The 9th SEC annual meeting took place in Magdeburg (6–8 May 24). The 187 participants were able to enjoy an interesting lecture programme (see below), a pleasant setting, a well-organised programme of accompanying events and, last but not least, many conversations on the sidelines. A detailed report on the meeting will appear shortly in Nachrichten aus der Chemie.
On 8 May 24, Prof. Dr Heribert Offermanns was awarded honorary membership, the GDCh’s highest distinction, by former GDCh President Karsten Danielmeier. Following the Conference, Offermanns provided us with a quotation from Martin Buber that could be used as a motto for SEC annual meetings: “If we stop meeting one another, it is as if we stopped breathing.”
Scientific programme
The lectures, whose quality and selection were rated by the participants on average with school grades between 1 and 1.5. Klaus Gerwert’s lecture on the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease was mentioned particularly often as the best lecture.
Monday, 6 May 2024
- Chemistry studies 4.0 and sustainable mobility, Marcel Liauw, RWTH Aachen University
- Bacillus subtilis – from the minimal genome to vegan milk – new approaches to nutrition, Jörg Stülke, University of Göttingen
- Combustion and sustainability, Katharina Kohse-Höinghaus, Bielefeld University
- Modern materials and their sustainable application Franziska Scheffler, University of Magdeburg
- How can the risk of Alzheimer’s dementia be detected at an early stage? Klaus Gerwert, Ruhr University Bochum
- Evening lecture: The chemistry of wine aromas, Bianca May, Hochschule Geisenheim University
Tuesday, 7 May 24
- Modern biocatalysis: enzyme discovery, optimisation and applications in organic chemistry, Uwe Bornscheuer, University of Greifswald
- Why are potato crisps addictive? – Interaction between nutrition and the brain, Monika Pischetsrieder, FAU Erlangen
- Sustainable polymers for tomorrow’s circular economy, Bernhard von Vacano, BASF
- Start-ups meet experience, Holger Bengs, BCNP, Frankfurt
- Recyclable biofilms, Dirk Hollmann, Cell2Green, Bad Doberan
- Production, storage and transport of renewable energy, Maria Fulde, FLD Technologies GmbH, Bitterfeld-Wolfen/Offenbach
- Lipidomics for Industry and Academia, Oliver Uecke, Lipotype, Dresden
- Evening lecture: Fake science from the pen of AI – and what can be done about it, Bernhard Sabel, University of Magdeburg
Wednesday, 8 May 24
- Chemical strategies in the fight against multidrug-resistant bacteria, Stephan A. Sieber, Technical University of Munich
- Green hydrogen through water electrolysis, Thomas Turek, Clausthal University of Technology
- Legends surrounding nuclear energy – from enthusiasm to scepticism, Gerhard Kreysa, Epstein
- Crime scene Berlin – Who betrayed Prussian blue? Chemical crime story by Senior Lecturer Klaus Roth, Freie Universität Berlin
