Gerhard Ertl

<h2 id="biography">Biography</h2>
Ertl was born in <a href="/facts/Stuttgart/H4DCyM2U">Stuttgart</a>, Germany, where he studied physics from 1955 to 1957 at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Stuttgart/Fj4bN8UX">Technische Hochschule Stuttgart</a> and then at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Paris/yXAx8nlG">University of Paris</a> (1957–1958) and <a href="/facts/Ludwig_Maximilian_University/eJtBcjAE">Ludwig Maximilian University</a> in Munich (1958–1959). He completed his <a href="/facts/Diplom/jmHcmnMG">Diplom</a> in Physics at the Technische Hochschule Stuttgart in 1961, followed his thesis advisor <a href="/facts/Heinz_Gerischer/f4teajqM">Heinz Gerischer</a> from the <a href="/facts/Max_Planck_Institute_for_Metals_Research/FxSrlml2">Max Planck Institute for Metals Research</a> in Stuttgart to Munich and received his PhD degree from the <a href="/facts/Technische_Hochschule_M%C3%BCnchen/14UXILEo">Technische Hochschule München</a> in 1965.

<h3>Academic career</h3>
After completing his PhD, he became an assistant and lecturer at <a href="/facts/Technische_Hochschule_M%C3%BCnchen/14UXILEo">Technische Hochschule München</a> (1965–1968).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2">2</a> From 1968 to 1973, he was professor and director at <a href="/facts/Leibniz_University_Hannover/Y2VhoNwk">Technische Hochschule Hannover</a>; then, he became a professor at Institute for Physical Chemistry, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (1973–1986).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a> During the 1970s and 80s, he was also a visiting professor at the <a href="/facts/California_Institute_of_Technology/3FPcp7BL">California Institute of Technology</a> (1976–1977), the <a href="/facts/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Milwaukee/jf7UFTS3">University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee</a> (1979) and the <a href="/facts/University_of_California,_Berkeley/MXVEjklr">University of California, Berkeley</a> (1981–82).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a>
He became the director at the <a href="/facts/Fritz_Haber_Institute_of_the_MPG/WSqr4Lt8">Fritz Haber Institute of the MPG</a> from 1986 till his retirement in 2004.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a> In 1986, as honors, he was named "Honorary Professor" at the <a href="/facts/Free_University_of_Berlin/SmAKBFQn">Free University of Berlin</a> and at the <a href="/facts/Technische_Universit%C3%A4t_Berlin/Ao7c79ru">Technische Universität Berlin</a>, and in 1996 at the <a href="/facts/Humboldt_University_of_Berlin/QE2lhhkd">Humboldt University of Berlin</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a>
From 2008 to 2016, Ertl served as a member of the university council of <a href="/facts/Technische_Universit%C3%A4t_Darmstadt/mdYEJa8y">Technische Universität Darmstadt</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a>

<h3>Research</h3>
Gerhard Ertl is known for determining the detailed molecular mechanisms of the catalytic synthesis of <a href="/facts/Ammonia/MtLtJFtz">ammonia</a> over iron (<a href="/facts/Haber_Bosch_process/DMlVT2WP">Haber Bosch process</a>) and the catalytic oxidation of <a href="/facts/Carbon_monoxide/CKuLtEMJ">carbon monoxide</a> over <a href="/facts/Platinum/qJC6lQf7">platinum</a> (<a href="/facts/Catalytic_converter/KsP1ecPY">catalytic converter</a>). During his research he discovered the important phenomenon of oscillatory reactions on platinum surfaces and, using photoelectron microscopy, was able to image for the first time, the oscillating changes in surface structure and coverage that occur during reaction.
He always used new observation techniques like <a href="/facts/Low-energy_electron_diffraction/vaAuSE7k">low-energy electron diffraction</a> (LEED) at the beginning of his career, later <a href="/facts/Ultraviolet_photoelectron_spectroscopy/wCXbXJA4">ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy</a> (UPS) and <a href="/facts/Scanning_tunneling_microscope/LQ4BzmwP">scanning tunneling microscope</a> (STM) yielding ground breaking results.
He won the <a href="/facts/Wolf_Prize_in_Chemistry/y1ajwp9w">Wolf Prize in Chemistry</a> in 1998 along with <a href="/facts/Gabor_A._Somorjai/erMwHlfC">Gabor A. Somorjai</a> of the University of California, Berkeley for "their outstanding contributions to the field of the <a href="/facts/Surface_science/WTENdutJ">surface science</a> in general and for their elucidation of fundamental mechanisms of heterogeneous catalytic reactions at single crystal surface in particular."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a>
Gerhard Ertl was awarded the 2007 <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Chemistry/8Nb8Ajjy">Nobel Prize in Chemistry</a> for his studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces. The award, worth <a href="/facts/Swedish_Krona/19Cp09sJ">SEK</a> 10 million (<a href="/facts/United_States_dollar/naEEDUhC">US$</a>1.7 million, <a href="/facts/Pound_sterling/cGgjUJwv">£</a>1.15 million), was announced on Ertl's 71st birthday.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a> "I am speechless", Ertl told Associated Press from his office in Berlin. "I was not counting on this."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a>
As of November 2022<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gerhard_Ertl&action=edit">[update]</a>, Ertl has an <a href="/facts/H-index/K9q5E93W">h-index</a> of 124 according to <a href="/facts/Scopus/4U5YtGXd">Scopus</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a>

