Scimus et Sciemus Foundation

Excerpt from the preamble

"The non-profit foundation "Scimus et Sciemus" established by the Founders, Hannelore and Bernhard Kissler, serves to promote fundamental research, particularly in the field of pure Organic Chemistry. The Foundation rests on the belief in the power of the natural sciences to gradually solve the mysteries of the world so that one day, people will recognise what holds the world together at its innermost core."

"In 1971, Werner Heisenberg, in his essay, "The Meaning of Beauty in Exact Science", re-called the eminent creative power inherent in beauty as a postulated principle of existing in itself at all times for the discovery of the true. Things that are perceived as beautiful are asso-ciated with a high degree of symmetry in nature as in the fine arts, in physics and mathemat-ics with the symmetry of equations and in chemistry with the symmetry of molecules and structures. The Foundation, therefore, resting in the belief of a connection between aesthetics and scientific knowledge, recognises the application of symmetry principles and research into highly symmetrical compounds in chemistry and its interdisciplinary sciences."

Complete preamble

Awards

Every two years, the Foundation recognizes outstanding scientific contributions that fulfil one or more of the following criteria:

1.    Symmetry and aesthetics in chemistry 
2.    Synthesis of highly symmetrical compounds in chemistry
3.    Innovative application of symmetry in chemical systems
4.    Importance of symmetry in molecular structures
5.    Importance of symmetry in biochemistry and molecular biology
6.    Influence of symmetry on chemical reactivity and synthesis 
7.    Presentation of symmetry principles and their application
8.    Practical applications of symmetry in chemistry

Furthermore, the Foundation awards a prize for the first synthesis of 

1,2,3,4-all-cis-Tetravinyl-cyclobutan
2,4,6,8-Tetramethylenetricyclo [3.3.0.0 ^3,7] octan

The successful synthesis is endowed with a price of 2000 euros.

Ausgezeichnete

The founders

Bernhard Erwin Kissler, winner of the Jugend Forscht Prize and the Sophie Bernthsen Foundation Award, studied chemistry and biochemistry in Heidelberg and earned his doctorate in 1987 with Rolf Gleiter on through-bond interactions in strained hydrocarbons. Following a research stay at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, he pursued a career in European Patent Law.

Hannelore Louise Kissler, pharmaceutical consultant for 1,4-dihydropyridines and other calcium channel antagonists, has accompanied her husband on their life's journey since their days spent in Heidelberg.

The couple are comfortable not only with Latin but also with several modern languages, share a love of Italian opera and an interest in molecular biology and cosmology in the natural sciences. They are also fascinated by wreck diving and, not least, enjoy cooking refined dishes in their gourmet kitchen at home.

Literary baggage:
Michel de Montaigne, Essais
Per Lagerkvist, Den fordringsfulla gästen
François-Marie Arouet, Candide ou l'optimisme
L. Annaeus Seneca, Epistulae Morales

The Advisory Board

Dr. Bernhard E. Kissler (founder)
Prof. Dr. Wolfram Koch (GDCh Executive Director)
Dr. Karsten Danielmeier (GDCh President 2022/23)