26/21
16 November 2021

The 2022 advanced training program of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) has been published entirely digitally as GDCh.academy. The printed brochure has been discontinued in line with the GDCh digital strategy and climate protection. In addition to the individual courses from eleven specialist areas and the tried-and-tested specialist programs, the new specialist program "Certified Emergency Manager (GDCh) (m/f/d)" will start in 2022.

The GDCh.academy offers a user-friendly overview of all GDCh training courses in 2022. In addition to general information such as course topic, event period, venue and course leader, there is also extensive in-depth information for each course. The objectives and content of the training courses are described in detail and the recommended target group is outlined.

In the coming year, the GDCh will once again offer many opportunities for professional, professional and personal development. The 2022 offering consists of around 50 courses from eleven specialist areas. In addition to training on classic chemistry topics such as synthesis methods and food chemistry issues, there will also be courses on quality assurance and modern methods and procedures. In all courses, participants benefit from speakers with a high level of experience and expertise. In addition to the face-to-face courses, e-learning courses will continue to be offered so that every type of learner is catered for.

By switching from the brochure to the GDCh.academy, not only is the environment protected (around 15 tons of paper alone can be saved), but the GDCh is also responding to the changing needs of those seeking further training. The GDCh.app can be downloaded free of charge for smartphones and tablets from Google Play and the Apple App Store. Desktop users can also open the app at https://gdch.app on any internet-enabled device with a modern browser. Installation is not required.

In addition to the numerous individual courses, the tried and tested GDCh specialist programs "Certified Industrial Chemist (GDCh)® (m/f/d)" and "Certified Quality Expert GxP (GDCh) (m/f/d)" will also be offered in 2022. In addition, the new specialist program "Certified Emergency Manager (GDCh) (m/f/d)" will be offered for the first time. The specialist program presents preparation, reaction and solution options in order to be able to initiate appropriate measures in emergency situations within the shortest possible time. Participants learn how companies, superiors and employees can remain able to act in an emergency.

Detailed information on the courses and specialist programs can be found at https://gdch.academy

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25/21
9 November 2021

The German Chemical Society (GDCh) is awarding Dr. Goetz Baumgarten, Dr. Joerg Balster and Dr. Axel Kobus from the Essen-based specialty chemicals group Evonik the 2021 Meyer-Galow Award for Business Chemistry . The team will receive the award, worth 10,000 euros, for the development and market launch of innovative membrane modules made of polyimide that enable low-emission biogas processing. The awards ceremony will take place on November 25 as part of a hybrid ceremony at Evonik Industries in Essen. The award will be presented by GDCh Deputy President Dr. Carla Seidel.

Polyimides are high-performance plastics that are very pressure and temperature resistant and can also be spun very well. This makes them particularly suitable for use in so-called hollow fiber membranes, which are used in gas processing technology, for example. Evonik managed to tailor and further develop the properties of its own polyimide family so that membrane modules with special gas separation properties could be created using the hollow fiber membranes spun from them. With the support of the in-house membrane process technology and the associated process engineering infrastructure, an innovative system solution for gas separation tasks was created for the market.

The awardee have made a significant contribution to establishing a technologically leading provider of efficient and durable gas separation membranes under the brand name SEPURAN® within just ten years. To this end, they set up a highly motivated and entrepreneurial team of internal and external experts who were able to close initial technology gaps.

A membrane-based gas processing technology for raw biogas to biomethane, developed in 2011 specifically for the emerging biogas market, was able to prevail against both competitive processes and alternative membrane solutions. With more than 300 plants worldwide, it is now the leading biogas processing technology. Studies show that biomethane produced in this way can reduce emissions by around 90 percent compared to natural gas. The awardee have thus made a valuable contribution to making the renewable raw material biomethane available in a simple, robust and particularly energy-efficient way and enabling subsequent applications. Since 2015, the team has been developing the product range with new membrane and module types so that the entire gas market can be served.

The Meyer-Galow Award for Business Chemistry is awarded annually to scientists in German-speaking countries who have successfully introduced a current chemical innovation to the market. The focus is on market launches that primarily take sustainability into account. The prize was donated by Professor Dr. Erhard Meyer-Galow , the former CEO of Hüls AG and former President of the GDCh. Meyer-Galow worked primarily at the interface between chemistry and the market and gave lectures on "Industrial Chemistry in the Chemical Industry" at the University of Münster.

The German Chemical Society (GDCh) is one of the largest chemical science societies in the world with around 30,000 members. It has 27 Divisions as well as 60 local sections and regional young chemists' forums. The GDCh promotes scientific work as well as the exchange and dissemination of new scientific findings. It maintains numerous foundations, such as the Meyer-Galow Foundation for Industrial Chemistry, which Professor Dr. Erhard Meyer-Galow founded in 2012 to further promote industrial chemistry.

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24/21
21 October 2021

Dr. Karsten Danielmeier, currently Head of Growth Business in the Coatings and Adhesives business unit at Covestro, will become President of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) on January 1, 2022. With around 30,000 members, the society is one of the largest chemical science societies in the world. Danielmeier was elected as future President by the incumbent GDCh Board at the Board meeting on August 30, 2021.

He will succeed Professor Dr. Peter R. Schreiner, who held the office for two years as per the rotation schedule and has now been elected as one of the Vice Presidents. The Executive Committee is completed by GDCh board member and industrial chemist Katharina Uebele. She is the first young chemist to be elected as Vice President. Dr. Timo Fleßner, Bayer AG, was confirmed in office as Treasurer.

The new Executive Committee has big plans for the next term of office. In particular, it wants to breathe life into the society's three mission statements even more with a focus on digitization, diversity and internationalization. The course taken in recent years of driving forward the modernization of the GDCh is also to be continued.
“We can be proud of what the GDCh has achieved and what it represents, but we also want to accompany the changes in society and science and thus actively shape the future of the GDCh,” emphasises Danielmeier.

Karsten Danielmeier, born in Werl in 1967, studied at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University Bonn, where he received his doctorate in Synthetic Organic Chemistry under Professor Dr. Eberhard Steckhan in 1995. The following year, he joined Bayer AG, where he held numerous positions of increasing responsibility in raw material research for coatings and adhesives in Germany and the USA. Most recently, he headed research for the Functional Films division in Leverkusen and was Senior Vice President for Research and Development in the Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties segment at Covestro from 2015 to 2021.

