Thierry Slot was born in Alkmaar, The Netherlands. He earned two BSc degrees, in Chemistry and Pharmacy, from Utrecht University, before moving to Amsterdam where he completed his master’s degree in chemistry cum laude in 2016. He then started his PhD with Prof. Rothenberg and Dr. Shiju Raveendran. For four years, he toiled to unravel the mysteries of confinement chemistry by altering the surface structure of various catalytic materials including MAX phases and MXenes. He published 13 peer-reviewed papers and invented a new device for studying the kinetics of gas-producing reactions, combining his three passions: chemistry, electronics and 3D printing. He also spent three months at Fudan University in Shanghai at the lab of Prof. Hualong Xu, making aromatics from syngas.
After completing his PhD cum laude in 2021, Thierry moved to Israel to continue his academic career. At the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry of the Technion, he began his postdoctoral training with Dr. David Eisenberg to explore new catalytic materials for electrochemical applications. In particular, he aims to push the boundaries of electrochemical ammonia synthesis. One of his dreams is to build a self-contained electrolyzer that can make ammonia from air, using just electricity and water.