Assistant Professor Charlotte Vogt is on a mission to solve the problem of climate change through catalysis, the acceleration of a chemical reaction by a catalyst. Her Vogt Laboratory of Catalysis for Fuels of the Future focuses on the fundamental understanding of catalytic processes that will ‘fuel the future,’ including carbon dioxide capture and valorization, fuel cell technology, nitrogen fixation and utilization, hydrogen production, and the recycling of plastics and other waste. Fundamental concepts in catalysis, with a strong focus on the capture and conversion of CO₂ to useful fuels and materials, form the basis of her work. Through the development of novel spectroscopic approaches in combination with advanced data analysis, her group generates fundamental understanding of catalysts at work and employs this knowledge to develop new or improved processes. Her research is recognized in the journal Nature‘s ‘most impactful publications’ list in the field of materials science and chemistry.

Prof. Vogt’s hiring coincided with the Technion’s spring 2021 launch of the Center for Sustainable Processes and Catalysis.

Prof. Vogt was born in the Netherlands and spent some time in the U.S. with her family before returning to the Netherlands for schooling. She received her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from Utrecht University in the Netherlands as well as a master’s in business management. Alongside her coursework, she had a clothing business and volunteered with schoolchildren in Mongolia.

Prior to joining the Technion, she was a visiting Ph.D. student and postdoctoral researcher at the Weizmann Institute of Science and also conducted postdoctoral work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Prof. Vogt has won several awards, including Outstanding Female Scientist of 2019 by the Israel Vacuum Society (IVS) and Intel Israel for “outstanding early career achievements.” In 2020 she received a Niels Stensen Fellowship for “academic excellence and social commitment.” Most recently, she was included on Forbes’ “30 under 30” Europe 2021 list of brightest young entrepreneurs, leaders, and superstars. Prof. Vogt was also awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant in 2023; the ‘Clara Immerwahr Award’ for achievements in catalysis research from UniSysCat; the First EuroTech Future Award; the Beilby Medal and Prize as the first Dutch person in history; and was named as one of C&EN’s ‘Talented Twelve.’