Bert Weckhuysen

Bert Weckhuysen, a Distinguished University Professor at Utrecht University (The Netherlands), received his Master and PhD degrees from Leuven University (Belgium) in 1991 and 1995. He has worked as a postdoc at Lehigh University (USA) and Texas A&M University (USA). In 2000, he was appointed as Full Professor at Utrecht University. He has (co-) authored more than 750 peer-reviewed journal publications and has received many scientific awards, including the Royal Dutch Chemical Society Gold Medal, Netherlands Catalysis and Chemistry Award, Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis, International Catalysis Award, Bourke Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry, Spinoza Award from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, Tanabe Prize in Acid-Base Catalysis, and most recently the Chemistry Europe Award. He is a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion, and an elected member of a.o. the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and Arts, and European Academy of Sciences. Weckhuysen is internationally known for the development of in-situ and operando methods for studying catalysts under realistic reaction conditions. This approach provides unique insights in the working and deactivation mechanisms of catalytic processes, as well as in the internal architecture and surface structure of catalysts. The group strives to build a “powerful camera” to chemically image catalysts from the level of the reactor down to the level of single atoms and molecules, thereby linking the different length scales of importance in the field of catalysis. By doing so, more sustainable chemical processes involving renewable feedstocks, such as CO₂, biomass, and waste, can be designed.