Eni Award Winners Announced

Two chemists and a chemical engineer are among the winners of the 2011 Eni Awards, presented by Italian energy company Eni to honor researchers and scientists in the fields of energy and the environment.

Gabor A. Somorjai, professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, was a joint recipient of Eni’s New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons Prize, which he shared with Martin Landrø, professor of applied geophysics at the Norwegian University of Science & Technology, Trondheim. Somorjai was cited for his fundamental research on homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis and for the development of new catalysts used in petroleum-cracking processes, a key technology to ensure fuel yield and quality. The prize consists of a gold medal and 300,000 euros (about $427,137).

Gregory N. Stephanopoulos, Dow Professor of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received the Renewable & Non-Conventional Energy Prize for his pioneering research in the field of metabolic engineering. The prize consists of a gold medal and 200,000 euros (about $284,726).

Jean-Marie Tarascon, chemistry professor at the University of Picardie Jules Verne, in Amiens, France, was awarded the Protection of the Environment Prize, which consists of a gold medal and 200,000 euros. Tarascon was cited for his development of new electrode materials for sustainable and green lithium-ion batteries.