Michael Grätzel wins Ahmed Zewail Prize in Molecular Sciences 2017
Michael Grätzel © 2016 EPFL
Professor Michael Grätzel has been selected as the winner of the 2017 edition of the Ahmed Zewail Prize in Molecular Sciences.
The Ahmed Zewail Prize in Molecular Sciences is awarded every two years to a scientist who has “made significant and creative contributions, particularly those of a fundamental nature, to any of the disciplines of molecular sciences.” This involves theoretical and/or experimental aspects of studies in all phases of matter and biological systems.
Professor Michael Grätzel, director of EPFL’s Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces, is known worldwide for pioneering the field of molecular photovoltaics (the famous Grätzel cells) and energy- and electron-transfer reactions in mesoscopic systems in the context of solar electricity and fuels. Grätzel cells have proven to be much cheaper and easier to manufacture compared to other photovoltaic cells, and Grätzel’s lab has been consistently improving their stability and efficiency.
The Prize is sponsored by Elsevier in collaboration with the journal Chemical Physics Letters. It is named for its Honorary Advisory Editor, Professor Zewail, who received the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
The Prize consists of a monetary award, a Gold Medal and a certificate, and will be presented in person at a special symposium during the Annual Spring meetings of the American Chemical Society. As part of the award, Michael Grätzel will deliver a lecture and invite 3-4 colleagues to each deliver a supporting lecture covering their work in a related field.
Read more about the Prize: https://www.elsevier.com/awards/global/ahmed-zewail-prize-in-molecular-sciences