Prof. Hans Dahn: Congratulations for your centenary
On January 2nd 2019, Professor Hans Dahn was 100 years old and in good shape. The Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering at the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) organized a reception on his honor on January 17th which was held in the restaurant l'Ornithorynque on the EPFL campus. Former co-workers, students and colleagues of Professor Dahn met to celebrate this anniversary and to thank him once again for all his accomplishments as scientist, professor, teacher and administrator.
Professor Dahn was just 20 years old in 1939 when he published together with Prof. H. Erlenmeyer of the University of Basel his first manuscript in the Helvetica Chimica Acta. The work was about chromatography of inorganic compounds. He continued his chemistry studies in the laboratory headed by Prof. Paul Ruggli, and in 1944 he obtained a Ph.D. degree from the University of Basel. He remained in the same institute headed by Prof. Tadeusz Reichstein (Nobel Prize in 1950) and carried out independent research. In 1957 he signed his 45thpublication as an independent investigator and was nominated extraordinary Professor in the same Institute. In 1961 he accepted a nomination as full-professor at the University of Lausanne and succeeded to Professor Henri Goldstein. At that time the organic chemistry in Lausanne was represented by four scientists, one professor, one "chef-des-travaux" and two doctoral students. This was not an Institute yet, but a laboratory which published 4 articles this year, with a budget of CHF 50'000 that included the professor installment credit and the cost of the chemistry library. In 1966 the laboratory of organic chemistry became the Institute of Organic Chemistry (ICO) of the University of Lausanne (UNIL). In less than 12 years four professor positions were added to this new Institute and office and laboratory space was created in the old building at the Place du Château 3, and in the vicinity. In 1985, the ICO published 40 articles in referred journals. For the period 1988-1992, an American office put the chemistry of the UNIL (ICO + Institut de chimie minérale et analytique (ICMA)) at the 11thrank in Europe.
When Professor Dahn retired in 1989, the credits obtained by the ICO amounted to CHF 932'000 from the Canton de Vaud, and CHF 1'253'00 from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Professor Dahn has been a member of the scientific council of the Swiss National Science Foundation for 10 years and during that time has helped to promote scientific research and organic chemistry in Switzerland.
Scientific contributions of Professor Dahn have concentrated on the study of reaction mechanisms and on the invention of new analytical methods, especially the use of heavy oxygen isotopes, first 18-O, than 17-O. Already in 1961, and together with Prof. P. Diehl of the University of Basel, he signed a first publication on 17-O-NMR spectroscopy. After his retirement, Professor Dahn published 20 articles in the field of 17-O-NMR spectroscopy. He is a member of the Swiss Chemical Society since 1948.
Prof. hon. Pierre Vogel, ISIC, EPFL
David Spichiger, SCS
28.01.2019
Swiss Website to collect IYPT 2019 Initiatives
The Periodic Table of Chemical Elements is one of the most significant achievements in science, capturing the essence not only of chemistry, but also of physics and biology.
1869 is considered as the year of formulation of the modern concept of the Periodic System by Dmitri Mendeleev (and others). 2019 is the 150th anniversary of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements and has therefore been proclaimed the "International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements (IYPT2019)" by the United Nations General Assembly and UNESCO.
Share your IYPT2019 activities in Switzerland by submitting your initiative via our online form and let the world know about it via #IYPT2019 on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Swiss Website for the IYPT 2019
David Spichiger, SCS
28.01.2019
New call NCCR's Postdoctoral Fellowship for Women in Science
The Swiss National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) Bio-inspired Materials has opened a new call of the Women in Science Posdoctoral Fellowhips.
The Research Fellowship Program for Women in Science of the NCCR Bio-Inspired Materials seeks to support the professional development of outstanding female researchers who have already demonstrated excellence at an early stage of their careers and wish to pursue an academic career. The fellowships support the residency of researchers in the laboratory of one of the research groups of the NCCR Bio-Inspired Materials. The grant is designed to fund original research ideas of the applicants and to leverage impact through integration within the NCCR Bio-Inspired Materials and its international network. While being fully integrated in the NCCR Bio-Inspired Materials, the fellows have the possibility to apply to all other NCCR programs, grants and support actions for NCCR members (such as childcare support during travel).
