Speakers
For easier searching, the speakers are arranged according to the postcode of their place of residence. Click the triangle to expand the list of lecture topics.
TU Dresden
Bioanalytical Chemistry
01062 Dresden
Reiner Salzer
The world’s first professorship in chemistry was established in Marburg in 1609. European students and professors were already remarkably mobile. In the 19th century, chemistry became an important driving force in industry and science. In Germany, chemistry only became an independent branch of science in the 20th century. The lecture discusses the development of the discipline of chemistry in Europe up to the 20th century.
Target group: Teachers, pupils studying chemistry at advanced level, chemistry trainees, JCF (YoungChemistryForum) - Duration: 60 min
Employment conditions and career opportunities were the focus of a survey of European chemists. The results provide important information for many EU countries and for Europe as a whole. The requirements of the labour market for chemists differ considerably between countries. This is important for career planning, not only for students and graduates.
Target group: Teachers, pupils studying chemistry at advanced level, chemistry trainees, JCF (YoungChemistryForum) - Duration: 60 min
Historical outline of the development of modern non-ionic X-ray contrast media (RCM) based on organic iodine compounds – physicochemical requirements for intravenously administered agents (absorption of X-rays, water solubility, viscosity, tolerability) – chemical aspects of synthesis in the laboratory and during upscaling (annual tonnage production) – areas of application (angiography, imaging of soft tissue, etc.) – barium sulphate as an oral contrast agent – alternatives to iodine as the signal-generating element? – RCM in the environment
Duration: 45 minutes
Target group: Teachers and pupils in the upper secondary school
Principle of MRI – paramagnetic gadolinium ion as a signal generator – intravenously administered metal chelates as well-tolerated pharmaceuticals – acyclic and macrocyclic Gd complexes – thermodynamic / kinetic stability – organ-specific contrast agents (CA) – insights into the world of interdisciplinary pharmaceutical research in the search for new in-vivo diagnostic agents – discussion of the safety of contrast agents.
Duration: 45-60 minutes
Target group: Teachers and pupils in the upper secondary school
Introductory overview lecture on the various techniques of modern clinical imaging (CT, MR, PET), focusing on the contributions of the (industrial) chemist to the interdisciplinary discovery of active substances for intravenously administered clinical contrast agents and PET tracers.
Duration: 45-60 minutes
Target group: Teachers and pupils in the upper secondary school
Freie Universität Berlin
Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Takustrasse 3
D-14195 Berlin
Klaus Roth
www.klausroth.de
Sugar substitute. Instead of a chemical success story about sweeteners, a drama unfolds whose plot is shaped by economic interest groups, tax legislation, the market, wild gangs of smugglers and the spirit of the age. But it also contains a generous pinch of gripping chemistry. Let us take a closer look at the 10 sweeteners currently approved in the EU and rejoice in the agony of choice.
Target group: pupils, teachers and the school community – Duration: 45-60 minutes
Around 1700, Berlin was the place to be. Clever minds were recruited from all over Europe and flocked to the city. They were welcome; nobody asked about their religion, and they were allowed to try their luck. Although alchemy had already passed its zenith, it reached the height of its popularity. This gave rise to a colourful start-up scene in the city, in which the discovery of the century was made in 1706: Prussian blue. Many legends and stories grew up around it from the very beginning. Let us reopen the case and, thanks to new research into the history of chemistry, finally close it once and for all.
Target group: pupils, teachers and the school community – Duration: 45-60 minutes
When a violin virtuoso enchants us with the sound of their Stradivari, we believe ourselves to be very, very far removed from chemistry. But appearances are deceptive, because chemistry played and continues to play an important role both in Stradivari’s workshop and in the strings fitted to the instrument, the bow and its care. So let us listen to the sound of a Stradivari with a chemical ear.
Target group: pupils, teachers and the school community – Duration: 45-60 minutes
Absinthe is all the rage! After many decades of a total ban, this drink has been permitted to be sold in Germany again for a few years now. It was the favourite drink of the Parisian bohemians of the late nineteenth century. After a few glasses of absinthe, many gifted painters, musicians and poets hoped for the embrace and kiss of the Green Fairy, unleashing unforeseen bursts of creativity. What lies behind this, and may we still hope for the Green Fairy today? Let us therefore get to the (chemical) bottom of it. À votre santé!
Target group: pupils, teachers and the school community – Duration: 45-60 minutes
In the Isenheim Altarpiece, Mathias Grünewald unsettles us with his imaginative depiction of the “Temptation of Saint Anthony”, featuring a host of truly horrific demons who besiege and torment the desperate saint from all sides. We are particularly moved by a cripple covered in suppurating sores, suffering indescribable pain as a result of the epidemic known as “Saint Anthony’s fire”. It took centuries before this disease, which occurred in epidemic form, was recognised as poisoning caused by the ergot fungus growing on rye. Let us examine the disastrous role played by the toxins of ergot in human history.
Target group: pupils, teachers and the school community – Duration: 45-60 minutes
Chocolate is a feast for all the senses: the silky matt dark brown, the wonderful crack as a small piece is broken off, the aroma that recalls childhood memories and, finally, the delicate melting on the tongue. The secret of good chocolate lies in the constituents of the cocoa bean, which are chemically refined during fermentation and roasting. Heavenly pleasures can only be achieved with a generous portion of chemistry.
