Ruzicka Prize

The Ruzicka Prize is one of the most important awards for the promotion of young scientists in the field of chemistry in Switzerland and is organized by PR D-CHAB. 

Leopold Ružička was born on 13 September 1887 in Vukovar (Croatia). From 1906 to 1910 he studied chemistry at the Technical University in Karlsruhe and was an assistant at ETH Zürich from 1912 to 1916. He then worked for the chemical industry and was a private lecturer. In 1923 he became titular professor at ETH Zürich. In 1927 he was appointed Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Utrecht. In 1929 he returned to ETH Zürich as full professor in succession to Richard Kuhn, where he remained until his retirement in 1957. In 1939 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his work in the field of polymethylene and higher terpene compounds.

After his retirement, a foundation was set up with the aim of annually honoring a young researcher for an outstanding publication in the field of chemistry. The Ružička Prize was extremely successful as an instrument for the promotion of young researchers, as the respective board of trustees has discovered many talents since it was first awarded in 1957.

Many of the scientists who, at the time of the award ceremony, perhaps only held the status of private lecturer or group leader, were or are active in leading positions in well-known research institutions or industry. Several of them have been appointed to professorships, and many have worked or are working at ETH Zürich and other Swiss universities.