Michael Grätzel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1944-05-11)11 May 1944 (age 81) Dorfchemnitz,Saxony, Germany |
| Alma mater | Free University of Berlin Technische Universität Berlin |
| Known for | Dye-sensitized solar cells |
| Awards | Harvey Prize(2007) Balzan Prize(2009) Millennium Technology Prize(2010) Albert Einstein World Award of Science(2012) Marcel Benoist Prize(2013) King Faisal International Prize(2015) Global Energy Prize(2017) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | photochemistry |
| Institutions | Free University of Berlin École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne |
| Thesis | Pulsradiolytische Untersuchung kurzlebiger Stickstoff-Sauerstoffverbindungen in wässriger Lösung (1971) |
| Doctoral advisor | Arnim Henglein |
| Other academic advisors | J. Kerry Thomas |
| Notable students | Henry Snaith (postdoc)[1][2] |
| Website | lpi |
Michael Grätzel (born 11 May 1944, inDorfchemnitz,Saxony,Germany)[3] is a professor at theÉcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne where he directs the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces. He pioneered research on energy andelectron transfer reactions in mesoscopic-materials and their optoelectronic applications. He co-invented withBrian O'Regan theGrätzel cell in 1988.[1][4][5][6] Grätzel has been called the "father of artificial photosynthesis".[7]
Grätzel is the author of over 1000 publications,[8] two books and inventor or co-inventor of over 80 patents,[9] he has been the Mary Upton Visiting Professor atCornell University and a distinguished visiting professor at theNational University of Singapore, and is currently a distinguished scientist atKing Abdulaziz University.[10] He was an invited professor at the University of California, Berkeley, theÉcole normale supérieure Paris-Saclay andDelft University of Technology.
In 1968 he graduated fromFree University of Berlin, in 1971 he earned the Doctor of Philosophy in natural science atTechnische Universität Berlin. In 1976 he completedhabilitation in physical chemistry at the Free University of Berlin. Since 1977 to the present day he is a professor at theÉcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Lausanne, where he directs the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces. He worked as postdoctoral research fellow, lecturer, visiting professor at theHahn-Meitner Institute, Free University of Berlin, University of California at Berkeley, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan, Oil and Gas Research Fund,University of Notre Dame and other educational and research centers. In 1991, he published his breakthrough work in Nature magazine with regard to the new type of solar cells based on a three-dimensional array of tiny (mesoscopic) oxide semiconductor particles with wide band gap covered with an organic pigment that have brought the name of professor into repute and were named as Grätzel cells.Grätzel is the holder of 10 honorary doctorates in Universities of Asia and Europe: Denmark, Holland, China, Sweden, Singapore and other countries. He is the laureate of tens of prestigious scientific and engineering prizes, such as Grand Prix “Millennium Technology”, Medal of Faraday granted by British Royal Society, Gutenberg Prize, Albert Einstein Prize and others.
Grätzel is a member of the Swiss Chemical Society, theMax Planck Society, and the German Academy of Science (Leopoldina), as well as an honorable member of the Israeli Chemical Society and the Bulgarian Academy of Science, an honorary fellow of theRoyal Society of Chemistry, and a Fellow of the US-National Academy of Inventors.
Grätzel is one of the inventors of dye-sensitized solar cells, the so-called Grätzel cells; a new type of solar cell, operating on similar principles asphotosynthesis.
Grätzel's work has been cited over 515,000 times, hish-index is 315,[8] making him one of the most highly cited chemists in the world.[11]He was a frequent guest scientist at theNational Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) inGolden, Colorado, was a fellow of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. In 2009 he was named Distinguished Honorary Professor by the Chinese Academy of Science (Changchun) and the Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
Grätzel has received numerous awards including the Millennium 2000 European innovation prize, the 2001Faraday Medal of theBritish Royal Society, the 2001 Dutch Havinga Award, the 2004 Italgas Prize, two McKinsey Venture awards in 1998 and 2002 and the 2005 Gerischer Prize. In 2007 he was awarded theHarvey Prize ofTechnion for pioneered research on energy and electron transfer reactions in mesoscopic-materials and their optoelectronic applications. In 2009 he was awarded theBalzan Prize for the Science of New Materials. On 9 June 2010, Grätzel received theMillennium Technology Prize, for development ofdye-sensitized solar cells. The cash prize, worth 800,000euros, was awarded, inHelsinki, Finland, by the president of Finland,Tarja Halonen.[12] His most recent awards include: 2011 Gutenberg Research Award;[13] 2011Paul Karrer Gold Medal; 2011Wilhelm Exner Medal;[14] 2012Albert Einstein World Award of Science;[15] and the 2013Marcel Benoist Prize. In 2015 he received theKing Faisal International Prize in Chemistry and in 2017 theGlobal Energy Prize "for transcendent merits in development of low cost and efficient solar cells, known as “Grätzel cells”, aimed to creation of cost-efficient, large-scale engineering solutions for power generation." In 2020 he received theBBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award.[16]
Grätzel holds honorary doctorates from Faculty of Science and Technology atUppsala University,Sweden[18] (1996),Turin andNova Gorica. He was elected honorary member of the Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles. Grätzel is a member of the scientific advisory committee at theIMDEA Nanoscience Institute.
| Preceded by | Millennium Technology Prize winner 2010 (fordye-sensitized solar cells) | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