Target group: pupils, teachers and the school community – Duration: 45-60 minutes
The patient’s condition is cause for concern: nausea, vomiting, trembling limbs, sweating, deathly pallor, a pounding head and circulatory weakness. Instead of sympathy, the eyes of their loved ones show only schadenfreude: “Was the twelfth beer bad?”, “Serves you right; you could never get enough down your throat.” How can such a small molecule as ethanol cause so much human suffering? Let us investigate the chemical consequences of a merry evening spent drinking.
Target group: pupils, teachers and the school community – Duration: 45-60 minutes
Products of the chemical industry improve people’s quality of life throughout the world. Consumers expect the starting materials, manufacturing processes and end products to meet the highest standards. But people belonging to certain faith communities expect even more: compliance with religious regulations throughout the entire manufacturing process. Let us study this unusual borderland between chemistry and religion using Islamic and Jewish laws as examples.
Target group: pupils, teachers and the school community – Duration: 45-60 minutes
Water is extraordinary and so astonishingly full of peculiarities that it is no wonder that scientists have long struggled with this small molecule. Alongside the considerable success achieved in researching the properties of H2O in all its states of aggregation, water provides a vast playground for scientific nonconformists, naive amateur researchers and cunning entrepreneurs. Let us explore the colourful and sometimes bizarre world of water on both sides of the boundary of exact science, with benevolence, critical distance and a large measure of gallows humour.
Target group: pupils, teachers and the school community – Duration: 45-60 minutes
“There is no nation, from the polar regions in the north to New Zealand in the south, in which the inhabitants do not tattoo themselves,” Charles Darwin already stated in his “The Origin of Species”. The current renaissance of tattooing therefore merely revives a tradition maintained for many centuries in numerous cultures. As early as 2009, one in four Germans aged 25 to 34 was tattooed, as were more than 100 million people in Europe. But what happens to our skin during and after the introduction of colour pigments into its deeper layers? Let us follow a tattoo from its very beginning from a chemical perspective.
Target group: pupils, teachers and the school community – Duration: 45-60 minutes
Every year, on the first Sunday of Advent, many home kitchens are transformed into small bakeries, where biscuits and other baked goods are made together. The aroma of freshly baked Christmas biscuits, cinnamon stars, stollen and gingerbread then drifts through the living rooms. No other celebration is so closely associated with smells as Christmas, and this sensory impression remains with us throughout our lives as a blissful and yearning memory. Let us follow the trail of aromas and try to discover its chemical basis. The effort will be rewarded, because with this new knowledge, Christmas treats taste even better.
Target group: pupils, teachers and the school community – Duration: 45-60 minutes
Biochemically speaking, we humans are far from perfect. On the contrary, we must obtain many essential substances from our food because our bodies cannot produce them themselves. If we lack these substances, we become ill. A deficiency of vitamin C affects us particularly severely, because it causes scurvy. It is not even 100 years ago that the molecular cause of this terrible disease was elucidated and humanity freed from it for ever. A look back at the many errors and twists and turns in the centuries-long battle against scurvy, and an expression of gratitude to the brave captains, Nobel Prize-winning chemists and physiologists and, of course, especially to the guinea pigs.
Target group: pupils, teachers and the school community – Duration: 45-60 minutes
Espresso is harmless to health, stimulates the mind, does not make you fat and even has the Pope’s blessing. What more could one ask for? A cup of espresso is easy to prepare: 50 roasted and ground coffee beans are pressure-extracted in an espresso machine. Easy? Not at all! There is a great deal of chemistry behind it! So let us examine espresso from a chemical perspective and, in future, savour the enticing crema with twice the enjoyment.
Target group: pupils, teachers and the school community – Duration: 45-60 minutes
People throughout the world use plant species of the genus Capsicum to enhance dishes visually and in terms of flavour. Hungarian, Mexican, Korean and Indian cuisine would be inconceivable without their characteristic heat. How does Capsicum manage to synthesise chemical compounds that stimulate our tongues so intensely that we perceive this as a pleasant heat? Let us uncover the scientific background to the slowly subsiding burning sensation on the tongue and enjoy spicy dishes even more consciously in future.
Target group: pupils, teachers and the school community – Duration: 45-60 minutes
Gisela.Boeck
Internet: www.boeck.chemie.uni-rostock.de
Right and left play a role in many areas, whether in politics, art, botany or indeed chemistry. The spatial structure of molecules can determine whether two molecules that look identical at first glance, for example, produce a sweet or sour taste or have different biochemical effects.
Target group: Those interested in science, pupils from Year 12 onwards, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45–60 minutes
Many people know Dmitri I. Mendeleev as the discoverer of the periodic table. In the lecture, alongside his contributions to establishing this system, work on solution theory, petroleum, metrology and education will also be presented.
Target group: Those interested in history, JCF (Young Chemists’ Forum), pupils from Year 10 onwards, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45–60 minutes
The name Paul Walden is primarily known in connection with the Walden inversion, which plays a role in second-order nucleophilic substitution reactions at stereogenic centres. The lecture will present Walden’s biography and discuss his scientific achievements, which were by no means limited to organic chemistry.
Target group: Those interested in history, JCF (Young Chemists’ Forum), pupils from Year 12 onwards, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45–60 minutes
In Germany, women were only permitted to enrol at universities from the beginning of the 20th century. The life paths of some of those who chose to study chemistry will be presented.
Target group: Those interested in history, JCF (Young Chemists’ Forum), pupils from Year 12 onwards, teachers and the school community – Duration: 45–60 minutes
Lothar Meyer made significant contributions to the periodic table. His considerations, which had already led him to an initial periodic arrangement of the elements in 1864, will be retraced, and his further thoughts on periodicity will be discussed.
