Scimus et Sciemus Foundation
"The non-profit Scimus et Sciemus Foundation, established by its founders Hannelore and Bernhard Kissler, supports basic research, particularly in the field of pure organic chemistry. The Foundation is founded on the belief in the power of the natural sciences to gradually unravel the world, so that one day people will understand what holds the world together at its innermost core."
It goes on to say
"In his 1971 essay ‘The Significance of Beauty in the Exact Sciences’, Werner Heisenberg recalled the eminent creative power that beauty, postulated as an inherent principle of being itself, has always possessed in the discovery of truth. Things perceived as beautiful are associated with a high degree of symmetry in nature and the visual arts, with the symmetry of equations in physics and mathematics, and with the symmetry of molecules and structures in chemistry. Accordingly, the Foundation, founded on the belief in the connection between aesthetics and scientific knowledge, recognises the application of symmetry principles and the study of highly symmetrical compounds in chemistry and its interdisciplinary sciences."
Bernhard Erwin Kissler, Jugend Forscht awardee and recipient of the Sophie-Bernthsen Prize, studied chemistry and biochemistry in Heidelberg and completed his doctorate in 1987 under Rolf Gleiter on through-bond interactions in strained hydrocarbons. After a research stay at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, he moved into the European patent profession.
Hannelore Louise Kissler, a pharmaceutical representative specialising in 1,4-dihydropyridines and other calcium channel antagonists, has accompanied her husband throughout their life together since their days in Heidelberg.
In addition to Latin, the couple are at home in several modern languages, share a love of Italian opera and, in the sciences, an interest in molecular biology and cosmology. They also share a fascination with wreck diving and, last but not least, a love of sophisticated dishes for their little star kitchen at home.
Literary travel reading:
Michel de Montaigne, Essais
Per Lagerkvist, Den fordringsfulla gästen
François-Marie Arouet, Candide ou l’optimisme
L. Annaeus Seneca, Epistulae Morales
Every two years, the Foundation awards prizes for scientific work that meets one or more of the following criteria:
1. Symmetry and aesthetics in chemistry
2. Synthesis of highly symmetrical compounds in chemistry
3. Innovative applications of symmetry in chemical systems
4. The importance of symmetry in molecular structures
5. The importance of symmetry in biochemistry and molecular biology
6. The influence of symmetry on chemical reactivity and synthesis
7. Presentation of symmetry principles and their application
8. Practical applications of symmetry in chemistry
In addition, the Foundation awards a one-off prize for the first synthesis of
1,2,3,4-all-cis-tetravinylcyclobutane
2,4,6,8-tetramethylenetricyclo [3.3.0.0 3,7] octane ("stellatetraene")
The successful synthesis is awarded a prize of 2000 euros in each case.