DOCSLIB.ORG

The Impact of Precious Metals Chemistry in the Evolution of Modern Societies

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Impact of Precious Metals Chemistry in the Evolution of Modern Societies MILESTONES IN CHEMISTRY Oliver Briel The impact of precious metals chemistry in the evolution of modern societies ALREADY PRINTED IN Focus on Milestones in Chemistry OLIVER BRIEL supplement to chimica oggi/Chemistry Today Umicore n. 5 September/October 2011 Member of chimica oggi/Chemistry Today’s Scientific advisory board he “2011: International Year of Chemistry” allows me and polyethylene production involving early transition and my colleagues from the scientific advisory board metals (4), as well as the Monsanto process using a T of Chimica Oggi/Chemistry Today to reflect on the Rhodiumcarbonyl catalyst for Acetic Acid production (5), influence of advances in chemistry research during the or, manufacture of oxo-alcohols by use of Cobalt and past 109 years by looking at who was awarded with the Rhodium complexes as hydroformylation catalysts (6) or Nobel Prize in Chemistry and which socio-economic impact the Wacker Process for the direct oxidation of ethylene did the research contributions of the Laureates have. to name the most significant ones. Far more than 10 Mio As a representative of a precious metals company I will tons of these products are synthesized annually, involving logically take a look at it in the perspective of precious Precious Metals complexes acting as catalysts. metals chemistry. Just recently, in the May issue of 2011 my We should not forget to mention one of the more recent colleague Ian C. Lennon did a formidable job highlighting Laureates, Gerhard Ertl, who was awarded the Nobel the impact of Nobel Prize in Chemistry on fine chemicals (1). Prize in 2007 for “his studies of chemical processes on solid Amongst others he mentioned three recent important Nobel surfaces” (7). Starting already in the 1960s his fundamental Prizes which for sure are still in everybody’s mind: 2010 Nobel work towards understanding thermodynamics and kinetics Prize was jointly awarded to Richard F. Heck, Eichi Negichi on solid surfaces heavily influenced development and 9 and Akira Suzuki for their contributions to developing the design of heterogeneous Platinum Group Metals (PGM) technology of Palladium catalysed coupling reactions. catalysts. Besides synthesis of petrochemicals and fine 2005 prize was awarded to Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs chemicals making use of catalysts such as Pt/Al2O3 or Pd/C and Richard R. Schrock for their contributions in the field of the most important application involving a heterogeneous olefin metathesis and in 2001 it was awarded to William S. Precious Metals catalyst is certainly emission control for Knowles, Ryoji Noyori and K. Barry Sharpless for their work in combustion engines. Today, almost every vehicle carries a developing methodologies to catalytically and selectively catalytic converter reacting harmful mixtures of off gases build up chiral centres in organic molecules. Note that into nearly clean air. The constant tightening of emission almost all of these methodologies make use of precious regulations requires substantial efforts in the continuous metals underlining their importance in new synthetic improvement of catalyst design. methods for manufacturing fine chemicals. It is also worth Statistics say that there are some 600 Mio motor vehicles mentioning that these recent Laureates were honoured for operating in the world today. Assuming each car is their contributions to modern synthetic methods employing equipped with an exhaust catalyst with an average of 5g homogeneous catalysis. PGM loading, it totals to the astonishing number of 3.000t Some thirty years earlier, in 1973 Ernst Otto Fischer and PGM’s (mainly Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium) that are Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson were awarded the Nobel Prize "for driving around on our earth. Having in mind PGM’s being their pioneering work, performed independently, on the scarce and very costly to extract from ores it is obvious that chemistry of the organometallic, so called sandwich powerful recycling and recovery processes are needed compounds”. Both chemists had significantly contributed when it comes to the end of life of a vehicle. to develop the field of transition metals complex In fact, Precious Metals and their chemistries have an chemistry (2, 3), laying the foundation of a rather outstanding importance towards the development new field in catalysis, homogeneous catalysis. of modern civilizations and a long Soon after their initial discoveries in 1952 history. Starting already during first industrial processes appeared, the antiquity the use of Gold namely the Ziegler-Natta and the and Silver as monetary Philips process for polypropylene metals was dominating MILESTONES IN CHEMISTRY besides jewellery and art. The ever since increasing demand of century, Wilhelm Ostwald was awarded the Nobel Prize of these metals had already made necessary then to develop and Chemistry in 1909 “in recognition of his work