Target group: Those interested in history, JCF (Young Chemists’ Forum), pupils from Year 12 onwards, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45–60 minutes
National Socialist policies between 1933 and 1945 significantly influenced the development of chemistry in Germany. Jewish chemists were dismissed, and only some of them succeeded in fleeing abroad. Alongside the presentation of several individual fates, the impact on chemical research will be discussed.
Target group: Those interested in history, JCF (Young Chemists’ Forum), pupils from Year 12 onwards, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45–60 minutes
Runge, a 19th-century chemist, studied coal tar intensively and isolated numerous compounds from it. He is also often regarded as the father of chromatography, as he observed that dropping various salt solutions onto absorbent paper produced rings of different colours. Simple experiments can also be demonstrated for younger pupils.
Target group: Those interested in history, JCF (Young Chemists’ Forum), pupils from Year 12 onwards, teachers and the school community; by arrangement, it can also be adapted for primary school pupils - Duration: 45–60 minutes
42369 Wuppertal
Stefan Gürtzgen
The use of fossil fuels and the resulting increase in greenhouse gas emissions are having an ever greater impact on our climate and threatening life on our planet. Turning away from fossil fuels towards renewable energies is therefore an essential prerequisite for safeguarding our ecological and economic future. The lecture will provide a brief introduction to the most important renewable energy sources, their technological foundations and options for energy storage.
Target audience: Suitable for public discourse as a non-political, neutral overview lecture and for upper-secondary school lectures - Duration: 45-60 min
When he began his career in 1977, the author first encountered the products of human activities in the form of the small molecule CF4. Following the costly processing of vast quantities of air in cryogenic rectification apparatus to obtain krypton and xenon, a trace impurity was found in the krypton, putting its industrial use as lamp gas at risk. Stemming from this incident at the beginning of his professional career, he repeatedly encountered the atmospheric legacy of industrial activities throughout his working life, culminating in the ozone hole discovered in the 1980s and the harmful effects of ground-level ozone. Step by step, these experimental findings are used to illustrate research into the atmosphere and the modern threats to life on Earth posed by the combustion of fossil fuels to generate energy.
Target audience: Pupils, teachers and the school community – Duration: 50 minutes
It is impossible to imagine the Earth without water, the “elixir of life”: 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water, organisms such as jellyfish consist of up to 99% water, and even humans carry this liquid around with them, accounting for 68% of their body weight. This moist “element” has many interesting properties. Using experiments, most of which can easily be carried out at home, and video sequences, Dr. Gerhard Heywang, formerly employed by Bayer AG in Leverkusen, demonstrates various phenomena. Among other things, answers are provided to the following questions: Can plates be glued together with a drop of water that is not drop-shaped at all (!)? Why does a thermometer in crushed ice indicate a temperature of around +2°C? Why do windows or mirrors steam up when showering?
Duration: 90 minutes
Target group: Grammar-school classes and the school community
A “water” lecture prepared for nursery children or primary-school pupils. Which objects float in water and which sink? Experiments on surface tension, an imploding drinks can, the superabsorber from a baby nappy and the production of fizzy drinks are demonstrated.
Duration: 45 minutes
Target group: Pre-school children and primary-school pupils
How do our vocal cords work? Why do standing waves occur in a tube open at both ends when it is struck with the flat of the hand? Why do sounds emerge from a flute when air is blown into it, but not from a garden hose? Can you make music with a garden hose nevertheless? Does a piano really produce only 88 notes? These and other questions about music and acoustics are entertainingly demonstrated and explained using numerous simple experiments.
Duration: 70 minutes
Target group: Grammar-school classes and the school community
Sparkling wine embodies concepts such as luxury, celebration and pleasure. It is a sparkling noble drop, simply part of ceremonial occasions and special moments in life. This tradition came to Germany towards the end of the 18th century, along with the secret of the highly sensitive fermentation process. But how was sparkling wine actually invented, and which ingredients ultimately make it such a delicious drink? Who thinks about the fact that the pressure in a bottle of sparkling wine is higher than that in a car tyre? Experiments are presented involving the ingredients water, carbon dioxide and ethanol.
Phenomena that can be observed in sparkling wine are also significant in technology and nature. These include the Lake Nyos disaster (1,800 people and 30,000 animals killed) and cold geysers. The role of the silver spoon allegedly used to preserve the quality of sparkling wine in an opened bottle in the refrigerator is also clarified.
Duration: 70 minutes
Target group: Grammar-school classes and the school community
Everyone has eaten an egg at some point – probably indulging in the pleasure without considering what interesting questions and informative answers lie behind eggs.
The experimental lecture deals with aspects relating to eggs and answers questions such as: Why do you need a lot of water in an egg cooker for a few eggs and little water for many eggs? Why are eggs cooled after boiling? Which way round does the egg come out of the hen? Which hens lay white eggs and which lay brown eggs? What is the colouring matter in brown eggs made of? How can you tell whether an egg is boiled or raw? How long does a hen need to produce 8g of protein for the egg? How long does the shell take to form? Are hens stupid or clever? And much more besides.
Duration: Depending on interest: 40, 60 or 80 minutes
Target group: Pupils of all ages and the school community
Burning candles create an atmosphere of warmth and celebration. The lecture addresses the questions “Why do candles burn at all?” “What happens during combustion?” “How are candles made?” and presents playful experiments with candles, from the budget Advent wreath to the one-dimensional Christmas tree and the candle swing.
