At the annual Dutch chemistry conference Chains, the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society (KNCV) announced that Erik Garnett (UvA-IoP and AMOLF) is the recipient of the KNCV Gold Medal. Garnett receives the award for his groundbreaking, cross-disciplinary research that combines nanomaterials, photochemistry, materials chemistry and nanophotonics.
The jury describes Garnett as being not only a fantastic chemist and mentor, but also a great ambassador to Dutch chemistry.
At AMOLF Garnett leads the research group Nanoscale Solar Cells. The group researches two main lines and both are focused on light. One research line is about photovoltaics; making solar cells more efficient and stable. The other main topic is using light to control chemical reactions and that can be molecular reactions, but also solid state reactions. In addition to being a group leader at AMOLF, Garnett also holds a professorship at the Institute of Physics (IoP) at the University of Amsterdam.