Creativity, excellence, and dedication – these qualities unite the diverse winners of the Ernst Haage Prize from the two Max Planck Institutes in Mülheim. This year, the Ernst Haage Foundation of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion and the Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung honored five early career researchers for their outstanding contributions to  chemical research.

Two prizes went to trainees on campus: Joel Bicker from MPI KOFO and Jana Brylak from MPI CEC. Prof. Serena DeBeer, chair of the Ernst Haage Board of Trustees, emphasized that the Ernst Haage Prize is not only an to recognize the awardees for their accomplishments, but also to express heartfelt thanks to all the trainees and technicians on campus. “You are the backbone of our research,” DeBeer said. Training managers Patricia Malkowski and Laila Sahraoui also affirmed the excellent work done by the young trainees at both institutes.

The other award winners made it clear that chemical research has a promising future –time and again, it is the young scientists who surprise their mentors. Former doctoral student Dr. Maximilian Hielscher from Prof. Sigfried Waldvogel's research group (MPI CEC) impressed with his work on optimization electro-organic conversions. Similarly, Dr. Liqun Kang, postdoctoral researcher in Serena DeBeer’s group, noted for his outstanding scientific talent, insightful analysis, and wholehearted commitment to collaboration.

This year's national prize went to Dr. Terrance J. Hadlington, an independent group leader at the Technical University of Munich. In his talk, he offered a fascinating look into his work, which explores, among other topics, the interface between the main group element and transition metals. His laudator, Prof. Thomas Fässler, emphasized that he was particularly impressed by Hadlington's pragmatic approach to his work.

Another highlight from the world of chemistry came from Dr. Josep Cornellà in his keynote lecture. The newly appointed director at the MPI für Kohlenforschung is working on the element bismuth, the heaviest stable element in the periodic table. In his lecture, Cornellà emphasized that his team’s goals extends beyond practical applications in catalysis. “First of all, we want to understand bismuth properly. We want to understand why things are the way they are.”

Since 2006, the Ernst Haage Prize has been awarded to early career scientists for outstanding achievements in the field of chemistry. The award is presented in honor of the Mülheim entrepreneur Ernst Haage (1901-1968). The Ernst Haage Foundation was established in 2006 thanks to a generous private donation.