Research

Luis A. Oro is distinguished for many important contributions to organometallic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis. The majority of these were made at the Department of Inorganic Chemistry of the University of Zaragoza, where he has benn Full Professor since 1982. His most important achievements are the careful investigation of the preparation, structure and reactivity of selected organometallic complexes and their relation to the mechanism of homogeneous catalysis and the synthesis and characterization of novel bi- and multinuclear complexes. His research approach is based on the skilful combination of experimental techniques like kinetics and spectroscopic studies applied to understand the mechanism of important homogeneous reactions. His studies based on platinum group metal complexes have led to significant contributions in the fields of hydrogenation catalysis, carbon-hydrogen activation and carbon-carbon coupling reactions.

Career

• since 1982 Professor of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Zaragoza, Spain
• 1981-1982 Professor of Chemistry, University of Santander, Spain
• 1976-1981 Associate Professor of Inorganic Chemistry, Universities of Madrid  and  Zaragoza, Spain
• 1973-1976 Lecturer of Chemistry, University of Zaragoza, Spain

Functions

• since 2009 Member of the OECD Global Science Forum
• 2008-2011 President of the European Association for Chemistry and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS)
• since 2005 Scientific Council of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
• since 2004 Vice-president of Zaragoza Knowledge Foundation, Spain
• since 2002 President of the ChemPubSoc Europe partnership for the European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, the European Journal of Organic Chemistry and ChemCatChem
• 2000-2005 President of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry
• 1993-1998 Vice-President of the European Science Foundation (ESF)
• 1997-1998 Member of the European Science and Technology Assembly (EU)
• 1993-1995 Science Policy Committee, OECD
• 1988-1994 Secretary General of the National Plan of Scientific Research and Technological Development
• 1987-1988 Director General of Scientific and Technical Research, Ministry of Education and Science

Honours and Memberships

• 2007 National Research Prize for Chemistry
• 2007 Research Prize and Gold Medal of the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry
• 2007 Honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
• 2006 Member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
• 2005 Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Rennes 1, France
• 2003 Named "Highly Cited Researcher" in the field of Chemistry by ISI Web of Knowledge
• 2003 Sacconi Medal
• 2003 Member of the European Academy of Sciences
• 2002 Foreign Member of the Académie des Sciences, France
• 2001 Betancourt-Perronet Prize
• 2001 Aragón Prize
• 1999 King Jaime I Research Prize
• 1995 Humboldt-Forschungspreis
• 1994 Member of the Academia Europaea, London, UK
• 1989 Solvay Prize