Danielmeier has been a member of the GDCh Board since July 2020 and was previously active for several years in the scientific planning committee of the GDCh Division of Coating Chemistry .

About the German Chemical Society (GDCh):
With around 30,000 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 and 60 local sections.

About Covestro:
With sales of 10.7 billion euros in 2020, Covestro is one of the world's leading polymer companies. The company's business focuses on the production of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative, sustainable solutions for products that are used in many areas of everyday life. Covestro is fully geared towards the circular economy. The main customers are the automotive and transport industries, the construction industry, the furniture and wood processing industry, and the electrical, electronics and household appliance industries. In addition, there are areas such as sports and leisure, cosmetics, health, and the chemical industry itself. As of the end of 2020, Covestro produces at 33 locations worldwide and employs around 16,500 people (converted to full-time positions).

Contact:

Dr. Karin J. Schmitz
German Chemical Society
public relations
Phone +49 69 7917-493
Email: pr@gdch.de
www.gdch.de/presse

Dr. Frank Rothbarth
Covestro AG
Communications
Phone +49 214 6009 2536
Email: frank.rothbarth@covestro.com

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Press release as pdf document (English)

23/21
19 October 2021

On November 3, 2021, the German Chemical Society (GDCh) will award the 2020 Hermann Staudinger Award to Professor Dr. Markus Antonietti, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam. The award ceremony, originally planned for 2020, will be held as part of an Online event. The 2020 Reimund-Stadler Award of the GDCh Division of Macromolecular Chemistry and two Dr. Hermann Schnell scholarships will also be awarded on this occasion. Following the award ceremony, the awardee will each provide insights into their research.

Markus Antonietti receives the Hermann Staudinger Award, endowed with 7,500 euros, for his research at the interfaces between polymer synthesis, materials research and interdisciplinary applications of functional materials. The chemist has advanced polymer and colloid sciences in Germany and internationally in a wide variety of areas. For three decades he has worked in an interdisciplinary manner between polymer science, colloid science, catalysis and photochemistry. With his innovative approaches, Antonietti creatively pushes the boundaries of science in areas ranging from biomedicine to energy research and also includes aspects of sustainability in his work. In keeping with Hermann Staudinger's philosophy, he is not afraid to leave established classes of materials to research new ones. In addition to his scientific achievements, the GDCh is also honoring Antonietti's exemplary support of young talent with this award.

Antonietti, born in Mainz in 1960, studied chemistry in his hometown. During his habilitation on microgels with a special structure, he was the first person to work on nanogels. At the end of the 1980s, about 20 years before research into nanoparticles became established, he recognized the special features of polymeric nanomaterials. He also worked very successfully on the self-organization of block copolymers, polyelectrolytes and amphiphilic polymers.

In 1993 he became the youngest director of the Max Planck Society. Scientifically, he turned to the crystal growth of polymers, biomimetic mineralization and mesocrystalline structures and included inorganic nanomaterials in his research, using polymeric ionic liquids as a reaction medium. About fifteen years ago, carbon became the focus of his interest. From the design of carbon nanostructures to "hydrothermal carbonization", the artificial production of lignite or liquid petroleum precursors from biomass, Antonietti's contributions to chemical energy storage ranged from the design of carbon nanostructures to "hydrothermal carbonization", the artificial production of lignite or liquid petroleum precursors from biomass, which he supplemented with work on other energy sources. His contributions to artificial photosynthesis and the chemical use of carbon dioxide in general are remarkable. Antonietti's work has already received several awards, including two honorary doctorates, three honorary professorships, the Liebig commemorative coin of the GDCh (2016) and the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class (2018).

As part of the event, the Reimund-Stadler Award will also be awarded to Professor Dr. André Gröschel, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster. This award, worth 5,000 euros, will be given to prospective university lecturers in the field of polymer chemistry and related areas who have presented outstanding work at the “Young Researchers’ University Workshops 2019” of the GDCh Division of Macromolecular Chemistry . A Dr. Hermann Schnell scholarship for young scientists in the field of macromolecular chemistry will be awarded to Dr. Johannes Brendel, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, and Dr. Lutz Nuhn, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz.

The German Chemical Society (GDCh) is one of the largest chemical science societies in the world with around 30,000 members. It has 27 Divisions, including the Division of Macromolecular Chemistry with over 1,200 members. The Division brings together scientists from universities, research institutes and industry from all areas of polymer chemistry and physics. The Division 's Reimund-Stadler Award is endowed with 5,000 euros. The Division of Macromolecular Chemistry has the right to propose candidates for the GDCh's Hermann Staudinger Award , named after the 1953 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry and endowed with 7,500 euros.

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22/21
14 October 2021

On October 21, the German Chemical Society (GDCh) will award the Albrecht-Kossel Award, worth 7,500 euros, to Professor Dr. Marina Rodnina, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, for her work in the field of biochemistry. The award ceremony will take place as part of the Online meeting “RNA Biochemistry”.

Marina Rodnina convinced the selection committee with her work on new approaches to investigating the function of the ribosome and its functionality in protein biosynthesis. She combined experimental approaches that are otherwise used alternatively rather than in conjunction and linked kinetic analyses with structure-based methods. The award winner was thus able to develop novel models of translation in general and gain new insights into individual catalytic steps of the ribosome.

Marina Rodnina studied biology at the National Taras Shevchenko University in Kiev, Ukraine, where she received her doctorate in molecular biology and genetics in 1989. As a scholarship holder of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, she conducted research at the Private University of Witten/Herdecke between 1990 and 1992. Rodnina received her habilitation in biochemistry there in 1997 and subsequently held a professorship at the Institute of Molecular Biology. In 2000, she took over the chair of Physical Biochemistry at the Private University of Witten/Herdecke. Since 2008, she has been Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen and Head of the Department of Physical Biochemistry.

Marina Rodnina is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. In 2016 she was awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation (DFG).

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21/21
5 October 2021

The August Wilhelm von Hofmann Foundation, established at the German Chemical Society (GDCh), is once again awarding scholarships for the summer semester of 2022. Bachelor's, diploma or exam students in chemistry and related fields can receive a scholarship of 300 euros per month for a term of 18 or 12 months from April 2022. Applications must be submitted via the Online portal by February 1, 2022.

