J.H. van 't Hoff, 100 jaar Nobelprijs: 1901-2001


Van 't Hoff Centennial Symposium		Manfred T. Reetz
		Manfred T. Reetz was born in 1943 in Germany and obtained a B.S. degree from Washington University (St. Louis) in 1965 and a M.S. degree in chemistry from the University of Michigan in 1967. In 1969 he received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Göttingen (Germany) under the direction of U. Schöllkopf. Following postdoctoral training under R.W. Hoffmann at the University of Marburg, he obtained his Habilitation there in 1976, spent two years as Associate Professor at the University of Bonn before becoming Full Professor in Marburg in 1980. In 1991 he moved to Mülheim/Ruhr and two years later became director of the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung. His current interests include organometallic reagents and catalysts in organic synthesis, nanostructured transition metal clusters and directed evolution as a means to create enantioselective biocatalysts
Van 't Hoff Centennial Symposium		Jean-Marie Lehn
		Jean-Marie Lehn was born in Rosheim, France in 1939. He received his Doctorat-ès-Sciences in 1963 from the University of Strasbourg working in the laboratory of Guy Ourisson. The following year he joined the group of Robert Burns Woodward at Harvard University, where he participated in the total synthesis of vitamin B12. On his return to Strasbourg he started to work in areas on the frontier between organic and physical chemistry, later taking an interest in biological processes as well. In 1968 his studies led to the synthesis of cage-like molecules that form inclusion complexes, the cryptates, with various metal ions. With this began his research on the chemical basis of molecular recognition (i.e. the way in which a receptor molecule recognizes and selectively binds a substrate), which also plays a fundamental role in biological processes. For these studies Lehn received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1987 with D.J. Cram and C.J. Pedersen. In 1970 Lehn became Professor of Chemistry at the Université Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg and since 1979 he is Professor at the Collège de France in Paris.
		Over the years his work led to the definition of a new field of chemistry, which he named supramolecular chemistry as it deals with the complex entities formed by the association of two or more chemical species held together by intermolecular forces, whereas molecular chemistry studies the features of the entities constructed from atoms linked by covalent bonds. His research broadened from molecular recognition towards supramolecular catalysis and transport processes. It also extended to the design of molecular devices, molecular electronics and photonics. More recently the main line of development concerned the design of programmed systems that undergo self-organization by spontaneous assembly of suitable components into well-defined supramolecular architectures following an Aufbau plan. Author of more than 650 scientific publications, Lehn is a member of many academies and institutions and has received numerous international honours and awards.
Van 't Hoff Centennial Symposium		Peter Atkins
		Peter Atkins was an undergraduate at the University of Leicester and stayed on there to do his doctorate (in magnetic resonance). He went to UCLA as a Harkness Fellow, then returned to Oxford in 1965 as University Lecturer in physical chemistry and fellow of Lincoln College, where he has been ever since. His research interests were entirely theoretical, and included magnetic resonance, the effect of magnetic fields on chemical reactions, and the electromagnetic properties of molecules. His first textbook was Molecular quantum mechanics (1970, third edition 1997), followed soon after by Quanta: a handbook of concepts (1974, second edition 1992). On the basis of those books he was asked by OUP to write Physical chemistry (1978, seventh edition 2002) and later Elements of physical chemistry (1993, third edition 2001) and Inorganic chemistry (1992, third edition 1999). He has also written several other major texts, such as Chemistry: molecules, matter, and change (1987, 4th edition 2000) and Chemical principles (second edition, 2002). His interests include the public understanding of science, and he has written a number of accessible books on chemistry, including Molecules, The second law, and The periodic kingdom. Professor Atkins received the Meldola Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 1969 and is the Nyholm Lecturer for 1999. He has held visiting professorships in Japan, France, China, New Zealand, and Israel, and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Utrecht.
Van 't Hoff Centennial Symposium		Bert Meijer
		Bert Meijer did his PhD in the laboratories of professor Hans Wynberg of the University of Groningen in 1982, where he worked on the synthesis and chemiluminescence of 1,2-dioxetanes. From 1982-1989 he was a research scientist on molecular materials for (opto)electronics at Philips Research in Eindhoven and from 1989-1992 he was group leader new polymeric materials at DSM Research in Geleen. Since 1991 he is professor of Organic Chemistry at the Eindhoven University of Technology and since 1995 he is also adjunct-professor of Macromolecular Chemistry at the University of Nijmegen. His research interests are related to the design, synthesis, characterization, and possible applications of complex (macro)molecules with unconventional properties with special emphasis on dendrimers, supramolecular polymers and conjugated organic materials.