idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
The interdisciplinary research network KiNSIS awards its highest honor: This professor demonstrates how research in non-thermal plasmas can tackle environmental challenges – and inspires the next generation of scientists.
This year, Annemie Bogaerts, Professor at the University of Antwerp (Belgium), delivered the Diels-Planck Lecture. With this talk, the Kiel Nano, Surface and Interface Science (KiNSIS) priority research area at Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (CAU) honored her outstanding contributions to plasma catalysis – a field at the intersection of chemistry, physics, and materials science – bestowing the highest recognition of the interdisciplinary network.
The award ceremony took place on September 24, 2025, during the KiNSIS Symposium as part of the Plasma Technology Conference. The event also included the presentation of doctoral awards for exceptional dissertations in KiNSIS research areas.
“We warmly congratulate Professor Annemie Bogaerts on this award. She is an exemplary role model for interdisciplinary research and the promotion of early-career scientists within KiNSIS,” said Professor Maria Wächtler, spokesperson for KiNSIS, on the occasion of the Diels-Planck Lecture.
“Professor Bogaerts has long been shaping the field of non-thermal plasmas, and we are very pleased to honor her with this award,” said Jan Benedikt, Kiel physics professor and longtime collaborator of Bogaerts in his laudation. “Through her dedication and numerous publications in internationally renowned journals, she is a true inspiration for early-career researchers.”
Since 2014, KiNSIS has awarded the Diels-Planck Medal – named after Kiel Nobel laureates Max Planck and Otto Diels – to internationally leading researchers in nanoscience and surface science. The medal is crafted from a silicon disc in the clean room of the university’s nanolab and features the likenesses of Nobel laureates Max Planck and Otto Diels.
Insights into Plasma Catalysis
Around 100 guests attended the lecture during the KiNSIS Symposium in a lecture hall at the Faculty of Engineering on CAU’s East Shore Campus. Under the title “Plasma catalysis: How to unravel the complex chemical and physical mechanisms?” Bogaerts outlined the central challenges of plasma catalysis.
Plasma catalysis uses plasmas—highly energetic gases—to accelerate chemical reactions and make them more efficient. The approach can reduce air pollutants, convert greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, and enable more sustainable chemical production.
Bogaerts tailors catalysts to the specific conditions inside plasma reactors. She controls the active particles within the plasma—known as plasma species—that drive chemical reactions. In addition, she optimizes reactor design to ensure that plasma and catalyst interact effectively. By combining experiments with computer modeling, her research seeks to unravel the still poorly understood mechanisms of plasma catalysis and develop environmentally friendly solutions.
https://www.uni-kiel.de/de/detailansicht/news/diels-planck-ehrung-fuer-annemie-b...
https://www.uni-kiel.de/en/research/priority-research-areas/kiel-nano-surface-an...
https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/staff/annemie-bogaerts/
https://www.pt21-kiel.de/
https://www.uni-kiel.de/de/tf/fakultaet/einrichtungen-services/kompetenzzentrum-...
Annemie Bogaerts with the Diels Planck Medal.
Copyright: © Christina Anders, Uni Kiel
KiNSIS Spoekespersons Maria Wächtler (left) and Kai Rossnagel (right) with Annemie Bogaerts (center)
Copyright: Christina Anders, Uni Kiel
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