Helmut F. Schwarz

Technische Universitat, Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Bonn, Germany~Professor; President. Made contributions at the cross-section of mass spectrometry, gas phase chemistry, and theory. Discovered the role that electronic structure plays in metal-mediated carbon-hydrogen bond activation. Demonstrated and mechanistically elucidated region-specific and stereospecific activation of distant C-X a­­nd C-H bonds by transition-metal ions. First to demonstrate genuine catalytic cycles in gas-phase ion chemistry and provided fundamental understanding of catalyzed carbon-heteroatom bond formation. Combination of experimental and computational methods shed light on numerous mechanistic problems. For example, work on isolated diatomic metal oxides and small clusters led to the two-state reactivity concept, now regarded as critical for understanding the mechanism by which the enzyme P450 produces C-H hydroxylation. Codeveloped electron-transfer mass spectrometry, which enabled him to generate and study many highly elusive molecules for the first time. ~~~