2025 Chemistry Europe Award Presented to Stefan Grimme at IUPAC Opening Ceremony

Professor Stefan Grimme from the University of Bonn, Germany, received the prestigious Chemistry Europe Award in recognition of his pioneering work in theoretical and computational chemistry at the Opening Ceremony of the IUPAC 2025 conference in Kuala Lumpur. The award honors international scientists every two years who have made outstanding contributions in a field of chemistry. The award’s topic changes each time and is determined by the Chemistry Europe Council. Nominations for the Chemistry Europe Award 2027 will open in May 2026.

Figure 1. Professor Stefan Grimme (right) receives the Chemistry Europe Award from the Chemistry Europe Council Member Jan-Willem Toering. (photo Javier García-Martínez)

Figure 2. Jan-Willem Toering presents Chemistry Europe and highlights Professor Grimme’s exceptional contributions to science during the Opening Ceremony of IUPAC 2025. (photo Jing Tang)

Jan Willem Toering, Chemistry Europe Council Member and CEO of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Chemische Vereniging (KNCV), presented the award during the Opening Ceremony, acknowledging Professor Grimme’s outstanding scientific achievements. Professor Grimme is a globally recognized leader in theoretical and computational chemistry. One of his most significant contributions is the advancement of Density Functional Theory (DFT). His work on improving DFT accuracy through the development of dispersion-corrected DFT-Dx (x = 1–4) has been transformative. These methods have been widely adopted by researchers worldwide, bridging the gap between theoretical predictions and experimental data.

Figure 3. The Chemistry Europe Award Lecture took place the following day and was chaired by Dr. Jing Tang from Wiley Shanghai. (photo Jing Tang)

Figure 4. Stefan Grimme during his presentation. (photo João Borges)

Figure 5. The Chemistry Europe Award Dinner on the 38th floor offered not only a spectacular city view but also a great opportunity for meaningful exchange in an enjoyable atmosphere.
From right to left: Jan-Willem Toering (Chemistry Europe Council Member and CEO of KNCV), Professor Stefan Grimme (Chemistry Europe Award Recipient and University of Bonn, Germany), Dr. Jing Tang (Deputy Editor, Wiley Shanghai), Dr. Aqeel Saravanan, Executive Director of Institut Kimia Malaysia (IKM)), Professor Jennifer Strunk (Co-Chair of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Chemistry Europe journal ChemCatChem and Technical University of Munich, Germany).