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Around 350 chemists will come together from March 17 to 19 at the Technical University of Braunschweig for the Chemiedozententagung (CDT) 2025. At the event, the German Chemical Society (GDCh) will award two prestigious prizes: Dr. Karl Arnold Reuter, Freiburg, will be awarded the Carl Duisberg Plaque and Professor Dr. Christoph Kerzig, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, will receive the Carl-Duisberg Memorial Award. In addition, one young scientist and two young scientists will receive ADUC prizes for establishing an independent research area.
The Chemiedozententagung is organized by the Association of German University Professors of Chemistry (ADUC) of the GDCh and brings together young academics from all areas of chemistry. Habilitation candidates, junior professors and scholarship holders use the Conference to present their research and to exchange ideas. In addition, for the first time, results from postdocs or planned independent research projects will be presented at the CDT 2025 in short presentations. In addition to scientific lectures, this year's program also includes the founding meeting of the new GDCh Supramolecular Chemistry Working Group . As a special highlight, the team from the GDCh journal Angewandte Chemie is inviting you to a presentation under the motto "Be surprised!" on March 17 at 6:40 p.m. This will be followed by a reception and get-together. In a festive setting during the Conference, the GDCh will also award the Carl Duisberg Plaque and the Carl-Duisberg Memorial Award , and the ADUC will award one young female scientist and two young male scientists with ADUC Prizes.
The Carl Duisberg Plaque, a gold medal, is awarded by the GDCh to individuals who have made a special contribution to the promotion of chemistry and the goals of the GDCh. Dr. Karl Arnold Reuter receives the award for his services to the promotion of scientific creativity in chemistry - in particular for his commitment and dedication to the book series Lives in Chemistry (LiC). The autobiographical series provides insights into the lives and thoughts of outstanding researchers in the mirror of time. An advisory board appointed by the Board of the GDCh Division of History of Chemistry manages the series. Reuter supports the project.
Karl Arnold Reuter, born in 1955, studied chemistry at the Justus Liebig University in Gießen, where he also received his doctorate in 1985. After a postdoc stay at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA, he began his industrial career at BENCKISER and at Sandoz Agro, in Basel, Switzerland, and in St. Pierre La Garenne, France. In 1993 he founded his company Reuter Chemische Apparatebau in Freiburg. He develops innovative separation processes for the resolution of racemates and the purification of organic substance mixtures and employs around 90 people.
The Carl-Duisberg Memorial Award, worth 7,500 euros, has been awarded since 1936 to young university lecturers who work at a German university or, as a German, at a foreign university, who do not yet hold a W2/W3 or comparable position and are under 40 years of age. This year, Professor Dr. Christoph Kerzig, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, receives the award for his outstanding research in the field of photochemistry. His work is characterized by highly innovative approaches to the use of light energy, particularly in the field of elucidating the mechanisms of photochemical reactions but also upconversion and photoredox catalysis. Kerzig has made significant contributions to the research of light-driven reactions that have the potential to replace fossil raw materials and thus contribute to more sustainable chemistry. His work is making a significant contribution to developing chemistry towards an environmentally friendly and resource-saving science. Kerzig convinced the selection committee not only with his research and his numerous high-ranking publications, but also with his committed teaching and the promotion of young scientists.
Christoph Kerzig, born in 1987, studied chemistry at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). In 2017, he completed his doctorate there with summa cum laude. After postdoc stays in Halle Wittenberg, the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and the University of Basel, Switzerland, he moved to the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz as a junior professor in 2020. He has been Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and Photochemistry there since 2024. He has already received numerous awards for his research, including one of the ADUC Prizes in 2023.
As part of the Conference, the ADUC will also award one young scientist and two young scientists with ADUC prizes. Assistant Professor Dr. Nina Hartrampf, University of Zurich, Switzerland, will receive an ADUC prize for her stimulating approaches in the field of preparative peptide research, in particular the linking of modern flow-chemical synthesis methods with biosynthesis steps in the generation of lasso peptides. Dr. John Molloy, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces Potsdam and Free University of Berlin, will also be honored in recognition of his groundbreaking research on the use of organoboron compounds to generate structural complexity using photocatalytic strategies. Junior Professor Dr. Johannes Wahl, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, will receive an ADUC prize in recognition of his creative contributions to the development of stereoselective synthesis methods, especially through the skillful implementation of small ring compounds using new catalytic processes.
Further information about the Conference can be found at www.gdch.de/cdt2025
The German Chemical Society (GDCh) is one of the largest chemical science societies in the world with over 28,000 members. It has 27 Divisions and awards numerous prizes for special achievements in chemical research. The long-established GDCh Association of German University Professors of Chemistry (ADUC) awards prizes each year to up to three young scientists (during habilitation, scholarship or junior professorship) for establishing an independent research area.
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The spring symposium of the JCF (Young Chemistry Forum) of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) will take place from March 12 to 15 in the bicycle city of Münster under the motto "Cycling Chemistry". The Conference is aimed at the young chemistry community at home and abroad. Around 300 scientists are expected. In addition to lectures, the program also includes workshops, an industrial exhibition and a poster session. Other highlights are the awarding of the Carl Roth Prize and the Dres. Volker and Elke Münch Prize.
For 27 years now, the JCF Spring Symposium has been one of the largest conferences in Europe by and for young researchers. The event is organized annually by changing regional forums of the JCF, the junior research organization of the GDCh. In 2025, the Münster, Essen-Duisburg and Dortmund regional forums took over the organization and jointly created a diverse program. In addition to internationally renowned scientists, junior group leaders and young researchers in particular have the opportunity to speak at the event.
