Professor Francis Verpoort elected to Palladium Global Science Award Jury Chair
Published on 21 February 2025
The Palladium Global Science Award has elected Professor Francis Verpoort as the Chair of its International Expert Council (Jury). Professor Verpoort, a global expert in organometallic chemistry, currently serves as Chair Professor at the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Material Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology.
The International Expert Council (Jury) will function as the Jury for the Palladium Global Science Award, which celebrates its inaugural year in 2025, highlighting cutting-edge research in palladium applications. Scientists, engineers, researchers, and experts from around the world are encouraged to submit their scientific developments, applied concepts, and articles that present new applications of palladium. A prize pool of $350,000 will be shared among five winners.
The Jury comprises international experts from leading universities, R&D centres, scientific organizations, and laboratories specializing in chemistry, materials science, energy, metallurgy, and related research areas. As the Jury Chair, Professor Verpoort will lead the process to determine the competition’s winners.
In addition to his role at the Wuhan University of Technology, Professor Verpoort is the founder and CEO of SIAS Ltd. merging academic excellence with entrepreneurial innovation. He serves as the Editor of Applied Organometallic Chemistry, and the Editor-in-Chief of Chemistry Africa and Nanocatalysis. He is the winner of numerous awards, including the Dr. Basudev Banerjee Memorial Award in India, and he is a Fellow of both the Indian Chemical Society and the British Royal Society of Chemistry. Professor Verpoort has also been elected as a member of several prestigious organisations, including the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Mexican Academy of Science. Moreover, his exceptional contributions have been honoured with the title of “National Distinguished Expert” in the People’s Republic of China.
Applications for the Palladium Global Science Award are now open and will be accepted until 31 July 2025.