Duration: Depending on interest: 40, 60 or 70 minutes
Target group: Pupils of all ages and the school community
In this experimental lecture, the world seems to have gone awry: Can you inflate a balloon inside a bottle? What does a bottle imp do, and why? Corks fall onto a tabletop and remain standing upright. Metal discs refuse to fall into a shot glass. An unprepared table-tennis ball refuses to float on water. The fact that a reversing lens behaves differently with red and blue letters has to be seen to be believed. All the experiments follow scientific laws, which are explained in an easily understandable way, and they are surprising and entertaining. They all have to do with air or components of air. Many of the experiments can also be carried out at home using simple materials.
Duration: 45 - 60 minutes
Target group: Nursery children aged 5 and over, pupils of all ages and the school community
The tongue is a very versatile organ. It helps with speaking, swallowing, chewing and many other activities in the mouth. The tongue consists of 9 different muscles, each of which can only contract; nevertheless, we can stick out our tongue. How does that work? And how does it work when a chameleon can catapult its tongue out to a length equal to its own body? In the lecture, test subjects are used to investigate how taste develops and which flavours can be perceived with the tongue. Does salt always taste salty, and is hot chilli healthy? Who can roll their tongue? And what happens when rolling the R? Overall, the subject is therefore the chemistry and physics of the mouth.
Duration: 60 min
Target group: Pupils aged 10 and over from all types of school and the school community
A raindrop is round – no: almost round! From the side, it looks like a bread roll. There are also round drops when they are sufficiently small. There are also drops that form a hemisphere; e.g. on a window pane. The shape referred to in German as a “drop shape” exists in art and advertising, but in practice only very rarely. Examples are demonstrated. Water drops with highly peculiar shapes play a very important role in building sandcastles, which is why sandcastles remain standing for a considerable time after they have been built. Exceptionally unusual drops are demonstrated: water mixed with cornflour forms a “sludge” that allows particularly unconventional drops. There are also drops of coffee, drops of wine, drops of honey and very special “nervous” drops, which were first understood and described by a theologian.
Duration: 60 min
Target group: Pupils aged 10 and over from all types of school and the school community
During photosynthesis, carbon dioxide reacts with water in plants in the presence of sunlight. Oxygen and carbohydrates are formed in the process. A small proportion of the carbohydrates is present as low-molecular-weight sugars. A considerably larger proportion is starch, while most consists of cellulose chains, the structural material of all plants. Sugar is found in varying proportions in flowers (nectar), branches and plant stems, and roots. Aphids also secrete sugar-containing solutions, and in mammals galactose (milk sugar) is produced in breast milk to nourish the offspring. The experiments focus on honey and table sugar.
Duration: 60 - 70 min
Target group: Grammar-school classes and the school community
RWTH Aachen University
Institute for Materials in Electrical Engineering II
D-52056 Aachen
Rainer Waser
| Perspectives of Chemistry on the Path to Nanoelectronics | Target group: Students, teachers and the school community |
Dr. Roland Full
Hanns-Seidel-Gymnasium Hösbach
Mozartstraße 35
D-63768 Hösbach
Roland Full
Dr. Werner Ruf
Celtis-Gymnasium Schweinfurt
Sonnenstraße 52 b
D-97456 Dittelbrunn
Werner Ruf
In their unique experimental show, the chemists Dr. Roland Full and Dr. Werner Ruf present chemistry at its most beautiful, fascinating even non-chemists. Using self-painting chemical images prepared in Petri dishes and projected onto a large screen, they allegorically depict the changing seasons. The 17 live experiments are accompanied solely by music, which intensifies the mood of the images and carries the viewer away on a flight of fantasy.
Target group: School community – Duration: 60 minutes
Planning, construction and operation of laboratory plants for the “scale-up” of chemical reactions, using the production of sulphuric acid, iron and foodstuffs as examples
Target group: Chemistry teachers at general and vocational schools
Characteristics of scientific professions in the chemical industry
Target group: Teachers at general schools, particularly those teaching Year 9 and Year 12
Biological, chemical and physical experiments for pre-school children
Target group: Nursery-school educators
Didactic and methodological integration of the presentation of large-scale chemical processes into lessons
Target group: Chemistry teachers at general and vocational schools
The largest lithium deposits can be found in the Andes of Latin America. The rare metal lithium has become increasingly important in recent decades because of mobile electronic devices such as smartphones and laptops, and above all because of electric cars. On Earth, lithium occurs in so-called salars as brine and in ore deposits in the form of pegmatite. The brines are processed by evaporating water and precipitating salts due to the different solubilities of the salts found in the lakes. The lithium carbonate obtained in technical grade can be packed in sacks, shipped and processed further with ease. The most important application of lithium is the lithium-ion battery. Lithium itself is produced from lithium chloride by molten-salt electrolysis. Will lithium deposits be sufficient in the future? It is therefore important to develop technologies for recycling raw materials. There have now been some interesting developments; one from Evonik is presented at the end.
