The European Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2020 Leonardo da Vinci Award to Prof. Klaus Müllen for his outstanding activity in the field of  physical organic chemistry.

Klaus Müllen received his academic training in physical and physical organic chemistry, later held a chair in organic chemistry and  became director at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research where he was responsible for macromolecular synthesis. Deeply rooted in methods of organic synthesis and with an emphasis on organic electronic materials, he introduced a wealth of new polymer architectures, but also advanced the need for precision polymer synthesis. Many of his polymers have become classics of materials science.

His work  stands out for both depth and breadth, extending from organic colorants to conjugated polymers, from graphenes to polyolefins and from organic-inorganic composites to functional organic nanoparticles. His whole scientific career is a tribute to interdisciplinarity and trustworthy collaboration. This has allowed their consortia to jointly make major contributions to nanoscience, photophysics, device fabrication, sensing and even tumor therapies. In his belief, materials synthesis must, first,  be reliable to allow sound structure-property relations and to rationally „synthesize desired properties and functions“, and, secondly, include methods of processing, i.e. of creating defined macroscopic states of matter. Along these lines, he has described liquid-crystalline phases, thin films and fibers with unique supramolecular architectures.

In 1995 his group published a seminal paper on large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons together with their electronic characterization by scanning tunneling microscopy. By making these disc structures larger and larger, they have established the class of „nanographenes“ . These, in turn, have culminated in the synthesis of graphene nanoribbons, a new type of electronic materials bridging the worlds of conjugated polymers and graphenes. Classical polymer synthesis is thereby combined with synthesis after immobilization of monomers on surfaces  and even with chemical vapor deposition.

In Klaus Müllen’s research, creativity in synthesis has always served a goal in materials research. In 2007, they published a first paper towards nowadays widely  used donor-acceptor polymers as semiconductors for organic field-effect transistors . Likewise, their graphene nanoribbons are not only relevant for established device applications, but also for spintronics and even for future quantum computing. From a strategic point of view, their graphenic (2D-) structures are made from multiply branched (3D-) polyphenylene precursors. The latter, in turn, are functional materials in their own right as shape-persistent, tree-like polymers (dendrimers) for biomedicine, light harvesting and catalysis.    

Dear Academician,

We are glad to announce that Professor Rodrigo Martins was reelected as President of the European Academy of Sciences (March 2020 to March 2022) with the following new Head of divisions:

• Prof. Endre Süli for Computational and Informational Sciences Division (March 2020 to March 2023),
• Prof. Louis Legendre for Earth and Environmental Sciences Division ((March 2020 to March 2023),
• Prof. José Antonio Carrillo for Mathematics Division (March 2020 to March 2023),
• Prof. Daniel Scherman for the Medicine and Life Sciences Division ((March 2020 to March 2023),
• Prof. Paul Lecoq for the Physics Division ((March 2020 to March 2023).

Were also elected as Officers of the Scientific Committees: 

• Profs. Alfio Quarteroni, Michale Griebel, Carl Chang and Barbara Wohlmuth for Computational and Informational Sciences Division (March 2020 to March 2023),
• Profs. Antonio Camacho and John R. Porter for the Earth and Environmental Sciences Division (March 2020 to March 2023),
• Profs. Giuseppe Lacidogna and Dimitrios Aggelis for the Engineering Division (March 2020 to March 2023),
• Profs. Nick Serpone and Paolo Colombo for the Materials Science Division (March 2020 to March 2023),
• Profs. Antonio Bianconi and Dimitri Batani for the Physics Division (March 2020 to March 2023).

The other members of the Presidium and the members of the other divisions remain.

Sincerely yours, 

The Perpetual Secreaty of the European Academy of Sciences,

Hélène de Rode

Dear Academician,

We are glad to announce the results of the Blaise Pascal Medals.

• Prof. Iain McCulloch for Materials Sciences,
• Prof. John Katsikadelis for Engineering,
• Prof. Albert Cohen for Mathematics,
• Prof. Manfred Reetz for Chemisty,
• Prof. Sir Tejinder Singh Virdee for Physics.

Congratulations to Awardees!

Sincerly yours,

The Perpetual Secretary of the European Academy of Sciences,

Hélène de Rode