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Latest News |
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| 13-Sep-23 | Henri Kessler (1935 - 2023) | ||||||||||||||||||
| It
is with deep sadness that we learned of the passing of Henri Kessler,
our colleague, on August 23, 2023. Henri was born in Saint-Amarin, at
the bottom of the Thann Valley, a small Alsatian town at the foot of
the Vosges Mountains, on May 5, 1935. Graduated as a chemical engineer
from the National Higher School of Chemistry in Mulhouse in 1959, Henri
Kessler joined CNRS (the French National Center for Scientific
Research) as a research assistant. And became a Research Director in
1982. In 1983, he joined Professor Raymond Wey's Laboratory of General
Mineral Chemistry where he took on the responsibility of the
microporous non-siliceous framework solids group, which achieved
remarkable results with the synthesis of numerous new structures. A
sound example of his work is the synthesis of a gallophosphate known as
"Cloverite," which was the crystalline microporous solid with the
largest pore openings (13.2 × 6 Å). Dr. Kessler was a Council member of
the executive board of International Zeolite Association (IZA),
Vice-President of the IZA Synthesis Commission, and a Member of the
Editorial Board of the journal "Microporous Materials." In 1992, he,
along with Jean-Louis Guth, received the Solid-State Chemistry Division
Prize from the French Chemical Society.He assumed the leadership of the
Laboratory in 1996, with the goal of ensuring its continued development
until his retirement in 1999. He left an indelible mark on the
community of researchers in the field of crystalline porous solids. Many people knew Henri as an exceptional mountaineer. One had to "hang on" to follow him into the Vosges or the Alps. He was accustomed to participating in endurance races (24 hours) on the Vosges ridges. He was a well-rounded athlete who also enjoyed swimming and skiing. He was also a man of nature with a deep ecological consciousness for its preservation. He had his house built at the base of the mountain, on the edge of the forest, where he collected deadwood for heating. With the help of his wife, Rose-Marie, he created a terraced garden where vegetable plants coexisted with mountain flowers. On behalf of all the people who had the privilege and honor of working with Henri, Jean-Louis Guth and Jean-Louis Paillaud |
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| 1-Sep-23 |
Gregor Mali (1971 - 2023) | ||||||||||||||||||
 After a battle with a serious illness, our dear colleague, friend and researcher Prof. Dr. Gregor Mali has passed away. He was part of the zeolite research community for more than 25 years and was also active in the Slovenian Zeolite Association. We will cherish the memory of our esteemed colleague. Prof. Dr. Gregor Mali has been employed at the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana in the Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Technology since 1997. Since 2007, he has been habilitated in the field of Physics at the University of Nova Gorica and since 2019 also at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of the University of Ljubljana. Prof. Mali's research work was devoted to the development and application of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods and computational methods for the study of the structure of solids. Research areas to which Prof. Mali paid the most attention were the development of new porous catalysts and adsorbents for environmental and energy applications, and the development of batteries. In recent years, Prof. Mali has become one of the world's most prominent scientists in the field of NMR research on porous materials. He has authored or co-authored more than 130 scientific articles in prestigious journals, including Science and Nature group. The importance and excellence of his research is evidenced by the two prestigious awards he received in 2017, namely the Pregl Award for outstanding achievements in the field of chemistry and related sciences and the Zois Prize for significant scientific achievements in the field of nuclear magnetic resonance of materials. Prof. Mali's research work was excellent, dedicated and responsible to his colleagues and students. We admired and appreciated him for his exceptional approachability, kindness, respectful attitude and brilliant thinking. We will miss him sorely. |
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| 7-Apr-23 | Sigmund M. Csicsery (1929 - 2022) | ||||||||||||||||||
