Dr De Smit has been awarded first prize in the DSM Science & Technology Awards (North) 2010 for his PhD thesis entitled “Iron-based Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis: New Insights from in-situ¬ (Micro)Spectroscopy, Diffraction and Theory”. An international judging committee, chaired by DSM Chief Technology Officer Dr Jos Put, selected Dr De Smit, who received his doctorate from Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Dr De Smit has discovered new and important aspects of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, a reaction that has been known since the 1920s, yet is still very poorly understood mechanistically. Dr De Smit has been able to monitor the surface of the catalyst during pretreatment and, for the first time, at relevant high-pressure and temperature conditions in real-time during the reaction itself.
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| From left to Right: Nico Gerardu, Emiel de Smit and Sonia Parres Esclapez |
Fischer-Tropsch synthesis can be used to convert renewable resources such as biomass into long-chain hydrocarbons. As oil prices rise and the need to reduce emissions increases, improvements in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis could form an important part of the solution for meeting the world’s energy needs and chemical demands. As the winner of the first prize, De Smit will also receive a cash prize of €10,000.
Second prize (€5,000) was awarded to Simon Mathijssen of Eindhoven University of Technology for his PhD research into flexible self-assembled monolayer electronics. Third prize (€2,500) was awarded to Matthijs Jore of Wageningen University for his PhD research into the CRISPR-mediated anti-viral defense mechanism of prokaryotes. The other six finalists will each receive a cash prize of €1,250.
The awards were presented by Nico Gerardu of the DSM Managing Board at a dedicated event held at Bilderberg Kasteel Vaalsbroek in Vaals (Netherlands) on May 31.
The DSM Science & Technology Awards (North) are awarded for outstanding PhD research conducted by doctoral students from the Netherlands, Belgium and Northern Germany, and form part of the DSM Innovation Awards Program. With this awards program, DSM shows its commitment to promoting innovative research, and underlines the importance of interaction between fundamental academic research and application-oriented industrial research.
