Pro­fes­sor Michel Che, of the Uni­ver­sité Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6 & Insti­tut Uni­ver­si­taire de France, has been named the Roy­al Soci­ety of Chem­istry Fara­day Lec­ture­ship Prize win­ner for 2014.

The Fara­day Lec­ture­ship Prize is award­ed for excep­tion­al con­tri­bu­tions to phys­i­cal or the­o­ret­i­cal chemistry.

Pro­fes­sor Che’s work has large­ly con­tributed to improve our under­stand­ing of the ele­men­tary process­es involved in laboratory/industrial catal­y­sis, and bridged the gap between homo- and het­ero­ge­neous catalysis.

His research con­cerns sur­face reac­tiv­i­ty with empha­sis on the func­tion­al­iza­tion of inor­gan­ic oxides and het­ero­ge­neous catal­y­sis. He pio­neered a mol­e­c­u­lar approach, based on tran­si­tion met­al com­plex­es tak­en as probes, spe­cif­ic iso­topes and phys­i­cal tech­niques. His work has led to the emer­gence of inter­fa­cial coor­di­na­tion chem­istry at the cross­roads of chemistry.

Dr Robert Park­er, Chief Exec­u­tive of the Roy­al Soci­ety of Chem­istry said: “Each year we present Prizes and Awards to chem­i­cal sci­en­tists who have made an out­stand­ing con­tri­bu­tion, be that in their area of research, in indus­try or academia.

“We’re work­ing to shape the future of the chem­i­cal sci­ences for the ben­e­fit of sci­ence and human­i­ty and these Prizes and Awards give recog­ni­tion to true excellence.

“Our win­ners can be very proud to fol­low in the foot­steps of some of the most influ­en­tial and impor­tant chem­i­cal sci­en­tists in history.”

An incred­i­ble 47 pre­vi­ous win­ners of the Roy­al Soci­ety of Chemistry’s Awards have gone on to win Nobel Prizes for their pio­neer­ing work, includ­ing Har­ry Kro­to, Fred Sanger and Linus Pauling.

Indeed, one of the 2012 Roy­al Soci­ety of Chem­istry Prize win­ners, Arieh Warshel, was award­ed the Nobel Prize in Chem­istry last year.
 
Reward­ing Excel­lence and Gain­ing Recognition
The Roy­al Soci­ety of Chemistry’s Prizes and Awards recog­nise achieve­ments by indi­vid­u­als, teams and organ­i­sa­tions in advanc­ing the chem­i­cal sci­ences. We want to reward those under­tak­ing excel­lent work in the chem­i­cal sci­ences from across the world.

There are over 60 Prizes and Awards avail­able in the main port­fo­lio, cov­er­ing all areas of the chem­i­cal sci­ences. So whether you work in research, busi­ness, indus­try or edu­ca­tion, recog­ni­tion is open to everyone.

The Roy­al Soci­ety of Chem­istry is the world’s lead­ing chem­istry com­mu­ni­ty, advanc­ing excel­lence in the chem­i­cal sci­ences. With over 49,000 mem­bers and a knowl­edge busi­ness that spans the globe, we are the UK’s pro­fes­sion­al body for chem­i­cal sci­en­tists; a not-for-prof­it organ­i­sa­tion with 170 years of his­to­ry and an inter­na­tion­al vision of the future. We pro­mote, sup­port and cel­e­brate chem­istry. We work to shape the future of the chem­i­cal sci­ences – for the ben­e­fit of sci­ence and humanity.
 
More infor­ma­tion on Roy­al Soci­ety of Chem­istry Prizes and Awards
http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/Awards/2014-RSC-Prizes-Awards.asp
Pro­fes­sor Che is award­ed “for pio­neer­ing a mol­e­c­u­lar approach to cat­a­lyst design by bridg­ing the gap between homo­ge­neous and het­ero­ge­neous catal­y­sis through the new field of inter­fa­cial coor­di­na­tion chemistry.”