A German chemist noted for the invention of the Bergius process used for the production of synthetic fuels from coal. He gained his PhD at the University of Leipzig and worked for a time with Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch at the University of Karlsruhe before becoming professor at the University of Hanover. His work on high-temperature, high-pressure processes resulted in the Bergius process in 1913 for production of synthetic fuels by the hydrogenation of lignite. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry together with Carl Bosch in 1931 for his work on high-pressure processes.