Target group: pupils at the end of lower secondary education (Year 9 (G8) or Year 10 (G9)) and pupils in upper secondary education, introductory phase. - Duration: 60 min
Diabetes is a widespread disease. Approximately 10% of the world's population suffer from this disease. The causes, late effects and treatment options of the disease are presented. Using the production of human insulin and insulin analogues as examples, the contribution that biotechnology, particularly genetic engineering, can make to the treatment of diabetes is demonstrated. The fundamentals of protein biosynthesis are explained in a generally comprehensible way.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as the school community, chemistry-teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums and adult education centres - Duration: 75 to 90 min
Using the isolation of antibiotics, plant constituents and vitamins as examples, the contribution nature makes to discovering new active pharmaceutical ingredients is demonstrated, as is how these active ingredients can be specifically modified through semisynthesis. The difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells is explained, and the advantages of using a cell to produce active ingredients are discussed. Natural substances such as morphine, cocaine, atropine, artemisinin, penicillins and insulins, and their importance in the treatment of diseases, are presented.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as the school community, chemistry-teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums and adult education centres - Duration: 75 to 90 min
Many active pharmaceutical ingredients (antibiotics, monoclonal antibodies, substances involved in the blood-coagulation cascade and many others) are now produced by fermentation. The methods and processes used in “downstream processing” to isolate and purify pharmaceutical active ingredients from fermentation broths are demonstrated. The basic principles of extraction, chromatography, cell disruption and solid–liquid separation, as well as freeze-drying and spray-drying, are presented.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as chemistry-teacher training centres and young chemists’ forums - Duration: 75 to 90 min
Chromatography plays an important role in both basic and high-level purification when pharmaceutical active ingredients are isolated and purified using biotechnology or genetic engineering. The fundamentals of chromatographic processes are presented. The scale-up and scale-down of such processes are discussed.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as chemistry-teacher training centres and young chemists’ forums - Duration: 75 to 90 min
The fundamentals and applications of white, red and green biotechnology for the industrial production of substances are presented. In particular, selected enzymatic–chemical reactions for producing pharmaceutical active ingredients are discussed.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as chemistry-teacher training centres and young chemists’ forums - Duration: 75 to 90 min
The use of homeopathy, anthroposophic medicine, Bach flower therapy and Schüßler salts in the treatment of diseases is presented. The placebo and nocebo effects are explained. Mistletoe therapy for cancer is discussed in greater detail. Animal-assisted forms of therapy are also covered. Pavlov’s experiments on conditioning are discussed in detail.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as the school community, chemistry-teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums and adult education centres - Duration: 75 to 90 min
The influence of small chemical molecules [carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, uranium dioxide, nitric oxide, nitrous oxide (laughing gas), oxygen, ozone, water, ethanol, methanal (formaldehyde)) on everyday human life is the subject of this lecture. The current issue of nitrous oxide as a recreational drug is explicitly addressed.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as the school community,
chemistry-teacher training centres, JungeChemie forums, adult education centres and similar educational institutions. - Duration: 60 to 90 minutes
Sugar, protein, nucleic-acid and fat molecules, and their physiological and therapeutic significance, are presented.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as the school community, chemistry-teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums and adult education centres - Duration: 75 to 90 min
Molecules such as morphine, cocaine, caffeine, ethanol and others are presented, including how they have influenced the music scene in particular. Natural and synthetic drugs, as well as viable approaches to combating drugs, are also discussed. Addiction and combating addiction are examined.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as the school community, chemistry-teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums and adult education centres - Duration: 75 to 90 min
The lecture shows how information can be conveyed using a chemical formula and its three-dimensional structure. It also discusses how the genetic code arises and the role played by the amino-acid sequence in determining the properties of proteins and enzymes.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as the school community, chemistry-teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums and adult education centres - Duration: 75 to 90 min
The term “serendipity” is explained, and examples are given of how chance, rather than targeted searching, played a key role in many discoveries (sticky notes, dynamite, Velcro, the effects of pharmaceuticals, vulcanisation, credit cards and many more).
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as the school community, chemistry-teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums and adult education centres - Duration: 75 to 90 min
The history and development of the periodic table of the elements (PSE) are examined; newer elements and their discovery are presented. Selected examples demonstrate how an element’s position in the periodic table allows conclusions to be drawn about its physical and, above all, chemical properties. The key role of an element’s electron configuration (the structure of the electron shell) in determining its properties is discussed. Diagonal relationships in the periodic table are addressed. The typical properties of metals, metalloids and non-metals are presented.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as the school community, chemistry-teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums and adult education centres - Duration: 75 to 90 min
New: Also available in English
The biographies of selected women scientists (Curie, Meitner, Immerwahr, Kwolek and many others) are presented, discussing the important contributions many women scientists have made to their fields, which were not always properly recognised and acknowledged by the scientific community. Women who have been awarded the Nobel Prize are also honoured in this presentation. In addition, women scientists who achieved a Career outside their fields in art and politics are presented (Adorno, Hamm-Brücher, Merkel, Schwätzer, Thatcher and others).
