Pierre Perrin-Monlouis Dernière mise à jour: 20 octobre 2021
Awards were presented in three categories: Science & Technology, Research & Environment, Debut in Research
Rome, 20 May 2008 – The award presentation ceremony for the 2008 Eni Award was held today at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, the President of the Accademia dei Lincei, Giovanni Conso, Eni Chairman Roberto Poli and Eni Chief Executive Officer Paolo Scaroni. The Eni Award promotes technological development and innovation and development in sustainable energy.
Awards were presented in three categories: Science & Technology, Research & Environment, Debut in Research. Announcing the names of the winners, the Eni Award Promotion Committee, chaired by Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni, expressed its gratitude to the Scientific Commission, whose members, appointed from the world’s leading study and research centres, include Nobel Laureate Harold W. Kroto.
The Science & Technology award has been presented ex aequo to Arthur J. Nozik (U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Laboratory, Golden) and Stefan W. Glunz (Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Freiburg), both active in photovoltaic solar energy conversion.
Arthur J. Nozik has led research of fundamental importance in improving the use of solar energy in photovoltaic processes involving nanostructures. His award-winning studies open up interesting possibilities for the development of highly efficient new-generation solar cells.
Stefan W. Glunz has made a significant contribution to the development of advanced photovoltaic structures. The results achieved using a high-quality silicon-based material are regarded by the international community as a new world standard in efficiency, and could have a significant impact on the energy industry over the short term.
The Research & Environment award has been presented to the J. Craig Venter Institute, founded in 1992 by Mr. Venter himself, one of the greatest living geneticists, who announced in 2000 that he had successfully decoded the human genome. The Eni Award has been presented for his new research (end 2007), published in the latest issue of Science, which resulted in the creation, in a laboratory environment, of a synthetic chromosome using the DNA of a bacterium. The results gained by Venter’s workgroup mark a fundamental move towards synthetic genomics, a field which is expected to offer unlimited and revolutionary application potential for energy and the environment, such as new processes for carbon dioxide sequestration or regeneration of polluted environments. As far as energy is concerned, Venter’s research paves the way for the development of new metabolic processes to produce innovative biofuels from biological organic materials. The award is withdrawn by H. O. Smith, Nobel Prize for Medicine, and C.A. Hutchinson III, two of the main researchers in Venter’s workgroup.
The two Debut in Research awards have been given to two young researchers, Silvia Cereda (Milan Bicocca University) and Gian Luca Chiarello (University of Milan), whose research may lead to interesting developments in energy production.
With a view to enhancing its own resources and expertise in line with the latest strategies, Eni has created the Eni Recognition for Innovation. The program is open to employees of the Group, to encourage and reward innovation and applied research conducted within the company on energy and environment themes. The winners of this year’s award are from three workgroups, in the R&M Division, Polymers Europe and the E&P Division.
A total of 219 entries were presented for the 2008 Eni Award, from all over the world: of these, 167 were received in the Science & Technology and Research & Environment categories and 52 in the Debut in Research category. The award has become a focal point for the world’s top researchers and leading scientists hoping to be considered for the future Nobel Prize for Energy. The criteria for the 2009 Eni Award were published today. The developments introduced by the new edition will establish the Award in its definitive form.
Eni wishes to thank everyone in the science and research community who has taken part in the initiative.
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