The motto "Cycling Chemistry" not only refers to the venue, but also alludes to the topics of recycling and battery cycling - the cyclical recharging of batteries. It thus underscores the importance of chemistry for a sustainable future and the role of young scientists in developing innovative solutions. This is also reflected in the high-caliber scientific program. The plenary speakers include Professor Dr. Klaus Kümmerer, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Professor Dr. Saiful Islam, University of Oxford, UK, Professor Dr. Sebastian Hasenstab-Riedel, Free University of Berlin, Professor Dr. Fikile R. Brushett, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA, Professor Dr. Lena Daumann, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, and Professor Dr. Viktoria Däschlein-Gessner, Ruhr University Bochum. In addition, various workshops are offered and the diverse supporting program (including a diversity lunch) offers opportunities for informal networking. From March 12 to 14, the GDCh Career Service will have a stand on site and answer questions about Career and starting a career.
The Dres. Volker and Elke Münch Prize will be awarded on March 15th. The prize, from the foundation of the same name based at the GDCh, is endowed with 7000 euros and is given to young inventors who have made a pioneering invention in the field of chemistry or chemical process engineering. The prize money will be used to support a patent application. This year the award goes to the BionicFuel team consisting of Dr. Pascal R. Böwer, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Dr. Melanie Walther, University of Bremen, and Tim M. Thiedemann, also from Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg. They developed a concept for a new purification technology for fermentation processes and proved its feasibility experimentally. Their innovative technology is based on biotechnological processes and uses organic waste as the starting material. With it, the team wants to establish an environmentally friendly alternative to petroleum-based processes that takes both social and ecological aspects into account.
The Carl-Roth Award will also be awarded on March 15. The GDCh awards the prize, worth 5,000 euros, to young chemists who develop resource-saving synthesis routes or use chemicals innovatively. The prize is financed by Carl Roth GmbH & Co. KG, which also contributes a further 3,000 euros in the form of a voucher. This year, Anna F. Tiefel and Maximilian Wohlgemuth share the prize. Tiefel receives the award for her scientific work at the University of Regensburg in the field of photocatalysis - in particular on photoinduced nucleophilic substitution reactions on allylic selenides. Wohlgemuth is being honored for his work at the Ruhr University Bochum on mechanochemistry - an innovative approach to carrying out chemical reactions in ball mills completely without solvents and external heat.
On March 15, Dr. Daniel Kowalczyk, University of Ulm, will also receive the FAIR4Chem Award for the dataset he published from chemical research, which meets the FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) and thus makes a significant contribution to increasing transparency in research. The prize is awarded by the NFDI4Chem consortium, in which the GDCh is involved, and supported by the Chemical Industry Fund.
Further information can be found at https://symposium.jcf.io.
With around 28,000 members, the German Chemical Society is one of the largest chemical science societies in the world. It promotes scientific work, research and teaching as well as the exchange and dissemination of new scientific findings. The GDCh supports the creation of networks, transdisciplinary and international cooperation and continuous education and training in schools, universities and in the professional environment. The GDCh has 27 Divisions as well as 60 local sections and regional forums of the JCF (Young Chemistry Forum) at almost all university locations. The JCF forms a platform for around 10,000 young members of the GDCh nationwide.
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The German Chemical Society (GDCh) is awarding Associate Professor Dr. Kathrin Breuker, University of Innsbruck, the Fresenius Award. She will receive the award, which includes a gold medal and prize money of 7,500 euros, for special services to analytical chemistry. With her scientific work, Breuker provides fundamental insights into the properties of biomacromolecules in the gas phase. She will receive the award on March 10 as part of ANAKON 2025 in Leipzig. The GDCh Division of Analytical Chemistry, which is organizing the Conference , and its working groups will also honor scientists on site.
Kathrin Breuker receives the Fresenius Award in particular for her achievements in the field of biomolecular mass spectrometry, a method for determining the mass of biomolecules. She developed innovative methods for studying complex molecular systems. These include native protein structures, the folding and unfolding of proteins in the gas phase, and the dissociation (decay) of proteins and nucleic acids (RNA). To do this, Breuker used high-resolution mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS, a technique for precise mass determination) and various fragmentation methods that break molecules down into smaller parts. Her work provides fundamental insights into the properties of biomacromolecules in the gas phase.
In addition, Breuker is involved in scientific committees, especially in the German Society for Mass Spectrometry (DGMS), and actively builds international networks. She is the jury chair for the "Mass Spectrometry in the Life Sciences" award and a member of the jury for the DGMS Mattauch-Herzog Prize.
Kathrin Breuker graduated in physics from the University of Münster in 1994. She then moved to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, where she received her doctorate in 1999. After postdoc stays at Cornell University, Ithaca, USA, and in Innsbruck, Austria, she began working as a research group leader at the University of Innsbruck in 2002. After obtaining her Venia Docendi in Biophysical Chemistry, she worked there as an assistant professor from 2014. Breuker has been an Associate Professor at the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the University of Innsbruck since 2019. Her research has already received several awards and funding.
Other awards ceremonies:
As part of ANAKON, the GDCh Division of Analytical Chemistry and two of its working groups also present several awards:
Further information about the Conference can be found at www.gdch.de/anakon2025
The German Chemical Society (GDCh) is one of the largest chemical science societies in the world with over 28,000 members. It has 27 Divisions, including the Division of Analytical Chemistry founded in 1951 with over 2,400 members. The Division gives analytical chemistry a strong voice in science, business, politics and the public and promotes training in analytical chemistry. Intensive, relevant work is carried out in the nine working groups and in the Industry Forum Analytics .
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last modified: 18.02.2025 16:59 H from Translator