on catalysis improve processes for their production and further processing (8). and for his investigations into the fundamental principles Although Platinum was already known from the pre-Columbian governing chemical equilibria and rates of reaction" (9). South American civilisations, the Platinum Group Metals, Wilhelm Ostwald is known for the Ostwald Process which consisting of Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium, Iridium, Ruthenium gave the chemical industry large scale access to nitric acid. and Osmium, have only been discovered and explored much In turn with the development of the Haber-Bosch process in later in Europe, in the 16th century and thereafter. The catalytic 1908 (10) which was giving the industry access to ammonia activity of Platinum was described by J.W. Dobereiner as early as (bound nitrogen), the feedstock for the Ostwald process, the 1823 – which was then regarded more as a lab curiosity. Towards availability of nitrates, indispensable components of synthetic the end of the 19th century main use of Platinum has been in fertilizers, was no longer an issue for the increase of agricultural dental, electric and jewellery applications. From then on the production. To a large extent the industrial implementation picture changed rapidly – meanwhile industrial processes are of these inventions was also driven by the possibility to use producing millions of tons of chemical products making use of the synthetic nitrates and nitric acid for production of explosives outstanding catalytic properties of the Platinum Group Metals. - hence allowing Germany to become independent from With the first Nobel Prize related to precious metals and natural nitrate deposits in Chile that were under British control maybe for one of the most important inventions of the 20th at that time. This example shows us that technology can act both as boon and bane – it depends on us humans to make best use of it. REFERENCES AND NOTES 1. I.Lennon, Chimica Oggi/ Chemistry Today, 29(3), pp. 2-3 (2011). 2. G. Wilkinson, J. Organometal. Chem., 100, p. 273 (1975). 3. E.O. Fischer, W. Pfab, Zeitschrift f. Naturforschung, 7b, pp. 377-379 (1952). 4. K. Ziegler and G.Natta were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1963. 5. R.T. Eby, T.C. Singleton, Appl. Ind. Catal., 1, pp. 275-299 (1983). 6. G. Duembgen, D. Neubauer, Chemie Ingenieur Technik, 41, pp. 974-980 (1969). 7. http://nobelprize.org/ nobel_prizes/chemistry/ laureates/2007/ertl.html# 8. Günter Beck Ed., Edelmetall- Taschenuch, Hüthig GmbH, pp. 1-13 (1995). 9. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1909, Nobelprize.org. 24 May 2011. http://nobelprize. org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/ laureates/1909/ 10. Fritz Haber received the Nobel Prize for his work in 1918, see The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1918, Nobelprize.org. 24 May 2011 http://nobelprize.org/ nobel_prizes/chemistry/ laureates/1918/ 11. Carl Bosch received together with Friedrich Bergius the Nobel Prize for their work on high pressure processes in 1931, see The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1931, Nobelprize.org. 24 May 2011 http://nobelprize. org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/ laureates/1931/ chimica oggi/Chemistry Today - vol. 29 n. 6 November/December 2011.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Fischer Carbene Complexes in Organic Synthesis Ke Chen 1/31/2007
    Baran Group Meeting Fischer Carbene Complexes in Organic Synthesis Ke Chen 1/31/2007 Ernst Otto Fischer (1918 - ) Other Types of Stabilized Carbenes: German inorganic chemist. Born in Munich Schrock carbene, named after Richard R. Schrock, is nucleophilic on November 10, 1918. Studied at Munich at the carbene carbon atom in an unpaired triplet state. Technical University and spent his career there. Became director of the inorganic Comparision of Fisher Carbene and Schrock carbene: chemistry institute in 1964. In the 1960s, discovered a metal alkylidene and alkylidyne complexes, referred to as Fischer carbenes and Fischer carbynes. Shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Geoffery Wilkinson in 1973, for the pioneering work on the chemistry of organometallic compounds. Schrock carbenes are found with: Representatives: high oxidation states Isolation of first transition-metal carbene complex: CH early transition metals Ti(IV), Ta(V) 2 non pi-acceptor ligands Cp2Ta CH N Me LiMe Me 2 2 non pi-donor substituents CH3 (CO) W CO (CO)5W 5 (CO)5W A.B. Charette J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 11829. OMe O E. O. Fischer, A. Maasbol, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 1964, 3, 580. Persistent carbenes, isolated as a crystalline solid by Anthony J. Arduengo in 1991, can exist in the singlet state or the triplet state. Representative Fischer Carbenes: W(CO) Cr(CO) 5 5 Fe(CO)4 Mn(CO)2(MeCp) Co(CO)3SnPh3 Me OMe Ph Ph Ph NEt2 Ph OTiCp2Cl Me OMe Foiled carbenes were defined as "systems where stabilization is Fischer carbenes are found with : obtained by the inception of the facile reaction which is foiled by the impossibility of attaining the final product geometry".
