Prof. Dr. Oliver Trapp Receives Proof of Concept Grant from European Research Council
11 May 2012
On top of his ERC Starting Grant from the European Research Council, Heidelberg chemist Prof. Dr. Oliver Trapp has been awarded funding in the form of a Proof of Concept Grant. The funding is intended to advance the development of ideas for potential applications arising from the ERC projects. In 2010, Prof. Trapp received an ERC Starting Grant endowed with approx. 1.45 million euros for his research in the field of chemical catalysis. The Proof of Concept Grant in the amount of 137,000 euros will go towards his follow-on project that began on 1 May 2012.
Oliver Trapp (born 1973) studied chemistry at Tübingen University, where he received his doctorate in 2001. After a post-doctoral research sojourn at Stanford University in California (USA), he assumed the leadership of an Emmy Noether Junior Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Carbon Research in 2004 with support from the German Research Foundation (DFG). He was appointed a professor at the Institute of Organic Chemistry at Heidelberg University in 2008. He completed his habilitation at Ruhr University Bochum in 2009. Among his distinctions, he was selected by the DFG for the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize (2008).
Prof. Dr. Trapp is researching the development of innovative methods for the efficient screening of catalysts and the clarification of related mechanisms at the molecular level. He has succeeded in developing a new process that combines traditional chemical analysis with modern information technology. The process, known as multiplexing gas chromatography, is also of particular importance outside of catalyst research, i.e. for the analysis of complex mixtures. Funds from the Proof of Concept Grant will finance Trapp’s current work on the topic of “High-Throughput Injection Device for Applications in Liquid Separations MultiplexLC”. The study is focussed on multiplexing liquid chromatography and the development of a market-ready prototype for the rapid screening of catalyst libraries and the analysis of low-volatility chemical components.
The Proof of Concept Grant funding initiative, launched in 2011, is designed to turn project ideas into innovations. Market research, technical validation, clarification of intellectual property issues and analysis of business opportunities are among the activities supported. Each project can apply for a maximum of 150,000 euros. In addition to Trapp’s award, the Proof of Concept Grant has been awarded only twice in Germany.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Oliver Trapp
Institute of Organic Chemistry (OCI)
Phone (06221) 54-8470
trapp@oci.uni-heidelberg.de
Communications und Marketing
Press Office, phone (06221) 54-2311
presse@rektorat.uni-heidelberg.de
