Professor Jean-Christophe Monbaliu, Director of CiTOS (Center for Integrated Technology and Organic Synthesis) and the FloW4all platform within the MolSys Research Unit) of the University of Liège, has just been awarded the "Corning International Prize for Outstanding Work in Continuous-Flow Reactors and Chemistry for a Greener and Safer World." This prize recognizes his work in the field of safe, rational, and sustainable production of high-value compounds by combining micro/mesofluidic technology and computational approaches.
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ean-Christophe Monbaliu heads the Center for Integrated Technology and Organic Synthesis (CiTOS), established at the University of Liège just over a decade ago. With his team of around twenty researchers, he revisits manufacturing processes toward value-added organic compounds using a multidisciplinary approach. His research lies at the convergence of micro/mesofluidic process technologies and computational chemistry. Monbaliu’s work is internationally recognized for contributing to the development of safer and more versatile processes, with a reduced environmental impact. In addition to numerous contributions in the field of active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing, the CiTOS team also develops processes for the valorization of compounds derived from biomass, as well as technologies for the neutralization of weapons of mass destruction.
Jean-Christophe Monbaliu is one of the pioneers in the widespread adoption of micro/mesofluidic technologies for advanced organic synthesis. In addition to numerous original publications, his impact on the field was already highlighted in 2017 with the opening of the first European "Corning Qualified Laboratory" at the University of Liège. In 2022, he created FloW4all, a resource center for micro/mesofluidic technologies funded by the Walloon "Platform for Technological Excellence" program. In 2023, he also received a WEL-T Advanced Grant to develop predictive approaches (quantum chemistry enhanced by artificial intelligence) for the development of processes under micro/mesofluidic conditions.
This award was created to honor scientists whose research is recognized as impactful, breaking with established paradigms in the production of high-value compounds. This prize has been awarded only once before, in 2018, to Prof. Klavs Jensen, a distinguished Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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