Our Fellow Vito Capriati, Full Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Department of Pharmacy of the University of Bari Aldo Moro, has been awarded the 2026 Arfvedson-Schlenk Prize by the German Chemical Society (Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker – GDCh). Named after lithium chemistry pioneers Johan August Arfvedson and Wilhelm Schlenk, the prize is sponsored by Albemarle Germany. The award ceremony will take place on 9 September during the GDCh Conference on Inorganic Chemistry at Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

The award recognizes Capriati’s contributions to lithium chemistry, particularly his pioneering research on organolithium compounds and the use of unconventional solvents in these reactions. His work has also opened up new avenues in the chemistry of lithium carbenoids, highly reactive intermediates of major importance in organic synthesis.

Capriati graduated in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology from the University of Bari in 1990 and is currently Full Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Department of Pharmacy of the same university. Since 2016, he has served as Director of the interuniversity consortium C.I.N.M.P.I.S. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry since 2019, he is the author of more than 180 scientific publications.