Prof. Dr. Melanie Schnell has been awarded the 2026 van’t Hoff Prize, one of the highest honors in physical chemistry in Germany, “in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the research on, and control of, chiral molecules in the gas phase via chirality-sensitive microwave spectroscopy.” Named after Jacobus Henricus van’t Hoff, one of the founders of physical chemistry and the first-ever Nobel laureate in chemistry, the van’t-Hoff Prize is awarded by the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry is one of the most prestigious scientific awards in the field of physical chemistry in the German-speaking world. It honors fundamental, theoretical, and experimental breakthroughs that have garnered significant international attention.
The awarding of the prize, established by Nobel laureate Prof. Dr. Gerhard Ertl, to Prof. Dr. Melanie Schnell has a special connection to the Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry at Leibniz University Hannover in several respects: Physical Chemistry: Among the most prestigious scientific awards in physical chemistry, Gerhard Ertl was the first holder of the then-newly established second chair at our institute. Melanie Schnell not only studied here and earned her doctorate with her early work in microwave spectroscopy with Jens-Uwe Grabow, but after stays at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, MD, USA, and at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, Berlin, she has also obtained her venia legendi in physical chemistry in Hanover.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Professor Melanie Schnell and are delighted about her exceptional achievement.
