Characterization of Solid Materials and Heterogeneous Catalysts: from Structure to Surface Reactivity

Michel Che completed his doctorate in 1968 at the University of Lyon and studied as postdoc at Princeton University (1969-1971). He was appointed Professor at University of Paris in 1975 and Senior Member of the Institut Universitaire de France in 1995. His work has led to around 400 publications in international journals. He has been very active in the promotion and organisation of catalysis, being the President-Founder of the European Federation of Catalysis Societies with creation in 1993 of the cycle of the now famous biennial "EuropaCat" congresses, and President of the International Association of Catalysis Societies in 2000-2004. His research activity has been largely devoted to catalytic processes, and he has pioneered a molecular approach to heterogeneous catalysis, based on transition elements taken as probes, specific isotopes and physical techniques, which endows him with an original position in the field. His work has led to the emergence of interfacial coordination chemistry at the junction of colloidal, electro-, supramolecular, geo- and solid-state chemistries. His studies have largely contributed to improve our understanding of the elementary processes involved in laboratory/industrial catalysis. Michel Che awards include J. H. Van't Hoff (Netherlands), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Japan), M. Sklodowska-Curie and P. Curie (Poland), A. Joannides and P. Sue (France), Von Humboldt - Gay-Lussac (Germany) and Centenary Price winner 2008 of the RSC (UK). He is Doctor honoris causa of several universities (Cracow, Poland; Lisbon, Portugal; Bucharest, Romania) and member of several high ranking academies (e.g. Academia Europaea, Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina). Jacques C. Vedrine received a chemical engineering degree in 1962 from the Ecole Superieure de Chimie Industrielle de Lyon, and his PhD in 1968 from the University of Lyon. Following several years of Postdoctoral research in the U.S., he returned to Lyon at the Institut de Recherches sur la Catalyse (IRC) as a Charge de Recherche. In 1978 he was appointed head of the group working on metallic oxides (heterogeneous acid-type and partial oxidation catalysis fields) at IRC, in 1988 he became deputy director. In 1998 he moved to the University of Liverpool in the UK as Professor of Chemistry and Deputy Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Innovative Catalysis (LCIC) and Director of the European Associated Laboratory High Specificity Catalysis between CNRS and the University of Liverpool (LCIC-IRC). He returned to France in 2003 to join the Laboratoire de physico-chimie des surfaces de l'Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Paris. He was also part time charge de mission at the Ministry of National Education and Research. In 2006, he moved to the Laboratoire de Reactivite de Surface de l'Universite de Paris VI. He was awarded the Grand prix Pierre SUE de la Societe Francaise de Chimie in 2001. He was elected president de la Division de Catalyse de la Societe Francaise de Chimie (1994-1997) and president of the European Federation of Catalysis Society for 1997-99. He authored more than 450 publications in international journals and 7 books. His scientific interests cover heterogeneous catalysis (selective oxidation on mixed oxides and polyoxometallates and acid catalysis on zeolites, polyoxometallates, sulfated oxides, etc), combinatorial catalysis and physical techniques of catalyst characterisation.