Albert Einstein World Award of Science 2011
Field of Research: Nanochemistry
Date: 10 November 2011
Place of Ceremony: Assembly Hall
Host Institution: University of Tartu
Host Country: Tartu, Estonia
(Tartu, Estonia November 10, 2011). The World Cultural Council celebrated its 28th Award Ceremony with the host of the University of Tartu.
The members of the Interdisciplinary Committee have chosen Professor Ozin as the winner of the 2011 Albert Einstein World Award of Science for his pioneering accomplishments in the field of nanochemistry that have helped to define and establish the rapidly expanding discipline, which has now become the cornerstone of modern chemistry.
As one of the foremost architects of nanochemistry, he managed to predict how nanomaterials would bring about the “nanotechnology revolution”.
The Albert Einstein World Award of Science was created as a means of recognition to those men and women who have accomplished scientific and technological achievements which have brought progress to science and ensuing benefit to humankind.
For more than four decades, Professor Ozin has embraced a multidisciplinary approach to the synthesis of nanomaterials, applying it to physics, materials science, engineering, biology and medicine to solve a variety of problems.
His career’s work, which includes pioneering studies of new classes of nanomaterials, nanoporous materials, nanophotonic crystals and most recently nanomachines, epitomizes how cutting-edge research in nanochemistry can be effectively directed towards tackling contemporary challenges in nanotechnology through novel, practical solutions applied to a whole range of fields.
The group of scientists and students led by Professor Ozin have created nanoscale architectures able to control electrons and photons in unprecedented ways. Several applications are foreseen for the fruits of his nanomaterials research, including greater efficiency solar cells for clean energy generation, more efficacious photocatalysts to clean up environmental pollutants, full colour energy-conserving displays, improved banknote and product authentication devices, optical circuits for more powerful computers, and the development of futuristic nanomachines for medical applications, such as chemically-powered targeted drug delivery vehicles for cancer therapy.
Geoffrey Ozin has also been a leader in education, taking generations of students far beyond the traditional chemistry syllabus. As a renowned educator he has published the bestselling undergraduate textbook Concepts in Nanochemistry (VCH-Wiley, 2009) and graduate textbook (Nanochemistry: A Chemical Approach to Nanomaterials, RSC, 2009). They are now both widely adopted around the world for teaching nanochemistry.
Over the span of his career, he has continued to push back boundaries and enrich knowledge in the field of Chemistry. He has published 625 articles in top- ranking journals, garnering over 25,000 citations.
Professor Ozin has won numerous awards for his contributions to chemistry, including the most recent 2010 Premier Discovery Prize for Natural Sciences and Engineering, the highest honour that the Province of Ontario can bestow upon one of its scientists. He currently holds the unique rank of Distinguished University Professor at the University of Toronto, a tribute bestowed on only 0.1% of the 3000 faculty.
The significance, timeliness and technological relevance of Professor Ozin’s work and the knowledge transfer to academic, government and industrial scientists around the globe has brought true benefit to humankind through numerous inventions and innovations.
