The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2013
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2013 to
Martin Karplus, Université de Strasbourg, France and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
Michael Levitt, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
Arieh Warshel, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
“for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems”
The computer — your Virgil in the world of atoms
Chemists used to create models of molecules using plastic balls and sticks. Today, the modelling is carried out in computers. In the 1970s, Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel laid the foundation for the powerful programs that are used to understand and predict chemical processes. Computer models mirroring real life have become crucial for most advances made in chemistry today.
Chemical reactions occur at lightning speed. In a fraction of a millisecond, electrons jump from one atomic nucleus to the other. Classical chemistry has a hard time keeping up; it is virtually impossible to experimentally map every little step in a chemical process. Aided by the methods now awarded with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, scientists let computers unveil chemical processes, such as a catalyst’s purification of exhaust fumes or the photosynthesis in green leaves.
The work of Karplus, Levitt and Warshel is ground- breaking in that they managed to make Newton’s classical physics work side-by-side with the fundamentally different quantum physics. Previously, chemists had to choose to use either or. The strength of classical physics was that calculations were simple and could be used to model really large molecules. Its weakness, it offered no way to simulate chemical reactions. For that purpose, chemists instead had to use quantum physics. But such calcula- tions required enormous computing power and could therefore only be carried out for small molecules.
This year’s Nobel Laureates in chemistry took the best from both worlds and devised methods that use both classical and quantum physics. For instance, in simu- lations of how a drug couples to its target protein in the body, the computer performs quantum theoretical calculations on those atoms in the target protein that interact with the drug. The rest of the large protein is simulated using less demanding classical physics.
Today the computer is just as important a tool for chemists as the test tube. Simulations are so realistic that they predict the outcome of traditional experiments.
Text source: www.nobelprize.org
Links:
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/
David Spichiger, SCS
09.10.2013
Chemical Landmark 2013: Lonza, Pioneer of chemistry in upper Valais
The fifth « Chemical Landmark » award went the Upper Valais: the chemical site of Lonza was awarded in honour to its role in the economical development of the Upper Valais.
Picture ©: Christian Pfammatter, Visp
In 1898, the first important industrial site was put in service by Lonza in Gampel. The presence of a hydroelectric powerplant and the natural abundance of lime made the production of calcium carbide possible, which was an important light source at that time. The range of products was then broadened owing to an important chemical industry in Visp and to intensive research efforts, even in difficult economic times. Hereby, for over a century, Lonza has been among the most important actors in the development of the Upper Valais.
The award ceremony was held on 26 September 2013 with over 60 guests, including past and present Lonza collaborators and personalities from politics and the economy of Valais. The ceremony was opened by Prof. Dr. Karl Gademann, President of the «Platform Chemistry» at SCNAT, who welcomed the audience and presented the SCNAT and the « Chemical Landmark » programm. A retrospective of the activities of the Visp site was then presented by Raoul Bayard, Lonza Site Manager Visp. The latest technologies used for the production of antibody drug conjugates in Visp were then highlighted by Iwan Bertholjotti, Director Program Management Pharma Operations. The importance of Visp in the chemical history of Upper Valais was stressed in the laudatio of Prof. Dr. Paul J. Dyson, Director of the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering at EPFL.
Media coverage
Basler Zeitung, 27.9.2013, p. 31
Kanal 9
Walliser Bote
Rhone Zeitung
Radio Rottu Oberwallis
Website
http://www.chemicallandmarks.ch
Kontakt
Dr. Adrien Lawrence
SCNAT, Platform Chemistry
+41 31 310 40 96
More information:
http://www.chemicallandmarks.ch
Picture ©: Lonza AG
David Spichiger, SCS
07.10.2013
Galeries of the ILMAC-Forum events are online
Beautiful pictures of the SCG FH-Award ceremonies at ILMAC in Basel from Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, September 25-27, 2013, as well as of the Dr. Max Lüthi Award ceremony are available on the ILMAC website.
David Spichiger, SCS
01.10.2013
Embellish you office with the Calendar 2014
"A Year in the Lab: The Chemist´s View”
Embellish you office with the chemistry calendar 2014. 12 amazing pictures from the ChemistryViews' photo competition 2013 show the beautiful side of chemistry and its life in the laboratory.
The calendar is distributed by the GDCh and published in collaboration with Viley-VCH. It can be ordered via the GDCh web shop (www.gdch.de/shop). Prize: € 10.- (+ mailing costs).
The calendar is also an ideal gift. Reduce your pre-Christmas stress by ordering your friends' Christmas presents today.
David Spichiger, SCS
30.09.2013
SCG-FH Awards winners: 'Analytics in the Life Sciences'
Sina Saxer, FHNW, Romina Dörig, who was representing the team of Prof. Christiane Zaborosch from ZHAW and Götz Schlotterbeck, FHNW were honored with the SCG-FH Award for their project in the field of 'Analytics in the Life Sciences'.
Picture: Prof. Götz Schlotterbeck, FHNW takes
the award and the congratulations from
David Spichiger, Executive Director of the SCS.
The SCG-FH Awards are given for innovative joint-projects between Universities of Applied Sciences (FH) and their industrial partners. The award ceremony and the following lectures were held at the ILMAC Forum in Basel as part of the fair's forum program.
On Wednesday, 25.09.13 the winners of the categories 'Molecules for Life Sciences' were honored and on Friday, 27.09.13 the winners of the category 'Chemistry & Environment' will be awarded. All project are also shown at the shared stand of the SCG and the FH as part of the project exhibition.
Winners of the SCS-FH Award in the category 'Analytics in theLife Sciences'
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Dr. Sina Saxer, FHNW
Printing enzymes for colorimetric assays on paper -
Romina Dörig, ZHAW (Prof. Christiane Zaborosch)Development of a high sensitivity label-free waveguide interferometry instrument: A project between the Center for Biochemistry ZHAW and Creoptix GmbH
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Prof. Götz Schlotterbeck, FHNWSynergy of metabolic profiling, pharmacological testing and process engineering enables in auguration of a bamboo pilot plant extraction unit in Fuijan, China
ILMAC-Forum: an interesting 4-days program
Program of the ILMAC-Forum
SCS/FH Stand: Hall 1.1, Stand C84
from left: Götz Schlotterbeck, Romina Dörig, Sina Saxer, David Spichiger
David Spichiger, SCS
26.09.13
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