On the morning of May 9th, Professor Johannes A. Lercher from the Technical University of Munich, who is also a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (USA), a Member of the National Academy of Engineering (USA), a Member of Academia Europaea, a Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and a Member of the Royal Spanish Academy of Sciences, was invited to TYUT’s “Qiushi Lecture Series.” He delivered an academic lecture titled “Enhancing Catalytic Reactivity via the Environment at Active Sites” in the first-floor conference room of the Yingxi Campus Conference Center. The lecture was chaired by Professor Li Ruifeng from the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.
Before the lecture, Sun Hongbin, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of TYUT, met with Professor Lercher. He warmly welcomed Lercher’s visit and introduced TYUT’s history and recent development. The two sides exchanged views on the common characteristics and future cooperation prospects between the two universities in the field of engineering, and had an in-depth discussion on topics such as new energy vehicle technology. Subsequently, President Sun presented Professor Lercher with the certificate of Honorary Professor of TYUT.
Professor Lercher’s lecture focused on “tuning the local microenvironment of catalytically active centers,” systematically explaining the cutting-edge concept of enhancing catalytic performance by regulating the chemical environment around active sites. In the lecture, Professor Lercher, drawing on numerous cutting-edge research examples, highlighted the significant application value of microenvironment regulation in energy conversion and green chemistry. The lecture concluded that tuning the catalytic microenvironment not only provides a new perspective for deeply understanding catalytic mechanisms but also offers important pathways for achieving difficult reactions and developing green and sustainable chemical synthesis.
During the interactive Q&A session, Professor Lercher, drawing on his own achievements and mechanistic understanding in catalysis research, provided thorough and detailed answers, offering professional insights and academic guidance for related research directions. He also encouraged young researchers to focus on fundamental catalytic mechanism research while actively exploring the creation of novel material systems, promoting the deep integration of theoretical research and system development.
The lecture attracted faculty and student representatives from the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and related majors. The academic atmosphere was strong, and the attending faculty and students expressed that they greatly benefited from the event.
【Scholar Biography】
Professor Johannes A. Lercher is a professor at the Catalysis Research Center of the Technical University of Munich. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (USA), a Member of the National Academy of Engineering (USA), a Member of Academia Europaea, a Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, a Member of the Royal Spanish Academy of Sciences, and an Honorary Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society. He has served as Director of the Institute for Integrated Catalysis at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (USA), President of the International Zeolite Association, President of the European Federation of Catalysis Societies, and Editor-in-Chief of the prominent catalysis journal, Journal of Catalysis. As a renowned scientist in the fields of international catalysis and green chemistry, he has received numerous international awards, including the Michel Boudart Award, the Alwin Mittasch Prize, and the ENI Award. He has published over 600 scientific papers in journals such as Science, Nature Catalysis, Nature Communications, JACS, Angewandte Chemie, Journal of Catalysis, and ACS Catalysis, earning him a very high reputation in the international catalysis community.
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