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as the school community, chemistry-teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums and adult education centres - Duration: 75 to 90 min
The biographies of scientists in physics, chemistry, life sciences and medicine who were creative and made groundbreaking inventions are presented, although their achievements were not always appropriately recognised. Such “unlucky people” also include highly respected researchers who, for example, were overlooked when the Nobel Prize was awarded. Such people were often misunderstood or even ostracised in their time, and it was only much later that their ideas were realised for the benefit of society. The differences between inventing, developing, creating and discovering are examined in greater detail.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as the school community, chemistry-teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums and adult education centres - Duration: 75 to 90 min
The causes of painful conditions and their treatment options are explained. Phenomena such as “paradoxical pain” (analgesic-induced pain) and “phantom pain” are discussed. Dependence on painkillers is examined. General aspects of addiction are presented. The physiological processes involved in pain transmission are addressed.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as the school community, chemistry-teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums and adult education centres - Duration: 75 to 90 min
It is presented how nitroglycerine was discovered by Ascania Sobrero by chance and how the path to the development of dynamite by Alfred Nobel unfolded. The significance of dynamite in the last century for road, tunnel and railway construction is explained using examples (the Gotthard Tunnel). It is also described how the funds of the Nobel Foundation are now used as prize money for the highest scientific distinction – the Nobel Prize - . The use of nitroglycerine and its derivatives in medicine for the treatment of angina pectoris is also discussed.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as the school community, chemistry-teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums and adult education centres - Duration: 45 to 60 min
Against the background of possible cannabis legalisation, which is presented in detail, the misuse of drugs (morphine, heroin, cocaine, mescaline, khat and others) and recreational substances (alcohol, nicotine, caffeine), as well as the development of addiction, including dependence on medicines (amphetamines, fentanyl derivatives, benzodiazepines), are addressed. Using well-known artists as examples, the effects of drugs and addiction on quality of life are demonstrated. Approaches to therapy and prevention are presented.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses, as well as students in the middle and upper years of grammar school, the school community, chemistry-teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums, adult education centres and related educational institutions. - Duration: 75–90 minutes
The most important plastics, their applications and properties are presented. Some basic concepts of polymer chemistry are explained. In view of the development of the world’s population and people’s basic needs, it is explained why we cannot do without plastics – despite some disadvantages. The health hazards posed by PFAS are highlighted, and the littering of the oceans is addressed. The problems associated with microplastics and nanoplastics are discussed.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as the school community and out-of-school educational institutions, chemistry-teacher training centres and young chemists’ forums - Duration: 60 minutes
Numerous examples demonstrate why glass is such a fascinating material and building material.
Starting with natural glasses (tektites, obsidian), the various types of glass are discussed and the history
of glassmaking from antiquity to the modern era is presented. Considerable attention is given to describing the chemical
composition of glass and explaining the typical features of oxide glasses as amorphous solids.
Various oxide glasses (Thuringian glass, Murano glass, safety glass, optical glass, “fire-resistant” glass, glass ceramic”",
and many others) are discussed. The recycling of waste glass is addressed.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses, as well as students in the middle and upper years of grammar school, the school community,
chemistry teachers at training centres, adult education centres and related educational institutions. Duration: 60–75 minutes
Following an explanation of the term “widespread disease”, several case studies of both diseases are discussed. It is shown how obesity can be diagnosed using simple means and how the signs of diabetes can be recognised. Further topics:
- Carbohydrate metabolism in healthy people and in people with diabetes
- Physiological causes of type 1 and type 2 diabetes
- Glucose metabolism in the human organism
- The terms hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia
- Causes of the worldwide spread of diabetes and obesity
- Treatment options for both diseases
- Insulin and its discovery
- Amino-acid sequences of human insulin, animal insulins and insulin derivatives
- Representation of peptides using various codes
- Successful treatments of young people with diabetes
- Current demand for human insulin and its production using genetic engineering
- Treatment concepts
- Active ingredient metformin
- Insulin pens
The second part of the lecture deals in detail with the biochemical foundations of newer antidiabetic medicines:
- Research approaches
- “Hype surrounding the weight-loss injection” (from an antidiabetic medicine to an active ingredient for weight reduction)
Finally, the progress that can still be expected in the treatment of obesity this year and in the coming years is discussed. The term “game changer” for the new “appetite suppressants” (anorectics) seems justified.
Target group: Schools and out-of-school educational institutions. Duration: 90 minutes (two lessons – with a short break)
The history and development of the term “sustainable” are presented, and the causes of the disrupted carbon cycle are discussed. In addition, facts about the climate, the wrong path of biofuels, climate engineering, the restoration of the atmosphere through the geological storage of wood, and the carbon moratorium are addressed and discussed.
Target audience: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the upper years of grammar school, as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums and adult education centres – Duration: 60 to 75 minutes
Industrial organic chemistry is a complex, flexible network that has developed over a period of more than 150 years and is still constantly evolving. A limited number of basic and intermediate products are manufactured from a few raw materials, each of which serves as the starting point for value chains leading to the wide variety of end products. Using propene as an example, the lecture shows how superabsorbents or emulsion paints are produced from crude oil.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the sixth form, as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums, adult education centres – Duration: 45 to 60 min
Catalysts are substances that lower the activation energy of a reaction system, allowing the desired reaction to proceed at a high rate. Their high selectivity results in the formation of only small amounts of by-products – which is not only an economic advantage but also protects our environment. Homogeneous catalysts are soluble metal complexes whose activity and selectivity can be tailored to the desired product. The lecture gives examples of highly selective processes used industrially, both for high-volume products (e.g. acetic acid) and for speciality products such as optically active compounds for pharmaceuticals (e.g. the Parkinson’s medication L-DOPA).
