Degussa Presents European Science-to-Business Award / New nano-process for magnetic storage - 100,000 euros for Prof. Russell Cowburn

Dusseldorf, Germany (ots) -

- Cross-reference: photo (Russell Cowburn, professor of
nanotechnology) is available
at http://www.presseportal.de/galerie.html

Russell Cowburn, 36, Professor of Nanotechnology at the renowned
Imperial College, London, is the winner of the "Degussa European
Science-to-Business Award 2006”, which carries a substantial amount
of prize money. The winner was announced on Monday evening in Berlin
by Degussa AG, Dusseldorf. Cowburn fought off competition from two
other European teams in the final round. His nanotechnology-based
process for manufacturing magnetic materials, which can increase the
capacity of data storage devices by a factor of 100, won over the
jury.

The Dusseldorf-based company launched the “Degussa European
Science-to-Business Award” in November 2005. Deputy Management Board
Chairman Dr. Alfred Oberholz: “Innovation is a task for society as a
whole. As the world's leading specialty chemical company, our
intention is that this award will help create a favourable climate
in Europe for innovation.”

The award was open to young scientists working at research
institutions in Europe. The theme of the 2006 prize was materials
sciences and applied technologies. Degussa offered the prize in
collaboration with INSEAD, the European business school, and the
German financial newspaper, Handelsblatt. The patron was Janez
Potocnik, EU Commissioner for Science and Research.

With the objective of successfully translating innovations into
economi-cally successful products, the award now presented carries a
prize of 100,000 euros, making it one of the most highly endowed
awards on the research landscape. In addition, the prize-winner will
receive extensive management coaching from INSEAD.
Innovations with major business potential

Prize-winner Prof. Russell Cowburn developed high-performance
magnetic data storage that is particularly suitable for use in
portable devices such as laptops, cell phones, digital cameras, MP3
players and PDAs. It will also enable completely new applications,
such as storing large video messages on cell phones. The business
potential of this new technology is substantial - conservative
estimates put the expected market volume at more than 100 million
euros over the medium term.

Out of the many top-class applications, two other teams made it
through to the final round: Prof. Peter Wasserscheid
(Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg) and Dr. Anders
Riisager (Technical University of Denmark), as well as Dr. Kjeld van
Bommel, Dr. Arianna Friggeri and Dr. Menno Rutger de Jong of the
University Groningen.

Prof. Peter Wasserscheid and Dr. Anders Riisager developed SILP
technology. SILP stands for Supported Ionic Liquid Phase. It is based
on a process that uses liquid salts to modify, optimize and vary
material surfaces. It will enable totally new surface properties to
be produced, such as the combination of special adsorption properties
with electrical conductivity or catalytic activity.

The team from the University Groningen and Biomade Technology
carried out research into new substances for gelating and thickening
solutions and solvents. These Low Molecular Weight Gelators (LMWGs) -
small organic molecules - are used in cosmetic formulations to help
change the consistency of creams and shampoos. They can also be used
for the formulation of pharmaceuticals, resulting in a significant
increase of the speed at which these ingredients dissolve.

Editorial note:
Additional text and images are available at:
http://www.degussa.com/degussa/en/press
www.degussa-award.com

Degussa is the global market leader in specialty chemicals. Our
business is creating essentials-innovative products and system
solutions that make indispensable contributions to our customers'
success. In fiscal 2005 around 44,000 employees worldwide generated
sales of 11.8 billion euros and operating profits (EBIT) of 940
million euros.

Originaltext: Degussa AG
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ISIN: DE0005421903

Contact:
Hannelore Gantzer
Spokeswoman
Corporate Communications
T +49-211-65041-368
F +49-211-65041-527
hannelore.gantzer@
degussa.com