Bachelor's, diploma or exam students in chemistry and related fields with very good academic performance who are in an economically unfavorable situation can apply for one of the approximately twenty scholarships offered by the August Wilhelm von Hofmann Foundation. Commitment outside of studies is also a criterion for awarding the scholarship. Another requirement is that the students are in the fourth or fifth semester of their studies at the beginning of the summer semester of 2022. The funding ends at the end of the sixth semester at the latest.

The scholarship cannot be extended. A new application cycle takes place every year in the winter semester. The scholarship is not credited towards BAföG benefits, but double funding alongside other performance-based material support from gifted students is not possible.

The August Wilhelm von Hofmann Foundation is named after the first president of the GDCh's predecessor organization, the German Chemical Society, which was founded in 1867. The founder is a long-standing GDCh member who died in 2010 and bequeathed the majority of his fortune to the GDCh to support talented chemistry students.

Further information at www.gdch.de/hofmannstiftung

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JOINT PRESS RELEASE
the city of Frankfurt am Main
the German Chemical Society (GDCh) and
of the German Physical Society (DPG)

20/21
30 September 2021

The 2021 Otto Hahn Award goes to nuclear physicist Klaus Blaum from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg. The award is endowed with 50,000 euros and is sponsored jointly by the city of Frankfurt am Main, the German Chemical Society (GDCh) and the German Physical Society (DPG). The award ceremony will take place on November 5 in the festive setting of Frankfurt's Paulskirche.

“A passion for precision” succinctly characterizes the research of physicist Klaus Blaum, who will be awarded the 2021 Otto Hahn Award this year. His work is groundbreaking for wide areas of atomic, nuclear and particle physics, especially for testing the fundamental forces of nature in the microcosm.

"The questions Klaus Blaum deals with are only at first glance far removed from our real lives," says Mayor Peter Feldmann, describing the prizewinner's work. "He is, as a layman might say, the cartographer of the microcosm. He measures the forces at work there with meticulousness and precision. Through him we understand the mechanisms of our environment. He proves that work on a small scale understood in this way is not just small and small - on the contrary, it actually challenges our understanding of the world."

"With his research, Blaum is expanding our knowledge of the fundamental properties of the components of the matter that surrounds us," adds Lutz Schröter, President of the German Physical Society. Blaum's research activities are wide-ranging and can best be summarized as the "study of exotic particles and states." This includes investigations into highly charged ions, short-lived atomic nuclei, antimatter, and the heaviest artificial elements.

"With Klaus Blaum, an exceptional scientist is receiving the Otto Hahn Award," says Peter R. Schreiner, President of the German Chemical Society. "The findings from his work also create important foundations for chemical research."

Today, the properties of elementary particles and the forces acting between them are often studied at the highest energies. However, a number of fundamental questions in particle physics and cosmology can be pursued particularly well at low energies.

Since the effects here are usually extraordinarily tiny, the utmost precision is required. To achieve this, Blaum and his group developed a large number of sophisticated techniques and often carried out experiments on individual particles at extremely low temperatures. Using a series of brilliant ideas and exceptional experimental skills, he combined sophisticated techniques from atomic, nuclear and accelerator physics.

Blaum has published his scientific results in more than 450 scientific articles in the leading and internationally highly respected physics journals. Although at 49 years of age he is considered young in scientific circles, he is already one of the world's most productive and most cited researchers in the field of precision physics and measurement technology.

Klaus Blaum was born on December 27, 1971 in Bad Sobernheim in Rhineland-Palatinate. He studied physics at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, where he received his diploma in 1997 and several research stays at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, USA, and received his doctorate in 2000 under Ernst-Wilhelm Otten (1934 - 2019). He then worked as a research associate at the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt until 2002 and at the European Center for Nuclear Research CERN near Geneva. There he was project manager for "Mass spectrometry of exotic nuclei with ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE" until 2004. In October 2004, Blaum took over the position of project manager of the Helmholtz University junior research group "Experiments with stored and cooled ions" at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz for four years. In 2006, he completed his habilitation there on high-precision mass spectrometry with Penning traps for charged particles and storage rings.

Blaum taught at the University of Mainz from 2004 to 2008. In 2006, he was awarded the teaching prize of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate for his teaching. In October 2007, at the age of just 35, he was appointed director and scientific member of the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg. In April 2008, he was appointed honorary professor (W3) at the Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg. Since July 2020, Blaum has been Vice President of the Max Planck Society and is responsible for the institutes of the Chemical-Physical-Technical Section.

At a young age, Blaum was awarded a number of highly prestigious prizes, including the Gustav Hertz Prize of the German Physical Society in 2004 for his outstanding work on the mass determination of unstable atomic nuclei, the Helmholtz Prize of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in 2012 and the Lise Meitner Prize of the European Physical Society (EPS) in 2020. In 2019, he was inducted as a foreign member into the physics class of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

The Otto Hahn Award is awarded jointly by the city of Frankfurt am Main, the German Physical Society (DPG) and the German Chemical Society (GDCh). It serves to promote science, particularly in the fields of chemistry, physics and applied engineering, by recognizing outstanding scientific achievements. It is endowed with 50,000 euros and is awarded every two years at a ceremony in Frankfurt's Paulskirche.

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19/21
21 September 2021

The Chemistry Study Commission of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) has presented new, updated recommendations for bachelor's degrees in chemistry at universities. In addition to the content of the chemical disciplines, new aspects of digital teaching, research data management and sustainability were also taken into account.

The updated recommendations primarily focus on cataloging essential scientific content and knowledge that should be taught in all university bachelor's degree programs in chemistry. The catalog of topics is intended to help ensure that chemistry studies continue to be of high quality throughout Germany. The commission naturally assumes that individual university locations will also set individual priorities.

The commission attaches particular importance to ensuring that the constant increase in detailed knowledge does not lead to practical laboratory training being pushed back. For later professional qualifications, it is essential that sufficient time is devoted to experimenting, observing and evaluating test results. "Digital teaching media also complement modern chemistry studies, but can in no way replace practical training. The proportion of practical work in chemistry studies is around 35-50 percent," says Professor Dr. Peter R. Schreiner, GDCh President and Chair of the Study Commission.

Due to the central importance of the UN sustainability goals for chemistry in research and industrial application as well as the political and social discussion, content in the sense of sustainable development should also be integrated into existing courses or taught in new ones in the future.