    [Show full text]
  • A Lateral Thinker
    CHEMISTRY MASTERCLASS OUTLOOK In physics, the big question is: how can the two great theories in physics — quantum physics and M GRAYSON the theory of gravitation — be unified? There are other questions: what is the content of our Universe? What are dark matter and dark energy? Only four per cent of the Universe is the matter that we are made of; what is the rest? In biology, there is: what is life? We know which elements are important for life, but will it ever be possible for humans to create artificial life? These are the big questions. Chemistry has nothing compared with this. Erwin Schrodinger posed the question ‘what is life?’ seventy years ago in his book of the same title. How close have we come to answering it? The question that Schrodinger was asking was very specific — in essence, do we expect that new laws will be necessary to describe biology? And he couldn’t give an answer, mainly because he was not able to explain the formation of structure in biology. Not only molecular structure, but larger structures as well – for example, how does a cell divide only in the middle? We can start to answer these questions using non-linear dynamics — and that is the field that interests me the most. What is the importance of structure to life? Self-organization is the basis for all kinds of structure formation. Closed systems that have no external inputs will eventually find a state of equilibrium that can be disordered or ordered. For example, salt ions precip- itating out of a solution can assemble into ordered crystals.
    [Show full text]
  • Los Premios Nobel De Química
    Los premios Nobel de Química MATERIAL RECOPILADO POR: DULCE MARÍA DE ANDRÉS CABRERIZO Los premios Nobel de Química El campo de la Química que más premios ha recibido es el de la Quí- mica Orgánica. Frederick Sanger es el único laurea- do que ganó el premio en dos oca- siones, en 1958 y 1980. Otros dos también ganaron premios Nobel en otros campos: Marie Curie (física en El Premio Nobel de Química es entregado anual- 1903, química en 1911) y Linus Carl mente por la Academia Sueca a científicos que so- bresalen por sus contribuciones en el campo de la Pauling (química en 1954, paz en Física. 1962). Seis mujeres han ganado el Es uno de los cinco premios Nobel establecidos en premio: Marie Curie, Irène Joliot- el testamento de Alfred Nobel, en 1895, y que son dados a todos aquellos individuos que realizan Curie (1935), Dorothy Crowfoot Ho- contribuciones notables en la Química, la Física, la dgkin (1964), Ada Yonath (2009) y Literatura, la Paz y la Fisiología o Medicina. Emmanuelle Charpentier y Jennifer Según el testamento de Nobel, este reconocimien- to es administrado directamente por la Fundación Doudna (2020) Nobel y concedido por un comité conformado por Ha habido ocho años en los que no cinco miembros que son elegidos por la Real Aca- demia Sueca de las Ciencias. se entregó el premio Nobel de Quí- El primer Premio Nobel de Química fue otorgado mica, en algunas ocasiones por de- en 1901 al holandés Jacobus Henricus van't Hoff. clararse desierto y en otras por la Cada destinatario recibe una medalla, un diploma y situación de guerra mundial y el exi- un premio económico que ha variado a lo largo de los años.
