Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
oil and gas company
Eni
Eni is an Italian oil and gas corporation.
Eni or ENI may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
* Escuela Nacional de Inteligencia, the Argentine intelligence academy
* Groupe des écoles nationales d’ingénieurs (Groupe ENI), a French engi ...
with the aim of encouraging better use of energy sources and increased environmental research. The strict award guidelines and the notable names on the selection committee (including Nobel laureates) make Eni a coveted award. List of Eni award winners include Nobel laureates like Harry Kroto and
Alan J. Heeger
Alan Jay Heeger (born January 22, 1936) is an American physicist, academic and Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry.
Heegar was elected as a member into the National Academy of Engineering in 2002 for co-founding the field of conducting polymers ...
.
Some websites and magazines (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) have called the Eni award the " Nobel prize of energy research".
The scientific committee of the Eni award includes representatives from
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
,
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
,
University of Stuttgart
The University of Stuttgart () is a research university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized into 10 faculties. It is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany with programs in civil, mechanical, ind ...
,
Florida State University
Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
,
University of Pisa
The University of Pisa (, UniPi) is a public university, public research university in Pisa, Italy. Founded in 1343, it is one of the oldest universities in Europe. Together with Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Sant'Anna School of Advanced S ...
,
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
, and others. The annual Eni award was launched in July 2007, foreseen by the group's Technological Master Plan. The Eni award extends and replaces the Eni-Italgas Prize, previously known as the Italgas Prize, which in 2006 had reached its XIX edition.
Award selection
The award's Scientific Committee – which has the role of evaluating the candidates and assigning the prizes, is of the highest level and comprises researchers and scientists from some of the world's most advanced research institutes, and includes Jean-Marie Lehn, Nobel Prize 1987 for Chemistry.
In subsequent years, 78 researchers from 20 countries have been awarded:
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, the
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
, and
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
. Included in the number are six Nobel Prize laureates. More than 7,559 researchers from around the world have submitted their research projects, to which should be added the numerous personalities who have guaranteed or been a part of the various evaluation commissions.
The distinguished representatives of the international scientific community who have received the Eni award in the past include Harry Kroto, 1996 Nobel Prize for Chemistry;
Alan J. Heeger
Alan Jay Heeger (born January 22, 1936) is an American physicist, academic and Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry.
Heegar was elected as a member into the National Academy of Engineering in 2002 for co-founding the field of conducting polymers ...
, Nobel Prize 2000 for Chemistry;
Theodor W. Hänsch
Theodor Wolfgang Hänsch (; born 30 October 1941) is a German physicist. He received one-fourth of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics for "contributions to the development of laser-based precision spectroscopy, including the optical frequency comb ...
, 2005 Nobel Prize for Physics;
Frances Arnold
Frances Hamilton Arnold (born July 25, 1956) is an American chemical engineer and Nobel Laureate. She is the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). I ...
, 2018 Nobel Prize for Chemistry; and
Giorgio Parisi
Giorgio Parisi (born 4 August 1948) is an Italian theoretical physicist, whose research has focused on quantum field theory, statistical mechanics
In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods ...
and
Klaus Hasselmann
Klaus Ferdinand Hasselmann (; born 25 October 1931) is a German oceanographer and climate mathematical model, modeller. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Hamburg and former Director of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. He wa ...
, 2021 Nobel Prize for Physics.
1987–2006 recipients
* 1987
** Physics –
Theodor W. Hänsch
Theodor Wolfgang Hänsch (; born 30 October 1941) is a German physicist. He received one-fourth of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics for "contributions to the development of laser-based precision spectroscopy, including the optical frequency comb ...
Gilberto Bernardini
Gilberto is the Iberian and Italian version of the originally Norman-French given name '' Gilbert'', used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish languages. In Galician, it's spelled Xilberto or Xilberte. ''Gilbert'' is ultimately derived from the G ...
Felix Weinberg
Felix Jiri Weinberg FRS (2 April 1928 – 5 December 2012) was a Czech-British physicist. He was Emeritus Professor of Combustion Physics and Distinguished Research Fellow at Imperial College London.
Life
Felix Weinberg was born on 2 April 1 ...
