Gerhard Ertl
| Gerhard Ertl | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
10 October 1936 Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
| Residence | Germany |
| Nationality | Germany |
| Fields | Surface chemistry |
| Institutions |
Technical University of Hannover Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich Technical University of Munich Free University of Berlin Technical University of Berlin Fritz Haber Institute of the MPG Humboldt University of Berlin |
| Alma mater |
University of Stuttgart Technical University of Munich |
| Doctoral advisor | Heinz Gerischer |
| Known for | Surface chemistry |
| Notable awards |
Japan Prize (1992) Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1998) Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2007) Otto Hahn Prize (2007) |
Japan Prize (1992)
Gerhard Ertl (born 10 October 1936) is a German physicist and a Professor emeritus at the Department of Physical Chemistry, Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft in Berlin, Germany. Ertl’s research laid the foundation of modern surface chemistry, which has helped explain how fuel cells produce energy without pollution, how catalytic converters clean up car exhausts and even why iron rusts, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.
His work has paved the way for development of cleaner energy sources and will guide the development of fuel cells, said Astrid Graslund, secretary of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.
He was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces. The Nobel academy said Ertl provided a detailed description of how chemical reactions take place on surfaces. His findings applied in both academic studies and industrial development, the academy said. “Surface chemistry can even explain the destruction of the ozone layer, as vital steps in the reaction actually take place on the surfaces of small crystals of ice in the stratosphere,” the award citation reads.
Ertl was born in Stuttgart, Germany, where he studied physics from 1955 to 1957 at the Technical University of Stuttgart and then at the University of Paris (1957–1958) and Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich (1958–1959). He completed his Diploma in Physics at the Technical University of Stuttgart in 1961, followed his thesis advisor Heinz Gerischer from the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research in Stuttgart to Munich and received his Ph.D. degree from the Technical University of Munich in 1965.
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