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Global
CAREERS

Emanuel Merck Lectureship

In cooperation with the Technical University of Darmstadt, the Emanuel Merck Lectureship honors scientists for outstanding contributions to chemical and pharmaceutical research.

About the Award

The award was jointly established by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and the Technical University of Darmstadt in 1992. It recognizes globally renowned scientists who have made superb contributions to chemical and pharmaceutical research and comes with a renumeration of € 30,000. Since 1993 until the present day, the award has been granted to 19 eminent scientists from all over the world. Among these recipients, 7 have also received the Nobel Prize, with 4 of them being honored with the Nobel Prize after receiving the Emanuel Merck Lectureship.

With the Emanuel Merck Lectureship, we intend to offer our interested audience from universities, institutes, and companies detailed insights into the forefront of scientific research in the fields of chemical sciences and pharmaceutical research.

Describing the award’s importance, Ulrich Betz, Senior Vice President of Innovation at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, states: "This prize promotes the scientific exchange with internationally renowned researchers and honors their achievements for humanity. It perfectly fits to us as a science and technology company and to the Technical University of Darmstadt." 

2026 Laureate

Benjamin F. Cravatt

Awarded for his pioneering work in Chemical Biology, specifically in Reactive Proteomics and Activity-based Protein Profiling (ABPP). His innovative research addresses the challenges associated with poorly characterized disease-relevant proteins, developing selective chemical tools that accelerate the discovery of therapeutic probes. Benjamin Cravatt's contributions have significantly advanced our understanding of lipid signaling, particularly through the identification of the fatty acid amide hydrolase FAAH).

2024 laureate

Craig M. Crews

Awarded for his pioneering scientific work in the field of "Targeted Protein Degradation". Craig Crews co-invented the concept of inducing protein degradation by bifunctional small molecules and has contributed significantly to converting this academic idea into clinical reality with key contributions to the development of 25+ bifunctional degrader NCEs in clinical studies. He co-founded Arvinas Inc, a leading biotech company in this field. Craig Crews extended the concept of proximity-inducing drugs to other posttranslational modifications, with implications for drug discovery, and has founded additional companies. He is known for his excellent lecturing skills.

2022 laureate

John F. Hartwig

John F. Hartwig was awarded the Emanuel Merck Lectureship for his pioneering scientific work in the field of "Transition Metal Catalysis". His outstanding contributions to the exploration of new catalytic methods have brought the design of molecules and synthetics to a new level – not only in an academic context, but also for the industrial preparation of numerous pharmaceuticals. Hartwig’s major breakthroughs in catalysis enabled him to create a new organic chemistry that is less reliant on functional groups.

2019 Laureate

Susumu Kitagawa

(北川 進 Kitagawa Susumu, born July 4, 1951) is a Japanese chemist working in the field of coordination chemistry, with specific focus on the chemistry of organic–inorganic hybrid compounds, as well as chemical and physical properties of porous coordination polymers and metal-organic frameworks in particular.[1] He is currently Distinguished Professor at Kyoto University, in the Institute for Integrated Cell–Material Sciences, of which he is co-founder and current director.

2017 Laureate

Phil S. Baran

In 2017 Phil S. Baran at Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California was honored with the Emanuel Merck Lectureship. He has developed elegant and efficient methods for the chemical synthesis of complex natural substances. Phil Baran is Professor of Chemistry, member of the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, and Darlene Shiley Chair in Chemistry.

Previous laureates of the Emanuel Merck Lectureship

Year

Name

University/company

2026Benjamin F. CravattThe Scripps Research Institute
2024Craig M CrewsYale University
2022John F. HartwigUniversity of California, Berkeley
2019Susumu KitagawaKyoto University
2018Jennifer DoudnaUniversity of California, Berkeley
2017Phil BaranScripps Research Institute, La Jolla

2015

Paul T. Anastas

Yale University, New Haven

2013

Frances H. Arnold

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena

2011

Carolyn R. Bertozzi

University of California, Berkeley

2009

Axel Ullrich

Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie, Martinsried

2007

Sir Harold W. Kroto

University of Sussex, Brighton

2005

George M. Whitesides

Harvard University Cambridge

2003

Samuel J. Danishefsky

Columbia University, New York

2000

Stuart Schreiber

Harvard University, Cambridge

1998

Jean-Pierre Changeux

Institut Pasteur, Paris

1996

Manfred Eigen

MPI Göttingen

1995

Jean-Marie Lehn

University of Straßburg

1994

Kenneth Wade

University of Durham

1993

Albert Eschenmoser

ETH Zürich

View short summaries of the awardees here. A poster can be downloaded here.