** Computer Science –
Maurice Wilkes
Sir Maurice Vincent Wilkes (26 June 1913 – 29 November 2010) was an English computer scientist who designed and helped build the EDSAC, Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC), one of the earliest stored-program computers, and ...
Giorgio Parisi
Giorgio Parisi (born 4 August 1948) is an Italian theoretical physicist, whose research has focused on quantum field theory, statistical mechanics
In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods ...
** Energy Sciences – Bruno Coppi
** Technology and Sciences of Materials –
Manuel Cardona
Manuel Cardona Castro (7 September 1934 – 2 July 2014) was a Condensed matter physics, condensed matter physicist. According to the Web of Science, ISI Citations web database, Cardona was one of the eight most cited physicists since 1970. He ...
* 1994
** Chemistry –
Vincenzo Balzani
Vincenzo Balzani (born 15 November 1936 in Forlimpopoli, Italy) is an Italian chemist, now emeritus professor at the University of Bologna.
Career
He has spent most of his professional life at the "Giacomo Ciamician" Department of Chemistry ...
** Environmental Sciences – Claude Lorius
** Computer Science –
Robin Milner
Arthur John Robin Gorell Milner (13 January 1934 – 20 March 2010) was a British computer scientist, and a Turing Award winner.Olli Lounasmaa
** Energy Sciences – Maurizio Cumo
** Communications – Fabio Rocca
* 1996
** Chemistry – Carmelo Giacovazzo
** Environmental Science –
Klaus Hasselmann
Klaus Ferdinand Hasselmann (; born 25 October 1931) is a German oceanographer and climate mathematical model, modeller. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Hamburg and former Director of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. He wa ...
** Technology and Science of Materials –
Franco Bassani
Giuseppe Franco Bassani (October 29, 1929, Milan – September 25, 2008, Pisa) was an Italian physicist.
Biography
Franco Bassani graduated cum laude in physics from the University of Pavia in November 1952. After two years as a researcher at th ...
Richard Friend
Sir Richard Henry Friend (born 18 January 1953) is a British physicist who was the Cavendish Professor of Physics at the University of Cambridge from 1995 until 2020 and is Tan Chin Tuan Centennial Professor at the National University of Singapo ...
Barefoot College
Barefoot College, previously known as the Social Work and Research Centre ("SWRC") is a voluntary organisation working in the fields of education, skill development, health, drinking water, women empowerment and electrification through solar po ...
Paul Alivisatos
Armand Paul Alivisatos (born November 12, 1959) is a Greek and American chemist and academic administrator who is the President of the University of Chicago, 14th president of the University of Chicago since September 2021. He is a pioneer in nan ...
,
Alan J. Heeger
Alan Jay Heeger (born January 22, 1936) is an American physicist, academic and Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry.
Heegar was elected as a member into the National Academy of Engineering in 2002 for co-founding the field of conducting polymers ...
Prizes awarded in 2008 include:
* The ''Research and Environment'' prize was awarded to the American scientist J. Craig Venter, one of the most important living
geneticist
A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...
s who, in 2000, announced that he was the first to have complete a map of the
human genome
The human genome is a complete set of nucleic acid sequences for humans, encoded as the DNA within each of the 23 distinct chromosomes in the cell nucleus. A small DNA molecule is found within individual Mitochondrial DNA, mitochondria. These ar ...
. The prize was awarded for late 2007 research paper, published in the journal ''
Science
Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
'', in which he created a synthetic chromosome in the laboratory while working on the DNA of bacteria. Venter's results are a fundamental step towards synthetic genes, which promise an unlimited range of revolutionary applications in the energy and environmental fields, such as new processes for the sequestration of CO2 or the regeneration of polluted environments. In terms of energy, this research opens the road to the design of new metabolic paths for the production of innovative biofuels from organic materials.
* The ''Science and Technology'' prize was awarded to Arthur J. Nozik (U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Laboratory in Golden, Colorado) and Stefan W. Glunz (
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE
The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE (or Fraunhofer ISE) is an institute of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Located in Freiburg, Germany, the Institute performs applied scientific and engineering research and development for all a ...
in Freiburg, Germany), both active in the field of the conversion of solar energy using photovoltaic technology.
* The two ''Research Debut'' prizes have been awarded to the young researchers Silvia Cereda ( Università di Milano Bicocca) and Gian Luca Chiarello ( Università degli Studi di Milano) for research that promises interesting developments in the field of energy production.