We received the very sad news that Dr. Sigmund M. Csicsery, one of the big pioneers of shape selective catalysis, passed away in his home at Moraga (California) on December 18, 2022. Sigmund is mourned by his family, as well as many friends, colleagues, and acquaintances with whom he made connections throughout the world. His remains will be laid to rest at the Tahy family crypt in Balatonszemes, Hungary. Sigmund was a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and was awarded the prestigious Gábor Dénes Award in 2020–2021. He had over 50 publications and 27 patents to his name. |
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| 6-Jan-23 | Petr Nachtigall (1963 - 2022) |
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It is with great sadness that we have to communicate the passing of Prof. RNDr. Petr Nachtigall, Ph.D. on 28 December 2022. He was an internationally recognized expert in computational material science with particular emphasis on porous materials. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh. After returning to Prague, he worked at the J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, later at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and since 2009 at the Faculty of Science of Charles University. Here he made a major contribution to the establishment and development of the top scientific center "CHARLES UNIVERSITY CENTRE OF ADVANCED MATERIALS" and introduced a new PhD and MSc program "Modelling of chemical properties of nano and biostructures". Recently, he has conceived and organized the establishment of a new Bachelor of Science program "Science". Prof. Nachtigall has regularly published in the most prestigious scientific journals; he is the author of 181 publications with 8,289 citations and an h-index of 54 (as of 1 January 2023). He is well known for his studies of adsorption complexes and reaction mechanisms in zeolites and analogous materials, which significantly contributed to the understanding of the behavior of zeolites for practical applications. Moreover, the has contributed significantly to the discovery and theoretical explanation of a new method of synthesis of zeolites ADOR, thanks to which more than 10 new types of zeolites have already been synthesized. Prof. Nachtigall was awarded the Bedřich Hrozný Prize for Basic Research (2015), the Prize of the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports for significant results of basic research in natural sciences (2019) and the Donatio Universitatis Carolinae (2021). In Peter Nachtigall we lose not only an outstanding scientist, teacher and mentor, but also a great person and friend. Our thoughts are with his wife Gabriela and his family. |
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| 18-Jul-22 | News from the IZC-20 in Valencia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Seven new council members were elected: |
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| Rob Ameloot (Belgium) Roger Glaeser (Germany) Tina Nenoff (USA) Sibele Pergher (Brazil) Domenico Caputo (Italy) Manuel Molinar (Spain) Natasa Z. Logar (Slovenia) |
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| The new executive committee of the IZA council is: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Svetlana Mintova, President Michael Stockenhuber, Vice-President Natasa Z. Logar, Secretary Jeffrey Rimer, Treasurer |
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| International Zeolite Conference (IZC) | |||||||||||||||||||
| At
a
Business Meeting, the IZA Board selected the venue for the 22nd IZC in
2028: Philadelphia, USA The next 21st IZC will be held in 2025 in Dalian, China. |
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| IZA Awards |
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| The 2022 Don Breck Award has been attributed to: |
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| Suk Bong Hong (POSTECH, Korea) for developing innovative synthetic methodologies including the synergistic use of organic and inorganic structure-directing agents that resulted in new zeolite framework types.  Suk Bong Bong (middle) with the representative of UOP-Honeywell Suheil Abdo (left) and the president of the IZA Martin Hartmann (right).
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| The new IZA Ambassador, the recepient of the 2022 IZA award is: | |||||||||||||||||||
Valentin Valtchev (CNRS, France) for his important contributions to the fundamental understanding of zeolite synthesis and post-synthesis modification of industrially-important zeolites. Prof. Valtchev will act as the IZA Ambassador from now until the next IZC in 2025.  Valentin Valtchev (left) with the president of the IZA Martin Hartmann (right). |
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| The 2022 Young Researcher Award (YRA) of the Iinteranational Zeolite Association has been attributed to: | |||||||||||||||||||
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Michiel Dusselier (KU Leuven, Belgium) for his achievements in the knowledge-based development of catalyst for innovative catalytic conversion processes.
