Ben Feringa obtained his PhD degree at the University of Groningen. After working as research scientist at Shell in the Netherlands and the UK, he was appointed at the University of Groningen and named the Jacobus H. van’t Hoff Distinguished Professor of Molecular Sciences in 2004. He is member and former vice-president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Foreign Honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and member of Council of the ERC. In 2008 he was appointed Academy Professor and was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands. Feringa’s research has been recognized with a number of awards including the Koerber European Science Award (2003), Spinoza Award (2004), Prelog gold medal (2005), Norrish Award of the ACS (2007), RSC Organic Stereochemistry Award (2011), Nagoya gold medal (2013), ACS Cope Scholar Award 2015, Chemistry for the Future Solvay Prize (2015) and the 2016 Nobel prize in Chemistry.
Feringa’s research includes stereochemistry and asymmetric catalysis and pioneering work on molecular machines in particular the discovery of the first light-driven rotary molecular motor.
Professional position
- , Stratingh Institute For Chemistry
- Academy Professor, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Awards
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Jointly with Jean-Pierre Sauvage and James Fraser Stoddart FRS
