BASF appoints new Research Fellow
Dr. Hermann Pütter has been appointed new Research Fellow at BASF Aktiengesellschaft in Ludwigshafen. The chemist is a renowned specialist in electrochemistry, a field that includes organic electrosynthesis, inorganic electrolysis, electrodialysis and fuel cells. Pütter's work involves using these processes so that they contribute toward sustainability in the chemical industry and help conserve resources. For example, with his team he succeeded in developing a new manufacturing process for an intermediate for an aroma chemical. Compared with the traditional route, the new process yields two products simultaneously instead of only one, thus halving the amount of energy required. The new process has an additional advantage: it no longer produces a byproduct generated by the traditional route.
For his work in this field Pütter, who studied in Würzburg, Germany, and who started work at BASF in 1973, was awarded BASF's Innovation Prize in 1999.
BASF created the function of Research Fellow in 1996 to provide a career opportunity for outstanding scientists at the company. Currently, BASF has four Research Fellows, all of whom have an excellent level of scientific expertise and are highly respected within the scientific community. One of the functions of Research Fellows is to ensure a continuous exchange of knowledge through their personal contacts. In this way, they play a key role in BASF's Know-how Verbund and open doors for research and development projects with external partners. BASF is currently involved in approximately 800 research projects with highly regarded partners in Germany and abroad.
In Germany alone, BASF takes on more than 100 young scientists every year. Worldwide, some 8,000 employees work in the company's Research Verbund and about one-quarter of them have higher education qualifications. These employees conduct research in BASF's central technology platforms in Ludwigshafen, at R&D units at Group companies and R&D subsidiaries such as BASF Plant Science as well as at start-up companies in which BASF has an interest. In 2001, BASF spent EUR 1,247 million on research and development (excluding Pharmaceuticals: EUR 1,173 million).
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