s w e i v NoBEl for 2007 >>> PrizE d n a s w fter 19 years, again a German sci - to produce fertilizer saves Europe from suf - e n A entist wins the for fering an upcoming famine. chemistry: for his analyses The following fifty years and more of processes on solid surfaces. were characterized by understanding the The 2007 Nobel Prize for chemistry mechanism through which the most pow - honors a personality who has influenced erful known bonding between two atoms,

the surface sciences like no-one else. Ger - in the N 2-molecule, breaks down on the hard Ertl, emeritus scientific member and surface of an iron-based catalyst. In 1975 director at the Fritz-Haber-Institute (FHI) Paul Emmett, an eminent physical of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft in Berlin, , said: “The experimental work of ᭡ gerhard ertl receiving his nobel Prize from his is also the “scientific great-grandchild” of the last 50 years has taught us that the Majesty King Carl xVi gustaf of sweden at the the institute’s founder and eponym. He was speed-determining step in synthe - stockholm Concert Hall, 10 december 2007. © nobel web aB 2007. Photo Hans Mehlin. informed about this great prize, which he sis is the chemisorption of molecular nitro - receives undivided, just on his 71 st anniver - gen. However, the question whether the sary, October 10 th , 2007. Spontaneously, species on the surface (which then is being constructed surface result in a switching the whole institute, his friends and collab - hydrogenated) is atomic or molecular has between the reconstructed and non-re - orators, together with a full squadron of not yet been answered convincingly” . constructed arrangements, and conse - journalists celebrated this event with him. Shortly thereafter, Gerhard Ertl and quently to kinetic oscillations. This kind The last Nobel Prize for the FHI, was his group showed - by using methods al - of oscillations can be regular, but can also won by Ernst Ruska in 1986 for his in - ready developed in the new field of sur - become irregular or chaotic. These tem - vention of electron microscopy. In its al - face chemistry - that the step by step poral oscillations represent the integral most 100-year-old history, four more hydrogenated species is atomic nitrogen. behaviour of the system. But we know Nobel Prize winners had been working at These achievements clearly revealed Ger - from the well-established Belousov - the institute: , James Franck, hard Ertl’s great talent to analyze the Zhabotinsky reactions, that oscillations , and Max von Laue. essence of a complex process through a lead to topological structures. simple experiment. The secret of the fritz Haber’s scientific great-grandchild mechanism had been disclosed about 70 femtosecond spectroscopy and Heinz Gerischer, the doctoral advisor of years after its invention by Haber. raman scattering Gerhard Ertl and previous director of the To display spatio-temporal structures on FHI, was the student of Karl Friedrich atomic structure and dynamics of surfaces under reaction conditions, the Bonhoeffer who was the director of our in - solid surfaces working group developed a new photo- stitute after the Second World War and on The search for understanding the atomic electron emission microscope, with which his part a colleague of Fritz Haber. Here, a structure and dynamics of solid surfaces it was possible for the first time to show the scientific circle closes. Between 1905 and under the influence of adsorbates (fre - temporally changing topological structures, 1908 Haber discovered the process of the quently molecules from the gas phase) like helices, chemical waves etc. Together synthesis of ammonia from the nitrogen of dominated the research of Gerhard Ertl. with theorists these non-linear dynamic the air, which then Carl Bosch brought to Again and again he adapted or developed structures have been successfully modelled. technical maturity at BASF. For this dis - new methods and combined them in an If one is interested in the analysis of chem - covery, Haber had won the Nobel Prize in exemplary manner, to extract “physically ical processes on solid surfaces at atomic 1918, with the advice that the possibility exact” statements. level, which means with the highest spatial One of the intensely studied reactions in resolution, it is obvious to concentrate also Ertl’s working group was the oxidation of on the temporal resolution in the observa - Tragic loss for the carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide on in - tion of dynamic processes. Gerhard Ertl Turkish Physics community terim metal surfaces. Already in 1982 his founded a group within his department in group reports on kinetic oscillations in the the FHI that studies pump-probe experi -

We are deeply sorry to announce that on CO 2-production along metallic single-crys - ments with lasers at a femto-second time the 30 th of november 2007, six physicists tal surfaces - a phenomenon that was ob - resolution. These experiments led to deep of the turkish physical society, engin served, up to then, only in catalytic reactors. insights into the electron dynamics during arik, f. senel Boydag, iskender Hikmet, In a set of pioneering publications, the energy-transfer processes in chemical reac - Mustafa fidan, Berkol ozgen dogan group showed the connection between tions after photo-excitation. An outstanding and engin abat , died in a plane crash, on the adsorption of carbon monoxide and example of the new “old” method, besides their way to a workshop on the turkish oxygen that causes a reconstruction of the the comprehensive electrochemical activities accelerator center project. surface. The reaction and the higher stick - that were pushed by Gerhard Ertl, is the ing probability of oxygen on the non-re - tip amplified resonant Raman scattering.