2009 recipients
Prizes awarded in 2009 include
* The ''New Frontiers in Hydrocarbons'' award was assigned to Alan G. Marshall (USA,
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (MagLab) is a facility at Florida State University, the University of Florida, and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, that performs magnetic field research in physics, biology, bioengineeri ...
reservoir engineering
Reservoir engineering is a branch of petroleum engineering that applies scientific principles to the fluid flow through a porous medium during the development and production of oil and gas reservoirs so as to obtain a high economic recovery. The ...
and computerized simulations of oil reservoirs, as well as in geochemical processes and basin fracture analysis. It is awarded for research into the exploration, advanced recovery, development, refinement, transportation and distribution of oil and natural gas.
* The ''Renewable and Non-Conventional Energy'' award was given to Martin Green. It is presented for advanced R&D results in renewable and non-conventional energy sources.
* The ''Protection of the Environment'' award was awarded to Gérard Férey. It is presented for outstanding research and innovation in areas concerning the environmental impact of human activities, specifically protection and restoration of the environment, with a special focus on research and innovative technologies to eliminate local pollutants and CO2 to improve environmental conditions.
* The two ''Research Debut'' awards, given to young scholars to promote research in Italy, have been assigned to Alberto Cuoci and Loredana De Rogatis. They cover the same areas as the three international awards: research and technological innovation in hydrocarbons, renewable and non-conventional energy, and protection and restoration of the environment.
2010 recipients
Prizes awarded in 2010 include:
* The ''New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons'' prize was assigned to Avelino Corma, UPV-CSIC (Valencia), for his important discoveries about the synthesis of new catalysts to improve the refinement of the heaviest oil fractions and to Mark Knackstedt,
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
(Canberra), for his pioneering research into the location and characteristics of oil-fields, grounded on high resolution and 3D images of rock structures.
* The ''Renewable and Non-Conventional Energy'' prize was assigned to Angela Belcher,
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
(Boston), for her innovative and fundamental research project on the principles of development of the natural systems that can reconvert and use energy.
* The ''Protection of the Environment'' prize was awarded to François Morel,
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, for his important discovery of a new class of enzymes that plays a crucial role in transport and fixation.
* The ''Debut in Research'' prizes were awarded to Lorenzo Fagiano,
Polytechnic University of Turin
The Polytechnic University of Turin (, abbreviated as PoliTO) is the oldest Italian Public university, public Institute of technology, technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Urban ...
(Turin), for a dissertation that represents an important ad innovative contribution on high altitude wind power generation and that includes theoretical analyses, systems planning, simulations and economic analyses; and to Matteo Mauro (
University of Milan
The University of Milan (; ), officially abbreviated as UNIMI, or colloquially referred to as La Statale ("the State niversity), is a public university, public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Eu ...
, Department of Inorganic Chemistry “L. Malatesta”) for a research project on high-efficiency energy devices with a strong potential for application to light-emitting systems with low energy loss, based on innovative electroluminescent components.
2011 recipients
Prizes awarded in 2011 include:
* The ''New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons'' prize was shared between two outstanding scientists, Professor Gabor A. Somorjai from
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...
and Professor Martin Landrø from
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Norway and the largest in terms of enrollment. The university's headquarters is located in Trondheim (city), Trondheim, with region ...
. Professor Somorjai won the prize for his excellent work on the cracking process, while professor Landrø was awarded for his advanced "4D" seismic analysis technique. This was the last year, for the Eni Award, of a single New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons Prize: the following 2012 Edition presented two different Prizes, aimed to the Downstream and Upstream sectors.
* The ''Renewable and Non-Conventional Energy'' prize was given to Professor Gregory Stephanopoulos from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
, for his research on the bacterial genetic structure, with the aim of converting raw materials into hydrocarbons.
* The ''Protection of the Environment'' prize was assigned to Professor Jean-Marie Tarascon from the University of Picardie "Jules Verne", for his outstanding research in the lithium-ion battery sector, aimed to produce safer batteries with lower costs and environmental impact.
* The two ''Debut in Research'' prizes were awarded to Dr. Simone Gamba from the
Politecnico di Milano
The Polytechnic University of Milan (, abbreviated as PoliMi) is a university in Milan, Italy. It is the largest technical university in the country, with about 40,000 enrolled students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, and higher ...
