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. Based on the belief in the connection between beauty and truth, the Foundation recognises and promotes research into highly symmetrical compounds in chemistry."

Complete preamble

Awards

Dissertation Prize

Every year, the Scimus et Sciemus Foundation awards a dissertation that describes the synthesis of one or more highly symmetrical chemical structures. The decision as to whether a chemical compound fulfills the criterion of a "highly symmetrical structure" is up to the foundation's advisory board. The dissertation can come from any of the subfields of chemistry and it does not have to be specifically or exclusively focused on the synthesis of highly symmetric structures. In the event that no dissertation meets the criteria mentioned, the Foundation Advisory Board will award a dissertation of outstanding importance for basic research in organic chemistry. The annual prize is endowed with 1000.00 euros. The honored person must have German citizenship and have completed the dissertation at a German university.

One-time price

The Foundation Advisory Board also awards an international prize for the successful synthesis of each of the following highly symmetrical compounds:

• 1,2,3,4-all-cis-tetravinylcyclobutane
• 2,4,6,8-tetramethylenetricyclo [3.3.0.0 ^3.7 ] octane ("stellatetraene")

The successful synthesis is endowed with a price of 2000.00 euros. The foundation advisory board is responsible for deciding whether a successful synthesis has been achieved.

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)