Ostwald Prize
There are several reasons why the name Ostwald is closely related to colloid science in general and especially the Colloid Society. The most well-known phenomenon, Ostwald ripening, has been first described in 1897 by Wilhelm Friedrich Ostwald (2.9.1853-4.4.1932), one of the founding fathers of physical chemistry. His son Wolfgang Ostwald (27.5.1883-22.11.1943) was one of the initiators of the Colloid Society; from 1922 until his death in 1943 he was its chairman. He was also the editor of the "Kolloid-Zeitschrift" (today: "Colloid and Polymer Science") and the "Kolloidchemische Beihefte" (today: "Progress in Colloid and Polymer Science").
Nowadays, the Colloid Society can honor outstanding scientific research in the area of pure or applied colloid science by the Ostwald Prize. The scientific life-performance of outstanding experts should primarily be appreciated by this award. Younger scientists are not excluded from obtaining this prize. The price consists of a document and a memorial-coin.
Laureates since 1961
1961 Otto Kratky Graz (AUT)
1963 F. Horst Müller, Marburg
1965 Ulrich Hofmann, Heidelberg
1971 Walter Noll, Leverkusen
1973 Günther Rehage, Clausthal-Zellerfeld
1975 Bun-ichi-Tamamushi, Tokio (JPN)
1979 Ron H. Ottewill, Bristol (GB)
1981 Ervin Wolfram, Budapest (HUN)
1989 Jan Theodor Gerad Overbeek, Utrecht (NL)
1991 Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Paris (FRA)
1993 Wolfgang Helfrich, Berlin
1995 Hans Sonntag, Berlin
Heinz Hoffmann, Bayreuth
1997 Stig Friberg Potsdam, N. Y. (USA)
1998 Gerhard Findenegg, Berlin
1999 A. Wilhelm Neumann, Toronto (CAN)
2001 Erich Sackmann, München
2004 Gerhard Lagaly, Kiel
2005 Barry William Ninham, Physiker, Florenz (IT) / (AUS)
2007 Martien Cohen-Stuart, Wageningen (NL)
2009 Helmuth Möhwald, Potsdam
2011 Friedrich Kremer, Leipzig
2015 Matthias Ballauff, Berlin
2017 Reinhard Lipowsky, Potsdam