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Carl Mesters is recognised in his field and beyond as a leading innovator and authority on catalysis. He joined Shell in 1984 and currently works as senior principal scientist at the Shell Research and Technology Centre in Amsterdam. Carl is active across many technical areas, and, by combining a high level of idea creation with the identification of business areas where those ideas might be applicable, he has developed new propositions for various businesses.
In November 2005, Carl was appointed as one of seven chief scientists within the Shell Group in his specialty area of chemistry and catalysis. The role of chief scientist was created to reinforce the Shell commitment to science, technology and innovation. The chief scientists have internationally recognised expertise in their individual fields. They deliver innovative technology that has a strong impact on wider business development. Jeroen van der Veer, chief executive, Royal Dutch Shell plc, notes, I believe these appointments will help us to retain, value and develop that expertise, which will not only be good for the individuals, but also for our business and the energy industry as a whole.
Carl states, I felt proud and surprised. It is a new role, so we learn as we go; probably in the same way as in research. You try and you win or you lose, but at least you learn and then you try again!
Carls has a degree in physical and inorganic chemistry from the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands, where he also completed a PhD on the preparation of copper-nickel alloys, a study on single crystals and supported catalysts, during a four-year assignment at the Netherlands Foundation for Chemical Research.
Carl has been a member of the industrial sounding board of several Innovation-Oriented Research Programme (IOP) catalysis projects sponsored by the Dutch Ministry for Economic Affairs. He has been chairman of the Catalysis Society of the Royal Dutch Chemical Association, and was chairman of the 9th Roermond Conference on Catalysis in 1998. Currently, he is a member of the research committee of the Netherlands Institute for Catalysis Research.
In a world of continuous improvement, Carl searches for novel and ingenious chemical and catalytic solutions that make more people choose Shell more often.
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