    [Show full text]
  • Small Molecule
    National School on Neutron and X-ray Scattering June 24, 2010 Xiaoping Wang Neutron Scattering Science Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory Outline • Small Molecule Crystallography • Accurate Molecular Structural Determination – Impact on Science • Structure and Bonding – Metal-Metal Multiple Bonds – From Small Molecule to Superamolecular Assembly • Case Studies – Gas Adsorption Dynamic in a Meal-Organic Framework – Electronic Communications Between Dimetal Centers – Effects of Crystallization on Molecular Structure – Single Crystal to Single Crystal Chemical Reaction • Future Directions – Single Crystal Crystallography in Higher Dimensions – Charge and Spin Density – Time Resolved Diffraction – Bridging the Gap in Small Molecule and Macromolecule Crystallography Small Molecule Crystallography • Small molecule A neutral or ionic compound of synthetic or biological origin but it is not a polymer, protein or nucleic acid: – Inorganic and Organic Compounds – Catalysts – Natural Products – Pharmaceuticals – Synthetic Chemicals • Small Molecule Crystallography – Use single crystal X-ray/Neutron diffraction methods to determine the three dimensional structure of small molecules at atomic resolution. Chemical Crystallography – The relationship between molecular structure and chemical, biochemical or biological properties. Cambridge Structural Database Stores data for organic molecules & metal-organic compounds http://www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/ Basic Research at CCDC Mean molecular dimensions Studies of substituent effects Statistical and numerical
    [Show full text]
  • Facts & Figures 2014
    Technische Universität München Facts & Figures 2014 Portrait TUM combines top-class facilities for cutting-edge research with unique learning opportunities for students. TUM scientists are committed to finding solutions to the major challenges facing society as we move forward: • Health & Nutrition • Energy & Natural Resources • Environment & Climate • Information & Communications • Mobility & Infrastructure. TUM thinks and acts with an entrepreneurial spirit. Its aim is ambitious: to create lasting value for society through excellence in education and research, the active promotion of next-generation talent and a strong entre- preneurial spirit. All of which combine to make TUM one of Europe’s leading universities. Departments Locations & Networks 154 programs - 13 departments - 3 locations TUM science network Freising • Max Planck Institutes: Garching Munich Freising 13 Martinsried • Architecture • TUM School of 99 Munich Life Sciences • Civil, Geo and Environ- • Helmholtz Zentrum Weihenstephan mental Engineering 11 München • iwb Anwenderzentrum • Electrical, Electronic and Augsburg Computer Engineering 13 • Fraunhofer Institutes: • TUM School of Medicine Garching 471 Holzkirchen • Sport and Health Freising Sciences 99 99 471 • TUM School of 13 TUM locations Education • Munich • TUM School of 99 • Garching Management • Freising Munich • Iffeldorf Garching 94 • Obernach • Chemistry • Straubing • Wettzell • Informatics • Singapore: TUM Asia • Mathematics 471 • Beijing • Brussels • Mechanical 99 Engineering • Cairo • Mumbai • Physics •
    [Show full text]
  • On the Road to Carbene and Carbyne Complexes
    ON THE ROAD TO CARBENE AND CARBYNE COMPLEXES Nobel Lecture, 11 December 1973 by ERNST OTTO FISCHER Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Technical University, Munich, Federal Republic of Germany Translation from the German text INTRODUCTION In the year 1960, I had the honour of giving a talk at this university* about sandwich complexes on which we were working at that time. I think I do not have to repeat the results of those investigations today. I would like to talk instead about a field of research in which we have been intensely interested in recent years: namely, the field of carbene complexes and, more recently, carbyne complexes. If we substitute one of the hydrogen atoms in a hydrocarbon of the alkane type - for example, ethane - by a metal atom, which can of course bind many more ligands, we arrive at an organometallic compound in which the organic radical is bound to the metal atom by a σ-bond (Fig. la). The earliest compounds of this kind were prepared more than a hundred years ago; the first was cacodyl, prepared by R. Bunsen (1), and then zinc dialkyls were prepared by E. Frankland (2). Later V. Grignard was able to synthesise alkyl magnesium halides by treating magnesium with alkyl halides (3). Grignard was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1912 for this effort. We may further recall the organo-aluminium compounds (4) of K. Ziegler which form the basis for the low pressure polymerisation, for example of ethylene. Ziegler and G. Natta were together honoured with the Nobel Prize in 1963 for their work on organometallic compounds.
    [Show full text]
  • CHEMISTRY ONLINE BOOKS COLLECTION Wiley Is Committed to Extending the World’S Chemistry Knowledge Through Publishing Diverse and Extensive 3,300+ Resources
    CHEMISTRY ONLINE BOOKS COLLECTION Wiley is committed to extending the world’s chemistry knowledge through publishing diverse and extensive 3,300+ resources. We work with renowned authors, editors Titles and reviewers to deliver content in the way you need it. This collection comprises work that will enhance teaching and research, and provide students and researchers with a vast range of reliable, authoritative content- all available to access Including over 3,300 within your library’s digital resources. titles with no DRM restrictions, this collection offers a reliable and high- impact route to expand or enhance your digital INTERDISCIPLINARY: resources in Chemistry. Titles published each year span Analytical Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Industrial Chemistry, Catalysis, Chemical Safety, Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, Organic & Inorganic Chemistry, Green Chemistry & Sustainability, Energy, Physical Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and many more areas. 97% of the world’s Nobel AUTHORITATIVE: Prize Laureates 97% of the world’s Nobel Prize Laureates in in Chemistry have Chemistry have published with Wiley, including published with seminal works from the 2016 Nobel Prize winning Wiley authors, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart, Jean-Pierre Sauvage, and Bernard L. Feringa. EJ Corey, Gerhard Ertl, Robert Grubbs, George Olah, Martin Chalfie, and several other Nobel Laureates from all sections of chemistry add their names to Wiley’s distinguished list of authors. Wiley also publishes works from numerous recipients of other major prestigious awards in Chemistry, from leading societies such as the American Chemical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, and GDCh. INCLUSIVE: Used by scholars and faculty for their own research, but also by lecturers and their students looking for citable, informative, and trustworthy content.
