Prof. Armido Studer Wins the 2007 Solvias Ligand Contest

Prof. Armido Studer (Münster, Germany) convincingly won this year’s contest with his significant contribution to the field of homogeneous catalysis using Solvias ligands. The award ceremony will take place as part of the Sixth Annual Solvias Day on June 28th, 2007 in the Congress Center Basel. Around 200 invited guests from both the academy and industry are expected to attend this conference.

Solvias will honor Prof. Armido Studer for his work, „Divergent Reactions with a Racemic Educt: A Catalytic, Enantioselective, Regio-Divergent Nitroso Diels-Alder Reaction.“ His entry was distinguished not only by the original approach but also by the synthetic potential of this hitherto rare reaction type. The reaction, with its high enantioselectivity, produces compounds that can be very selectively converted into interesting derivatives. The high selectivity enables a more economical and environmentally-friendly process for industrial applications.

Armido Studer is professor at the Institute of Organic Chemistry, Westphalian Wilhelm University, (Münster, Germany). His scientific interests include the development of new synthetic methods in the field of free radical chemistry and the use of cyclohexadienes as building blocks and reagents.

The Solvias Ligand Contest is an annual competition for which Solvias invites researchers from around the world to submit their novel or improved applications of Solvias ligands and catalysts. Among other attributes, the prize recognizes the novelty, scientific rigor, and originality of the work. Particular emphasis is also placed on the practical industrial applicability to organic synthesis.

Solvias is a privately held company located in Basel/Switzerland. With 280 highly qualified employees we support the research and development of new drug substances and the optimization of manufacturing processes for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide. Solvias’ customers benefit from a wide range of experience in catalysis, asymmetric synthesis, custom synthesis, process R&D, polymorphism screening, salt selection, and analytical services.