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| IZA Honorary Membeship Awards | |||||||||||||||||||
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Jean-Pierre Gilson (LCS, ENSICAEN, France) for his outstanding contribution to zeolite science and technology and for the great service in the organization IZA-related events.Avelino Corma (ITQ-Valencia, Spain) for his outstanding contributions to zeolite science and technology and his great service as chairman of IZC2022. |
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| 10-Mar-22 |
News from FEZA |
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| The
Federation of European Zeolite Associations (FEZA) created in January
1996, consisting of 17 National Zeolite Associations (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech
Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, The Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, UK) has taken the following
decision in strong
support of Ukraine and all people suffering from the horrible war. National Zeolite Associations within the FEZA wholehertedly approved the measure to suspend Russia from FEZA, and to promote other activities of the scientific community in support of Ukraine. Our resolution is taken to support the peace, and in opposition to war and the suffering of the people in Ukraine. We hope for an immediate stop to this war and a peaceful future for Europe. Let us stand together for a peaceful worldwide community and for the sake of our future generations. We do believe that Russian people are also victims of their government and our action is not against them. The Russian scientists are not responsible for this war but we as a European research community express our opinion now. The aggression against Ukraine decided by the government of Russia reflects on all of us! The objectives of FEZA are to improve communication and collaboration between researchers in Europe for the benefit of the public and therefore we decided to: 1. Suspend the membership of Russia from FEZA. 2. Become a promoter for other European initiatives reflecting the opinion of other European scientific communities by: - official statement on the FEZA website - state our strong support in papers currently in press - express our support during meetings, conferences. 3. A FEZA solidarity scholarship will be provided to a Ukrainian early career researcher to attend a conference in the field of porous materials. |
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| 9-Feb-22 | Karl Seff (1938 - 1921) | ||||||||||||||||||
We were saddened to hear that Prof. Karl Seff, known for his colorful Hawaiian shirts and ready smile at zeolite conferences, passed away at the age of 84 on September 11 last year. Karl started his career in zeolite crystallography with David P. Shoemaker at MIT, where he received his PhD in 1964. After a post-doc with Kenneth N. Trueblood at UCLA, he joined the Chemistry Department at the University of Hawaii in 1967, and remained there until his retirement 40 years later. He is probably best known for his pioneering research using tiny zeolite A crystals, modified in various ways, to collect single-crystal X-ray diffraction data for structure analysis. This allowed him to elucidate intriguing zeolite chemistry at the atomic level. As instrumentation and computing power improved, he expanded this research, along with colleagues in South Korea, to include zeolites X and Y. Although he retired officially in 2007, he continued his research activity until just six weeks before his death. He will be remembered fondly by all those students who were fortunate enough to have him as an advisor. He took great interest in following his students' careers and personal lives long after graduation. A student of Karl’s was a student and friend for life. His infectious enthusiasm for science and life in general made every encounter an experience worth remembering. He will be missed not only by his zeolite colleagues and his students, but also by his fellow cactus enthusiasts and his vegan friends. Aloha Karl |
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| 18-Jan-22 | The Young Researcher Award (YRA) committee invites applications for the 2022 YRA. | ||||||||||||||||||
| The
Young Researcher Award will be given to an individual for outstanding
contribution to the Science and Technology of zeolites and related
nanoporous materials, since January 1st of the year of the last IZC to
the December 31st of the year before the IZC where the award will be
given. For more information visit the YRA page. The applications should be sent by March 3, 2022 to the IZA secretary: Prof. Heloise Pastore E-mail: lolly@unicamp.br |
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| 12-Jan-22 | Nominations for the 2022 Donald W. Breck Award invited |
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| The Breck
Award nomination committee invites nominations for the 2022 Donald W.
