Adolf von Baeyer commemorative medal

The Adolf von Baeyer Commemorative Medal is awarded to scientists for outstanding work in the field of organic chemistry. The prize was donated by Carl Duisberg in 1910 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the lecturer and the 75th birthday of his teacher Adolf von Baeyer. The GDCh has been awarding this award since 1949. It was initially financed by Bayer AG and later by a special fund of the GDCh. The namesake Adolf von Baeyer is one of the most important chemists of his time and was honored with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1905 for the synthesis of indigo and triphenylmethane dyes.

awardee 2023 - Rainer Herges, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel

Professor Rainer Herges is the awardee of the 2023 Adolf von Baeyer Memorial Medal. He is being honored for his outstanding and groundbreaking contributions to organic chemistry. His work has had a significant impact on the discipline and is characterized by originality, fundamental research and international recognition. He covers a wide range of topics, from theory to synthesis to practical application. Thirty years ago, he successfully developed methods using machine learning to predict new chemical transformations. Herges' ACID method for visualizing the density of delocalized electrons is also recognized worldwide. He also succeeded in producing the first molecule that can be magnetically switched at room temperature, which enables precise and spatially high-resolution temperature measurements, for example in magnetic resonance imaging.

More information about Professor Herges

Selection committee

Prof. Dr. Frank Würthner, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (lead)
Prof. Dr. Lutz Ackermann, Georg August University of Göttingen
Prof. Dr. Anke Krüger, University of Stuttgart
Dr. Carl Friedrich Nising, Bayer AG
Prof. Dr. Bart Jan Ravoo, Westphalian Wilhelms University of Münster
Prof. Dr. Tanja Weil, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research