(BASF) -- Professor Tobias Ritter of
Harvard University receives BASF Catalysis Award 2011 International experts
from academia and industry guesting at “Heidelberg Forum of Molecular
Catalysis”.
For his outstanding research contributions to
catalytic processes in organic synthesis, Professor Dr. Tobias Ritter of Harvard
University in Cambridge (USA) is receiving the BASF Catalysis Award 2011. The
prize, worth EUR 10.000, will be presented today by Dr. Friedrich Seitz, Head of
BASF’s Technology Platform Chemicals Research & Engineering, at the
“Heidelberg Forum of Molecular Catalysis”, a symposium of international experts
organized jointly by Heidelberg University, Collaborative Research Center 623
“Molecular Catalysts” and BASF SE.
With his research group
centered at Harvard University, Professor Ritter is working in the field of
synthetic organic and organometallic chemistry and, specifically, on the
synthesis of complex molecules. Mechanistic studies are ongoing to develop
practical access to molecules of interest in catalysis, medicine and for new
materials.
The prizewinner and his research team are currently
focusing on fluorination chemistry of complex compounds under mild reaction
conditions. This is because organic fluorine compounds, compared to compounds of
other halogens, are difficult to synthesize in a controlled manner. However,
these substances are of major interest: medical professionals use them for
imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography
(PET).
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