    [Show full text]
  • Interview with Harry B. Gray
    HARRY B. GRAY (b. 1935) INTERVIEWED BY SHIRLEY K. COHEN SEPTEMBER 2000 – MARCH 2001 AND HEIDI ASPATURIAN JANUARY – MAY 2016 Photo taken in 1997 ARCHIVES CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Pasadena, California Subject area Chemistry Abstract Two interviews in seven and six sessions respectively, with Harry Gray, the Arnold O. Beckman Professor of Chemistry. The first series of interviews, conducted in 2000-01 with Shirley Cohen, deals with Gray’s life and career up to that time. The second series, conducted in 2016 with Heidi Aspaturian, covers the period 2001–2016, expands on a number of topics discussed in the first interview series, and adds to the account of Gray’s earlier decades. Discussion topics common to the two interviews are cross-referenced in both texts. 2000–01 Interview Gray opens this interview series with a description of his family roots and formative years in Kentucky’s tobacco-farming country, including his youthful career with the local newspaper and early interest in chemistry. He then provides an account of his undergraduate studies at Western Kentucky State College (BS 1957), graduate work with F. Basolo and R. Pearson at Northwestern University http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Gray_H (PhD 1960), and postdoctoral work with C. Ballhausen at the University of Copenhagen, where he pioneered the development of ligand field theory. As a professor at Columbia University, he continued work at the frontiers of inorganic chemistry, published several books and, through an affiliation with Rockefeller University, was drawn to interdisciplinary research, which led him to accept a faculty position at Caltech in 1966. He talks about his approach to teaching and his research in inorganic chemistry and electron transfer at Caltech, his interactions with numerous Caltech personalities, including A.
    [Show full text]
  • Von Emil Erlenmeyer Bis Ernst Otto Fischer
    Von Emil Erlenmeyer bis Ernst Otto Fischer von Professor Wolfgang A. Herrmann Die Geschichte meines Lehrstuhls beginnt mit Emil Erlenmeyer. Als die Kgl. Polytechnische Schule in München nach dem Vorbild der Technischen Hochschulen in Prag (gegründet 1806), Wien (1815), Karlsruhe (1825) und Zürich (1855) im Jahre 1868 ihre Pforten öffnete, war der Chemiker Erlenmeyer unter den 24 Gründungs- professoren. Er stand einer der fünf Abteilungen vor, nämlich der chemisch-technischen Abteilung, zu der noch die Professoren Georg Cajetan Kaiser (Angewandte Chemie), Carl Stölzel (Chemische Technologie, Metallurgie und Praktische Technische Chemie) und Carl Haushofer (Mineralogie, Mineralogische Übungen und Eisenhüttenkunde) gehörten. Erlenmeyer vertrat die Experimental-Chemie sowie die Analytische und Praktische Chemie. Carl Max von Bauernfeind, Professor für Geodäsie, Praktische Geometrie sowie Straßen- und Eisenbahnbau, war der erste Direktor der Hochschule, die am 19. Dezember 1868 durch Minister von Schlör ihrer Bestimmung übergeben wurde. Ihr Gründungsauftrag bestand in „einer vollständigen theoretischen Ausbildung für den technischen Beruf in den für eine allgemeine Bildung erforderlichen Kenntnissen in denjenigen Disziplinen, welche auf den exakten Wissenschaften und zeichnenden Künsten beruhen“. Die Gründung der Kgl. Polytechnischen Schule war eine unmittelbare Folge der im Jahre 1864 erfolgten Einrichtung von Realgymnasien in Bayern, aus denen für das Jahr 1868 die ersten Studenten zu erwarten waren. Im Wettstreit um den Standort konnte sich München gegen Nürnberg nur deshalb durchsetzen, weil sich hier die Universität (seit 1825), die Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften (seit 1759) sowie die größten Sammlungen und Bibliotheken des Königreichs Bayern befanden. In den ersten Jahren hielt Erlenmeyer mit 6 Wochenstunden im Wintersemester und 4 Wochenstunden im Sommersemester die Anorganische beziehungsweise Organische Experimental- vorlesung.
