Congratulations to the finalists of the Reaxys PhD Prize 2020
- D-CHAB
- LOC
Among this year's 45 finalists for the Reaxys PhD Prize 2020 are three doctoral students from ETH Zurich: Robert Pollice (Chen Group), Peng Yu (Morandi Group) and Tobias Schnitzer (Wennemers Group). The three completed their studies in the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry at D-CHAB. Besides a lifetime membership in the Reaxys Prize Club, the finalists are invited to the virtual Reaxys PhD Prize Symposium 2020 in September/October, where the winners will be announced. Read more about the finalists.
Robert Pollice
Robert Pollice's area of expertise is physical chemistry. He was selected as finalist for his work on London Dispersion in Molecular Systems (Supervisor: Prof. Peter Chen; Chen Group LOC).
"I discovered my enthusiasm for science in general and chemistry in particular when I started competing in the Chemistry Olympiad. Discussing challenging scientific problems with like-minded people has inspired me to push the limits of what is known ever further. I dedicate my scientific career to exploring the space of chemical reactions and developing fundamental understanding of chemical reactivity."
Tobias Schnitzer
Tobias Schnitzer's area of expertise is organic chemistry. Tobias was selected as finalist for his work on Conformationally Tailored Peptidic Catalysts Enable New Asymmetric Transformations (Supervisor: Prof. Helma Wennemers; Wennemers Group, LOC).
"I became interested in catalysis with small peptides after learning about the precision with which nature performs organic reactions in the active site of an enzyme. Using the building blocks of enzymes – amino acids – and designing small peptidic organocatalysts for new asymmetric reactions was a challenging but rewarding endeavor for me. Now, I explore the field of material science to broaden my scientific horizon and to develop an interdisciplinary field for my own journey in the academic world."
Peng Yu
Peng Yu's area of expertise is organic chemistry. He was selected as finalist for his work on Exploring the potential of Shuttle catalysis in organic synthesis (Supervisor: Prof. Morandi Bill; Morandi Group LOC).
"I became interested in organic chemistry after learning about the substitution reactions. I hope to contribute to the improvement of making molecules in a simple and sustainable way."
About the Reaxys PhD Prize
This year, the Reaxys PhD Prize is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The prize recognizes accomplished young chemists for innovative and rigorous research. This global competition is open to anyone who is doing or has recently completed a PhD in any discipline of chemistry.