| Michael Grätzel | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 May 1944 Dorfchemnitz, Sachsen |
| Residence | Switzerland |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Fields | photochemistry |
| Institutions | École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne |
| Known for | Dye-sensitized solar cells |
Michael Grätzel (born in 11 May 1944, in Dorfchemnitz, Sachsen [1]) is a professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne where he directs the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces. He pioneered research on energy and electron transfer reactions in mesoscopic-materials and their optoelectronic applications. He discovered a new type of solar cell based on dye sensitized mesoscopic oxide particles and pioneered the use of nanomaterials in lithium ion batteries.[2][3]
Author of over 800 publications, two books and inventor or co-inventor of over 50 patents, he was a visiting professor at the University of California at Berkeley, the École Normale Supérieure de Cachan (Paris) and is presently part-time distinguished visiting professor at the Delft University of Technology. He was a frequent guest scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, was a fellow of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. He has received numerous awards including the Millennium 2000 European innovation prize, the 2001 Faraday Medal of the British Royal Society, the 2001 Dutch Havinga Award, the 2004 Italgas Prize, two McKinsey Venture awards in 1998 and 2002 and the 2005 Gerischer Prize. In 2007 he was awarded the Harvey Prize of Technion for pioneered research on energy and electron transfer reactions in mesoscopic-materials and their optoelectronic applications. In 2009 he was awarded the Balzan Prize for the Science of New Materials. He holds a doctorate from the Technical University of Berlin and honorary doctorates from the Universities of Uppsala, Turin and Nova Gorica. He was elected honorary member of the Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles. Dr. Grätzel is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee at the IMDEA Nanoscience Institute.
Contents |
| Preceded by Robert S. Langer |
Millennium Technology Prize winner 2010 (for dye-sensitized solar cells) |
Succeeded by TBA 2012 |