<h3>Personal life</h3>
Ertl and his wife Barbara have two children and several grandchildren. His hobbies include playing the piano and also playing with his cats when he is not doing experiments. He identifies as Christian.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a>

<h2 id="publications">Publications</h2>
Ertl, Gerhard (2023). My Life with Science. Berlin: GNT-Verlag. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-3-86225-131-5.
Ertl is one of the editors of the Handbook of Heterogeneous Catalysis. (<a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-3-527-31241-2)
Ertl is the co-editor of Engineering Of Chemical Complexity. 2013, World Scientific Publishing. (<a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-981-4390-45-3)

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gerhard Ertl.

<ul><li><a href="https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?method=simpleSearch&cqlMode=true&query=idn%3D106105507">Literature by and about Gerhard Ertl</a> in the <a href="/facts/German_National_Library/bj4WE8MM">German National Library</a> catalogue</li>
<li><a href="http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/pc/ertl/welcome.html">Homepage and list of publications</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/laureate/816">Gerhard Ertl</a> on Nobelprize.org with the Nobel lecture Reactions at Surfaces: From Atoms to Complexity</li>
<li><a href="http://www.wolffund.org.il/index.php?dir=site&page=winners&cs=31">The Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 1998</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">"Mainau Declaration". www.mainaudeclaration.org. Retrieved 11 January 2018. <a href="http://www.mainaudeclaration.org/" target="_blank">http://www.mainaudeclaration.org/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">"Prof. Dr. Gerhard Ertl". Max Planck Society. Retrieved 21 October 2020. <a href="http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/pc/ertl/#CV" target="_blank">http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/pc/ertl/#CV</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"Prof. Dr. Gerhard Ertl". Max Planck Society. Retrieved 21 October 2020. <a href="http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/pc/ertl/#CV" target="_blank">http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/pc/ertl/#CV</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">"Prof. Dr. Gerhard Ertl". Max Planck Society. Retrieved 21 October 2020. <a href="http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/pc/ertl/#CV" target="_blank">http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/pc/ertl/#CV</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">Freund, H.-J.; Knözinger, H. (2004). "Foreword for the Gerhard Ertl Festschrift". J. Phys. Chem. B. 108 (38): 14183–14186. doi:10.1021/jp049239i. Retrieved 5 June 2008. <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jp049239i" target="_blank">https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jp049239i</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">"Prof. Dr. Gerhard Ertl". Max Planck Society. Retrieved 21 October 2020. <a href="http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/pc/ertl/#CV" target="_blank">http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/pc/ertl/#CV</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">"Chemie-Nobelpreisträger Ertl und Uni-Rektor Winckler neu im Hochschulrat der TU Darmstadt". idw (in German). Retrieved 15 October 2021. <a href="https://idw-online.de/de/news246718" target="_blank">https://idw-online.de/de/news246718</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">"TU Darmstadt magazine, hoch3 2016, p. 17" (PDF). Retrieved 15 October 2021. <a href="https://www.tu-darmstadt.de/media/daa_responsives_design/01_die_universitaet_medien/aktuelles_6/publikationen_km/hoch3/pdf/hoch3_2016_2.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.tu-darmstadt.de/media/daa_responsives_design/01_die_universitaet_medien/aktuelles_6/publikationen_km/hoch3/pdf/hoch3_2016_2.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">"The 2008 Wolf Foundation Prize in Chemistry". Wolf Foundation. Archived from the original on 17 May 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2008. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070517203044/http://www.wolffund.org.il/cat.asp?id=15&cat_title=CHEMISTRY" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20070517203044/http://www.wolffund.org.il/cat.asp?id=15&cat_title=CHEMISTRY</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">"The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2007" (Press release). Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. 10 October 2007. <a href="http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2007/press.html" target="_blank">http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2007/press.html</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">"Nobel for ozone layer scientist". CNN. Associated Press. 11 October 2007. Archived from the original on 9 March 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2008. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080309072346/http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/10/10/nobel.chemistry.ap/index.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20080309072346/http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/10/10/nobel.chemistry.ap/index.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">Karl Ritter (11 October 2007). "German receives chemistry Nobel". Worcester Telegram. Retrieved 5 June 2008. <a href="http://www.telegram.com/article/20071011/NEWS/710110562/1052" target="_blank">http://www.telegram.com/article/20071011/NEWS/710110562/1052</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">"Scopus preview – Hartl, Franz Ulrich – Author details – Scopus". www.scopus.com. Retrieved 15 October 2021. <a href="https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=7102931078" target="_blank">https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=7102931078</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">Till Weishaupt (December 2007). "Glauben Sie an Gott?". Cicero. Retrieved 3 September 2014. Translated from German: Oh, yes, I believe in God. (...) I am a Christian and I try to live as a Christian (...) I read the Bible very often and I try to understand it. <a href="http://www.cicero.de/kapital/glauben-sie-gott/38343" target="_blank">http://www.cicero.de/kapital/glauben-sie-gott/38343</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Gerhard Ertl open-in-new

Gerhard Ertl