The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation awards a series of professorships each year to world-class foreign researchers to allow them to conduct high-level research at German universities. These awards are worth 5 million Euros and are funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Among the 2013 awardees are Markus Ribbe, University of California, Irvine, USA, who will carry out research at the University of Braunschweig and Ralph Nuzzo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, who will become Professor and Chair of Applied Physical Chemistry at the University of Heidelberg.
Markus Ribbe studied at the University of Bayreuth, Germany, where he received his Ph.D. in 1998 for work supervised by Ortwin Meyer. In 1998, he joined the University of California, Irvine, USA, as a postdoctoral researcher with Barbara K. Burgess. He joined the faculty there in 2004, and was made professor in 2011.
Ribbe´s research is focused on mechanistic studies of the biosynthesis and catalysis of nitrogenase. Recently this has included the spectroscopic characterization of the iron–molybdenum co-factor, and nitrogenase co-factors as catalysts in CO reduction.
Ralph Nuzzo studied at Rutgers College, New Jersey, USA, and worked with George M. Whitesides at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, for his Ph.D., which was awarded in 1980. He then moved to Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA, and joined the faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1991. He is currently G. L. Clark Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering.
Nuzzo´s research is focused on the chemistry of materials, including the fabrication and application of nanomembrane materials, molecular self-assembly processes at surfaces, and catalytic nanomaterials. Recently this has included encoded hydrogel particles, and transfer printing techniques for materials assembly.
Selected publications of Markus Ribbe:
- P+ State of Nitrogenase P-Cluster Exhibits Electronic Structure of a [Fe4S4]+ Cluster,
K. S. Rupnik, Y. Hu, C. C. Lee, J. A. Wiig, M. W. Ribbe, B. J. Hales,
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 13749–13754.
DOI: 10.1021/ja304077h - ATP-Independent Formation of Hydrocarbons Catalyzed by Isolated Nitrogenase Cofactors,
Chi Chung Lee, Yilin Hu, Markus W. Ribbe,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51(8), 1947–1949.
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201108916 - Spectroscopic Characterization of the Isolated Iron–Molybdenum Cofactor (FeMoco) Precursor from the Protein NifEN,
Aaron W. Fay, Michael A. Blank, Chi Chung Lee, Yilin Hu, Keith O. Hodgson, Britt Hedman, Markus W. Ribbe,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50(34), 7787–7790.
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201102724
Selected publications of Ralph Nuzzo:
- Electronically Programmable, Reversible Shape Change in Two- and Three-Dimensional Hydrogel Structures,
Cunjiang Yu, Zheng Duan, Peixi Yuan, Yuhang Li, Yewang Su, Xun Zhang, Yuping Pan, Lenore L. Dai, Ralph G. Nuzzo, Yonggang Huang, Hanqing Jiang, John A. Rogers,
Adv. Mater. 2013.
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201204180 - Transfer Printing Techniques for Materials Assembly and Micro/Nanodevice Fabrication,
Andrew Carlson, Audrey M. Bowen, Yonggang Huang, Ralph G. Nuzzo, John A. Rogers,
Adv. Mater. 2012, 24(39), 5284–5318.
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201201386 - Genotyping by Alkaline Dehybridization Using Graphically Encoded Particles,
Huaibin Zhang, Adam J. DeConinck, Scott C. Slimmer, Patrick S. Doyle, Jennifer A. Lewis, Ralph G. Nuzzo,
Chem. Eur. J. 2011, 17(10), 2867–2873.
DOI: 10.1002/chem.201002848