Breck Award. This award is for the most significant contribution to
Molecular Sieve Science and Technology made between January 1, 2017 and
December 31, 2021 and the winner will be announced on July 7, 2022 at
the 20th IZC in Valencia, Spain. The award may be given to an individual or to a group. The nomination should be accompanied by a list of maximum 5 references and a 2 page summary outlining in detail the novel findings and their scientific merit. It should includes supporting letters from three established zeolite scientists. For more Information visit the Breck Award page. Nominations should be sent by April 3, 2022 to the Chair of the Breck Award Committee: Dr. Valentin Valtchev CNRS, France E-mail: valentin.valtchev@ensicaen.fr |
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| 5-Nov-21 | Proposals for the organization of the 22nd International Zeolite Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
The IZA Executive Council is soliciting proposals for organizing the 22nd IZC to be held in 2028. A proposal should contain sufficient detail, including the specific proposed conference location, to permit a reasonable evaluation of its merits, and must contain the name of a person who agrees to become the Conference Organizer, if the IZA council would select the proposal. The time schedule for this process is shown schematically below. Selection of the venue for the 22 IZC:
A: Those who plan to submit a bid for the 22nd IZC should send a letter of intent to the IZA President (martin.hartmann@ecrc.uni-erlangen.de) or the IZA Secretary (lolly@unicamp.br) at least six months before the 20th IZC. It should contain the name of the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, the Members of the Organizing Committee and the envisaged venue and date for the 22nd IZC. The Organizing Committee is expected to include well-established academics in the field of zeolite-type materials. Upon receipt of the letter of intent, the Secretary shall send the detailed questionnaire "Proposal for the Organization of the 22nd IZC to be held in 2028” to the applicant. B: This questionnaire, properly filled in and signed, must be received by the President and Secretary at least four months before the 20th IZC. All bids received by this date are distributed to the IZA Council members. C: The Council will finalize the pre-selection two months before the 20th IZC. The IZA President will notify all those who submitted bid(s) of the outcome of the pre-selection and the date for the presentation to the IZA Council. This gives the successful applicants two months to prepare their presentations for the Business Meeting at the 20th IZC. At the IZA Council meeting, after the presentations of the pre-selected proposals, the IZA Council will vote for the selection of the final winner. The winner will be announced at the closing Business Meeting at the 20th IZC. |
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| 24-Oct-21 | ENI award |
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Two
zeolite scientists, Jörg Kärger (Leipzig) and Jürgen Caro (Hannover),
received the prestigious ENI award in the category “Advanced
Environmental Solutions” for their research on “mass transfer in
nanoporous materials: paradigm shift and technological use for advanced
environmental solutions” during the Eni Award ceremony at the Palazzo
del Qirinale in Rome in the presence of the President of the Italian
Republic. Their work was dedicated to the development of novel
techniques for measuring intrinsic diffusion, with the knowledge gained
being highly efficient for the fabrication of transport-optimized
membranes. Caro began his career as Kärger's first doctoral student in
the Physics Institute of Leipzig University (photograph) with a thesis
that in some ways already laid the foundation for today's success. In
the section “Recognition of Innovation at Eni” section, which
recognizes the most innovative projects developed by Eni’s researchers
and technical experts, at the same event past-IZA president Giuseppe
Bellussi and colleagues were awarded for their patent “Process for the
mineralisation of CO2 with natural mineral phases and the use of these
products in the formulation of cements”.
 Prof. Jörg Kärger (left) and Jürgen Caro (right). |
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| 19-Oct-21 |
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It
is with great sadness that we have to communicate the passing of
Professor Douglas Morris Ruthven on September 23, 2021 at the age of
eighty-two. We mourn the loss of a brilliant scientist, a truly gifted
university teacher, a wonderful human being, and a good, reliable
friend.
