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Administrative data

Michael Graetzel

michael.graetzel@epfl.ch

EPFL SB ISIC LPI
CH G0 627 (Bâtiment CH)
Station 6
1015 Lausanne

Expertise

Nanocrystalline junctions, Photovoltaic cells, Light energy conversion & storage, Lithium ion batteries, Molecular switches & displays, Photocatalysis 

Mission

Professor of Physical Chemistry at the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Michael Graetzel, PhD, directs there the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces. He pioneered research on energy and electron transfer reactions in mesoscopic systems and their use to generate electricity and fuels from sunlight. He invented mesoscopic injection solar cells, one key embodiment of which is the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC). DSCs are meanwhile commercially produced at the multi-MW-scale and created a number of new applications in particular as lightweight power supplies for portable electronic devices and in building integrated photovoltaics. They engendered perovskite solar cells (PSCs) which turned into the most exciting break-through in the history of photovoltaics. He received a number of prestigious awards, of which the most recent ones include the RusNANO Prize, the Zewail Prize in Molecular Science, the Global Energy Prize, the Millennium Technology Grand Prize, the Marcel Benoist Prize, the King Faisal International Science Prize, the Einstein World Award of Science and the Balzan Prize. He is a Fellow of several learned societies and holds eleven honorary doctor's degrees from European and Asian Universities. His over 1500 publications have received some 220'000 citations with an h-factor of 218 (SI-Web of Science) demonstrating the strong impact of his scientific work.
 Professor of Physical Chemistry at the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Michael Graetzel, PhD, directs there the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces. He pioneered research on energy and electron transfer reactions in mesoscopic systems and their use to generate electricity and fuels from sunlight. He invented mesoscopic injection solar cells, one key embodiment of which is the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC). DSCs are meanwhile commercially produced at the multi-MW-scale and created a number of new applications in particular as lightweight power supplies for portable electronic devices and in building integrated photovoltaics. They engendered perovskite solar cells (PSCs) which turned into the most exciting break-through in the history of photovoltaics. He received a number of prestigious awards, of which the most recent ones include the RusNANO Prize, the Zewail Prize in Molecular Science, the Global Energy Prize, the Millennium Technology Grand Prize, the Marcel Benoist Prize, the King Faisal International Science Prize, the Einstein World Award of Science and the Balzan Prize. He is a Fellow of several learned societies and holds eleven honorary doctor's degrees from European and Asian Universities. His over 1500 publications have received some 220'000 citations with an h-factor of 218 (SI-Web of Science) demonstrating the strong impact of his scientific work. 

Awards

Green Carbon Outstanding Achievement Award

Institut de Qingdao pour la bioénergie et les biotechnologies de l'Académie chinoise des sciences et la revue Green Carbon

2025

Michael Grätzel elected member of Order Pour le Mérite

German Federal Republic

2025

Medal De Scientia et Humanitate Optime Meritis

Czech Academy of Sciences

2024

Honorary doctorate from the University of Gabès (Tunisia)

University of Gabès

2023

Honorary doctorate from City University of Hong Kong

University of Hong Kong

2023

Abdullah Bin Hamad AI-Attiyah International Energy Award for Lifetime Achievement for the Advancement of Renewable Energy

The Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foudation For Energy & Sustainable Development

2023

BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences

Bilbao Spain

2021

2020 2022 Rank Prize for optoelectronics

The Rank Prize Funds

2021

Diels-Planck-Lecture-Award and Medal

University of Kiel (CAU), Germany

2020

2020 Materials Today Innovation Award

Materials Today (Elsevier)

2020

August Wilhelm von Hofmann Memorial Medal

German Chemical Society

2018

Global Energy Prize

The Global Energy Association

2017

Ahmed Zewail Prize in Molecular Sciences

SciencesElsevier in collaboration with Chemical Physics Letters

2017

RUSNANO Prize

Rusnano Group

2017

Paracelsus Award

Swiss Chemical Society

2016

Centenary award

Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)

2016

King Faisal International Prize in Science

ScienceKing Faisal Foundation  (Saudi Arabia)

2015

Mérite cantonal vaudois

Canton de Vaud

2015

Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister's Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation

Ministry of Science, Technology and Space and Keren Hayesod-UIA

2014

Leigh Ann Conn Prize

University of Louisville - USA.

2014

Prix Marcel Benoist

Marcel Benoist Foundation (Switzerland)

2013

Leonardo da Vinci Award

European Academy of Sciences

2013

Albert Einstein World Award of Science

ScienceWorld Cultural Council

2012

Swisselectric Research Award

Swisselectric

2012

Wilhelm Exner Medal

Österreichischer Gewerbeverein

2011

Paul Karrer Medal

Universität Zürich, Department of Chemistry

2011

FEMS Innovation Award

Federation of European Materials Societies

2011

Gutenberg Award

Université Johannes Gutenberg de Mayence.