, for his PhD Thesis on the hydrocracking process, and to Dr. Fabrizio Frontalini from the
University of Urbino
The University of Urbino Carlo Bo (, ''UniUrb'') is an Italian university located in Urbino, in the region of Marche, in north-eastern central Italy. The main campus occupies numerous buildings throughout the historic Urbino town center and the ...
"Carlo Bo", for his PhD Thesis concerning the use of benthic foraminifera as biomarkers for the monitoring of pollution.
2012 recipients
Prizes awarded in 2012 include:
* The ''New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons'' prize (Upstream) was awarded to Fabio Rocca, professor emeritus of Telecommunications at the Politecnico of Milan, and Alessandro Ferretti, CEO of "Tele-Rilevamento Europa" (TRE) for developing an algorithm to process data from satellite observation systems.
* The ''New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons'' prize (Downstream) was awarded to Enrique Iglesia, Professor of Chemical Engineering at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, for developing a more effective catalyst that is able to efficiently transform raw materials.
* The ''Renewable, non-conventional energy'' prize was awarded to Harry A. Atwater, Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science at the
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...
and director of the Resnick Institute for Science, Energy and Sustainability, and Albert Polman, Director and Scientific Group Leader of the FOM Institute AMOLF in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
, for their research to optimize the production of solar energy by reducing costs.
* The ''Environmental protection'' prize was awarded to Barbara Sherwood Lollar, Professor of Geology at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
, for the application of stable isotope geochemistry for the research and protection of groundwater resources.
* The two ''Research Debut'' awards were conferred to Silvia Comba, for her work on iron as a solution to the problem of the pollution of aquifers, and Jijeesh Ravi Nair, for his work on electricity storage from renewable sources through the improvement of
lithium
Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the ...
Prizes awarded in 2013 include:
* The ''New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons'' prize (Downstream) was awarded to Rajamani Krishna, a professor at Amsterdam University's Van’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences for his research to improve the processes of gas-purification and separation.
* The ''New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons'' prize (Upstream) was awarded to Philip G. Jessop, professor of Inorganic Chemistry and Canada Research Chair in Green Chemistry in the Chemistry Department at
Queen's University at Kingston
Queen's University at Kingston, commonly known as Queen's University or simply Queen's, is a public university, public research university in Kingston, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Queen's holds more than of land throughout Ontario and ...
(
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
), who discovered a way to engineer on-demand intelligent solvents’ properties, using chemical compounds as switch.
* The ''Renewable and Non-conventional Energy'' award has been shared by
Frances Arnold
Frances Hamilton Arnold (born July 25, 1956) is an American chemical engineer and Nobel Laureate. She is the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). I ...
, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Biochemistry and Bioengineering at the
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...
for the creation of methods aimed to bio catalysts engineering for high selectivity production of fuels and chemicals from
biomass
Biomass is a term used in several contexts: in the context of ecology it means living organisms, and in the context of bioenergy it means matter from recently living (but now dead) organisms. In the latter context, there are variations in how ...
, and James Liao, Parson Foundation Professor and head of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...
for the selection of microorganisms for converting wood cellulose biomass, waste
proteins
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, re ...
and
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
into useful chemical compounds and fuels.
* The ''Environmental protection'' prize was awarded to Roberto Danovaro, professor of Biology and Marine Ecology at the Polytechnic University of the Marches for his research investigating the role played by viruses in maintaining the balance of the marine ecosystem and controlling the capacity to absorb .
* The two ''Research Debut'' awards were conferred to Matteo Cargnello, a graduate of
Trieste University
The University of Trieste (, or UniTS, Formerly Regia Università degli Studi or The Royal University of Studies) is a public research university in Trieste in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy. The university consists of 10 ...
for his research focusing on the synthesis of precise nanostructures that provide active and stable catalysts for energy production, and to Damiano Genovese, a post-doc researcher with the Photochemical Nanosciences Group at
Bologna University
The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the oldest university ...
for his analysis of the supra-molecular approach for the creation of fluorescent nano-structures to be applied in various sectors.
2014 recipients
Prizes awarded in 2014 include:
* The ''New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons'' prize (Downstream) was awarded to Amir H. Hoveyda,
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
(
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
-USA), for developing catalysts for synthesizing complex molecules with specific properties.