Born in Ernakulum, India, on October 9, 1938, he was educated at Christ’s Hospital school and at the University of Cambridge. After receiving his first degree, he worked in industry for two years before his inquisitiveness and investigative drive led him back to the university, where he received his PhD from Cambridge in 1966. Eventually, in 1988 the University of Cambridge awarded him a Doctor of Science degree for “distinction by some original contribution to the advancement of science or learning”. Right after receiving his PhD, Doug accepted a professorship in Chemical Engineering at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, Canada. Here he became a key figure for many generations of students, as well as for countless guest researchers coming to Fredericton from all over the world. Many followed him when, in the new millennium, he moved from Fredericton to the University of Maine in the US. Before long, Doug was one of the most renowned researchers worldwide in the field of adsorption. An important part of this reputation is due to his book Principles of Adsorption and Adsorption Processes, published in 1984, which became a classic. He was awarded recognition as one of the top twenty achievers in Chemical Engineering in the Twentieth Century by the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering and the Max Planck Research Award by the German Humboldt Foundation and Max-Planck Society. Doug was one of the leading pioneers in adsorption science and engineering and, accordingly, among the founders of both the International Zeolite Association and the International Adsorption Society, once serving as its president. His best memories were the personal contacts he made; he made his students and guests feel like part of a family. We mourn the loss of a cherished friend; our thoughts are with his wife Patricia and daughter Fiona. |
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| 6-Oct-21 | Alan Dyer (1934 - 2021) |
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Professor Alan Dyer, known for his brilliant work on ion exchange in zeolites, passed away of age of 87. Alan was born on 29th March 1934 in Salford, the son of Colin and Florence Dyer. He gained his BSc with honours at the University of Sheffield (1954) and his PhD at Kings College, London (1958), finally being awarded a DSc by the University of Salford (1981). His academic life started in teaching at Wardley Grammar School, Worsley, Lancashire from 1957-1959. This was followed by an appointment as Lecturer at the Royal Technology College, Salford from 1959-1961. In 1961 he took the post of Senior Lecturer at the Royal College of Advanced Technology, Salford until 1964, when the college was made a University. He remained a Lecturer at the University of Salford until 1970, when he was promoted to Senior Lecturer and in 1985 he was promoted to Reader. Alan became Professor of Chemistry at Salford in 1997 and remained in this post until he retired; he was also a visiting Professor for Loughbourgh University. Alan was a consultant to numerous companies including BNFL, Alcan Chemicals, SDS BioTech, ICI and of course Laporte. Alan married Dilys Patricia Groves on the 30th August 1958, and had four children, Andrew, Fiona, Jennifer and Christopher. He died peacefully, in the early hours of 7th September 2021; he will be very sadly missed by all who knew him. |
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| 9-Aug-21 | 9th International Zeolite Membrane Meeting (IZMM) - Postponed |
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| The
9th International Zeolite Membrane Meeting (IZMM) will be held in
Nanjing, China but was postponed from 2022 to 2023. The decision was
made due to the current covid-19 pandemic situation and the rules of
travelling around the world which are, currently, uncertain. The
organizers evaluate that because IZMM is a very specialized conference,
a face-to-face meeting would be better for communication. The
situation will be re-evaluated by the middle of 2022. IZMM2023 will be
virtual if the restriction on travelling is still operative at that
time. |
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| 1-Mar-21 | The natural counterpart of zeolite A (LTA-type) discovered | ||||||||||||||||||
| A
team of Colombian, Spanish and British scientists led by Carlos Alberto
Ríos-Reyes has described the first occurrence of zeolite A in nature
(Crystals, https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11020218). According to the authors, Na–A zeolite and associated mineral phases such as sodalite were formed by high diagenesis processes, temperatures around 80-100 °C and weathering contributions. These conditions allowed the geochemical remobilization and/or recrystallization of pre-existing silica, muscovite, kaolinite minerals group, salts, carbonates, oxides and peroxides. Scanning electron micrographs show the typical cubic morphology of Na–A zeolite with a particle size of approximately 0.45 µm. A literature review shows that this is an unusual example for the occurrence of natural zeolites in sedimentary marine rocks recognized around the world. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1-Mar-21 | Michael Stöcker becomes a Member of the Slovenian Academy of Engineering Sciences | ||||||||||||||||||
| The
General Assembly of the Slovenian Academy of Engineering Sciences has
elected Michael Stöcker as an International Member of the Academy on
February 23, 2021, following the nominations passed on by the Section
for Scientific Research as well as the Section for International
Relations. The solemn inauguration ceremony is scheduled for autumn
