Honors and Awards
| Year | Designation | Organization |
| 2015 | Hall of Fame der deutschen Forschung | Manager Magazin |
| 2014 | Bayerischer Maximiliansorden | Prime Minister of Bavaria |
| 2012 | Gerhard Ertl Center | Technische Universität Berlin |
| 2011 | TUM Distinguished Affiliated Professor | Technische Universität München |
| 2011 | Dr. honoris causa | University of Technology and Life Sciences, Bydgoszcz |
| 2010 | Barsanti & Matteucci Award | City of Pietrosanta |
| 2010 | Laurea honoris causa | Università di Pisa |
| 2009 | Bohlmann Lecture | Technische Universität Berlin |
| 2009 | Dr. honoris causa | Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Lublin |
| 2009 | Dr. honoris causa | Comenius University, Bratislava |
| 2009 | Dr. honoris causa | Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin |
| 2008 | Ertl Center for Electrochemistry and Catalysis | Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, S. Korea |
| 2008 | IGS Gerhard Ertl | Integrierte Gesamtschule mit gymnasialer Oberstufe, Sprendlingen, Rheinhessen |
| 2008 | Diesel Gold Medal | Deutsches Institut für Erfindungswesen |
| 2008 | Nicolaus Copernicus Medal | Polish Academy of Sciences |
| 2008 | Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz mit Stern | President of the Federal Republic of Germany |
| 2008 | Dr. honoris causa | Technische Universität München |
| 2008 | Dr. honoris causa | Queen’s University Belfast |
| 2008 | Verdienstmedaille | Land Baden-Württemberg |
| 2007 | Nobel Prize in Chemistry | The Nobel Prize Foundation |
| 2007 | Otto-Hahn-Preis | Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker, Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft, & the City of Frankfurt/M |
| 2007 | Gold Medal | Slovak Chemical Society |
| 2007 | Baker Lectureship | Cornell University, Ithaca (NY) |
| 2007 | Faraday Lectureship | Royal Society of Chemistry |
| 2006 | Guptill Lecture | Dalhousie University, Halifax |
| 2005 | Angström Lecture | University of Uppsala |
| 2005 | Linus Pauling Lecture | California Institute of Technology |
| 2003 | Dr. honoris causa | University of Aarhus |
| 2003 | Dr. honoris causa | Chalmers University of Technology, Goeteborg |
| 2003 | Dr. honoris causa | University of Leuven |
| 2002 | FMC Lectureship | Princeton University |
| 2002 | Karl Ziegler Visiting Professor | Max Planck Institute Mulheim |
| 2002 | Spiers Memorial Medal and Lectureship | Royal Society of Chemistry |
| 2001 | G.F. Smith Lecture | University of Illinois, Urbana |
| 2001 | Kelly Lecture | Purdue University |
| 2001 | Schuit Lecture | Technical University of Eindhoven |
| 2001 | Pitzer Lecture | University of California, Berkeley |
| 2000 | Dr. honoris causa | University of Münster |
| 1999 | Roessler Lectureship | Cornell University |
| 1999 | Le Bel Lecture | Université de Strasbourg |
| 1999 | Debye Lecture | Universiteit Utrecht |
| 1998 | Wolf Prize in Chemistry | Wolf Foundation |
| 1998 | Karl Ziegler Prize | German Chemical Society |
| 1998 | Francois Gault Lectureship | European Catalysis Society |
| 1998 | M. Curie Lectureship | Polish Chemical Society |
| 1997 | Laird Lecture | University of British Columbia |
| 1997 | A.D. Little Lectureship | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| 1996 | Honorary Professor | Humboldt University Berlin |
| 1996 | Carl Engler Medal | German Scientific Society for Coal and Petroleum Research (DGMK) |
| 1996 | Merck Lecture | Rutgers University |
| 1996 | Brdicka Lecture | Czech Academy of Sciences |
| 1995 | Medard W. Welch Award | American Vacuum Society |
| 1995 | Stauffer Lecture | University of Southern California |
| 1994 | Rolf Sammet Visiting Professor | University of Frankfurt |
| 1992 | Hewlett-Packard Europhysics Prize | European Physical Society |
| 1992 | Japan Prize | Science and Technology Foundation of Japan |
| 1992 | Bunsen Medal | German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry |
| 1992 | Dr. Honoris Causa | Ruhr-University of Bochum |
| 1992 | Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz | President of the Federal Republic of Germany |
| 1992 | Kolthoff Lectureship | University of Minnesota |
| 1992 | Kaufman Memorial Lecture | University of Pittsburgh |
| 1991 | Leibniz Prize | German Science Foundation |
| 1991 | Bourke Medal and Lectureship | Royal Society of Chemistry |
| 1990 | Alwin Mittasch Medal | German Federation of Chemical Engineers (DECHEMA) |
| 1990 | Dow Lectureship | University of Western Ontario |
| 1990 | Coover Lecture | Iowa State University |
| 1989 | Frontiers in Chemical Research Lectureship | Texas A&M University |
| 1988 | William Draper Harkins Lecture | University of Chicago |
| 1988 | Barre Lecture | University of Montreal |
| 1987 | Liebig Medal | German Chemical Society |
| 1986 | Honorary Professor | Free University of Berlin |
| 1986 | Honorary Professor | Technical University of Berlin |
| 1986 | Langmuir Lecture | American Chemical Society |
| 1985 | C.F. Gauss Medal | Scientific Society of Braunschweig |
| 1985 | Centenary Medal and Lectureship | Royal Society of Chemistry |
| 1985 | C.G.A. Schuit Lecture | University of Delaware |
| 1984 | FECS Lecture | Federation of European Chemical Societies |
| 1984 | Industry Lecture | Norwegian Chemical Society |
| 1979 | Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis | American Catalysis Society |
| 1979 | E.W. Müller Award | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee |
| 1977 | Frank Ciapetta National Lectureship | American Catalysis Society |
| 1976 | Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Scholar | California Institute of Technology |