Clariant, a focused, sustainable and innovative specialty chemical company, has awarded three grants to the winners of the Talent program in Catalysis and Sustainable Chemistry, which were announced yesterday by ETH Zurich. The winners will each receive a grant of CHF 50’000 to support their outstanding research in the field of Catalysis with the aim of supporting the sustainable transformation in the chemical industry.

An award went to Andrea Blankenship, a MIT graduate and doctoral student at ETH Zurich, for her research into enabling the valorization of methane into desired liquid products that are important pathways for greener fuel and chemicals.

Ivan Surin, a graduate in Chemical and Bioengineering and doctoral candidate at ETH, received the award for his research into developing ammonia oxidation catalysts for sustainable nitrous oxide production.

Yuya Kakiuchi, a graduate in Engineering Sciences at Osaka University and doctoral student at ETH Zurich, received an award for his study that is laying the basis for further understanding olefin conversion processes, focusing on developing interplay between spectroscopy and computations to understand the role of ‘catalyst ingredient’.

“We can only contribute to a meaningful transition towards sustainability in the chemical industry through innovation,” said Richard Haldimann, Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer at Clariant. “Clariant as a company is led by the purpose ‘Greater chemistry – between people and planet’, which places sustainability as well as innovation at its core. This means that we direct our resources towards sustainability innovations – inside as well as outside the company. In line with that, we are proud to support the important sustainability research of Andrea Blankenship, Ivan Surin and Yuya Kakiuchi.”

“ETH Zurich is delighted to partner with Clariant in supporting our young talent with the Student Talent Program in Catalysis and Sustainable Chemistry,” said Christophe Copéret, Head of Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences at ETH. “The award is an excellent form of support as well as recognition for the excellent work of the students that are addressing key sustainability challenges in the chemical industry today.”