Researcher Gerhard Ertl of the Max Planck Society’s Fritz Haber Institute in Berlin has been awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for groundbreaking studies in surface chemistry,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on October 10.

Ertl received the call from Stockholm on his 71st birthday, making the honor even more special for him. Ertl was speechless at the news, even though he was aware that he was among the candidates for the award, according to a press release of the Max Planck Society. “I was not counting on this award,” Ertl said in Berlin, where his phone is now ringing constantly and colleagues gathered in the hallway outside the office for a champagne celebration.

In congratulating Ertl, Chancellor Angela Merkel called his work in solid-state chemistry pioneering. She was also very pleased that Germans were awarded the Nobel Prize in both chemistry and physics this year.

Ertl’s studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces are important for the chemical industry and can help explain why iron rusts, how fuel cells function and how catalytic converters in cars work, according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Surface chemistry also plays a vital role in the production of artificial fertilizers, the semiconductor industry and other industrial operations. It can even help explain the destruction of the ozone layer.

Foreign Minister Steinmeier also sent congratulations to Ertl. "For the first time in almost two decades the world's most prestigious prize for chemists has gone to a German scientist," Steinmeier said. "I am particularly pleased that Gerhard Ertl has won the Prize for his research into chemical reactions such as those occurring in the catalytic converters of cars, for it puts an international spotlight on an important German contribution to protecting our environment."

On the day before, another German, Peter Grünberg of the Research Centre Jülich, shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with his French colleague Albert Fert.

The two Nobel prizes for German researchers in this year strengthen the atmosphere of transformation in science in Germany, something that is also evident internationally, Research Minister Annette Schavan said. “The prize is not just a wonderful birthday present for Professor Ertl, it is also a grand mark of distinction for the German research landscape,” Schavan said.

Sources: Bundesregierung.de, Nobelprize.org, Max Planck Society, Diplo.de, Federal Ministry of Education and Research

October 10, 2007
 

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Nobel Foundation

Fritz Haber Institute

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