The Spiers Memorial Award was presented in recognition of an individual who had made an outstanding contribution to the field of a Faraday Discussion. In 2020, as part of a series of changes introduced following an independent review of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s recognition programs, this award evolved to the Spiers Memorial Lecture, to be given by the introductory lecturer at each Faraday Discussion meeting.
Professor of mechanical engineering and Director of the Global CO2 Initiative, Volker Sick, was selected to give the Spiers Memorial Award in April. Sick’s lecture was entitled, “CO2 utilization: why, why now, and how?”
Abstract:
This introduction to the Faraday Discussion on carbon dioxide utilization (CDU) provides a framework to lay out the need for CDU, the opportunities, boundary conditions, potential pitfalls, and critical needs to advance the required technologies in the time needed. CDU as a mainstream climate-relevant solution is gaining rapid traction as measured by the increase in the number of related publications, the investment activity, and the political action taken in various countries.