Heinrich Emanuel Merck Award for 2010 granted to leading Italian scientist
- Professor Torsi from the University of Bari receives Analytical Sciences distinction
For more than 20 years, the Heinrich-Emanuel-Merck Award has been recognizing scientists under the age of 45 whose work focuses
on new methods in chemical analysis and the deployment thereof in applications aimed at improving the quality of human life,
for example in fields such as environmental protection, life sciences or the biosciences.
Torsi is being recognized for her research work on organic semiconducting chemical sensors based on organic thin-film field effect transistors. Such components permit highly sensitive analytical measurements. This highly interesting technology makes it possible to measure so-called chiral substances, meaning the spatial arrangement of atoms in molecules.
Chiral substances are responsible for many biological effects in enzymes, antibodies or other molecular receptors. This in turn yields numerous applications in the synthesis of raw materials and active ingredients in Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals.
“Professor Torsi is a leading scientist and an outstanding individual who is internationally well connected. Her work on organic semiconducting sensors convinced the jury in every respect,” explained Dr. Klaus Dieter Franz, Head of Analytical Services at Merck. “Formerly the Heinrich Emanuel Merck Award was granted exclusively for achievements in analytical chemistry. It is now also aimed at researchers working in Life Sciences and Biosciences, since Merck has also made great strides in this direction. This has considerably expanded the pool of candidates.” The Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals business sectors both play a leading role in the appointment of the high-caliber international jury.
The news from Darmstadt was received very positively in Bari. Professor Torsi said: "I am delighted and honored to have been awarded this prestigious prize as Merck enjoys a good reputation in the scientific community. I view this prize as recognition of work conducted at the interface of science and business. After all, innovation and entrepreneurial thinking are interconnected.“
Heinrich Emanuel Merck Award
Merck began granting the Heinrich Emanuel Merck Award in 1988 to mark the centennial of the first standardization of analytical methods by Dr. Karl Krauch, a Merck chemist. This list of the prizewinners documents the significance of the prize in the analytical sciences community, which has often laid the groundwork for important discoveries. For example, with his work on capillary electrophoresis, Professor Norman Dovichi, the 2000 award winner, made the sequencing of the human genome possible. Professor Shuming Nie, the 2007 award winner, achieved multicolor optical coding for biological assays using quantum-dot-tagged microbeads, which makes it possible to better detect cancer cells in the body.
Torsi is being recognized for her research work on organic semiconducting chemical sensors based on organic thin-film field effect transistors. Such components permit highly sensitive analytical measurements. This highly interesting technology makes it possible to measure so-called chiral substances, meaning the spatial arrangement of atoms in molecules.
Chiral substances are responsible for many biological effects in enzymes, antibodies or other molecular receptors. This in turn yields numerous applications in the synthesis of raw materials and active ingredients in Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals.
“Professor Torsi is a leading scientist and an outstanding individual who is internationally well connected. Her work on organic semiconducting sensors convinced the jury in every respect,” explained Dr. Klaus Dieter Franz, Head of Analytical Services at Merck. “Formerly the Heinrich Emanuel Merck Award was granted exclusively for achievements in analytical chemistry. It is now also aimed at researchers working in Life Sciences and Biosciences, since Merck has also made great strides in this direction. This has considerably expanded the pool of candidates.” The Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals business sectors both play a leading role in the appointment of the high-caliber international jury.
The news from Darmstadt was received very positively in Bari. Professor Torsi said: "I am delighted and honored to have been awarded this prestigious prize as Merck enjoys a good reputation in the scientific community. I view this prize as recognition of work conducted at the interface of science and business. After all, innovation and entrepreneurial thinking are interconnected.“
Heinrich Emanuel Merck Award
Merck began granting the Heinrich Emanuel Merck Award in 1988 to mark the centennial of the first standardization of analytical methods by Dr. Karl Krauch, a Merck chemist. This list of the prizewinners documents the significance of the prize in the analytical sciences community, which has often laid the groundwork for important discoveries. For example, with his work on capillary electrophoresis, Professor Norman Dovichi, the 2000 award winner, made the sequencing of the human genome possible. Professor Shuming Nie, the 2007 award winner, achieved multicolor optical coding for biological assays using quantum-dot-tagged microbeads, which makes it possible to better detect cancer cells in the body.
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Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company with total revenues of € 7.7 billion in 2009, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by approximately 40,000 (including Merck Millipore) employees in 64 countries. Its success is characterized by innovations from entrepreneurial employees. Merck's operating activities come under the umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds an approximately 70% interest and free shareholders own the remaining approximately 30%. In 1917 the U.S. subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent company ever since.
Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company with total revenues of € 7.7 billion in 2009, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by approximately 40,000 (including Merck Millipore) employees in 64 countries. Its success is characterized by innovations from entrepreneurial employees. Merck's operating activities come under the umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds an approximately 70% interest and free shareholders own the remaining approximately 30%. In 1917 the U.S. subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent company ever since.