* The ''New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons'' prize (Upstream) was awarded to Tapan Mukerji, Gary Mavko and Jack Dvorkin,
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, and to Dario Grana,
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...
, for developing a method to get quantitative information from the subsurface from seismic data.
* The ''Renewable Energy'' prize has been awarded to Jay D. Keasling,
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, (USA), for his research aimed at engineering microorganisms, in particular
Escherichia coli
''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus '' Escherichia'' that is commonly fo ...
and
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'' () (brewer's yeast or baker's yeast) is a species of yeast (single-celled fungal microorganisms). The species has been instrumental in winemaking, baking, and brewing since ancient times. It is believed to have be ...
.
* The ''Environmental protection'' prize was awarded to Clément Sanchez,
Collège de France
The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, for developing highly innovative technologies for the design, synthesis and processing of multi functional inorganic and hybrid organic-inorganic materials
* The two ''Research Debut'' awards were conferred to Martina Siena for a numerical simulation of fluid flow in oil and gas deposits and to Nicola Bortolamei for his excellent thesis on the electro-chemical methods for the production of special polymeric materials.
2015 recipients
Prizes awarded in 2015 include:
* The ''New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons'' prize (Downstream) was awarded to
Helmut Schwarz
Helmut Schwarz (born 6 August 1943) is a German organic chemist. He has been a professor of chemistry at the Technische Universität Berlin since 1978. In 2018, he was elected a foreign associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
Career ...
of the
Technische Universität Berlin
(TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...
for his research about the activation of
methane
Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...
for its conversion into heavier or oxygenated hydrocarbons.
* The ''New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons'' prize (Upstream) was awarded to Johan Olof Anders Robertsson, of the ETH in
Zurich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
for his research on the development of a technology for the acquisition and modelling of sea prospecting data using seismic methods.
* The ''Renewable Energy'' prize award has been conferred to Mercouri Kanatzidis, from
Northwestern University
Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, for his research about the development of new solid state semiconductors able to recover waste heat and convert it directly into
electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
.
* The ''Environmental protection'' prize was awarded to Menachem Elimelech, Professor at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, for the development of the "Forward Osmosis" process for the desalination of high salinity water.
* The two ''Research Debut'' awards were conferred to Daniela Meroni for her research about the applicability of
titanium dioxide
Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania , is the inorganic compound derived from titanium with the chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or Colour Index Internationa ...
(TiO2) in the environmental reclamation processes, and to Margherita Maiuri for her studies about the mechanisms that govern the collection of solar radiation via the spectroscopic observation of ultrashort optical pulses.
2016 recipients
Prizes awarded in 2016 include:
* The ''New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons'' prize (Downstream) was awarded to Johannes Lercher, from the
Technische Universität München
The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences.
Established in 1868 by King Ludwig II ...
for his research about new catalytic strategies for the synthesis of alkenes and alkanols.
* The ''New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons'' prize (Upstream) was awarded to Christopher Ballentine from
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
for his studies on underground fluid systems, and to Emiliano Mutti from the
University of Parma
The University of Parma () is a public university located in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Organized into nine departments, it is one of the oldest universities in the world. As of 2016, it had approximately 26,000 students.
History
During the ...
for his research on Deep-Water sedimentation.
* The ''Environmental protection'' prize was awarded to David Milstein, from the
Weizmann Institute of Science
The Weizmann Institute of Science ( ''Machon Weizmann LeMada'') is a Public university, public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, fourteen years before the State of Israel was founded. Unlike other List of Israeli uni ...
for his research on catalytic reactions to replace polluting processes.
* The two ''Research Debut'' awards were conferred to Federico Bella from the
Polytechnic University of Turin
The Polytechnic University of Turin (, abbreviated as PoliTO) is the oldest Italian Public university, public Institute of technology, technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Urban ...
for his research on third-generation solar cells made predominantly of plastic materials and to Alessandra Menafoglio from the
Polytechnic University of Milan
The Polytechnic University of Milan (, abbreviated as PoliMi) is a university in Milan, Italy. It is the largest technical university in the country, with about 40,000 enrolled students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, and higher ...
for her studies of wide-ranging and complex data to make reliable predictions about natural variables.
