Gadi Rothenberg is Professor and Chair of Heterogeneous Catalysis and Sustainable Chemistry at the Van ’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam. He received his PhD in Applied Chemistry summa cum laude from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem followed by a Marie Curie Fellowship at The University of York. In 2001 he joined the University of Amsterdam, leading interdisciplinary research in catalysis, sustainable chemistry, and energy materials. Since 2024 he is also Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Department of Energy & Power Engineering at Tsinghua University.

Rothenberg’s research focuses on heterogeneous catalysis, methane chemistry, biomass conversion, and porous materials for sustainable energy applications. He is interested in creating value from waste, and believes that scientific research should be oriented towards useful and practical applications that can help large numbers of people.

Prof. Rothenberg has 16 patents, several of which were sold to industry. He has co-founded three spin-off companies based on his scientific discoveries: Sorbisense A/S (sold to Eurofins in 2018), YellowDiesel BV and Plantics BV, which today manufactures sustainable plastics on multi-ton scale and employs 45 people.

Rothenberg is the author of three textbooks, on Catalysis, Ceramic Membranes, and Innovation Management (all published by Wiley-VCH). His catalysis textbook is used worldwide and is also available in Chinese. His latest book, Innovation Management in Sustainable Chemistry, connects science with business and entrepreneurship in sustainable technologies. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of two important reference works: The four-volume Handbook of Porous Materials, and the Handbook of Energy, Environment & the Circular Economy, both published by WorldScientific.

Prof. Rothenberg has published >250 scientific papers in leading international journals. His honors include the Marie Curie Excellence Award from the European Commission, the Paul Rylander Award of the Organic Reactions Catalysis Society, and the Bayer CropScience Innovation Award. He was also a Senior Visiting Scholar at Fudan University in 2017, a Lady Davis Fellow at the Hebrew University in 2018, and the Technical Director CO2 and Circular Economy at the Shanghai Institute for Cleantech Innovation in 2023.