2011

Millennium Technology Prize

PrizeTechnology Academy Finland (TAF)

2010

Galileo Galilei Award

Galilieo Galilei Institute - Firenze

2011

Top Ten Chemist for the decade 1999-2009

2009

Balzan Prize for Science of New Materials

International Balzan Prize Foundation - Italy

2009

Galvani Medal

Italian Chemical Society

2009

Harvey Prize in Science and Technology

The Technion Haifa, Israel

2008

Received call on the Kroll endowed Chair

University of Cornell, Ithaca, USA

2007

First International Prize

Japanese Society of Coordination Chemistry

2007

World Technology Award in Materials

San Francisco, USA

2006

Gerischer Prize

ECS - The Electrochemical Society, Pennington, New Jersey, USA

2005

Winner, Scientific American Top 50, ranked amongst 50 leading scientists worldwide

2005

ENI-Italgas Price in Science and Environment

2003

IBC International Award in Supramolecular Chemistry and Technology

2002

Havinga Award, Lecture and Medal

Havinga Foundation, Leiden, The Netherlands

2001

Faraday Medal

The Royal Society of Chemistry, United Kingdom

2001

European Grand Prix of Innovation and Technology

Monaco, France

2000

Eurel Price

European Society of Electrical Engineers, Bruxelles, Belgique.

1998

Calveras Award in Photovoltaics

National Renewable Laboratory, Golden, USA

1997

R.A.Plane endowed Chair offered

Clarkson University, Potsdam USA

1985

Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science Fellow

Tokyo, Japan

1984

Chair of Physical Chemistry

Free University of Berlin, Germany offered

1981

Awarded : Fellowship of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes (top 1% of all students)

Berlin, Germany offered

1970

Infoscience

Teaching & PhD

PhD Students

Tiziano Agostino Caldara, Alice Piantavigna

Past EPFL PhD Students

Anand Agarwalla (2022), Anwar Qasem M Alanazi (2021), Essa Awadh R Alharbi (2022), Masaud Hassan S Almalki (2023), Ghewa Alsabeh (2025), Bernhard Andreaus (2002), Udo Bach (2000), Jayasundera Bandara (1998), Thomas Paul Baumeler (2022), Alain Bill (1997), Ulrika Bjorksten (1995), Jérémie Minh-Châu Brillet (2012), Anthony Burke (2006), Julian Burschka (2013), Fabrice Campus (1997), Brian Irving Carlsen (2022), Michel Carrara (2002), Davide Di Censo (2005), Ilkay Cesar (2007), Aravind Kumar Chandiran (2013), Peter Chen (2009), Maurin Cornuz (2013), Stefan Diethelm (2001), Konrad Domanski (2018), Nadine Donzé (2000), Amalie Dualeh (2014), Algirdas Ducinskas (2022), Alexis Joseph Duret (2005), Martin Eschle (1997), Florian Le Formal (2011), Giuseppina Giordano (2000), Hauke Arne Harms (2014), Leo-Philipp Heiniger (2014), Roland Hengerer (2000), Fernando Herrera Grisales (2000), Yelin Hu (2017), Raphaël Ihringer (2000), Oliver Kohle (1996), Jessica Krüger (2003), Nam Hee Kwon (2006), Philippe Pierre Labouchère (2014), Frank Lenzmann (2000), Magdalena Anna Marszalek (2013), Karl Richard Meier (2002), Tobias Meyer (1996), Soo-Jin Moon (2011), Frank Nüesch (1995), Hervé Nusbaumer (2004), Adriana Paracchino (2012), Serge Pelet (2002), Norman Pellet (2017), Conradin Von Planta (1996), Robert Plass (2004), Nuttapol Pootrakulchote (2012), Nathalie Rossier-Iten (2006), Stefan Ruile (1997), Marcel Roland Schreier (2017), Jiyoun Seo (2018), Joseph Sfeir (2001), Lynda Si-Ahmed (1999), Ludmilla Steier (2016), Marko Stojanovic (2021), Amita Ummadisingu (2018), Carine Viornery (2001), Bernard Wenger (2006), Sophie Wenger (2010), Sylvie Widmer (1997), Marcus Wolf (1998), Meng Xia (2024), Zhipan Zhang (2008)

Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector

Sadig Aghazada (2018), Kyung Taek Cho (2018), Isabelle Geissbühler Bärlocher (2005), Paul Gratia (2018), Arianna Marchioro (2014), Kasparas Rakstys (2018), Alessandro Senocrate (2018), Joël Teuscher (2010)