Chemical cycles inspired by nature
Mathias Turberg receives Nobel Laureate Fellowship and launches new research group at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung
Mathias Turberg has been awarded a Nobel Laureate Fellowship by the Max Planck Society. With three years of funding totaling €30,000, he is establishing the new research group “Biomimetic Catalysis” at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung. The group develops catalysts inspired by natural enzymes, aiming to create sustainable methods for producing natural products, pharmaceuticals and other fine chemicals.
“Learning from nature means first and foremost understanding its cycles – and making them usable for chemical synthesis,” Turberg explains. His team primarily uses renewable raw materials from plant sources and places strong emphasis on recycling both catalysts and reagents at the end of a reaction. A publication from his doctoral research, featured in Nature last year, already demonstrated the promise of this approach: Turberg and colleagues developed a method for synthesizing the fragrance Ambrox from plant-based feedstock under mild conditions, in a scalable and time-efficient way. A key advantage: both the catalyst and solvent can be reused after the reaction.
Magnesium-dependent enzymatic processes inspire another research focus: Rubisco, the enzyme responsible for binding and converting CO₂ in photosynthesis, relies on magnesium to function. Turberg’s group aims to mimic this mechanism catalytically in order to convert CO₂ into valuable chemicals or even fuels.
Despite the practical relevance of his work, Turberg sees fundamental understanding as the driving force behind his research: “We want to know why and how a reaction works. Developing scalable processes is always a win, but our guiding principle is a deep understanding of chemical reactivity.”
The Nobel Laureate Fellowship programme of the Max Planck Society supports outstanding postdoctoral researchers. Fellows are nominated directly by Nobel Laureates and receive funding for a research position as well as project resources. In addition, the programme offers access to established networks that can be crucial for career development. Turberg was nominated by Prof. Benjamin List, 2021 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry and Director at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung.
Mathias Turberg completed his master's degree in chemistry at RWTH Aachen University with distinction and was honored for his achievements with the RWTH's Springorium Medal. In 2018, he was awarded the Kekulé Scholarship by the Chemical Industry Fund, which promotes outstanding young scientists. Since 2018 he works at the Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung.
