PNNL

Johannes Lercher, a Battelle Fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, was named a foreign member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences. Lercher was selected for this honor at a society meeting in September 2024.

The Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences, Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales in Spanish, was founded in 1847 in Madrid. It draws members from the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and related sciences.

“I am deeply honored and humbled by being elected as a foreign member of the Royal Society of Spain.” said Lercher. “Beyond all appreciation of personal achievement, this recognition acknowledges the excellent collaborative work in the programs at the Institute for Integrated Catalysis.”

Lercher’s research focuses on catalysis, the science of enhancing rates of chemical reactions. In particular, his research explores how to design catalysts that work more selectively and at lower temperatures than current industrial practices. His work aims to lower the global carbon footprint by understanding fundamental aspects of industrially relevant catalysts and catalyzed reactions.

Johannes Lercher joined Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in 2011, where he serves as the director of the Institute for Integrated Catalysis. The Institute for Integrated Catalysis explores and develops the chemistry and technology of catalyzed processes. He has recently received the German Catalysis Society’s Alwin Mittasch Prize and the 2023 Michel Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis from the North American Catalysis Societies and the European Federation of Catalysis Societies. Johannes Lercher is a member of the United States National Academy of Engineering, the German Academy of Technical Sciences, the Austrian Academy of Science, the Academia Europaea, and the European Academy of Sciences.