Jean-Claude BünzliJean-Claude Bünzli was born in 1944. He earned a degree in chemical engineering in 1968 and a PhD in 1971 (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne) for his work on the kinetic behaviour of Nb and Ta pentachloride adducts. He spent two years at the University of British Columbia as a teaching postdoctoral fellow (photoelectron spectroscopy) and one year at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (physical organic chemistry).
Positions
He was appointed assistant-professor at the University of Lausanne in 1974 and started a research program on the spectrochemical properties of f-elements. He was promoted as a full professor of inorganic and analytical chemistry in 1980. He transferred to EPFL in 2001 where he directed the Laboratory of Lanthanide Supramolecular Chemistry until 2010.
From 2009 to 2013, he was World Class University Professor at Korea University (South Korea) helping developing a new research center for photovoltaics. In 20154-2015 he acted as visiting professor at FJIRSM (Fuzhou, Fujian), a laboratory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
He presently holds the Dr Kennedy Wong Distinguished Visiting Professorship at Hong Kong Baptist University (3 months/year) and a position as Distinguished Scholar at University of Technology, Sydney (NSW, Australia, 1 month/year).
Administrative and reviewer duties
He acted as the elected Dean of the Faculty of Sciences (1990-1991) and as one of the elected Vice-Rectors of the University (1991-1995), in charge of students' affairs and of research programs in the field of biomedical sciences. He held a position of invited professor at the Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg in 1996 and at the Science University of Tokyo in 1998. In 1989, he founded the European Rare Earths and Actinide Society which coordinate international conferences in the field (cf. http://ereswww.epfl.ch).
He served as a World Bank Project Specialist within the framework of the Chinese Provincial Universities Development Project (Northwest China, 1989) and as a member of a Panel in charge of evaluating chemical research at Norwegian universities (1997). In 2001, he was hired as "Peer leader" for the evaluation of the Swiss universities of applied sciences. In 2005, he acted as a member of the "Physical Inorganic Panel" of the Science Foundation of Ireland and in 2006 he was nominated to the "Chemistry Panel" of the same foundation.
He is a member of the Editorial Board of Spectroscopy Letters, associate editor-in-chief of the Journal of Rare Earths, and senior editor of the Handbook on the Physics and Chemistry of Rare Earths (54 volumes published to date).
Teaching
Regarding teaching, he has directed the joint project of the universities of Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchâtel and Fribourg "General chemistry for students enrolled in a life sciences curriculum", within the frame of the "Swiss virtual campus", a program sponsored by the Conference of Swiss universities and the Swiss federal office for science and education (2000-2004). Web site: http://chimge@epfl.ch
Research
His research is centered on lanthanide luminescent molecular and supramolecular edifices, with main applications in biology & medicine. He is the author or the co-author of 350 research papers, 260 contributed communications and has presented 285 invited conferences, seminars, and courses. He has collected >22800 citations (h-index 72). André MerbachOriginaire de Pully (Vaud), André E. Merbach est né en 1940. Il étudie à l'Ecole Polytechnique de l'Université de Lausanne (Prix Pelet et de l'A3E2PL) et obtient son diplôme d'ingénieur chimiste en 1962 avec un travail de recherche en chimie organique. En 1964, l'Université de Lausanne lui confère le doctorat ès sciences avec félicitations du jury pour ses travaux sur les systèmes quaternaires de solubilité avec formation de cristaux mixtes. Il effectue ensuite un stage postdoctoral au Lawrence Radiation Laboratory de l'Université de Californie à Berkeley, où il étudie la ionisation d'électrolytes forts par RMN.
En 1965, de retour à l'Institut de chimie minérale et analytique de l'UNIL, on lui demande de développer une recherche et de créer un enseignement en chimie de coordination. En 1971 il y est nommé professeur assistant.
En 1973, la Société Suisse de Chimie lui attribue le Prix et la Médaille Werner pour ses travaux sur la structure, la stabilité et la dynamique d'adduits d'halogénures métalliques par RMN. Cette même année, l'UNIL le nomme professeur de chimie minérale et analytique.
