Born

May 10, 1948 in Basel, Switzerland

Education

Diploma in Natural Sciences, ETH Zürich, 1972
Ph. D., Organic Chemistry, ETH Zürich, 1978 (Prof. A. Eschenmoser)
Postdoctoral Fellow, Columbia University,1978-1979 (Prof. G. Stork)

Professional appointments

Scientific staff member, ETH Zürich, 1980-1986
Privatdozent (lecturer), ETH Zürich, 1987-1990
Associate Professor, University of Basel, 1990-1993
Professor of Organic Chemistry, University of Basel, 1993-1995
Director at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Mülheim-Ruhr, Germany;
Head of the Homogeneous Catalysis Section, 1995-1998
Professor of Chemistry, University of Basel, 1999-present

Awards

Werner Prize of the Swiss Chemical Society, 1989
Wilhelm Manchot Research Professorship, TU München, 2002
Pracejus Prize of the German Chemical Society, 2003
Prelog Medal of the ETH Zürich, 2003
Ryoji Noyori Prize, The Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan, 2008
Heilbronner-Hückel Lecturer, Swiss Chemical Society and German Chemical Society, 2011
Member of The German Academy of Sciences "Leopoldina", 2011
Yamada-Koga Prize, Japan Research Foundation of Optically Active Compounds, 2011
President of the Bürgenstock conference, 2012