2017 recipients
Prizes awarded in 2017 include:
* The ''Energy Transition'' prize was awarded to Robert Schlögl for his research in the field of
hydrogen
Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...
and methane production from renewable sources.
* The ''Advanced Environmental Solutions'' prize was awarded to Graham Hutchings for the development of low environmental impact catalysts.
* The ''Energy Frontiers'' prize has been awarded to Jens Nielsen for his research on the engineering of
microorganisms
A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic size, which may exist in its single-celled form or as a colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen microbial life was suspected from antiquity, with an early attestation in ...
.
* The ''Young Researcher of the Year'' prizes were awarded to Matteo Fasano for his studies into the synthesis of nano-materials and to Stefano Langé for the development of an innovative process for high and content natural gas purification.
* The ''Young Talents from Africa'' prizes were awarded to Blessing Onyeche Ugwoke (
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
), for a study on the energy efficiency off-grid
renewable energy
Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
systems in Nigeria, and to Yemane Kelemework Equbamariam for his thesis on integrated geophysical investigations of the
Main Ethiopian Rift
Main may refer to:
Geography
*Main River (disambiguation), multiple rivers with the same name
*Ma'in, an ancient kingdom in modern-day Yemen
* Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province
*Spanish Main, the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territ ...
applied to the exploration of geothermal resources.
2018 recipients
Prizes awarded in 2018 include:
* The ''Energy Transition'' prize was awarded to Omar M. Yaghi from the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, for his research in the field of crystalline-porous solids.
* The ''Advanced Environmental Solutions'' prize was awarded to Sang Yup Lee from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology of Daejeon in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
for developing engineered bacteria to produce chemical products, fuels and non-food biomass materials.
* The ''Energy Frontiers'' prize has been awarded to Zhong Lin Wang from the
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...
,
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, for his "triboelectric nanogenerators", a new group of devices capable of converting naturally occurring energy into high-yielding electricity.
* The ''Young Researcher of the Year'' prizes were awarded to Michele De Bastiani for his thesis on the stability of two emerging photovoltaic technologies: organic photovoltaic and perovskite-based cells, and to Gianluca Longoni for his thesis on the development of innovative electrodes for sodium ion based batteries.
* The ''Young Talents from Africa'' prizes were awarded to Emerance Jessica Claire D'Assise Goma-Tchimbakala of the Marien NGouabi University of Brazzaville ( Congo) for her studies on the effect of microorganisms and metabolized synthesized substances on environmental rehabilitation and to Elvis Tinashe Ganda, a Zimbabwean student at
Durban University of Technology
The Durban University of Technology (DUT) is a multi-campus university situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was formed in 2002 following the merger of Technikon Natal and ML Sultan Technikon and it was initially known as the Durban In ...
(
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
) for his studies on biomass, a renewable alternative fuel.
2019 recipients
Prizes awarded in 2019 include:
* The ''Energy Transition'' prize was awarded to James A. Dumesic, of the
University of Wisconsin-Madison
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
, for developing catalytic processes for converting biomass fuels and chemical products.
* The ''Advanced Environmental Solutions'' prize was awarded to Paul Chirik, of
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, for his research in the field of catalysis.
* The ''Energy Frontiers'' prize has been awarded to Michael Aziz and Roy Gordon, of
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, who have developed a new kind of cheaper and innovative battery.
* The ''Young Researcher of the Year'' prizes were awarded to Alberto Pizzolato for his research on modelling methods for
3D printing
3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer ...
, and to Matteo Monai for his research for developing nanostructured catalysts based on non-noble metal alloys.
* The ''Young Talents from Africa'' prizes were awarded to Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh of the
Durban University of Technology
The Durban University of Technology (DUT) is a multi-campus university situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was formed in 2002 following the merger of Technikon Natal and ML Sultan Technikon and it was initially known as the Durban In ...
for developing a process that combines innovative photocatalysts with biological treatment systems for waste water, simultaneously converting into fuel, and to Madina Mahmoud of the
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, for her research on preparing innovative membranes to treat water from production.
2020 recipients
Prizes awarded in 2020 include:
* The ''Energy Transition'' prize was awarded to David T. Allen of the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
for his researches on the highly topical issue of fugitive
methane emissions
Increasing methane emissions are a major contributor to the rising concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere, and are responsible for up to one-third of near-term global heating. During 2019, about 60% (360 million tons) of methane r ...
