Vincenzo Balzani

Vincenzo Balzani
Born (1936-11-15) 15 November 1936
Forlimpopoli, Italy
Nationality Italian
Fields Photochemistry
Institutions University of Bologna
Alma mater University of Bologna

Vincenzo Balzani (born 15 November 1936 in Forlimpopoli, Italy) is an Italian chemist, now emeritus professor at the University of Bologna.

Career

He has spent most of his professional life at the “Giacomo Ciamician” Department of Chemistry of the University of Bologna, becoming full professor in 1973. He has been visiting professor at several universities. He was the director of the Photochemistry and Radiation Chemistry Institute of the National Research Council from 1977 to 1988. He has been appointed emeritus professor on November 1, 2010.

His research interests cover a wide range of topics: photochemistry, photophysics, supramolecular chemistry, electron transfer reactions, molecular-level devices and machines, nanotechnology, photochemical solar energy conversion. His scientific activity is documented by more than 600 papers, mostly published on qualified journals. He has been invited to give lectures at a great number of national and international meetings, and seminars at many Universities and Research Centers around the world. For several years he has been one of the 100 most cited chemists of the world, with H index 101.[1]

Teaching activity

He taught courses on General and Inorganic Chemistry, Photochemistry, Supramolecular chemistry. He was chairman of the PhD course on Chemical Sciences from 2002 to 2007 and of the “laurea specialistica” in Photochemistry and Material Chemistry from 2004 to 2007. In the Academic Year 2008-2009 he founded at the University of Bologna an interdisciplinary course on Science and Society.

Public education activity

He believes that scientists have a great responsibility that comes from knowledge, so that it is their duty to educate citizens and help decision makers to find solution for mankind's problems. Therefore, he places side by side scientific research and education on various themes including chemistry, science and society, science and peace, and particularly the energy problem. His book Energia per l’Astronave Terra (Zanichelli, 2008, with N. Armaroli) received the 2009 Galileo prize for scientific education. In 2011 he has received the Città di Sasso Marconi prize for public education on the theme of energy.

Other activities

He was chairman of the Gruppo Italiano di Fotochimica (1982–1986) and European Photochemistry Association (1988–92). He is honorary chairman of the International Symposium on "Photochemistry and Photophysics of Coordination Compounds". He is a member of the Editorial Board of several international journals (currently: Chemistry: A European Journal, ChemPhysChem, Small and ChemSusChem).

Associations and academies

He is a member of: American Association for the Advancement of Science; Royal Society of Chemistry; European Academy of Sciences; Academia Europaea; Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei; Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze detta dei XL; Accademia delle Scienze di Torino; Società Nazionale di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti in Napoli; Accademia delle Scienze di Bologna.

Honors and awards

Pacific West Coast Inorganic Lectureship, USA and Canada, 1985; Gold Medal "S. Cannizzaro", Italian Chemical Society, 1988; Doctorate "Honoris Causa", University of Fribourg (CH), 1989; Accademia dei Lincei Award in Chemistry, Italy, 1992; Ziegler-Natta Lecturer, Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker, Germany, 1994; Italgas European Prize for Research and Innovation, 1994; Centenary Lecturer, The Royal Chemical Society (U.K.), 1995; Porter Medal for Photochemistry, 2000; Prix Franco-Italien de la Société Française de Chimie, 2002; Grande Ufficiale dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, 2006; Quilico Gold Metal, Organic Division, Italian Chemical Society, 2008; Honor Professor, East China University of Science and Technology of Shanghai, 2009; Blaise Pascal Medal, European Academy of Sciences, 2009; Rotary Club Galileo International Prize for scientific research, 2011; Nature Award for Mentoring in Science, 2013.

Publications

Books

Important papers in scientific journals

References

  1. Top Italian Scientists della VIA-Academy. Retrieved 6. September 2015.
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