The passing of Prof. Michele Rossi

It is with deep sorrow that I announce the passing of Prof. Michele Rossi.

He was born in Milan (Italy) in 1939, where he graduated in Industrial Chemistry in 1963 at the Università degli Studi di Milano. His scientific activity began in the prestigious laboratories of Professors Lamberto Malatesta and Adriano Sacco applying research topics concerning Organometallic and Coordination Chemistry mainly to the field of activation of small molecules such as H2, O2 and N2. On this regard, in a famous study, Rossi and Sacco presented the first example of reversible coordination of molecular nitrogen under ambient conditions, thus paving the way for the "nitrogen fixation" that would interest the entire scientific community between 1968 and 1978. In 1964 he moved to the University of Bari, where he became Associate Professor in 1965, Free Lecturer in 1970 and Full Professor in 1975. In 1968 he went to Osaka (Japan) for one year, joining the laboratories of Prof. Sei Otsuka as a scientific researcher. In 1988 he returned to the University of Milan as Full Professor of General and Inorganic Chemistry at the graduate course of Industrial Chemistry. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, he was also a Member of the Scientific Committee of the Inter-University Consortium "Chemistry for the Environment" and directed the Department of Inorganic, Metallorganic and Analytical Chemistry at the University of Milan from 1998 to 2002.? He was even a member of the Center of Excellence on Nanostructured Materials and Interfaces, the Consortium for Chemical Reactivity and Catalysis, as well as the CNR-Institute of Molecular Science and Technology affiliate in Milan. His basic training was supplemented with courses in Theoretical Chemistry at the NATO Summer School, directed by Professor Coulson. At the University of Milan, his scientific interest was progressively focused on homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis aimed at the synthesis of chemicals of interest to Fine Chemistry. In this field, he has produced numerous scientific publications and industrial patents focusing on catalytic hydrogenations and oxidations by eco-friendly processes. Investigating the fascinating world of nanoscience together with his research group, he discovered the extraordinary catalytic activity of gold nanoparticles in liquid-phase oxidations of organic compounds. His oral presentation "New perspectives in gold catalyzed oxidation" won the gold medal for "the most innovative research" at "Gold 2003 - International Conference on the Science, Technology and Industrial Applications of Gold" held in Vancouver (Canada) in 2003. The most recent development in Rossi's studies involved the comparison between enzymatic catalysis and inorganic catalysis based on nanometric gold in the aerobic oxidation of carbohydrates. Prof. Rossi was commissioned by the World Gold Council to prepare a catalyst, consisting of gold dispersed on carbon, as a world reference catalyst for the oxidation of alcohols and aldehydes in the liquid phase. His research activity is documented by more than 200 scientific papers and numerous patents. Over the years, Prof. Rossi has also carried out numerous collaborations with national and international industrial partners, such as Liquichimica, Dutral, Montecatini Tecnologie, SIAT, Lepetit, Sud Chemie MT, Lonza, Edison, De Nora, Grace and BASF. He and his research group participated in the "Auricat" project, which involved 8 European universities and 3 industries in an EU-funded program on the scientific development and industrial applications of gold-based catalysts. In the last years before his retirement, Prof. Rossi started with his group a new scientific topic concerning novel strategies for the preparation of conducting organic polymers and their metal composites by eco-friendly processes, thus exploiting innovative catalytic technologies.

For me, who had the privilege of training at his School, Prof. Rossi represents the embodiment of what a Mentor should be: a luminous Guide of life and work, a great Man and a brilliant Scientist. I do not know if I am worthy of the priceless human and scientific legacy he left me, but I will always do my best to honor this gift. Have a safe journey, Michele, and continue to enlighten me from up there!

Cristina Della Pina