Lutz Gade, the chemist with an eye for aesthetics

The few musical notes played in the introduction set the tone. A delicate and harmonious tune by Johann Sebastian Bach, as only the great German composer could compose. It was perfectly suited to the ceremony awarding an honorary doctorate from the University of Montpellier to Lutz Gade, an elegant researcher from the University of Heidelberg whose international reputation is unquestionable. With nearly 350 publications and more than 60 theses supervised to his credit, this member of the prestigious Institut universitaire de France has already been honored with numerous awards, including the Franco-German Prize of the French Chemical Society in 2017.

Science and aesthetics

His specialty? His mentor, Éric Clot, director of research at the CNRS and head of the Charles Gerhard Institute in Montpellier since 2021, explains that "Lutz Gade is an expert in the organometallic chemistry of transition metals, which involves positioning organic molecules around a metal to modify its properties and therefore its behavior." This is a field in which the properties of "organic" and "inorganic" molecules enrich each other, and in which he has contributed significantly to the development of strong interactions between theory and practice.

But by choosing to give a presentation focused on "symmetry: a guiding principle in chemistry," Lutz Gade revealed a lesser-known side of his personality. That of a cultured researcher and aesthete, happy to share his fascination with the structure of molecules, both from a scientific and aesthetic point of view, with as many people as possible. When asked what guides his work, he readily admits that "chemistry is a creative science. As a molecular chemist, it is the geometry of molecules, the arrangement of atoms in space, whose controlled construction has been the focus of my scientific work." All this in impeccable French.

The taste for travel

Lutz Gade became interested in international affairs at a young age. Born in Bonn, he spent part of his childhood in South Africa. Returning to Germany as a teenager, he turned his attention to chemistry, which he studied in Bonn and Munich. He soon set off again to explore new horizons, preparing his thesis from 1989 to 1991 at the prestigious University of Cambridge in England, under the supervision of a leading figure in his field, Lord Jack Lewis. His love of travel has never left him, and he speaks several languages fluently, including Afrikaans, English, Spanish, and French.The brilliant German researcher quickly developed ties with France. After spending several years at the University of Würzburg, where he obtained his habilitation and became a lecturer, he began teaching inorganic chemistry at Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg in 1998. He quickly took on numerous responsibilities there, notably heading the organometallic chemistry and catalysis laboratory.

And what about Montpellier in all this? When Lutz Gade arrived at Heidelberg University in 2003, in addition to his research and teaching work, he took charge of cooperation with Montpellier University, a long-standing partner of the German institution (see box). As luck would have it, a few years earlier he had co-authored papers with a young theoretical chemistry researcher at the CNRS named Éric Clot. After three joint publications and several missed opportunities to put a face to a name, the two men finally met in 2005. Nothing happened; each was busy with his research, and time flew by.

A tenacious ally

It wasn't until 2014 that the first collaborations became a reality. "Lutz wanted his students to come to Montpellier to be trained in computational chemistry," says Éric Clot. Friendly ties were forged, and affinities developed on both a scientific and cultural level, "an attraction to foreign cultures but also to gastronomy, including fine wines." They shared the same desire to make things happen by developing scientific collaborations between two institutions with a long shared history. "Lutz Gade is not just a chemist, he is a charismatic and imposing figure who knows how to take political action. He is as warm as he is tenacious: he doesn't give up easily," acknowledges Éric Clot.

Thanks to joint efforts, connections are being made, drawing in Pascal Dumy, director of the National School of Chemistry (ENSCM). The result: a mini chemistry symposium will be held in Montpellier in January 2024, and two chemistry theses are currently being written in collaboration between the two universities. There is no shortage of projects. " I look forward to continuing to work with you on scientific projects. But we will also be guided by our curiosity and our thirst for knowledge," concluded the German researcher in his acceptance speech. Beyond the active role he plays at the University of Heidelberg, Lutz Gade is a long-standing ally of the University of Montpellier. A friend of more than twenty years.