Max Planck Institute for Coal Research

Max Planck Institute for Coal Research
Laboratory high-rise of the institute
Category:	research Institute
Carrier:	none (legally independent foundation under private law )
Facility location:	Mülheim an der Ruhr
Type of research:	Basic research
Subjects:	Natural sciences
Areas of expertise:	Organic chemistry , organometallic chemistry , theoretical chemistry , homogeneous catalysis , heterogeneous catalysis
Basic funding:	Federal government (50%), states (50%)
Management:	Tobias Ritter (Managing Director)
Employee:	approx. 350
Homepage:	www.kofo.mpg.de

The Max Planck Institute for Coal Research ( MPI ) is based in Mülheim an der Ruhr . The focus of research is the development of selective catalysts . Unlike the other Max Planck Institutes, which are legally dependent parts of the Max Planck Society (MPG), this institute is a non-profit, independent, legal foundation under private law. The purpose of the foundation is scientific research into coal for the common good. It is realized through basic research in the natural sciences. The sponsors of the foundation are the Max Planck Society, the city of Mülheim an der Ruhr and the coal mining industry.

history

The old building of the MPI - recognizable with the lettering: Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Coal Research

The institute was founded in 1912 as the " Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Coal Research " and opened on July 27, 1914. The first director was Franz Fischer . The institute has been part of the MPG since 1948.

• In 1925 a patent application was made for the Fischer-Tropsch process . This process is used to extract gasoline from coal at normal pressure . The process is named after Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch . It is still today (2018) e.g. B. used by the Sasol group in South Africa .
• On November 17, 1953, Karl Ziegler received a patent for his process for the production of high molecular weight polyethylene . The license was sold to Hoechst AG and at times brought in DM 200,000 a day. This enabled the MPI to finance itself until the 1990s. In 1963, Karl Ziegler was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this invention .
• In 1970, Kurt Zosel received a patent for his process by which caffeine can be extracted from coffee . This is used to make decaffeinated coffee.
• In 1981 the Institute for Radiation Chemistry was spun off as the Max Planck Institute for Radiation Chemistry (now renamed and realigned to the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion ).
• From 1993 the institute was divided into several departments.

organization

The Max Planck Institute for Coal Research consists of five departments:

• Organic synthesis under the direction of Tobias Ritter
• Homogeneous Catalysis under the direction of Benjamin List
• Heterogeneous catalysis under the direction of Ferdi Schüth
• Organometallic chemistry under the direction of Alois Fürstner
• Molecular theory and spectroscopy under the direction of Frank Neese

Together with the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research GmbH , the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research maintains the International Max Planck Research School for Surface and Interface Engineering in Advanced Materials .

In 2008 the MPI was recognized by the GDCh as a Historic Site of Chemistry for the work of Karl Ziegler in the field of organic and organometallic chemistry as well as chemical catalysis .

100th anniversary in 2014

For the 100th anniversary of the institute in mid-2014, a special issue of the journal "Angewandte Chemie" was published, which provides comprehensive information on the history of the institute and current work area.

Ziegler lectures

Since 1980, the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research has been awarding the Ziegler Lecture almost annually in cooperation with the Foundation of Karl Ziegler's wife and daughter. The winners at a glance are:

• 1980 - Klaus Hafner
• 1981 - Dieter Seebach
• 1982 - Malcolm LH Green
• 1983 - Ernst Otto Fischer
• 1984 - Heinz A. Staab
• 1987 - Wolfgang A. Herrmann
• 1988 - Manfred T. Reetz
• 1993 - Barry Trost
• 1994 - Ryōji Noyori
• 1995 - Stephen L. Buchwald
• 1996 - Alfons Baiker
• 1997 - Eric Jacobsen
• 1998 - John Meurig Thomas
• 1999 - Robert Grubbs
• 2000 - Rutger van Santen
• 2001 - John F. Hartwig
• 2002 - Gerhard Ertl
• 2003 - David Evans
• 2004 - Pierre A. Jacobs
• 2005 - Kendall Houk
• 2006 - Hisashi Yamamoto
• 2007 - Avelino Corma
• 2010 - Scott Denmark
• 2011 - Peter Chen
• 2012 - Matthias Beller
• 2013 - Dieter Enders
• 2015 - Stefan Grimme
• 2016 - Erick M. Carreira
• 2017 - Amir H. Hoveyda
• 2018 - Kyoko Nozaki
• 2019 - Bert Weckhuysen
• 2020 - David Milstein

literature

• Adolf von Harnack : Speech at the opening of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Coal Research. (1914). In: Adolf von Harnack: Scientific policy speeches and essays. Compiled and edited by Bernhard Fabian. Olm-Weidemann, Hildesheim a. a. 2001, ISBN 3-487-11369-4 , pp. 34-36.
• Manfred Rasch : The Max Planck Institute for Coal Research. In: History Association Mülheim an der Ruhr e. V. (Ed.): Witnesses of the city's history. Architectural monuments and historical places in Mülheim an der Ruhr. Klartext Verlag, Essen 2008, ISBN 978-3-89861-784-0 , pp. 202-207.
• Manfred Rasch: Max Planck Institute for Coal Research Mülheim , with an interview with Günther Wilke , patents in-house . In: Denkorte. Max Planck Society and Kaiser Wilhelm Society. Breaks and continuities . Sandstein-Verlag, Dresden 2011, ISBN 978-3-942422-01-7 , pp. 110-125.
• Max Planck Institute for Coal Research (Ed.): Catalysis on the Kahlenberg. 100 years of the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research . Klartext Verlag, Essen 2015, ISBN 978-3-8375-0193-3 .

Web links

Commons : Max Planck Institute for Coal Research  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Homepage of the institute
• Publications of the institute in the MPG eDoc server (bibliography)
• History of the Coal Research Institute (compiled by the Mülheim an der Ruhr city archive)
• Society of German Chemists: Program "Historic Sites of Chemistry" of the GDCh
• The Max Planck Institute for Coal Research introduces itself - film about the institute on Youtube.com, uploaded by the Max Planck Society (2014)
• Early documents and newspaper articles on the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in the 20th Century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Sasol: Integrated Report, June 30, 2018 , p. 71, accessed April 1, 2019.
2. ↑ See the report on the special issue with a link to the journal at http://www.kofo.mpg.de/de/aktuelles/news/zum-jubilaeum-der-kohlenforschung-sonderausgabe-der-fachzeitschrift-angewandte-chemie .
3. ^ Ziegler lectures. Retrieved April 22, 2020 . 
4. ^ Blavatnik Young Scientist Award for Emmanuel Levy / EuChemS Award for Service for Ehud Keinan / Karl Ziegler Lectureship for David Milstein . In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition . April 20, 2020, ISSN  1433-7851 , p. 8755 , doi : 10.1002 / anie.202004625 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 25 ′ 1 ″  N , 6 ° 53 ′ 7 ″  E