Mainz-based atmospheric researcher to receive the 2026 Vilhelm Bjerknes Medal

Jonathan Williams has been honored by the European Geosciences Union (EGU) for his pioneering work in the field of volatile organic compounds and their significance in atmospheric chemistry.

May 07, 2026

Jonathan Williams, group leader in the Atmospheric Chemistry Department at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, was awarded the Vilhelm Bjerknes Medal at the annual meeting of the European Geosciences Union (EGU).  He received the medal in recognition of his outstanding scientific achievements and innovative research ideas in atmospheric sciences.

Man in blue shirt next to measurement device in a laboratory.

Williams, who is also a professor at the Cyprus Institute in Nicosia, Cyprus, focuses primarily on research into organic trace gases. According to the jury, he has made numerous significant discoveries through his innovative research questions and specially developed measurement methods. Through field expeditions around the globe, Williams has expanded our general understanding of the processes involving organic gases in the atmosphere.

Jonathan Williams is the second scientist from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry to be awarded the Vilhelm Bjerknes Medal, following Jos Lelieveld, the institute's former director. Lelieveld received the medal in 2019.

Research on the ground, in the air, and on the skin

The Williams Group specializes in measuring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a collective term for organic substances — that is, carbon-containing compounds — that evaporate easily at room temperature or higher. Using highly sensitive mass spectrometers, researchers can identify and quantify hundreds of volatile organic molecules that are emitted from a wide variety of sources and then oxidized in the air.

In addition to monitoring instruments at remote locations such as the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) in the Brazilian rainforest, his team also conducts research projects in enclosed experimental field facilities (e.g., BIOSPHERE in Arizona, USA) or on ships (e.g., as part of the AQABA campaign in 2017) and deploys measuring instruments aboard aircraft (e.g., HALO).

During their research in the Brazilian rainforest, he and his team discovered, among other things, that the rainforest soil produces large amounts of sesquiterpenes. Furthermore, his team found that prolonged drought significantly affects how much rainforest soils emit and consume biogenic volatile organic compounds (bVOCs). (See below/left for links to the respective press releases)

In addition, Jonathan Williams’ research group is investigating the chemical processes occurring indoors and how humans influence the indoor environment. For example, they found that human skin releases much more ammonia (NH3) than previously thought. In further studies, they quantified the overall reactivity of human emissions for the first time and determined how sensitive these emissions are to ozone. In a study published in 2025, they demonstrated that oils and fats on our skin, together with ozone in the immediate vicinity of the body, generate an oxidation field of highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (OH).

Williams’s lively scientific curiosity is also reflected in an impressive list of publications in leading scientific journals. His work has been cited more than 20,000 times.

In 2021, Jonathan Williams received the Ig Nobel Prize. This award honors scientific achievements that are intended to “first make people laugh, then make them think.” The award was given in recognition of Williams’ study, conducted in collaboration with Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, which demonstrated a link between the air in movie theaters and the FSK age rating. The researchers found that moviegoers emitted higher levels of isoprene when they were feeling nervous or anxious.

Former MPIC Researchers also honored

Furthermore, at the 2026 EGU General Assembly, two female scientists, Eva Pfannerstill and Bettina Weber, who had previously conducted research at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry for several years, received awards. Both continue to collaborate with the Mainz-based institute on various projects. Eva Pfannerstill received the “Outstanding Early Career Scientist” award, and Bettina Weber received the “Alina Kabata-Pendias Medal.”

 

Some information about the Vilhelm Bjerknes Medal is provided below:

The medal is named after Vilhelm Bjerknes (1862–1951), one of the leading atmospheric scientists of the first half of the 20th century.

 

More information on Jonathan Williams research:

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