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Latest News |
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| 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 | |||||
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| 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. | |||||
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| 14-Sep-19 | Jens Weitkamp (1942 - 2019) | ||||
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News from the IZC-19 in Perth |
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| 31-Jul-19 | |||||
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Tina
Düren (UK)
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Martin
Hartmann, President
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At
a
Business Meeting, the IZA Board selected the venue for the 22nd IZC in
2025: |
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IZA Honorary Memberships were given to:
Takashi
Tatsumi |
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| The new IZA Ambassador, the recepient
of the 2019 IZA award is: 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: Manuel
Moliner The award is sponsored by ExxonMobil
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| The 2019 Don Breck Award has been
attributed to the team: 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 Young Researcher Award and Mark Davis (right) recipient of the 2019 Don Breck Award. |
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| 20-Jun-19 | Alberto Alberti (1938 - 2019) | ||||
| 6-Mar-19 | News from the Italian Zeolite Association | ||||
| 1-Mar-19 | New reports from the Natural Zeolite Commission | ||||
| 7-Feb-19 | Harry Edwin Robson (1927 - 2019) | ||||
| 4-Feb-19 | Stefan Ernst (1960 - 2019) | ||||
17-Dec-18 |
News from the IZA board: a Young Researcher Award established |
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| 22-Nov-18 | Nominations for the 2019 Donald W. Breck Award invited | ||||
| 1-Nov-18 | News from the MOF commission | ||||
| 6-Oct-18 | Proposals for the organization of the 21st International Zeolite Conference | ||||
| 13-Apr-18 | Garcia Martinez receives the Kathyrin Hach Award | ||||
| 9-Apr-18 | Jiři Čejka receives the Werner von Siemens Award | ||||