.
* The ''Advanced Environmental Solutions'' prize was awarded to Jürgen Caro and Jörg Kärger, from the Universities of
Hanover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
and
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
respectively, for their work leading to the development of micro-imaging techniques for the observation of diffusive molecule flows in nanoporous materials.
* The ''Energy Frontiers'' prize has been awarded to Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao, of the International Centre for Materials Science in
Bangalore
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
, for his work on metal
oxides
An oxide () is a chemical compound containing at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion (anion bearing a net charge of −2) of oxygen, an O2− ion with oxygen in the oxidation state o ...
, carbon nanotubes and other materials.
* The ''Young Researcher of the Year'' prizes were awarded to Matteo Morciano, who has developed innovative technologies for passive drinking water production using solar energy, and Francesca De Falco, for her research about micro
plastic pollution
Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...
.
* The ''Young Talents from Africa'' prizes were awarded to Alaa Abbas and Mohamed Ahmed Ismail Tarek, The
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
in Cairo,
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
and Djalila Ben Bouchta,
Cairo University
Cairo University () is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo. It was founded on 21 December 1908;"Brief history and development of Cairo University." Cairo University Faculty of En ...
, Egypt. Abbas' proposal relates to the improvement of wastewater treatment and energy production; Tarek will develop a computational model to improve e-waste management; Ben Bouchta proposes a multi-disciplinary approach to the provision of energy services to enable the productive use of energy for female entrepreneurs in
sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
.
2022 recipients
Prize was not awarded in 2021. Prizes awarded in 2022 include:
* The ''Energy Transition'' prize was awarded to
Naomi Halas
Naomi J. Halas is the Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and professor of biomedical engineering, chemistry, and physics at Rice University. She is also the founding director of Rice University Laboratory for Nanoph ...
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
), for their work on the generation and sustainable distribution of
hydrogen
Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...
.
* The ''Advanced Environmental Solutions'' prize was awarded to Geoffrey W. Coates, from Cornell University (
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, United States) for his research related to the development of new macromolecules to solve the problems of plastic pollution.
* The ''Energy Frontiers'' prize has been awarded to Jens Nørskov and Ib Chorkendorff, from the Technical University of
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, for their work on the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals.
* The ''Young Researcher of the Year'' prizes were awarded to Isabella Fiorello, who has developed mini-robots applicable to precision agriculture, and Giulia Fredi, who carried out research in the thermal energy storage sector.
* The ''Young Talents from Africa'' prizes were awarded to Yousif Adam from the American University in Cairo (
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa.
Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...
(
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
). Adam's proposal concerns the sustainable management of wastewater in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, based on the use of micro-algae. Ibrahim has developed an advanced predictive approach for estimating energy generation from solar installations. Mekonen has carried out a study of the sustainable agroforestry ecosystem. Finally, Simeon has developed a study on intelligent protection strategies for hybrid micro-grids.
2023 recipients
Prizes awarded in 2023 include:
* The ''Energy Transition'' prize was awarded to Yu Huang of
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...
(
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, USA) for research about sustainable Hydrogen Fuel Cells, and to Jeffrey R. Long of
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...
(
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
*George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer to ...
, USA) for his study of cooperative gas capture in metal–organic framework materials.
* The ''Advanced Environmental Solutions'' prize was awarded to Thalappil Pradeep, from
Indian Institute of Technology
The Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) are a network of engineering and technology institutions in India. Established in 1950, they are under the purview of the Ministry of Education of the Indian Government and are governed by the Instit ...
,
Madras
Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
(
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
), for his research related to the production of clean water using advanced materials.
* The ''Energy Frontiers'' prize has been awarded to Matthew Rosseinsky, from the
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...
(UK), for his study of digital design and discovery of next-generation energy materials.
* The ''Young Researcher of the Year'' prizes were awarded to Michele Ghini, who researched metal oxide nanocrystals for light-driven energy storage, and Hilmar del Carmen Guzmán Medina, who studied electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to value-added products.
* The ''Young Talents from Africa'' prizes were awarded to Gloria Amo-Duodu from the
Durban University of Technology
The Durban University of Technology (DUT) is a multi-campus university situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was formed in 2002 following the merger of Technikon Natal and ML Sultan Technikon and it was initially known as the Durban In ...