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the sixth form, as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums, adult education centres – Duration: 45 to 60 min
Chemical products are ubiquitous in our everyday lives. Examples include packaging, medicines and cosmetics, crop protection products, detergents, textiles and much more. The basis for this diversity is organic chemistry, whose products are ubiquitous in our everyday lives. However, inorganic materials also have a decisive influence on our lifestyle. They form the basis for high-tech products such as flat-screen displays, solar cells, smartphones, computers and high-performance batteries. We need raw materials for all these products, and they are finite. As the lecture shows, by improving our processes we can use new raw materials as well as make better use of those we have used to date, including through new material cycles.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the sixth form, as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums, adult education centres – Duration: 45 to 60 min
Carbon dioxide is the carbon carrier of our planet. Through photosynthesis/sunlight, all naturally occurring organic compounds, including fossil fuels, have formed from it. Although carbon dioxide is an extremely energy-poor molecule, it can nevertheless undergo chemical reactions. However, energy-rich reactants such as hydrogen, ethylene oxide or ammonia are required for this. The lecture presents established as well as new syntheses with carbon dioxide that are currently under development. These include very high-volume syntheses, such as those of fuels (e-fuels). However, their requirement for (sustainable!) energy is enormous.
Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and the sixth form, as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centres, young chemists’ forums, adult education centres – Duration: 45 to 60 min
Following the motto "Use figures, not adjectives", the lecture places the political debate about renewable energies and climate change in the context of the dimensions of our present-day energy system. Access to affordable energy sources has driven the development of human societies in the past. Living standards and per-capita primary energy consumption correlate significantly, although the values vary remarkably.
The targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions are most probably realistic only if replacing fossil primary energy with renewable (solar) sources is combined with significantly more efficient energy use. The latter is not only a technical issue, but also a social and behavioural one.
Duration: 45-60 minutes
Target group: Pupils, particularly STEM pupils and pupils taking STEM advanced-level courses, science teachers, the school community, adult education centres, chemistry teacher training centres, SEC (for Science Forum, annual meeting, SEC lecturer)
The chemical industry in Germany currently has a share of around 5% of the global market. Its carbon-containing products are produced predominantly from the energy sources oil (72%) and gas (14%). As much as 13% of the products are based on renewable raw materials. Coal plays practically no role, accounting for less than 2%. Overall, the German chemical industry uses around 20 million tonnes of organic raw materials and the same quantity of inorganic raw materials such as sodium chloride.
The raw materials used by the chemical industry have continually been and continue to be adapted. At the beginning of the 19th century, wood was the raw material. Later, coal transformed the entire industry, and growth accelerated. After 1945, oil became the globally dominant raw material. Currently, however, coal in China and, particularly, gas in the USA are (once again) becoming more important.
The future supply of raw materials will therefore be more diverse than in the past; there will no longer be a single globally dominant raw material. Instead, there will be much greater regional diversification of raw materials. This requires globally active companies such as BASF to significantly broaden their technology portfolios.
Duration: 45-60 minutes
Target group: Pupils, particularly STEM pupils and pupils taking STEM advanced-level courses, science teachers, the school community, adult education centres, chemistry teacher training centres, SEC (for Science Forum, annual meeting, SEC lecturer)
Catalysts play a central role in the processes of the chemical industry. Both the raw material and energy requirements of processes depend decisively on the quality of the catalysts used.
Developing such products is an extraordinarily diverse and challenging task. To master it, one must have expertise in a large number of disciplines. A technical catalyst is much more than an "active site" and is often the result of a balanced compromise between several objectives that actually contradict one another.
The lecture examines these aspects and uses a specific example to show what unconventional result such a development process can produce.
Duration: 45-60 minutes
Target group: Pupils, particularly STEM pupils and pupils taking STEM advanced-level courses, science teachers, the school community, adult education centres, chemistry teacher training centres, SEC (for Science Forum, annual meeting, SEC lecturer)
The chemical industry in Germany currently has a share of around 5% of the global market. Its carbon-containing products are produced predominantly from the energy sources oil (72%) and gas (14%). As much as 13% of the products are based on renewable raw materials. Coal plays practically no role, accounting for less than 2%. Overall, the German chemical industry uses around 20 million tonnes of organic raw materials. The chemical industry is an energy-intensive sector; the most important energy sources are gas and electricity.
The raw materials used by the chemical industry have continually been and continue to be adapted. At the beginning of the 19th century, wood was the raw material. Later, coal transformed the entire industry, and growth accelerated. After 1945, oil became the globally dominant raw material. Currently, however, coal in China and, particularly, gas in the USA are (once again) becoming more important. The lecture explains the criteria used to select the raw material base at different locations. Technical processes for using all raw materials are known.
On a global scale, the chemical industry is the third-largest industrial emitter of CO2 after steel and cement, accounting for 8%. The key to reducing this share will be the availability of “green” electricity and hydrogen without an atmospheric CO2 footprint. Increasing the amount of carbon derived from renewable raw materials encounters ecological limits.
Duration: 60 minutes
Target group: Pupils, particularly STEM pupils and pupils taking STEM advanced-level courses, science teachers, the school community, adult education centres, chemistry teacher training centres, SEC (for Science Forum, annual meeting, SEC lecturer)
113 years ago, the first large-scale plant for producing ammonia from the elements hydrogen and nitrogen was commissioned in Ludwigshafen. Just five years earlier, Fritz Haber had published his data on the equilibrium position of this reaction: at normal pressure and 700°C, only a few per mille of ammonia are formed. The route from this point to the industrial process required innovations in the catalyst, plant construction and, last but not least, the technical process concept. The lecture traces this still almost incredible success story, which was possible only through intensive cooperation between the disciplines involved. The Haber–Bosch process became essential for feeding the world's population.
