering university based in Turin, northern Italy. Established in 1859, Politecnico di Torino is Italy’s oldest Technical University. In 2011 it was ranked as the best engineering university in Italy in the Academic Ranking of World Universities.It is...
(Turin), for a dissertation that represents an important ad innovative contribution on high altitude wind power generation and that includes theoretical analyses, systems planning, simulations and economic analyses.
and to
Matteo Mauro (University of Milan
University of Milan
The University of Milan is a higher education institution in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe, with about 62,801 students, a teaching and research staff of 2,455 and a non-teaching staff of 2,200....
, Department of Inorganic Chemistry “L. Malatesta”) for a research project on high-efficiency energy devices with a strong potential for application to light-emitting systems with low energy loss, based on innovative electroluminescent components.
Avelino Corma
Avelino Corma is Research Professor and Director of the ITQ at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia since 1990. His current research field are structured nanomaterials and molecular sieves as catalysts, covering aspects of synthesis, characterization, and reactivity in acid-base and redox catalysis.
Professor Corma studied Chemistry at the University of Valencia, where he obtained his BA in 1973 and later, in 1976, he then obtained the Ph.D. “with honours” at the Chemical Engineering Department from the University Complutense of Madrid. In 1979 he became Associated Researcher at the Institute of Catalysis in Madrid after two years of postdoctoral work at the Chemical Engineering Department of Queen’s University in Canada with Professor B. W. Wojciechowski, and in 1987 was appointed Research Professor.
He has been collaborating for research projects with many important companies who deal with catalysis, such as Shell, BP-Amoco, ExxonMobil, Total, Elf, Repsol, and Enichem, among the others. Thanks to his important research work Professor Corma is also member of the Royal Academy of Engineering of Spain, of the Academia Europaea, and of the National Academy of Engineering USA. He is Fellow of The Royal Society of Chemistry and Member of the Scientific Boards of numerous institutions and prestigious journals, such as the Max-Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung (Germany), BP, the Journal of Catalysis, Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, Catalysis Letters, Japanese Catalysis Surveys, Catalysis Reviews: Science and Engineering, the Journal of Molecular Catalysis and the Journal of Physical Chemistry. He is also Scientific Advisor for BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, Rhodia, Albemarle, Sumitomo, Sasol, CEPSA, Conoco-Phillips.
He has written about 800 articles on these subjects in international journals, three books, and a number of reviews and book chapters. He is co-author of more than 100 patents; 11 of them have been commercialized.
Professor Corma’s work allowed him to be awarded with numerous prizes, including the DuPont Award on New Materials, the Spanish National Award on Science and Technology, the F.G. Ciapetta and E.J. Houdry Awards of The North American Catalysis Society, the Gabor A. Somorjai Award from the American Chemical Society, the François Gault Award of the European Federation of Catalysis Societies. He is Doctor Honoris Causa of the Utrecht University, Technical University of Munich, UNED from Madrid, Jaime I University and Universitat of Valencia.
Mark Knackstedt
Knackstedt was awarded a BSc from Columbia University in Chemical Engineering (1985) and obtained a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Rice University in 1990. From 1990 been resident at the Department of Applied Mathematics at Australian National University (ANU); since 2005 he has been Professor of Applied Mathematics at ANU and Visiting Professor at the School of Petroleum Engineering at University of NSW (UNSW).
With his research group he has led a significant “Digital Materials” research effort (>25 staff & students) which has pioneered the study of real-world materials in three-dimensions via a two-pronged approach: sophisticated structural measurements with state-of-the-art tomographic and microscopy methods coupled with sophisticated image analysis and numerical modeling tools. This combined development allows for a new numerical laboratory approach to the study of complex disordered materials. Numerical measurements performed directly on images can in some cases be performed with similar accuracy and considerably reduced complexity and cost than corresponding laboratory measurements.
This development provides petroleum engineers and geoscientists with a new image-based core analysis technology which can enhance conventional core analysis techniques and allows analysis of unconsolidated cores, sidewall cores and drill cuttings which are not suitable for conventional laboratory measurement. The importance to the industry is illustrated by the membership of an ANU/UNSW research sponsorship by leading oil and gas industry companies including Shell, ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Total. He is presently CTO of Digital Core, a private company set up last year to offer this advanced technology to industry at large.
Knackstedt was awarded the George C. Matson Award by the AAPG in 2009 and is a current (2009-2010) and past (2006-2008) Society Distinguished Speaker of the SPWLA. The groups work has been awarded Best Paper at the 2004 Annual Symposium of the SPWLA and Best Paper at the 2008 Society of Core Analysts meeting. Ongoing research of the group includes further development and integration of experimental 3D imaging techniques and studies of the role of surface and colloid chemistry phenomena underlying oil recovery.
Angela M. Belcher
Angela Belcher holds a BA in Creative Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara (1991), and in 1997 she received a PhD in Chemistry from the same University. Before joining the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2002, she has been a member of the faculty of the University of Texas, Austin, from 1999 to 2002.
Dr. Belcher is now the Germeshausen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Biological Engineering at MIT; she is a materials chemist with expertise in the fields of biomaterials, biomolecular materials, organic-inorganic interfaces and solid state chemistry. The focus of Prof. Belcher’s research is understanding and using the process by which nature makes materials in order to design novel hybrid organic-inorganic electronic and magnetic materials on new length scales. Her research is very interdisciplinary in nature and brings together the fields of inorganic chemistry, materials chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology and electrical engineering.
Her researches in new materials have applications in many fields such as solar cells, batteries, catalysts, medical diagnostics and basic single molecule interactions related to disease.
Thanks to her innovative researches she has received many awards including, the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering (2000), the Du Pont Young Investigators Award (1999) and the MacArthur Fellowship Award in 2004. Her research was covered in a July 2001 Forbes magazine cover story on nanotechnology and in 2007 Time Magazine has defined her as a “Climate-change hero”.
François Morel
François Morel is the Albert G. Blanke, Jr. Professor of Geosciences at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. Before joining the Princeton faculty in 1994, he served for many years as professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Professor Morel received his Licence-ès-Sciences (BS) in Applied Mathematics at the University of Grenoble, where he also obtained the Diplôme d’Ingénieur in 1967. A few years later, in 1971, he earned a PhD in Engineering Sciences at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.
Author of more than 150 articles, several books and book chapters, his research interests lie in theoretical, laboratory and field investigations of: coordination chemistry, surface chemistry and photochemistry of trace elements in natural waters; interactions between the chemistry and microbiota in aquatic systems; Oceanic primary production and Biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and bioactive trace elements.
His academic career is covered by several important recognitions: from 1998 to 2006 he was Director of the Princeton Environmental Institute, and from 1991 to 1994 Director of the R. M. Parsons Laboratory at MIT. He has been awarded the C.C. Patterson Medal of the Geochemical Society in 2001, the Maurice Ewing Medal of the American Geophysical Union in 2005, as well as the Urey Medal, from the European Association for Geochemistry in 2009, and was elected to the U.S National Academy of Sciences in 2009.
François Morel has been Visiting Professor in many Universities like the Ecole Normale Supèrieure - Paris, the Université Piere et Marie Curie - Paris VI, Université Louis Pasteur – Strasbourg and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne.
His research work has been highly appreciated both in the public and in the private sector: he has been Member of several Panels of the National Research Council, the National Advisory Committee for Oceans and Atmosphere and the Conseil Scientifique of the Institut National de l’Environnement Industriel et des Risques among others. Finally he is a Member of several professional societies, including the American Geophysical Union, the American Society for Microbiology, the American Chemical Society and the Geochemical Society.