(
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
Moi University
Moi University is a public university located in Kesses, Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu county, in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It was established in 1984 by the Moi University Act of the Parliament of Kenya, after recommendations from t ...
(
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
Addis Ababa University
Addis Ababa University (; AAU) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia. AAU has thirteen campuses. Twelve of these are situated in Addis Ababa, and one is located in Bishoftu, about away. ...
(
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
biogas
Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, Wastewater treatment, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic ...
production using anaerobic digestion. Elshaday researched biogas upgrades using natural and modified adsorbents. Tsion's study was an evaluation of spectral built-up indices for impervious surface extraction by using sentinel-2a MSI imageries. Natnael created a developing Potato's Leaves disease detection model using
Convolutional neural network
A convolutional neural network (CNN) is a type of feedforward neural network that learns features via filter (or kernel) optimization. This type of deep learning network has been applied to process and make predictions from many different ty ...
.
2024 recipients
Prizes awarded in 2024 include:
* The ''Energy Transition'' prize was awarded to
Marc Fontecave
Marc Fontecave (born 27 September 1956) is a French chemist. An international specialist in bioinorganic chemistry, he currently teaches at the Collège de France in Paris, where he heads the Laboratory of Chemistry of Biological Processes.
Bi ...
of
College de France
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary education, tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding academic degree, degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further educatio ...
(
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, France) for research about the development of catalytic and electrocatalytic systems to improve the processes of conversion of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide to products of high interest.
* The ''Advanced Environmental Solutions'' prize was awarded to
Holger Braunschweig
Holger Braunschweig is Head and Chair of Inorganic Chemistry at the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg in Würzburg, Germany. He is best known for founding the field of transition metal-boron multiple bonding (transition metal borylenes ...
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...
(
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
), for his development of new catalysts to produce nitrogen compounds more sustainably and with less environmental impact.
* The ''Energy Frontiers'' prize has been awarded to Nam-Gyu Park, from the
Sungkyunkwan University
Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU or ''Seongdae'', ) is a private research university with campuses in Seoul and Suwon, South Korea.
The institution traces its origins to the historic Sungkyunkwan founded in 1398 in central Seoul.South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
), for his research in the field of perovskites, innovative materials used in third-generation photovoltaics.
* The ''Young Researcher of the Year'' prizes were awarded to Elvira Spatolisano, who researched two innovative technologies for the valorisation of
hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is toxic, corrosive, and flammable. Trace amounts in ambient atmosphere have a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. Swedish chemist ...
, and Stefano Toso, who studied an emerging class of semiconductor materials.
* The ''Young Talents from Africa'' prizes were awarded to Favour Agbajor from the
Durban University of Technology
The Durban University of Technology (DUT) is a multi-campus university situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was formed in 2002 following the merger of Technikon Natal and ML Sultan Technikon and it was initially known as the Durban In ...
(
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
Egerton University
Egerton University is a public university in Kenya. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Kenya.
Location
The main campus of the university is located in Njoro, a small community approximately , southwest of the town of Nakuru. T ...
(
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
Durban University of Technology
The Durban University of Technology (DUT) is a multi-campus university situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was formed in 2002 following the merger of Technikon Natal and ML Sultan Technikon and it was initially known as the Durban In ...
(South Africa). Agbajor studied a novel systems configuration that optimizes building energy efficiency. Chui will investigate the viability of fuel production from plastic waste and its implications for the circular economy in
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
. Hamidatou's research aims to implement a cooling kit for photovoltaic panels. Sibiya research focused on the use of agricultural waste as adsorbents for heavy metal removal from wastewaters.
Bibliography
* (en) Marcello Boldrini, ''Mattei'', Rome, Colombo, 1969
* (it) Marcello Colitti, ''Energia e sviluppo in Italia'', Bari, De Donato, 1979
* (en) Paul H. Frankel, ''Oil and Power Policy'', New York - Washington, Praeger, 1966
References
* (en)
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist ...
, ''Petrolio'', various
* (it) Nico Perrone, ''Enrico Mattei'', Bologna, Il mulino, 2001
* https://www.eni.com/en-IT/company.html