this year in Brdo pri Kranju (close to Ljubljana), Slovenia. Congratulations for this great honor go to Michael Stöcker, who has served the international zeolite community for many years particularly as Editor-in-Chief of our journal Microporous and Mesoporous Materials and has been elected as honorary member of IZA. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4-Dec-20 | Herman van Bekkum (1932 - 2020) | ||||||||||||||||||
 We received the very sad news that Em. Prof. Dr. ir. Herman van Bekkum, who was one of the founders of the Dutch Zeolite Association (DZA) and the first President of the Federation of European Zeolite Associations (FEZA), passed away on November 30, 2020. Herman van Bekkum was born in 1932 in Rotterdam. He graduated in chemical technology (1956) with Prof. Verkade and then obtained his Ph.D. (1959) with Prof. Wepster at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft, back then TH Delft). After working for two years as a researcher at Shell, he returned to the TU Delft in 1961 with a position as Lecturer. In 1971, he was appointed as Professor in Organic Chemistry and Catalysis. From 1975 to 1976 he served as Rector Magnificus of the TU Delft. Through the years he covered other important positions, including Chairman of the KNCV (Royal Netherlands Chemical Society) and Chairman of the Innovative Carbohydrates Research Program. In 1995 he was elected Member of the KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences). In 1991 he was appointed Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion and in 2007 Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau. His research focused on two main topics: zeolites and carbohydrate chemistry, with an overarching interest for catalytic conversion of organic compounds. We all remember him for his scientific qualities and his liveliness and enthusiasm in participating in scientific discussions, also for many years after his official retirement in 1998. People who met him at the TU Delft would certainly remember his availability in providing useful scientific advice to young researchers that knocked at the door of his office, which had a table covered with books, papers and models of zeolite structures that proved his never-ending enthusiasm for his research. He was also a familiar and welcome presence at the Netherlands’ Catalysis and Chemistry Conference, which he regularly attended until recent years. People that met him and talked with him would remember not only the brilliant scientist but also a person with many other passions and with whom the conversation was always enriching, regardless whether the topic was a zeolite framework, his Alfa Romeo or playing chess. In this sad moment our thoughts go out to the family of Prof. Herman van Bekkum. His memory will remain with us and hopefully we will be able to pass what we learnt from him to the next generations. On behalf of the Dutch Zeolite Association and of the Dutch Catalysis Society, Prof. Dr. Paolo P. Pescarmona | |||||||||||||||||||
| 16-Oct-20 | Klaus Unger (1936 – 2020) | ||||||||||||||||||
Our friend and colleague Klaus Unger passed away after a short illness on October 7th 2020. We have lost an excellent scientist, a wonderful mentor, a dear friend, in short: a true “Mensch”. Klaus was highly successful in two rather separate fields of science, in zeolite science and in chromatography, both connected by his deep interest in porous materials. His early work on innovative silica-based stationary phases for chromatography led him to broaden his interest to zeolites and later on to ordered mesoporous materials. His science was always characterized by the combination of a deep understanding of the fundamentals of the materials he worked on and a keen eye for practical applications. He was therefore always a sought-after partner for industrial companies, and his many decade long relationships to Merck at Darmstadt, only a few kilometres away from his home in Seeheim-Jugenheim, testifies of the importance of his research also for industry. Klaus loved the area, with the vineyards of the Rheingau, the Odenwald, and the Spessart close by for extended hikes. So after his habilitation inrmstadt, he only moved across the Rhine to Mainz to become a professor for Analytical Chemistry, and stayed with Mainz University until his retirement in 2001. Klaus had colleagues and friends basically anywhere in the world, and all of them enjoyed him as a partner for scientific collaborations and beyond. He has served on IUPAC committees for the characterization of porous solids, he co-initiated a number of high profile conference series, and he was always active in various scientific organization, such as the IZA, the German Fachgruppe Zeolithe (DECHEMA), or the Arbeitskreis Chromatographie of the Fachgruppe Analytische Chemie of the German Society for Chemistry (GDCh). He was one of the founding members of Federation of European Zeolite Associations (FEZA) as the chairman of the German Zeolite Association at that time, and served as the first treasurer. Born in Zwickau, which was for about 40 years part of East Germany, he always kept links to the colleagues in the former GDR also during the separation of the two countries, and after Germany’s reunification, he played a very active role in helping to re-integrate the science between East and West Germany in the field of porous materials and separation science. Prof. Unger was loved by his students and coworkers. They enjoyed scientific freedom, support wherever it was needed, and the overall very warm, welcoming and extremely friendly atmosphere in the group. Within hours after the news of his passing away spread, there were dozens of emails expressing the sadness of his former co-workers, and one quote from the mails stands for all of them: “one of a kind with the biggest generous heart”. This is how we all feel – it was a privilege to have known Klaus, and the zeolite community will miss him dearly from now on. