As a Distinguished Visiting Professor, Rothenberg will also contribute to education and to the mentoring of young staff at Tsinghua University. The three-year appointment is at the Department of Energy and Power Engineering, where Rothenberg’s expertise in catalysis and reactions at surfaces fits well with the department’s ambitions towards the energy transition, CO₂ mitigation and creating valuable new materials from waste. Research collaborations are foreseen in several areas where China and The Netherlands have joint interests. In addition, the two universities are planning to set up a bilateral exchange program for students and scholars, as well as examining possibilities for start-ups and scale-ups.

The Tsinghua Distinguished Visiting Professorship is an academic honorary title, which is awarded to top professors and scholars worldwide who have a high international reputation and can play an important role in talent training, scientific and academic research for Tsinghua.

Rothenberg, who has built several long-term collaborations in China, was previously Senior Visiting Scholar at Fudan University in 2017 and Director of CO₂ and Circular Economy at the Shanghai Institute of Cleantech Innovation in 2023. His textbook “Catalysis: Concepts & Green Applications”, was published pro bono in Chinese by Higher Education Press, the publishing house of Chinese Ministry of Education, and is used in many departments. He feels honoured and humbled by this appointment: “This is the top university in China. The quality of the staff and students is extremely high. Working with such people is a privilege”.