Il a été membre de la division mathématiques, des sciences naturelles et de l'ingénieur du Fonds national de la recherche scientifique (1985-1996). Il représente la Suisse au Comité Technique COST Chimie (Coopération Européenne dans le domaine scientifique et technique: 35 pays, 1000 groupes de recherche en chimie) et a présidé ce Comité de 1998 à 2000. Il a présidé le Comité de gestion européen pour l'Action COST D6 pour les "procédés et réactions chimiques dans des conditions extrêmes ou non classiques" (1992-1997).
Il a organisé à Lausanne, en 1992, la XXIXe Conférence Internationale de Chimie de Coordination (ICCC). L'Université Lajos Kossuth, de Debrecen (Hongrie), lui a conféré, en 1993, le doctorat honoris causa pour ses études par RMN sous haute pression des mécanismes réactionnels en chimie de coordination. Il a été appelé à la présidence de la Société Suisse de Chimie (2001-2004). L'Université de Genève lui a délivré un doctorat honoris causa en 2003.
Nicolai CramerNicolai Cramer est né à Stuttgart, en Allemagne ; il a étudié la chimie à l'université de Stuttgart, où il a obtenu son diplôme en 2003, et son doctorat en 2005 sous la direction du professeur Sabine Laschat. Après un stage de recherche à l'université d'Osaka, au Japon, en 2006 il a rejoint le groupe du professeur Barry M. Trost à l'université de Stanford en tant que postdoc. A partir de 2007, il a travaillé sur son habilitation à l'ETH Zurich sous la direction du Professeur Erick M. Carreira et a reçu la venia legendi en 2010. En 2010, il a été nommé comme professeur assistant à l'EPF de Lausanne et a été promu professeur associé en 2013 et professeur ordinaire en 2015. Son principal programme de recherche englobe les transformations énantiosélectives catalysées par des métaux et leur mise en œuvre pour la synthèse de molécules biologiquement actives.Profile (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.)
CV
Pierre VogelProfessional positions:
P. Vogel was born in Cully (Switzerland) Oct. 23, 1944. In 1969, he did his Ph.D Award under supervision of Prof. H. Prinzbach at the Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Lausanne. After finishing his Ph.D in 1969, he did post-doctoral research at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA with Prof. Martin Saunders; research associate with Prof. J. A. Berson, K. A. Wiberg and P.v.R. Schleyer (Princeton Universtiy). From 1971 he worked as a Research chemist at Syntex S.A., in Mexico with Prof. P.Crabbé before he returned to the University of Lausanne in 1972. As of 1977 he became Professor of organic chemistry at the University of Lausanne. In 1991 he was Vice-Chairman of the Institute of organic Chemistry, University of Lausanne until 2001. Then he was Part-time grad.school teacher at the Universitites of Rouen and Caen from 1991 to 1993 and Part-time professor at Ecole Polytechnique de Palaiseau from 1993-2000. From 2000-2001 he was reviewer of the "Institut Universitaire de France" and as of 2001 Professor of organic chemistry at the EPFL.
Degrees and distincions
1969 Ph.D, University of Lausanne
1976 Swiss Chemical Society Award, Werner Medal
1973-now Member of the Swiss Chemical Society, of the American Chemical
Society and "Société Française de Chimie"
1984-1989 IOCD adviser
1988-1989 Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry at Ecole Normale
Supérieure, Paris
1989-2000 Member of the Swiss National Council of Research
1991-1992 Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry, University of Paris VI
1992 Pacific Coast Lecturer (USA)
1992-1993 Associate Professor at the Université de Montpellier, France
1993 Associate Professor, Université Paris Sud, Orsay
1993-1997 Swiss co-ordinator of the European COST D2 research program
1994 (spring) Associate Professor, ESPCI, Paris
1997 President of the european COST D2 management committee
1999 Coordinator of the european COSRD13
2001-now Member of the "Conseil Scientifique du Département des Sciences
Chimiques", CNRS
2002-2003 Novartis Lectureship
2004-2005 Boehringer INgelheim Distinguished Lecturer