Duration: 60 minutes
Target group: Pupils, particularly STEM pupils and pupils taking STEM advanced-level courses, science teachers, the school community, adult education centres, chemistry teacher training centres, SEC (for Science Forum, annual meeting, SEC lecturer)
| Genetic engineering – What is it? How does it work? | All lectures by Jany: Target group: students taking advanced science courses, science teachers, the school community, continuing education centres for chemistry teachers Duration: 45–60 minutes |
| Genetic engineering in everyday life | see above |
| Genetically modified foods – opportunities and risks | see above |
| Green genetic engineering – forming opinions through discourse | see above |
| Ecotoxicology – conventional and genetically modified plants | see above |
| From Mendel to modern plant breeding | see above |
| Foods of the future – novel foods | see above |
| Food intolerances – allergies and pseudo-allergies | see above |
No element offers such a wide range of possible reactions as carbon. Beyond organic chemistry, with carbon as its main protagonist, carbon can even be found in space as diamond (unfortunately difficult to access), but also in the soil as the fossil fuel coal. Technical progress in materials science is often linked to our record-holder of properties (e.g. electrical current density [109 A/cm²] ─ 100 times higher than that of copper). Carbon provides an example of how scientific findings can drive technology and the economy: the foundation of the chemical industry!
Carbon in the atmosphere also influences temperature through CO2 and soot particulates. However, the size of the effect is disputed. After the lecture, everyone will know: compared with gold, carbon is the more valuable material!
Target group: pupils at STEM schools, particularly those taking advanced STEM courses; science teachers, school communities, support associations, adult education centres, chemistry teacher training centres, SEC (annual meeting, science forum, SEC lecturer) - Duration: 45-60 minutes
Heating with carbon is nothing out of the ordinary. Every coal-fired stove provides an illustrative example. However, carbon can also be used for heating without burning it, by putting it under electric current. Imagine a carbon dispersion that is applied to wallpaper like emulsion paint with a sheepskin roller, connected on the right and left by a copper strip, and supplied with a voltage. Why does this affect our bodies differently from conventional radiators? What else interesting can be done with a “paintable” heating system?
Lecture with a short demonstration
Target group: pupils at STEM schools, particularly those taking advanced STEM courses; science teachers, school communities, support associations, adult education centres, chemistry teacher training centres, SEC (annual meeting, science forum, SEC lecturer)
Duration: 45-60 minutes
When nature needs stable structures, it does not create "fortresses", but uses a combination of materials with different densities and strengths, usually with fibrous components. Wood is a typical example. But why is this combination of materials so important? Why does a sheet of glass break when bent, while glass fibre does not? Also interesting: why are aircraft largely made from fibre-reinforced structures, while cars are hardly made from them at all?
Lecture with exhibits
Target group: pupils at STEM schools, particularly those taking advanced STEM courses; science teachers, school communities, support associations, adult education centres, chemistry teacher training centres, SEC (annual meeting, science forum, SEC lecturer)
Duration: 45-60 minutes
Management theory insists that only through investment appraisal can a company successfully move into the future. Even a layperson can recognise from differing press reports that new plants or company acquisitions have failed to deliver the expected success despite investment appraisals. It is therefore interesting to explore what the calculation can do and where its limits lie. For there is always a risk, which is often eclipsed by grandiose promises.
Target group: pupils at STEM schools, particularly those taking advanced STEM courses; science teachers, school communities, support associations, adult education centres, chemistry teacher training centres, SEC (annual meeting, science forum, SEC lecturer)
Duration: 45-60 minutes
After reading a Wikipedia article about "greenhouse gas", one may think one has understood how CO2 acts in the atmosphere. However, one then becomes puzzled by the claim that it contributes between 9% and 26% to the greenhouse effect, even though, in contrast to water vapour, global differences in concentration are very small!
Using the relatively simple photometry equation according to Lambert-Beer and spectroscopy data from the internet (e.g. from HITRAN.org), calculations in Excel show that the greenhouse effect of CO2 is at least 26% – although the overall greenhouse effect is much, much smaller than generally stated. (Is this effect really comparable to a greenhouse?)
You do not have to be a “climate expert” to understand the lecture. The knowledge of mathematics and physics acquired in the upper years of secondary school is sufficient.
Target group: pupils at STEM schools, particularly those taking advanced STEM courses; science teachers, school communities, support associations, adult education centres, chemistry teacher training centres, SEC (annual meeting, science forum, SEC lecturer)
Duration: 45-60 minutes
The time of dealing mindlessly with materials is slowly coming to an end. This is very positive in several respects. But are the harmful effects attributed to plastic waste and microplastics a justified reason for this? What truth is there in "plastic on the plate", and how can the huge plastic waste islands in the Pacific be found?
Target group: pupils at STEM schools, particularly those taking advanced STEM courses; science teachers, school communities, support associations, adult education centres, chemistry teacher training centres, SEC (annual meeting, science forum, SEC lecturer)
Duration: 45-60 minutes
The highest form of energy efficiency is usually not having to convert any energy. However, when we do convert energy, it is generally for movement or for heat management (heating, cooling). For moving bodies, energy "consumption" depends on their mass, which is why lighter materials are preferable; is that really always the case? Foamy materials are the first choice for efficient heat utilisation. But not the only ones!
Target group: pupils at STEM schools, particularly those taking advanced STEM courses; science teachers, school communities, support associations, adult education centres, chemistry teacher training centres, SEC (annual meeting, science forum, SEC lecturer)
Duration: 45-60 minutes