To whom is this call addressed? The program is open to female applicants who hold or are about to earn a doctoral degree in a relevant field of natural or life sciences, such as medicine, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics or materials science.
How to apply: The necessary documentation and submission instructions here. Your submission should include a short project proposal, a motivation letter, your complete CV, your PhD certificate (or proof that you will defend your thesis within the following 3 months), the application form and two reference letters.
How will the applications be evaluated: Fellowships will be offered on a competitive basis. Candidates will be selected based on their track record as a researcher, their potential to grow into academic leaders, the quality and originality of the project proposal, the match of the proposal with the overall theme of the NCCR Bio-inspired Materials, the feasibility of the proposed project in the host laboratory, and the anticipated synergies that arise from the integration into the NCCR Bio-Inspired Materials.
Application deadline: 15th March 2019.
Start and duration: The start of the grant can be discussed but should be between the 1st June 2019 and the 1st September 2019. The duration of the research fellowship is 24 months.
What does the fellowship fund: The grant includes a standard researcher salary (100%) following the rules of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) for a period of 24 months (including social charges to be paid by the employer). The grant additionally includes funds to cover research and travel expenses for the entire funding period.
More detailed information on the grant and the application procedure can be found here. Feel free to share this information through the following social media:
Twitter
https://twitter.com/NCCRbioinspired/status/1085887459555201025
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6491652405564837888
Prof. Dr. Christoph Weder, AMI Fribourg
21.01.2019
1st Idorsia Chemistry Day, 25 March 2019
The R&D Department of Idorsia invites you to the 1st Idorsia Chemistry Day 2019 that will take place in Allschwil on March 25, 2019.
Program
Chair: Dr. Gabriel Schäfer, Scientist Chemistry Process R&D
| 15.30 | Welcome by Dr. Stefan Abele, Head Chemical Development |
| 15.40 | Dr. Martin Eastgate, Bristol-Myers Squibb «Innovation in the Synthesis of Complex Pharmaceuticals» |
| 16.40 | Prof. Richmond Sarpong, University of California, Berkeley «Break it to Make it Strategies for Complex Molecule Synthesis» |
| 17.40 | Closing remarks by Dr. Thomas Weller, Head of Drug Discovery, Chemistry |
| 17.45 | Aperitif |
Location
Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Hegenheimermattweg 91 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
www.idorsia.com
Registration
Attendance will be limited to 100 participants.
Registration is free of charge. Please register until March 15, 2019, by sending a mail to Dr. Gabriel Schäfer ().
David Spichiger, SCS
15.01.2019
The Periodic Table and us: its history, meaning, and element scarcity, 22 Jan 2019, Brussels
Join us on Tuesday 22 January 2019, from 14:30 – 16:30 in the European Parliament in Brussels, Room ASP 5G305 for the launching of the EuChemS Periodic Table depicting element scarcity, and to listen to a series of talks on the history of the periodic table, its meaning, and what lies ahead in the future. The event is chaired by Member of the European Parliament Catherine Stihler.
Indeed, the phone you may be using right now to read this is made up of some 30 elements – over half of which may give cause for concern in the years to come because of increasing scarcity. With some 10 million smartphones being discarded or replaced every month in the European Union alone, serious actions to tackle the challenges ahead are needed. Element scarcity is intrinsically linked with discussions on the Circular Economy, more efficient recycling practices, innovative alternatives, consumer behaviour, and more besides. Unless solutions are provided, we risk seeing many of the natural elements that make up the world around us run out or become unusable – whether because of limited supplies, their location in conflict areas, or our incapacity to fully recycle them.
Please find below the preliminary programme & registration for the event.
Registration deadline: 15 January 2019
Programme, registration and list of speakers on the website of EuChemS
David Spichiger, SCS
28.12.2018
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