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 14-Sep-19 | Jens Weitkamp (1942 - 2019) | ||||||||||||||||||
Professor Dr.-Ing. Jens Weitkamp, the former director of the Institute of Chemical Technology of the University of Stuttgart passed away in Paris on August 25, 2019, the same town in which he was born on June 5, 1942. Jens Weitkamp studied chemistry at the Universities of Berlin and Karlsruhe. In 1971 he completed his doctoral studies under the supervision of Professor Dr. H. Pichler and his habilitation a few years later at the Engler-Bunte Institute of the University of Karlsruhe with Prof. Dr. K. Hedden. In 1986, Jens Weitkamp became Professor of Chemical Technology at the University of Oldenburg. In 1988 he took over a Full Professor position for Chemical Technology at the University of Stuttgart. High quality research on upgrading of crude oil and natural gas as well as petrochemistry has determined the scientific life of Jens Weitkamp and he has advanced these fields to a very large extent. Examples are refinery processes like cracking, hydrocracking, isomerisation, alkylation, reforming and demetallization as well as petrochemical reactions like alkylation of aromatics, transalkylation and epoxidation. Jens Weitkamp has advanced our understanding of zeolites and porous materials significantly. In his service to the International Zeolite Association, he served on the IZA council from 1994 till 2001 acting as the vice-president from 1994 to 1997 and the president from 1997 to 2001. He also served as the Chairman of the 10th International Zeolite Conference (IZC), held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1994. In 1993, Jens Weitkamp founded the scientific journal “Microporous Materials”, which he edited until the merger with “Zeolites” in 1997. From 1998 to 2003 he edited the new scientific journal “Microporous and Mesoporous Materials” as Editor-in-Chief, which became the leading journal within the field of zeolites and porous materials. Jens Weitkamp received a number of highly ranked recognitions among them are the Alwin-Mittasch-Prize of the DECHEMA (2010) and the Carl-Engler Medal (2002) of the German Society for Petroleum and Coal Science and Technology (DGMK). He became Corresponding Member of the Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 2003. The scientific community devoted to the research of zeolites, porous materials and heterogeneous catalysis shows great respect for the lifetime achievement of Jens Weitkamp and we regret the loss of this excellent scientist, teacher and human being. We will keep him in our memories. Our thoughts go to Sophie, his companion for the last ten years. |
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| 24-Aug-19 | Michael Stöcker received the Award of National Institute of Chemistry (Slovenia) | ||||||||||||||||||
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| News from the IZC-19 in Perth |
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| 31-Jul-19 | Seven new Council members were elected: | ||||||||||||||||||
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Tina
Düren (UK)
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| The new executive committee of the IZA council is: | |||||||||||||||||||
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Martin
Hartmann, President
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At
a
Business Meeting, the IZA Board selected the venue for the 21st IZC in
2025: |
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IZA Honorary Memberships were given to:
Takashi
Tatsumi |
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| Wilhelm
Schwieger of the University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany for important contributions to zeolite science and technology resulting in commercial applications of zeolites. |
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| The first Young Researcher Award (YRA) of the Iinteranational Zeolite Association has been attributed to: | |||||||||||||||||||
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Manuel
Moliner The award is sponsored by ExxonMobil
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| The 2019 Don Breck Award has been attributed to the team: | |||||||||||||||||||
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Stephen K.
Brand, Joel E. Schmidt, Michael W. Deem,
Frits Daeyaer, Yanhang Ma, Osamu Terasaki, Marat Orazov, Mark E. Davis for the discovery of enantiomerically enriched STW zeolite.