In addition, digitalization in modern chemistry courses requires skills in dealing with data, digital teaching content and research data management even at bachelor level. This requires supplementing the teaching content with data science tools, including chemical informatics fundamentals. New digital tools enable much more competency-oriented teaching and learning scenarios. However, the creation of digital teaching media and concepts in a chemical context requires resources that should not be underestimated.

For successful science communication, students should not only have sound specialist knowledge, but also be able to convey facts in a way that is tailored to the respective target group and also takes into account the social significance of the respective topic. It is therefore advisable to make more references to social issues and everyday aspects in the respective courses. This linking of factual topics with the social context sensitizes students to possible problems and solutions through chemistry and promotes fact-based communication.

For decades, interdisciplinary study commissions of the GDCh have been developing recommendations for the "basic chemistry course". While the focus at the end of the 1990s was on the successful conversion of diploma courses to bachelor's and master's courses, today the aim is to regularly adapt the bachelor's course to current developments and to keep it future-proof. Current GDCh study commissions also include members of the Conference of Chemistry Departments (KFC), the GDCh Association of German University Professors of Chemistry (ADUC), the Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry (DBG), Dechema, the Association of the Chemical Industry (VCI), the AG Theoretical Chemistry, the GDCh Young Chemists Forum (JCF) and the GDCh Divisions .

The “Recommendations of the GDCh Study Commission for Bachelor’s Degrees in Chemistry at Universities” are available at www.gdch.de/downloads.

The German Chemical Society (GDCh) is one of the largest chemical science societies in the world with around 30,000 members. It promotes scientific work, research and teaching as well as the exchange and dissemination of new scientific findings, including through transdisciplinary and international cooperation. The GDCh is also committed to modern training and further education in schools, universities and in the professional environment.

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18/21
14 September 2021

The German Chemical Society (GDCh) is honoring Professor Dr. Gernot Frenking, Philipps University of Marburg, with the Erich Hückel Award. The chemist will receive the award, worth 7,500 euros, for his outstanding contributions to solving current questions in chemistry by applying modern quantum chemical methods. The award ceremony will take place on September 22, 2021 as part of the Online conference “57th Symposium on Theoretical Chemistry”.

Frenking's research focuses on bond theory, particularly on compounds with unusual bonds. The theoretical chemist also studies the structures and properties of transition metal complexes and main group compounds. He focuses on quantum chemical calculations, which he uses to build a bridge between physical bond formation and the heuristic model of experimental chemistry. He uses methods of energy bond analysis to determine the proportion of covalent electrostatic interactions in the chemical bond as quantitatively as possible. These methods therefore allow a physically sound description of the classical chemical bond model.

Gernot Frenking studied chemistry at RWTH Aachen University. After a two-year research stay with Professor Kenichi Fukui in Kyoto, Japan, he moved to the Technical University of Berlin, where he received his doctorate in 1979 and his habilitation in 1984. Following further research stays at the University of California, Berkeley, and at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI International) in Menlo Park, California, USA, Frenking was appointed to the Philipps University of Marburg in 1990. Since 2014, he has continued to conduct research in Marburg as a professor emeritus and for several months a year at the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) in San Sebastian, Spain, and at Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, China.

With the Erich Hückel Award, the GDCh recognizes outstanding work in the field of theoretical chemistry. The award is named after the German chemist and physicist Erich Hückel (1896 - 1980), who is considered a pioneer of quantum chemistry. The Hückel molecular orbital method (HMO theory), the Hückel rules that define the aromatic state, and the Debye-Hückel theory from electrochemistry bear his name.

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15/21
August 19, 2021

The German Chemical Society (GDCh) is introducing a new, free chemistry app that can be used to access articles and information from the world of chemistry from anywhere. Right from the start, 7,000 articles about chemistry are available. In the future, the app will also provide a convenient overview of all events and the GDCh's continuing education offerings. In addition, the websites of the GDCh have been revised so that the complete website is now available in English in full and up-to-date on a daily basis.

From generally understandable texts on everyday chemistry to specialist texts, the GDCh.app offers content for everyone interested in chemistry. This is ensured by contributions related to the subject: These can be articles, videos and podcasts from science, business and society. GDCh members also have full access to the members' magazine "Nachrichten aus der Chemie" and the chemical community organized in the GDCh. You can network, make contacts and be informed about news via push notification. In the future, the app will also provide a central overview of GDCh events as well as all training courses and current tenders.

"As a non-profit association, the GDCh's statutory aim is to reach as many people as possible with its content, regardless of their technical requirements, and to get them excited about chemistry," explains GDCh President Professor Dr. Peter R. Schreiner. "With the newly designed app, the GDCh is breaking new ground in order to reach everyone interested in chemistry and at the same time be even closer to its members."

For Android and iOS users, the GDCh.app for smartphones and tablets can be downloaded free of charge from Google Play and the Apple App Store; Desktop users can find (almost) everything on offer in the browser. At https://gdch.app/, the app can be opened on any internet-enabled device with a modern browser - this ranges from smartphones to desktop PCs to smart TVs or games consoles. An installation is not required for this. With this innovative infrastructure, the GDCh can react quickly to new requirements and offer a variety of proven and new digital services. In the future, the app will be updated with new improvements and features from week to week.

In addition, the GDCh has made its extensive website www.gdch.de more international. Well over 1000 websites are now automatically and completely translated into English. If German pages are created or updated, the corresponding English pages are created or adapted within an hour. In this way, the GDCh can better reach foreign guest researchers in Germany and also make its offers accessible to interested parties from all over the world. The GDCh would like to make its contribution to better networking the international chemical community and to promoting scientific exchange across borders.

With around 30,000 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 knowledge. 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 and 60 local sections.

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14/21
August 17, 2021

professor dr Stephan A. Sieber, Technical University of Munich, is the first to awardee the newly designed Klaus Grohe Prize. He receives the EUR 50,000 prize for his groundbreaking work at the interface between chemistry and biology. The award will be presented on September 2nd by the President of the German Chemical Society (GDCh), Professor Dr. Peter R. Schreiner, as part of the virtual International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC-ISMC 2021).

With new, revolutionary strategies that combine basic research and preclinical development, Sieber is fighting the threat posed by multi-resistant bacteria. Classic antibiotics primarily target a few cellular targets such as cell wall and protein biosynthesis. Sieber, on the other hand, focuses his research on defusing pathogenic bacteria and finding completely new mechanisms of action. Among other things, the scientist has developed a chemical method that inhibits and thus disarms bacteria in their ability to produce toxins (virulence). Another approach enables him to identify new bacterial targets and to develop corresponding chemical inhibitors. This approach has already enabled new active ingredients to be found, some of which are currently being optimized for medical use.

Sieber was born in Marburg in 1976. He studied chemistry at the Philipps University in Marburg, where he also received his doctorate in 2004 after a research stay at Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA. After a post-doctoral stay at the Scripps Research Institute in La Lolla, USA, he began his independent research work at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, which was funded by the DFG's Emmy Noether program. In 2009, Sieber was appointed to the Chair of Organic Chemistry II at the Technical University of Munich. The chemist has already received numerous awards for his research, including Merck's Future Insight Prize in 2020.

The Klaus Grohe Prize goes to the chemist Prof. Dr. Klaus Grohe (*1934), who developed important innovative medicines with great success during his professional career. In 2001, Klaus and Eva Grohe set up the Klaus Grohe Foundation at the GDCh, which has been awarding the Klaus Grohe Prize for medicinal chemistry to young scientists since 2004. Since a realignment in 2020, the prize has been endowed with 50,000 euros and is now awarded to internationally renowned researchers in the field of drug development whose work makes an important contribution to application.

With around 30,000 members, the German Chemical Society (GDCh) is one of the largest chemical science societies in the world. The GDCh manages numerous dependent foundations in trust. The purpose of these foundations is to award prizes, grants and grants. Foundation advisory boards decide on the awarding of prizes, awards and scholarships.

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11/21
July 20, 2021

On September 1, 2021, the last day of the Science Forum Chemistry (WiFo), the German Chemical Society (GDCh) will present three of its most prestigious awards. professor dr Omar M. Yaghi, who also gives the final lecture, receives the August Wilhelm von Hofmann Medal. professor dr dr hc Herbert Waldmann is awarded the Liebig commemorative coin Medal. The Emil Fischer Medal is awarded to Professor Dr. Peter H Seeberger. The WiFo program also includes a plenary symposium that shows perspectives for a "green" future, a subsequent panel discussion and further sessions on current research results from chemistry.

With the August Wilhelm von Hofmann Commemorative Medal, the GDCh honors foreign researchers who have made outstanding contributions to chemistry. professor dr Omar M. Yaghi, University of California, Berkeley, CA/USA, receives the awards for his outstanding work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs). In addition, Yaghi pioneered molecular "weaving" and synthesized the world's first material woven at the atomic and molecular level (COF-505). In addition to his scientific achievements, the GDCh also recognizes Yaghi's commitment to promoting young scientists, especially in emerging and developing countries. In the closing lecture of the WiFo at 4 p.m., Yaghi will give an insight into his fascinating research. Omar M. Yaghi received his PhD in chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, and was an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University, USA. He is Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, and Senior Faculty Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Yaghi is founding director of the Berkeley Global Science Institute, which builds research centers in developing countries and nurtures young scientists. He is also co-director of the Kavli Energy NanoSciences Institute and the California Research Alliance by BASF. Yaghi is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and has received numerous awards for his scientific achievements. He has published over 300 articles and is one of the most cited chemists worldwide.

professor dr dr hc Herbert Waldmann, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, receives the Liebig commemorative coin , endowed with 7500 euros, for the development of new concepts for the production of substance libraries based on natural substances. In addition, the GDCh recognizes his new synthesis methods for the generation of lipidated peptides and proteins for the study of cancer-relevant G proteins such as the Ras/RasG system. Herbert Waldmann completed his studies in chemistry in 1985 with a doctorate from the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. After two years at Harvard University, Cambridge, USA, he returned to Mainz, where he completed his habilitation in 1991. After positions at the University of Bonn and the University of Karlsruhe, he has headed the chemical biology department at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology since 1999 and is also a professor of biochemistry at the Technical University of Dortmund. Since 2005 he has also headed the Chemical Genomics Center of the Max Planck Society. Waldmann is the author of over 500 scientific publications and has received numerous awards. In 2014, the University of Leiden, NL, awarded him an honorary doctorate. Waldmann is a member of various editorial boards of scientific journals and is a member of numerous advisory boards and boards of trustees.

Finally, the GDCh awards Professor Dr. Peter H. Seeberger, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, the Emil Fischer Medal , endowed with 7500 euros, for his pioneering contributions to the synthesis of complex carbohydrates and the chemical biology of carbohydrates, in particular through the development of automated methods. In his work, he was able to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms of the interaction of glycans with other biomolecules. With his syntheses, Seeberger founded the field of "molecular glycobiology", from which novel vaccines, new cholesterol-lowering agents, diagnostics and impulses for materials science emerge. In doing so, he decisively influenced the development of carbohydrate-based vaccines and materials. Peter H. Seeberger studied at the university Erlangen-Nürnberg chemistry and received his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Colorado Boulder, USA, in 1995. After stays at the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research in New York and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he became a professor of organic chemistry in 2003 from ETH Zurich and affiliate professor at the Burnham Institute in La Jolla, California.He has headed the "Biomolecular Systems" department at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam since 2009, is a professor at the Free University of Berlin and has been an honorary professor since 2011 at the University of Potsdam Seeberger is the author of over 590 publications and received numerous awards.

Another highlight of the day is the plenary symposium "Perspectives for a Green Future". professor dr Jean-Paul Lange, University of Twente, Enschede/NL, Dr. Alice Glättli, BASF, Ludwigshafen, and Professor Dr. Michael Kühn, German Research Center for Geosciences and the University of Potsdam, will talk about new developments in relation to low-carbon fuels and chemicals from biomass, the contribution of the resource potential of the geological subsoil to the energy transition and the role of the chemical industry on the way to a sustainable future. In addition to the academic and industrial perspectives, they also address the tension between them. In a subsequent panel discussion on the same topic, the speakers, together with other experts and the plenum, will discuss possible approaches as to how the future can be made ?greener? with the help of chemistry.

Numerous other WiFos sessions deal with current research results from various chemical fields. A session on NFDI4Chem addresses research data management in chemistry. In addition, the GDCh Award for Biocatalysis and the Price for bioconversion of renewable raw materials will be awarded for the first time.

Further information on the Conference at www.wifo2021.de

The GDCh Science Forum Chemistry (WiFo) ? in a nutshell

The GDCh Science Forum Chemistry 2021 will take place online from August 29th to September 1st under the motto "Chemists create solutions". The participants can expect a varied program of plenary lectures, main symposia, a poster and an industrial exhibition. In addition, numerous prestigious prizes are awarded. Registration is possible at www.wifo2021.de.

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10/21
July 13, 2021

How smoothly the necessary energy transition will succeed depends heavily on the current advances in chemical energy research. For this reason, the German Chemical Society (GDCh) is focusing on the contributions of chemistry to the energy supply of the future on the second day of the GDCh Science Forum Chemistry (WiFo) on August 31, 2021. In addition to a prominent plenary symposium entitled "Chemistry for Future Energy Solutions?, further sessions will deal with various aspects of energy storage and conversion. In addition, the GDCh Professor Dr. Stefanie Dehnen, Philipps University of Marburg, for her work in the field of cluster chemistry with the Alfred-Stock Memorial Award .

What can chemistry contribute to the energy supply of tomorrow? This question is shed light on by Professor Dr. Ferdi Schüth, Max Planck Institute for Coal Research, Mülheim ad R., Professor Dr. Bettina V. Lotsch, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart, and Dr. Thomas Haas, Evonik, Marl, from different perspectives in the plenary symposium. Together with the plenary session, they venture a look into the future and show what contribution chemical energy research is already making and what is yet to come. Among other things, it is about the role of chemistry (e.g. with hydrogen as an energy carrier) in future energy systems and how the bridge between energy conversion and storage in two-dimensional molecular frameworks can succeed. Another topic is artificial photosynthesis, i.e. how carbon dioxide (CO2) can be converted into glucose or specialty chemicals with the help of electricity from renewable Literature and bacteria.

Following the plenary symposium, the GDCh awards the Alfred-Stock Memorial Award to Professor Dr. Stefanie Dehnen, Philipps University of Marburg. The award, which is endowed with 7500 euros, is given to chemists for outstanding scientific work in the field of inorganic chemistry. Stefanie Dehnen receives the award for her research on cluster chemistry. The GDCh particularly recognizes her work in the field of synthesis, structure elucidation and application of innovative heteronuclear cluster and network compounds, which either consist of purely inorganic components or represent inorganic-organic hybrid compounds.

Stefanie Dehnen completed her studies in chemistry in 1996 at the University of Karlsruhe (KIT) with her doctorate. After postdoctoral research, she habilitated in 2004 in the field of inorganic chemistry. Since 2006 she has been a professor of inorganic chemistry at the Philipps University of Marburg and at the Scientific Center for materials science, of which she was Executive Director from 2012 to 2014. She is currently the Chair of the Wöhler Association for Inorganic Chemistry in the GDCh and has been Vice President of the GDCh since 2020.

Further sessions during the day of the event will focus on research results from various chemical disciplines. In addition to other lectures on energy storage and conversion, which complement the plenary symposium, topics such as fluorine chemistry and other contributions from organic and inorganic chemistry are on the program. In addition, the Senior Expert Chemists (SEC) will hold an exciting session under the motto "No fun without chemistry", the Division of Chemists in Civil Service report on "substances and materials that are safe to use" and in the session "Young Chemists - The Collective" young scientists will present: inside their research.

The job exchange on August 31st, with an accompanying program from August 30th to September 1st, is also aimed at people starting their careers and those willing to make changes. While on Monday the focus will be on job profiles from industry and career coaching for academic careers will be offered, on Tuesday the focus will be on job profiles in the public sector. On Wednesday, a lecture in cooperation with the Association of Employed Academics and Executives in the Chemical Industry (VAA - Executives in the Chemical Industry) will be dedicated to the legal basis of the employment contract. On all three days, there will be an opportunity during the lunch break at a Meet & Mingle table to exchange ideas with experts and to clarify open questions.

Further information on the Conference at www.wifo2021.de

The GDCh Science Forum Chemistry (WiFo) ? in a nutshell

The GDCh Science Forum Chemistry 2021 will take place online from August 29th to September 1st under the motto "Chemists create solutions". The participants can expect a varied program of plenary lectures, main symposia, a poster and an industrial exhibition. In addition, numerous prestigious prizes are awarded. Registration is possible at www.wifo2021.de.

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09/21
July 07, 2021

The corona pandemic did not noticeably affect the entry of chemists into the profession in 2020 compared to previous years. This is shown by the annual statistics for chemistry courses from the German Chemical Society (GDCh). The data on graduates with a doctorate who are looking for a job or employed on a temporary basis correspond to the stable values of recent years. In general, slightly fewer first-year students (9,384) decided to study chemistry last year than in 2019 (9,422 people). The number of students who completed a chemistry degree also fell from 3905 people in the previous year to 3363 in 2020, as did the number of doctorates. It fell from 2181 in 2019 to 2104 in the year under review.

The following results were obtained in the individual courses:

• In the field of chemistry/business chemistry, the universities reported 5,671 first-year students (2019: 5,746). 2037 students (2019: 2605) successfully completed their bachelor's degree, 1956 received their master's degree (2019: 2348). The median duration of study was 6.9 semesters to obtain a bachelor?s degree (2019: 6.7) and 5.0 semesters to obtain a master?s degree (2019: 4.8). In 2020, 1838 people received their doctorate in chemistry/business chemistry (2019: 1921). The median duration of doctoral studies was 8.2 semesters (2019: 8.3).
• 1852 people started their studies in biochemistry and life sciences (2019: 1702). The number of bachelor?s degrees fell to 745 (2019: 942) and that of master?s degrees to 732 (2019: 834). The number of doctorates increased to 214 in 2020 (2019: 195). The length of study increased slightly, the median was 6.6 semesters for bachelor?s degrees (2019: 6.5), 4.9 semesters for master?s degrees (2019: 4.7) and 8.6 semesters for doctorates (2019: 8.5) .
• In food chemistry , the number of first-year students rose from 405 in the previous year to 466. A total of 148 students passed the main examination A (1st state examination) or the diploma examination (2019: 164) and 145 people passed the main examination B (2nd state examination). (2019: 165). In addition, the universities reported 144 bachelor's and 110 master's degrees (2019: 169 and 115, respectively). The number of doctorates fell to 52 (2019: 65).
• At universities of applied sciences (HAW), 1395 people started a chemistry course, significantly fewer than in the previous year (2019: 1569). At the same time, with 731 bachelor?s and 408 master?s degrees, the HAW reported relatively constant figures compared to the previous year (2019: 743 and 421 respectively).

In the sum of the chemistry courses, the number of beginners remained almost unchanged at 9384 (2019: 9422).

98% of all bachelor's graduates at universities and 74% at HAW went on to do a master's degree. Around 87% of master's graduates at universities began a doctorate. This value is still lower than the long-term average (90%).

46% of the graduates in chemistry with a doctorate are aware of the first step into professional life. According to data from the universities, around 38% took up a position in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry (2019: 36%), 19.7% (2019: 18%) took on a temporary position in Germany (including postdoc). 12% worked in the rest of the economy after graduating (2019: 14%) and 11% took a job abroad after graduating (2019: 11%). Around 4% of graduates held a position in the public sector (2019: 6%). At the time of the survey, 10% were considered job seekers (2019: 11%).

The real number of job seekers is likely to be somewhat lower: Due to the key date of the survey on 31.12. Graduates who start their new job in January or February are still recorded as job-seekers. The stable figures for job-seeking and temporary graduates in recent years show that, according to the available data, the corona pandemic has not had a major impact on career entry compared to previous years.

The brochure "Statistics of chemistry courses 2020" is available as a flip catalog at www.gdch.de/statistics.

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05/21
May 25, 2021

The GDCh Science Forum Chemistry (WiFo) 2021 will take place from August 29 to September 1, completely online for the first time due to the pandemic. The German Chemical Society (GDCh) organizes the most important chemistry congress in the German-speaking region, usually with more than 2,000 participants from Germany and abroad. The scientific program includes top international research on socially relevant "megatopics" such as infection research, energy, sustainability and climate research. Numerous symposia are also dedicated to different specialist areas of chemistry. In addition, some of the GDCh's most prestigious prizes are awarded - including the Karl Ziegler Award , which is endowed with 50,000 euros, and the newly introduced Hildegard Hamm Brücher Award for equal opportunities in chemistry. A poster exhibition and a job exchange enable young scientists in particular to present themselves in a year with few events. In addition, the digital conference platform offers excellent opportunities to expand personal networks.

Infection research, energy, sustainability and climate research - these topics pose new, urgent challenges for science worldwide. The GDCh Science Forum Chemistry, which will take place in 2021 under the motto "Chemists create solutions", will show what contribution chemistry can make to solving global problems. In daily plenary symposiums, scientific luminaries present how pandemics can be fought in the future, how chemistry can contribute to the energy of the future and how it can support and advance sustainable developments. Numerous symposia of the GDCh Divisions also provide insight into current scientific developments and findings from the world of chemistry.

"Our next WiFo will not only be digital, but also much more international than previous science forums," emphasizes GDCh President Professor Dr. Peter R. Schreiner. "Most scientific lectures will be held in English and the digital event makes it easier for interested parties from all over the world to take part in the WiFo." The GDCh therefore expects a significantly higher number of international scientists than in previous WiFos.

At the ceremonial opening of the WiFo on August 29, the Karl Ziegler Award will be awarded ? with prize money of 50,000 euros, it is one of the most highly endowed German chemistry prizes. As a further highlight, the Hildegard Hamm Brücher Award for equal opportunities in chemistry will be awarded for the first time. With the new prize, the GDCh honors individuals, teams or organizations that are committed to innovative projects for equal opportunities in chemistry.

In addition to the scientific program, the WiFo 2021 also offers numerous opportunities for networking - not a matter of course for an Online conference. The digital conference platform, which has already been tried and tested several times, offers participants direct (video) chat functions as well as so-called "Meet & Mingle" rooms, which enable (video) chats in groups. Direct networking and exchange of contact data is also possible. Thanks to this strong social component, contacts can be made during the coffee breaks - almost like at a face-to-face event. In addition, a poster exhibition, a job exchange and a virtual exhibition in which numerous companies and institutions present themselves offer many opportunities for interaction and networking. Young scientists in particular also benefit from this: There are good opportunities to present your own research to an international audience and to establish and expand your professional network at favorable participation conditions.

Further information on the Conference at www.wifo2021.de

The GDCh Science Forum Chemistry (WiFo) ? in a nutshell

The GDCh Science Forum Chemistry 2021 will take place online from August 29th to September 1st under the motto "Chemists create solutions". The participants can expect a varied program of plenary lectures, main symposia, a poster and an industrial exhibition. In addition, numerous prestigious prizes are awarded. Registration is possible from May 25 at www.wifo2021.de.

Press release as a pdf document

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04/21
April 27, 2021

As part of the Bunsen Conference 2021, which will take place virtually from May 10th to 12th this year, Professor Liba C. Taub, University of Cambridge, UK, will receive the Paul Bunge Prize 2021 in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the history of scientific instruments. The prize of the Hans-R.-Jenemann-Foundation is endowed with 7,500 euros and is awarded jointly by the German Chemical Society (GDCh) and the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry (DBG). It honors outstanding work on the history of scientific instruments. The presentation of the Paul Bunge Prize 2020 to Professor Simon Werrett, University College London, UK, will also be made up for at the Conference .

US Professor Liba C. Taub, University of Cambridge, UK, receives the Paul Bunge Prize in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the history of scientific instruments. Taub studied history of science at the University of Oklahoma and received her doctorate in 1987. Her research focuses on ancient Greek and Roman astronomy, physics and meteorology, and the history of scientific instruments. From 1991 to 1994, the science historian worked at the Adler Planetarium and Astronomical Museum in Chicago (USA) as curator and head of the department for the history of astronomy. Since 1995 she has been director and curator of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science in Cambridge (UK), dedicated to the history of science, including the collection and display of scientific instruments. She also teaches history and philosophy of science at Newnham College of the University of Cambridge and can look back on numerous scientific publications in anthologies and journals .

Her professional career previously included stations at universities in the USA, the Netherlands and Switzerland, the Deutsches Museum in Munich and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. From 2010 to 2014 she was a member of the interdisciplinary research network Excellence Cluster Topoi, funded by the Einstein Foundation in Berlin. In this context, she dealt extensively with early scientific records and thereby contributed to the development and research of ancient forms of science communication.

Taub has received several scientific awards and is an elected member of numerous scientific associations. She has been Vice President of the Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences since 2017.

The Paul Bunge Prize will be awarded to Liba C. Taub at the 120th Annual General Meeting of the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry (DBG), the Bunsen Conference 2021, which will take place virtually from May 10th to 12th. The 2020 Paul Bunge Prize will also be presented to Professor Simon Conference , University College London. Last year, the 119th Bunsen Conference had to be canceled at short notice and the award ceremony had to be postponed.

Further information on the Conference at www.bunsentagung.de

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02/21
March 2, 2021

From March 29th to April 1st, the 23rd spring symposium of the Young Chemists Forum (JCF) of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) will take place online. The event, which is being jointly organized this year by the JCF regional forums in Berlin, Dresden, Halle and Leipzig, uses the possibilities of a virtual format in an exemplary manner. In addition to a varied program with top-class speakers, the Carl Roth Promotion Prize 2020 will be awarded to Maximilian Benz, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) as part of the Online conference.

Strolling through a virtual conference area with a self-designed avatar and talking to others: The 23rd JCF Spring Symposium offers this opportunity. The young chemists came up with something special for the virtual conference location: an interface was created for the spring symposium that resembles a classic conference location. There the participants can move with their avatars and interact with each other by networking via video chats. The social component is not neglected either. Lectures and workshops will be broadcast via video conferencing tools. Another major advantage of the virtual format is its inclusivity: people who would not have been able to travel a long way or be away from home for four days can take part in the spring symposium with very little effort.

This year's event has the motto "United in Chemistry" and is dedicated to diversity. Because despite all the differences in interests, research focus, origin or gender, all participants are connected through chemistry. The conference takes place half-days on four afternoons and partly in the evenings to make it easier for people with families to participate. In addition to the scientific core program with top-class speakers such as Sir Martyn Poliakoff and Polly Arnold, digital workshops are offered and the industry also uses various formats to present itself digitally.

During the event, Maximilian Benz, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), will be awarded the 2020 Carl-Roth Award Prize. The GDCh awards the prize, which is worth 5,000 euros, to young chemists who develop resource-saving synthetic routes or use chemicals in innovative ways. The prize is financed by Carl Roth GmbH & Co. KG, which also contributes a further 3000 euros in the form of a voucher. Benz is honored for the development of the "chemBIOS" technology, which uses numerous nanodroplets as a reaction chamber to achieve the fastest conversions with low material consumption. This promising innovation in the development of drugs has already been described in a proof-of-concept study in "Nature Communications". released.

Further information on the Conference at www.jcf-fruehjahrssymposium.de.

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01/21
February 25, 2021

The Chemiedozententagung 2021 will take place from March 15th to 17th - this year for the first time virtually. The Association of German University Professors of Chemistry (ADUC) of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) invites university teachers from the faculties of chemistry from Germany and neighboring countries to the Online conference. After the Conference had to be canceled at short notice last year, the Carl Duisberg Memorial Prize will be awarded to Felix Schacher and the Gmelin-Beilstein commemorative coin to Guillermo Restrepo this year. The ADUC itself honors a total of six young scientists.

dr Guillermo Restrepo, Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Natural Sciences (MiS), Leipzig, receives the Gmelin-Beilstein commemorative coin Medal 2020. With this, the GDCh honors his interdisciplinary research, which combines mathematics, history and philosophy of chemistry and thus leads to new insights leads. The Gmelin-Beilstein commemorative coin Medal, worth 7,500 euros, is awarded to national and international personalities who have made special contributions to the history of chemistry, chemical literature or chemical information. Guillermo Restrepo uses computational and mathematical tools to address historical and sociological questions in chemistry. For example, through his research he was able to show the exponential growth in the number of chemical compounds over the past two hundred years and the effects of the world wars on chemical production. Restrepo's methods are important additions to the traditional approaches to studying the history of chemistry and provide highly innovative approaches to understanding the history of chemistry.

Guillermo Restrepo was born in 1976 in Bogota, Colombia. After studying chemistry at the Universidad Industrial de Santander in Bucaramanga, Colombia, he received his doctorate in 2008 from the University of Bayreuth with distinction. After further positions at the Universidad de Pamplona, Pamplona, Colombia, at the University of Bayreuth, at Texas A&M University, Galveston, USA, and the University of Leipzig, he has been doing research at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Natural Sciences in Leipzig since 2017 .

Also as part of the Online conference, Professor Dr. Felix H. Schacher, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the Carl-Duisberg Memorial Award 2020. The award serves to promote young academics in chemistry and is endowed with a total of 7500 euros. It is awarded to people who work at a German university or as Germans at a foreign university, do not yet hold a C4/W3 or comparable position and have not exceeded the age of 40. With the award, the GDCh recognizes, among other things, Schacher's groundbreaking work in the field of polyampholytes and polyelectrolytes. Even as a young scientist, the awardee is one of the world's leading polymer scientists and successfully implements innovative concepts. At the time of the nomination in 2019, the then 38-year-old already had 150 peer-reviewed publications that were cited more than 5,100 times.

Felix H. Schacher was born in 1980 and studied chemistry at the Universities of Bayreuth and Lund, Sweden. In 2009 he received his doctorate in Bayreuth with distinction. After research stays at the University of Bristol, Great Britain, and at the Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan, Schacher moved to the University of Jena in 2010. In addition to his diverse research initiatives, he has held the position of Dean of Studies at the Chemical and Geosciences Faculty there since 2016.

In addition, the ADUC is honoring three young scientists from different areas of chemistry for establishing an independent research area for 2021. For 2021, Dr. Robert Goestl, Dr. Christian Sindlinger and Ass. Prof. Dr. Vera Krewald awarded. The 2020 awardee , Dr. Urs Gelrich, Dr. habil. Crispin Lichtenberg and Dr. Jannika Lauth, are represented at the Conference with lectures.

Further information on the Conference at www.gdch.de/cdt2021.

With around 30,000 members, the German Chemical Society (GDCh) is one of the largest chemical science societies in the world. It has 27 Divisions and awards numerous prizes for special achievements in chemical research. The traditional Association of German University Professors of Chemistry (ADUC) , which is based at the GDCh, awards up to three junior research group leaders (post-doctoral candidates, scholarship holders or junior professors) every year for establishing an independent research area.

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