Dream Chemistry Award 2026 finalists announced ahead of Warsaw final

Can iron-containing enzymes catalyze reactions that typically rely on precious-metal catalysts? Can light be used to process information in ways inspired by the brain? These are two of the questions behind the five projects selected for the 2026 Dream Chemistry Award competition’s final.

The competition’s Scientific Committee selected the best projects from this year’s submissions. The finalists will present their proposals in person to the committee on December 7 at the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences (IChF) in Warsaw, Poland, and the laureate will be announced on the following day.

Finalists and their projects

Soumitra Athavale — University of California, Los Angeles, United States. Alchemy with Evolution: Imbuing Iron Enzymes with Precious-Metal Reactivity. Web profile: https://www.athavalegroup.org/.

Sascha Feldmann — École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland. Realizing the Dream of Light as Chiral Agent for Enantioselective Synthesis. Web profile: https://www.feldmannlab.com/.

Beatriz Lozano Torres — Institute of Molecular Science, University of Valencia, Spain. Redefining Nanomedicine with Echo-Responsive Frameworks. Web profile: https://blandezlozanoinvestiga.com/.

Tom van der Pol — Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands. Computing Like the Brain, Using Light. Web profile: https://research.tue.nl/en/persons/tom-pa-van-der-pol/.

Jiarui Yang — City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Metal-Free Catalysts Motivated Halogen Cycling: Programmable Electrocatalysis for Activating Inert Molecules. Web profile: https://www.cityu.edu.hk/stfprofile/Jerry.Yang.htm.

The winner will be announced on December 8 and will receive the Dream Chemistry Award trophy and €10,000. Each of the other four finalists will receive the Dream Chemistry Top 5 Prize and €1,000.

The Dream Chemistry Award is an international competition recognizing early-career researchers who propose bold approaches to fundamental problems in chemistry and related fields. IChF established the competition in 2013. Since 2017, it has co-organized the award with the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague), with the final alternating between Warsaw and Prague.

Congratulations to the finalists, and thank you to everyone who submitted a project this year.

Official list of finalists and project titles · About the Dream Chemistry Award