    [Show full text]
  • Basic Research Needs for Catalysis Science
    Basic Research Needs for Catalysis Science Report of the Basic Energy Sciences Workshop on Basic Research Needs for Catalysis Science to Transform Energy Technologies May 8–10, 2017 Image courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory. DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of a workshop sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees or officers, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of document authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Copyrights to portions of this report (including graphics) are reserved by original copyright holders or their assignees, and are used by the Government’s license and by permission. Requests to use any images must be made to the provider identified in the image credits. This report is available in pdf format at https://science.energy.gov/bes/community-resources/reports/ REPORT OF THE BASIC RESEARCH NEEDS WORKSHOP FOR CATALYSIS SCIENCE Basic Research Needs for Catalysis Science TO TRANSFORM ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES Report from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences Workshop May 8–10, 2017, in Gaithersburg, Maryland CHAIR: ASSOCIATE CHAIRS: Carl A.
    [Show full text]
  • Outlook Chemistry Masterclass
    OUTLOOK CHEMISTRY MASTERCLASS 17 October 2013 / Vol 502 / Issue No. 7471 OUTLOOK hemistry was the subject of the 63rd Lindau Nobel CONTENTS CHEMISTRY MASTERCLASS Laureate Meeting this summer, and there was no doubting the human chemistry on the tiny German S50 DRUG DISCOVERY Cisland of Lindau. Participants were absorbed by the lectures Structure-led design and engaged in effervescent conversation in the atrium, with Receptor structures are leading the way to interactions catalysed by ancillary events. new drugs Many of the 34 Nobel laureates were making their second, S53 Q&A Produced with support from: Cycles of discovery third or umpteenth visit to the annual gathering, eager to be Gerhard Ertl Cover art: Sarah J. Coleman challenged by the young minds in attendance and inspired A lateral thinker by the beautiful emerald-green waters of Lake Constance S54 Q&A Editorial Dan Shechtman Herb Brody, Michelle that surround Lindau. This year there was a non-scientific The technology starter Grayson, Tony Scully, laureate in their number: José Ramos-Horta, joint recipient Rachel Jones of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize. Although peace prizewinners S56 Q&A Art & Design have attended the meeting before, this was the first time Robert Grubbs Wes Fernandes, for the former Prime Minister of East Timor. This was also The bond shifter Mohamed Ashour, S57 Q&A Amr Rahma, Alisdair the first visit for Brian Kobilka, one of the newest laureates. Richard R. Ernst Macdonald, Yara Abdel Kobilka gave the opening lecture on G-protein-coupled A man of many dimensions Rahman receptors (GPCRs), which are the target of around a third Production of all pharmaceuticals.
    [Show full text]
  • Dinner with Nobel Laureates
    MAX PLANCK COMMUNITY Dinner with Nobel Laureates At Lake Constance, young scientists exchange views with the best researchers in their disciplines The Meeting in Lindau is a forum for tive generation, conversion and storage mist Gerhard Ertl, Emeritus Scientific discussions on research issues for the of energy and “green chemistry,” which Member of the Fritz Haber Institute, future and provides scope for personal is intended to be as environmentally- was there. Max Planck Director Wolf- encounters. The Nobel Laureates even friendly as possible. A large number of gang Lubitz from the MPI for Chemi- talk about setbacks in their careers. doctoral students and postdocs from the cal Energy Conversion, who is a Mem- They are the colleagues who have re- Max Planck institutes attended. Eleven ber of the Board of Trustees and thus ceived the highest accolade that can be of them were invited to the Meeting by plays a leading role in the organization bestowed upon a scientist: 34 Nobel the MPG, many others via foundations, of the entire Meeting, was also at the Laureates came to Lindau this time in for example. Hotel Helvetia for the dinner with the order to pass on their experience to 600 The focus of the conference is on junior scientists, which lasted for seve- junior scientists from almost 80 coun- personal encounters. For this purpose, ral hours. tries. The 63rd Meeting lasted one week the MPG traditionally organizes an On the other days of the Meeting, and was dedicated completely to chemi- academic dinner with Nobel Laureates participants were afforded further op- stry.
    [Show full text]