Lyndon Emsley wins 2023 Günther Laukien Prize

The Günther Laukien Prize was established in 1999 to honor the memory of Professor Günther Laukien, a co-founder of Bruker, a US manufacturer of scientific instruments for molecular and materials research. The Prize recognizes “cutting-edge experimental NMR [nuclear magnetic resonance]research with a high probability of enabling beneficial new applications.” The Prize carries a monetary award of $20,000 funded by Bruker.

The 2023 Günther Laukien Prize has been awarded to Professor Lyndon Emsley at EPFL and Dr Anne Lesage at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, recognizing their cutting-edge research into solid-state NMR spectroscopy, and especially the development of surface enhanced NMR spectroscopy.

Emsley is currently Professor of Physical Chemistry at the at EPFL. His research focuses on developing new NMR spectroscopy techniques to solve a range of problems across disciplines, and primarily aims at determining the atomic-level structure and dynamics of complex materials and molecular systems. Emsley has introduced new concepts in NMR spectroscopy to increase sensitivity and resolution, such as dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) and methods to obtain high-resolution 1H spectra in solids. He has also developed new computational methods to model structure and to efficiently predict and extract NMR chemical shifts in solids.

Dr Anne Lesage leads a group working on hyperpolarized solid-state NMR at the High Field NMR Center (CRMN) in Lyon, and has made significant contributions to the development and application of new solid-state NMR methods. Her research focuses on understanding the origin of line broadening in solids and developing innovative approaches to increase proton resolution.