Gilles Holst Medal

Petra de Jongh (Utrecht University) has received the 2023 Gilles Holst Medal. The jury praised her interdisciplinary approach, her tireless pursuit of knowledge, and the industrial applications resulting from her research on the role of nanomaterials. These include practical, circular solutions for a sustainable energy transition and the development of a new generation of batteries. De Jongh is the first female winner of the Gilles Holst Medal.

Catalysts

De Jongh's expertise spans many fields. She carries out basic research into nanomaterials that can be used as catalysts, or for storing and converting renewable energy. Her research focuses particularly on the role of catalysts – i.e. substances that accelerate chemical reactions without actually being consumed themselves – in enabling efficient chemical conversions. Catalysts of this kind are crucial for producing sustainable fuels and chemical building blocks. This involves replacing fossil raw materials such as oil or gas with circular raw materials, such as green hydrogen combined with carbon from waste, biomass, or carbon dioxide. 

Towards a sustainable energy transition

Using advanced methods, De Jongh investigates the relationship between the structure and effectiveness of catalysts. Her research – in collaboration with relevant companies – paves the way for new processes, for example the sustainable synthesis of methanol, hydrocarbons, or ammonia – key processes on the pathway towards a circular economy. Moreover, De Jongh and her team are at the forefront of developing a new generation of batteries that will be safer, lighter, and more efficient. Such progress is crucial for a sustainable energy transition.

Chemist and Utrecht University professor Andries Meijerink will receive the Gilles Holst Medal 2019. Meijerink has been awarded the medal for modelling, making and characterising new luminous materials that improve the efficiency of lighting and solar cells.

Andries Meijerink, Professor of Solid State Chemistry at the Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, is an internationally renowned expert in the design, composition and understanding of materials that emit light. His research is crucial for the transition to a sustainable society in which efficient lighting and the conversion of sunlight into electricity will play a pivotal role.

Meijerink studies crystalline solids and nanocrystals to which luminescent ions are added. He develops a new luminous material, produces it in the lab, analyses it from atomic level right up to its overall properties, and then uses his findings to deliver a practical application. Meijerink's work has resulted in a better understanding of the quantum-mechanical interactions between ions. He has, furthermore, used this understanding to develop practical applications, for example to boost the light output of red LED lamps.

Throughout his career, Andries Meijerink has combined several demanding management positions with outstanding research, for which he has received the Centennial Award for Luminescence and Display Materials from the Electrochemical Society, the Gold Medal from the Royal Dutch Chemical Society, the Shell Incentive Award, and other prizes. Meijerink is also an enthusiastic and popular teacher. In the past twelve years, for example,  the Utrecht Chemistry Student Association Proton awarded him the education prize for best freshman instructor no less than seven times.

About the laureate

Andries Meijerink (1963) received his PhD in Chemistry at Utrecht University. After working as a post-doc  at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (USA), he returned to Utrecht and in 1996 accepted a full-time professorship at Utrecht University, where he was dean of the Faculty of Chemistry from 2004 to 2007. He has been a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2009. He has published more than 330 articles and holds ten patents.

Paul Blom and Dago de Leeuw of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany received the Gilles Holst Medal 2015 for their research in the field of molecular electronics.

Their work at the interface between physics and chemistry has led to the development of new materials and their application in such devices as OLED screens.

What the jury says about Blom and De Leeuw

‘The joint research carried out by Paul Blom and Dago de Leeuw is a splendid example of how complementary expertise in chemistry and physics and collaboration between industry and science can lead to scientific breakthroughs and new applications.’ The jury consisted of Academy members Andries Meijerink (chair), Reinder Coehoorn and Joost Frenken as well as Nathalie Katsonis of The Young Academy.

About the laureates

Paul Blom and Dago de Leeuw are pioneers in the field of molecular electronics. Their joint research – at Philips Research, the University of Groningen, and (since 2012) the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz – has led to a basic understanding of organic semiconductors. Their research results have been published in an impressive number of articles in prestigious scientific journals and have led to several patents. Blom and De Leeuw’s work provides the basis for a broad spectrum of present and future applications, including OLED displays, organic solar cells, and organic computer chips. Their research covers everything from developing new materials to understanding the electronic properties of those materials and how they can be used in devices.

Blom and De Leeuw have won numerous awards for their joint research and were among the top one hundred entries on Thomson Reuters’ The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds 2014.

2011

D.J. Broer

2007

J.J. Boon

2000

R. Coehoorn and W.J.M. de Jonge

1996

W.H.J. Boesten

1992

G. Blasse

1988

R.J. van Duinen and H.J. Habing

1976

P.M. de Wolff

1971

J.D. Fast

1967

M.C. Teves

1963

W.G. Burgers