The Royal Society of Chemistry has awarded Federico Rosei the 2026 Centenary Prize for Chemistry and Communication. The award recognizes his contributions to the design, synthesis, and characterization of nanomaterials for renewable energy applications, as well as his excellence in science communication.

The prize is part of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Research & Innovation Prizes, established to celebrate outstanding individuals who advance the chemical sciences in both academia and industry. Previous recipients include more than 20 Nobel Prize laureates.

“This is a great honor, especially when looking at the list of past award winners,” commented Professor Rosei.

The University of Trieste is also among the recipients of the 2026 Environment, Sustainability and Energy Horizon Prize, together with the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (China).

The award recognizes the development of innovative photocatalytic approaches for producing solar hydrogen from sustainable biomass, a promising technology for the energy transition and decarbonization.

For the University of Trieste, the team includes Professors Tiziano Montini and Paolo Fornasiero, Vice-Rector for Research. The international group also includes Professors Nenchao Luo and Feng Wang of the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, partners in a well-established scientific collaboration spanning more than ten years.

Cooperation between the two groups has been supported over time through a bilateral program funded by Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), highlighting the strategic value of scientific relations between Italy and China.

“This prestigious recognition confirms that only through strong, long-term international collaborations can we address and solve the major global challenges of our time, from sustainable energy to environmental protection,” the researchers involved emphasized.

Commenting on the awards conferred upon the University of Trieste researchers, Helen Pain, Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Society of Chemistry, stated:

“Chemistry and chemists are present everywhere in our daily lives and throughout society, and our awards are designed to celebrate this impact. The winners of the Research & Innovation Prizes include groups and individuals, professors and researchers, as well as people from around the world working across a wide range of roles and sectors. Each contribution plays a vital role in advancing human knowledge and improving the world in which we live. I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to the faculty members of the University of Trieste. Winning an RSC award is an exceptional achievement: they now join a distinguished list of award recipients that began more than 150 years ago and includes dozens of individuals who later went on to receive the Nobel Prize.”

The Royal Society of Chemistry is an international organization that connects chemical scientists with one another, with scientists from other disciplines, and with society as a whole. Founded in 1841 and headquartered in London, it has more than 60,000 members worldwide.

PHOTO: Federico Rosei, Paolo Fornasiero, and Tiziano Montini.