Plenary speakers

Plenary speakers

 

We are pleased to announce that all plenary speakers have confirmed their participation at EuropaCat 2025:

Francois Jerome

Francois Jérôme

A man

Research director at National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS),
Poitiers, France
Recipient of Francois-Gault-Lectureship 2023

Title of lecture: TBA

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François Jérôme is a catalysis specialist at the forefront of developments in sustainable chemistry, where using biomass is a strategic focus. His work is based on the use of physical agents (electric fields, shock waves, ultrasound waves) to trigger reactions that transform plant sugar into chemicals: surfactants, solvents, monomers, and more – and in doing so, avoids relying on chemical activation.

To accelerate the introduction of innovative products to the market, François Jérôme has been working with the Solvay Group since 2014, and also with SMEs such as ARD, the FCBA and Seprosys. As a sign of how robust the connection with Solvay is, since 2019, his team1 has been the “mirror site” for the international CNRS-Solvay Catalysis Laboratory, located in Shanghai (China). As he puts it, “To develop sustainable chemistry we must build strong links between scientists, the chemical industry and society”. To contribute to that, François Jérôme created the CNRS research federation “Increase” in 2015. It brings together eight laboratories and many manufacturers. François Jérôme also initiated the International Symposium on Green Chemistry, which has become an international conference of note.

Plenary Lecturers

 

Núria López

A woman

Professor of Chemistry at Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ),
Tarragona, Spain

Title of lecture: TBA

Biography

Núria López’ research group focuses on atomistic simulations to understand the mechanisms that govern heterogeneous photo-electro-catalysis. The approaches have been extended to machine learning and analysis of large experimental datasets, as well as contributions to software development and data repositories.


Núria López graduated in Chemistry (1999) and got her Ph.D. degree in Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Barcelona, Spain (1995). She then joined the Center for Atomic-scale Materials Physics led by Prof. Jens K. Nørskov (Denmark Technical University) as a postdoctoral researcher before proceeding to start an independent career at ICIQ from 2005. Prof. López has co-authored over 200 scientific publications and received two grants from the European Research Council (ERC).

Plenar speaker

 

Jan-Dierk Grunwaldt

Professor and director at the Institute for Chemical Technology and Polymer Chemistry, Karlsruher Institute of Technology (KIT),
Karlsruhe, Germany

Title of lecture: TBA

Biography

Grunwaldt's group's research areas range from preparation, testing to in-depth characterization of catalysts and electrocatalysts. Applications embrace emission control, chemical energy storage, power-to-X processes, the use of renewable resources, selective oxidation reactions, and fine chemistry using innovative solvents. Rational design using especially in situ & operando characterization and high-output testing are be combined.

Jan-Dierk Grunwaldt graduated in Chemistry (1993) at Hamburg University and got his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Technical Chemistry at the ETH Zürich, Switzerland (1998). He then joined Haldor Topsøe A/S in Denmark as a project manager for three years. From 2001 to 2007 he worked as lecturer and senior scientist at the Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zürich. before he became a full professor at the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineeering, DTU, “The Haldor Topsøe Chair in Catalysis and Chemical Engineering”, Denmark for two years. Since 2010 he has been a full professor and director at the Institute for Chemical Technology and Polymer Chemistry, Karlsruher Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany.

Grunwaldt has received several awards, among them Dale Sayers Award of the International XAFS Society (IXS) (2006) and he became Karl-Winnacker-Stipendiat awarded by the Aventis Foundation in recognition of the scientific achievements in supercritical fluids, in situ characterization and exhaust gas catalysis, Frankfurt (2007).

2023 Michel Boudart Award

 

The 2025 Michel Boudart Award recipient

The recipient of the Michel Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis will be announced by EFCATS in spring 2025

Speakers

Andrzej Kotarba

A man

Professor of Chemistry, founder of  Materials and Surface Chemistry Group,
Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
Recipient of Francois-Gault-Lectureship 2023

Title of lecture: TBA

Kotarba

Andrzej Kotarba's research focuses on processes at solid/gas and solid/liquid interfaces to design surfaces with specific properties and functionalities. This includes preparing and characterizing model and industrial catalysts, involving interdisciplinary studies in chemistry, materials science, and biochemistry. Professor Kotarba has co-authored over 200 scientific papers and 30 patents and serves as an editor for Applied Surface Science. In 2023, he received the EFCATS Francois Gault Lectureship Award, jointly with Francois Jerome, for his significant contributions to heterogeneous catalysis.

Andrzej Kotarba earned his PhD in 1993 and DSc in 2005, specializing in promotional effects in heterogeneous catalysis. Following postdoctoral research at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and a post-rouge fellowship at Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris VI, France, he established the Materials and Surface Chemistry Group at Jagiellonian University. 

Huber

 

George Willis Huber

A man

Richard Antoine Professor of Chemical Engineering,
University of Wisconsin-Madison. USA

Title of lecture: TBA

Huber

George Willis Huber is the Richard Antoine Professor of Chemical Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research focus is the design of disruptive technologies for the upcycling of biomass, waste plastics and other waste resources. He has published over 250 papers, more than 25 patents, and received over 50,000 citations. He is co-founder of Anellotech, Pyran and Galasys.

Professor Huber is the executive director of the Center on Chemical Upcycling of Waste Plastics (CUWP) and the Center on Metal and Mineral Oxide Removal from Biomass (CMORE). Professor Huber has received visiting professorships from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (at Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics), from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and the ExxonMobil Visiting Chair Professor at National University of Singapore. George did a post-doctoral stay with Avelino Corma at the Technical Chemical Institute at the Polytechnical University of Valencia, Spain (UPV-CSIC). He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from University of Wisconsin-Madison (2005) under the direction of James Dumesic. He served a two-year volunteer mission for his church in Guatemala. He obtained his B.S. (1999) and M.S.(2000) degrees in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University.

The 2025 Robert K. Grasselli Award recipient

 

The 2025 Robert K. Grasselli Award recipient

The recipient of the Robert K. Grasselli Award for Catalysis
will be announced by EFCATS in spring 2025