10 • volume 39 • number 1 europh ysicsnews news and views

We have here some first clear indications from stuttgart via Munich to Berlin It is said that he very often stands in from his group that the sensitivity can be Gerhard Ertl was born in 1936 in Bad for the pianist during the choir rehearsals brought to the single molecule level. From Cannstatt and studied physics in Stuttgart of his wife Barbara. He plays wonderfully this, further important perspectives in where he got his diploma in 1961 and the piano and the harpsichord. After the many fields of the recent physical chem - wrote his dissertation with Heinz recently held Baker-Lecture at Cornell istry on surfaces could result. Gerischer who had been at that time at the University he is now writing a book. The There are many more aspects to be Max-Planck-Institute for Metal Research. revised version of the second edition of mentioned, but Gerhard Ertl’s oeuvre is In 1965 he received his doctor’s degree and the Handbook of Heterogeneous Cataly - too extensive to go into details here: His went, together with his doctoral advisor, to sis is possibly almost finished. His activity list of publications contains more than the TU Munich, where he habilitated is unbowed and we are sure that this will 700 articles. Besides this, he presented within only two years. After this, he ac - continue further on for a long time. hundreds of invited talks. A summary of cepted the call for a professorship for phys - All colleagues, friends, students and personal information until 2004, the year ical chemistry in Hanover. About 5 years collaborators congratulate Gerhard Ertl when he formally retired, can be found in later, he accepted a call to the LMU Mu - for winning the Nobel Prize for chemistry the Festschrift at the occasion of his 68 nich. In 1985 he became successor of his 2007 and share his happiness. birthday. [ cp. Jounal of Physical Chemisty B teacher, Heinz Gerischer, as director at the Congratulations and all the best wishes. I 108 , 14183 (2004) ]. Fritz-Haber-Institute of the Max-Planck- The list of his awards is long: Liebig Gesellschaft in Berlin. He held this posi - Hans-Joachim freund , Medal of the German Chemical Society, tion until 2004, when he was given the Japan Prize, Wolf Prize, Otto-Hahn-Prize, emeritus status. This laudation has been written by Prof. honorary membership in the German Gerhard Ertl is a wonderful colleague, Hans-Joachim Freund , a colleague and Bunsengesellschaft and many more. About friend and – since his retirement – advi - close friend of Prof. Gerhard Ertl. It was 40 memorial lectures and various honorary sor. His participation in the daily insti - first published in German in “Nachrichten responsibilities within the scientific com - tute’s life has changed, but only in the aus der Chemie” (Nov. 2007, p. 1075). It munity testify the remarkable reputation way that he retired as director of the in - has been translated for Europhysics News and reliance that Gerhard Ertl enjoys. stitute. We are very pleased to meet him with permission of EuCheMs, the Euro - And now the well-deserved coronation! in the institute every day. pean Chemical and Molecular Sciences.

cErN’S NEXT dirEcTor gENErAl >>> PhySicS NEwS

n 14 December, CERN Council “This is a very exciting time for parti - appointment at DESY Oappointed Professor Rolf-Dieter cle physics,” said Professor Heuer. “To be - in 2004, Professor Heuer to succeed Dr Robert Aymar come CERN’s Director General for the Heuer was responsi -

r as CERN’s Director General. Professor early years of LHC operation is a great ble for research at e u e Heuer will serve a five-year term, taking of - honour, a great challenge, and probably the HERA accelera - H f. fice on 1 January 2009. His mandate will the best job in physics research today. I’m tor, DESY’s participa - Pro cover the early years of operation and first looking forward to working with CERN’s tion in the LHC and R&D scientific results from the Laboratory’s new community of personnel and researchers for a future electron-positron collider. flagship research facility, the Large Hadron from around the world as we embark on “Rolf Heuer has worked tirelessly for Collider (LHC). The LHC is scheduled to this great adventure.” DESY as Germany’s main particle physics begin operation in summer 2008. Professor Heuer obtained his doctorate laboratory, while at the same time Currently Research Director for particle in 1977 from the University of . strengthening links between DESY, the and astroparticle physics at Germany’s Much of his career has been involved with German University system and CERN,” DESY laboratory in Hamburg, a post that the construction and operation of large par - said Professor Torsten Åkesson, President he took up in 2004, Professor Heuer is no ticle detector systems for studying electron of CERN Council. “This spirit of collab - stranger to CERN. From 1984 to 1998, positron collisions. On leaving CERN in oration will be a valuable asset to CERN he was a staff member at the Laboratory, 1998, he took up a professorship at the as we move into LHC operation, develop working for the OPAL collaboration at the University of Hamburg, where he estab - strategic options for the long-term scien - Large Electron Positron collider (LEP) re - lished a group working on preparations tific programme, and develop colla- search facility. From 1994 to 1998, he was for experiments at a possible future elec - boration with the European national the collaboration’s spokesman. tron-positron collider. On taking up his laboratories and institutes.” I

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