Gerhard Ertl

Infobox_Scientist
name = Gerhard Ertl


birth_date = birth date and age|df=yes|1936|10|10
birth_place = Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
residence = Germany
nationality = Germany
field = Surface chemistry
work_institution = Technical University of Hannover
Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
Technical University of Munich
Free University of Berlin
Technical University of Berlin
Fritz Haber Institute of the MPG
Humboldt University of Berlin
alma_mater = University of Stuttgart
Technical University of Munich
doctoral_advisor = Heinz Gerischer
known_for = Surface chemistry
prizes = Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1998)
Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2007)
religion = Christian cite news | author=Till Weishaupt | title=Glauben Sie an Gott? | url=http://www.cicero.de/97.php?ress_id=6&item=2223 | work=Cicero | date=Dezember 2007 | quote=Translated from German: Oh, yes, I believe in god. (...) I am a Christian and I try to live as a Christian (...) I read the bible very often and I try to understand it. | accessdate=2008-06-05]
footnotes =

Gerhard Ertl (born 10 October, 1936) is a German physicist and a Professor emeritus at the Department of Physical Chemistry, Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft in Berlin, Germany. He won the 2007 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Biography

Ertl was born in Stuttgart, Germany where he would later study physics from 1955 to 1957 at the Technical University of Stuttgart and then at the University of Paris (1957-1958) and Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich (1958-1959). He completed his Diplom in Physics (equivalent to a Masters degree) at the Technical University of Stuttgart in 1961, followed his thesis advisor Heinz Gerischer from the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research in Stuttgart to Munich and received his PhD from the Technical University of Munich in 1965.

Academic career

After completing his PhD, he became an assistant and lecturer at Technical University of Munich (1965-1968). From 1968 to 1973, he was Professor and Director at Technical University of Hannover. Then, he became a Professor at Institute for Physical Chemistry, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich (1973-1986). During the 1970s and 80s, he was also a Visiting Professor at the California Institute of Technology, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of California, Berkeley.In 1986 he became professor at the Free University of Berlin and at the Technical University of Berlin. He was director at the Fritz Haber Institute of the MPG from 1986 till his retirement in 2004. He became professor at the Humboldt University of Berlin in 1996. [cite journal | author=Freund, H.-J; Knözinger, H. | title=Foreword for the Gerhard Ertl Festschrift | journal=J. Phys. Chem. B | year=2004 | volume=108 | issue=38 | pages=14183-14186 | doi=10.1021/jp049239i | url=http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/sample.cgi/jpcbfk/2004/108/i38/html/jp049239i.html | accessdate=2008-06-05]

Research

Gerhard Ertl is known for determining the detailed molecular mechanisms of the catalytic synthesis of ammonia over iron (Haber Bosch process) and the catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide over platinum (catalytic converter). During his research he discovered the important phenomenon of oscillatory reactions on platinum surfaces and, using photoelectron microscopy, was able to image for the first time, the oscillating changes in surface structure and coverage that occur during reaction.

He always used new observation techniques like low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) at the beginning of his career, later ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and scanning tunneling microscope (STM) yielding ground breaking results.He won the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 1998 along with Gabor A. Somorjai of the University of California, Berkeley for "their outstanding contributions to the field of the surface science in general and for their elucidation of fundamental mechanisms of heterogeneous catalytic reactions at single crystal surface in particular." [cite web | publisher=Wolf Foundation | title=The 2008 Wolf Foundation Prize in Chemistry | url=http://www.wolffund.org.il/cat.asp?id=15&cat_title=CHEMISTRY | date= | accessdate=2008-06-05]

Gerhard Ertl was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces. The award, worth SEK 10 million (US$1.7 million),was announced on Ertl's 71st birthday. [cite press release | date=10 October 2007 | publisher=Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences | title=The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2007 | url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2007/press.html] [cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/10/10/nobel.chemistry.ap/index.html | title=Nobel for ozone layer scientist | date=11 October 2007| author=Associated Press | work=CNN | accessdate=2008-06-05] "I am speechless," Ertl told The Associated Press from his office in Berlin. "I was not counting on this." [cite news | author=Karl Ritter | title=German receives chemistry Nobel | work=Worcester Telegram | url=http://www.telegram.com/article/20071011/NEWS/710110562/1052 | date=11 October 2007 | accessdate=2008-06-05]

Personal life

Ertl and his wife Barbara have two children and several grandchildren. His hobbies include playing the piano and also playing with his cats. [cite web | title=Profile: Nobel prize the perfect birthday present for Ertl | author=Deutsche Presse-Agentur | work=Monsters and Critics | url=http://science.monstersandcritics.com/features/article_1364188.php/Profile_Nobel_prize_the_perfect_birthday_present_for_Ertl | accessdate=2008-06-05] He is a Christian.

Publications

Ertl is one of the editors of the "Handbook of Heterogeneous Catalysis".

= References =

External links

* [http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/pc/ERTL/Ertl.html Gerhard Ertl]
* [http://www.wolffund.org.il/full.asp?id=58 The Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 1998]
* [http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/pc/ERTL/Ertl-publis.html Publications by Gerhard Ertl]

Persondata
NAME = Ertl, Gerhard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = German Professor emeritus at Chemistry, 2007 Nobel Prize
DATE OF BIRTH = 10 October 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH = Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, Germany
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =