2019

An international consortium of researchers shall create a new type of chemical reactor for molecular synthesis that is inspired by living cells. The project is part of the Horizon 2020 Programme and is funded by a FET Open Grant, which supports research on novel ideas for future technologies. Prof. Helma Wennemers and her team are part of the FET Open Grant and join the project as one of the five participating research groups.

Helma Wennemers, Professor at the LOC, has won this year's Netherlands Scholar Award for Supramolecular Chemistry. She got the award for her work on the rational design and development of peptide-based asymmetric catalysts and bioinspired molecular scaffolds for applications in supramolecular and biological chemistry. 

In his introductory lecture «Transforming essential small molecules: a bio-inspired approach» on December 12, Prof. Victor Mougel explained the transformation of carbon dioxide into value-added multi-carbon products (ethylene, ethanol) using materials inspired by natural systems and outlined the next challenges. The Video is now online.

Today, the Federal Council and the Swiss National Science Foundation unveiled six new National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR). One of these new NCCRs, "Sustainable chemical processes through catalysis" (Suchcat), is led by Prof. Javier Pérez-​Ramírez and examines new paths to sustainable chemistry. The Suchcat network encompasses 27 research groups from ETH Zurich, EPFL and five additional universities. 

Dr. Jörg Scheuermann, Senior Scientist at the IPW, has appointed as “Privatdozent” after his habilitation. His research interests include DNA-encoded chemical library technology, library design, combinatorial chemistry and tumor targeting. On December 13, he will give his inaugural lecture "From Encoded Combinatorial Libraries to Novel Targeted Therapeutics".