The IZA president Valentin Valtchev (middle) with Manuel Moliner (left) recipient of the Yong researcher award and Mark Davis (right) recipient of the 2019 Don Breck Award. |
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| 20-Jun-19 | Alberto Alberti (1938 - 2019) | ||||||||||||||||||
Alberto Alberti suddenly passed away on June 7th, 2019, two days from his 81st birthday. Alberto has been a major pillar of the community of natural zeolites and of crystallography of zeolites. Called by Glauco Gottardi to the Institute of Mineralogy of the University of Modena in 1966, he was an early developer of modern treatment of crystallographic data. He moved in 1986 to the University of Sassari and in 1989 to the University of Ferrara, where he started a successful school of crystallography. In the field of natural zeolites, his name is connected to the discovery and structural refinement of a number of new minerals, from barrerite to gottardiite, terranovaite and mutinaite. Throughout his career, he built bridges between the communities of natural and synthetic zeolites, showing the structural identity of many synthetic zeolites and their natural analogs. He brought fundamental contributions to the crystallochemistry of zeolites, shedding new light on the mechanisms of reconstructive phase transitions and of mobility of cations and acidic protons, improving the understanding of the properties of zeolites and aluminophosphates. His dedication to the zeolite community motivated his active participation to the instances of the International Zeolite Association, the International Mineralogical Association and the Associazione Italiana Zeoliti. The number of students who have been induced by his example to endeavour careers in research and teaching is the best witness of his capacity of transmitting his passionate love for science. The colleagues and students of Alberto will fondly remember his kindness, his human warmth and his commitment to help alleviating any human suffering. |
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| 7-Feb-19 | Harry Edwin Robson (1927 - 2019) | ||||||||||||||||||
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| 4-Feb-19 | Stefan Ernst (1960 - 2019) | ||||||||||||||||||
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17-Dec-18 |
News from the IZA board: a Young Researcher Award established |
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The award, a plaque, will be given to an individual not a group, during the banquet of the International Zeolite Conference. The sponsorship, in the amount of $ 10000, is assumed by ExxonMobil and presented at each IZC conference. A representative of ExxonMobil will personally hand over the award and congratulate the winner. The first award Young Researcher Award will be given during the 19th IZC in Perth, Australia. More information can be found in the IZA protocole for the Young Researcher Award. |
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| 22-Nov-18 | Nominations for the 2019 Donald W. Breck Award invited | ||||||||||||||||||
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| 1-Nov-18 | News from the MOF commission | ||||||||||||||||||
| We are soliciting nominations for at least four new positions on the International Zeolite Association Commission on Metal-Organic Frameworks (http://www.iza-online.org/MOF/). A vote will be held amongst delegates at the MOF2018 conference, and the successful candidates announced at this meeting. If you are interested in this role, or know a colleague who may be interested, please email the Commission chair Russell Morris (rem1@st-andrews.ac.uk). Russell may also be contacted for further information about the process or the role. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6-Oct-18 | Proposals for the organization of the 21st International Zeolite Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
| The
IZA Executive Council is soliciting proposals for organizing the 21st
IZC to be held in 2025. A proposal should contain sufficient detail,
including the specific proposed conference location, to permit a
reasonable evaluation of its merits, and must contain the name of a
person who agrees to become the Conference Organizer, if the IZA
council would select the proposal. The time schedule for this process
is shown schematically below.
Selection of the venue for the 21st IZC:
A: Those who plan to submit a bid for the 21st IZC should send a letter of intent to the IZA President (valentin.valtchev@ensicaen.fr) or the IZA Secretary (lolly@iqm.unicamp.br) at least six months before the 19th IZC. It should contain the name of the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, the Members of the Organizing Committee and the envisaged venue and date for the 21st IZC. The Organizing Committee is expected to include well-established academics in the field of zeolite-type materials. Upon receipt of the letter of intent, the Secretary shall send the detailed questionnaire "Proposal for the Organization of the 21st IZC to be held in 2025” to the applicant. B: This questionnaire, properly filled in and signed, must be received by the President and Secretary at least four months before the 19th IZC. All bids received by this date are distributed to the IZA Council members. C: The Council will finalize the pre-selection two months before the 19th IZC. The IZA President will notify all those who submitted bid(s) of the outcome of the pre-selection and the date for the presentation to the IZA Council. This gives the successful applicants two months to prepare their presentations for the Business Meeting at the 19th IZC. At the IZA Council meeting, after the presentations of the pre-selected proposals, the IZA Council will vote for the selection of the final winner. The winner will be announced at the closing Business Meeting at the 19th IZC. |
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| 13-Apr-18 | Garcia
Martinez receives the Kathyrin Hach Award (ACS entrepreneurship award) |
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| 9-Apr-18 | Jiři Čejka receives the Werner von Siemens Award | ||||||||||||||||||
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| 23-Dec-17 | News from the MOF Commission | ||||||||||||||||||
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| 17-Nov-17 | News from the Natural Zeolites Commission | ||||||||||||||||||
| A comprehensive report on the sedimentary zeolites of Cuba is posted on the Natural Zeolite Commission website. |
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