About 50 years ago Bruker and ETH Zurich joined forces to revolutionize chemical analysis in the materials and life sciences. For their achievements in the development of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, their sites are now honored with the Chemical Landmark 2021.

The Bruker Building at Industriestrasse 26 in Fällanden and the ETH Zurich site at Universitätstrasse 22 in Zurich have recently been added to the Swiss Chemical Landmarks’ map of the Swiss Academy. At the awarded sites, the joint team from Bruker and ETH Zurich contributed significantly to the development of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR spectroscopy).

Nowadays, NMR spectroscopy is irreplaceable in chemistry, materials science, biology, and medicine as analytical method. It allows the analysis and studies of three-dimensional structures and reactions of atoms, molecules, liquids, and solids. The technique is based on using the spin angular momentum of atomic nuclei as sensitive probes that can detect the smallest changes in the local magnetic field. These changes are expressed in nuclear spin resonances, from which the chemical properties and structure of the analyzed molecules can be deduced.

In 1967, Spectrospin (now Bruker) introduced the first fully transistor-based NMR spectrometer. With the HFX-90, completely new experiments could be performed.

Nobel Prizes for Switzerland

Bruker entered the development of NMR spectroscopes in 1965 with the company Spectrospin. The company then presented the first spectroscope whose electronics were made entirely of transistors, just like today's computers.

In the mid-1970s, the company began a collaboration with Richard Ernst of ETH Zurich. The chemist and the industrial company brought the so-called Fourier transform spectrometer to the market. Compared to standard NMR spectrometers, this method offered better resolution and shorter measurement times and was a milestone in chemical analysis. Ernst was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1991 for his research on high-resolution NMR methods.

With Kurth Wüthrich, a second ETH chemist joined the team. He achieved another milestone: thanks to 2D NMR spectroscopy, it was now possible to not only determine the chemical composition of substances, but also to measure the distances between the individual atoms. This was a major step forward in analyzing the structure of complex molecules. Wüthrich also received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2002 for his work on the structural determination of proteins.

 

Cutting-edge research made in the container

In addition to the various technical milestones, the Chemical Landmark jury emphasized the successful long-standing cooperation between industry and academia. The collaboration with Bruker enabled the two scientists to transfer findings from basic research to industry.

For a certain time, Ernst and Wüthrich worked next door to each other in office containers located on the roof of the Laboratory for Physical Chemistry at Universitätstrasse in Zurich. There and at Bruker's headquarters in Fällanden, are now commemorative plaques to honor their pioneering contributions to NMR technology. The plaques were unveiled on July 1, 2022 at a joint ceremony.

 

SCNAT PF Chemistry, https://chem.scnat.ch/en/chemical_landmarks/chemical_landmark_2021
David Spichiger, SCS
07.07.2022

The co-initiators of the Stick to Science initiative have sent an open letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, yesterday, asking her to intervene urgently in the critical issue for science created by the delay of the association of the United Kingdom and Switzerland to Horizon Europe.

Please find the letter via the following link: https://stick-to-science.eu/open-letter-to-ec-president-ursula-von-der-leyen/. 

Although the open letter itself doesn't explicitly call for a meeting, the accompanying email sent by the co-initiators of the Stick to Science campaign has requested a bilateral meeting with President von der Leyen. The signatories of the initiative hope to get the opportunity to discuss the concerns R&I actors have for the future of science in Europe with the European Commission before the summer break.

Since February, the Stick to Science campaign has brought together the voice of more than 5600 major research funding/performing bodies, umbrella organisations, individual researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators, calling for an open R&I landscape both at European and at international level, without any political barriers. We would like to thank you once again for your active support.

The European research and innovation community is strongest when the best minds from each country are able to freely connect and share their ideas.

The campaign brochure “The case for UK & Swiss Association to Horizon Europe” gives additional arguments as to why the UK and Swiss association to EU R&I programmes is a win-win for Europe.

Website: https://stick-to-science.eu

Follow us @Stick2Science and tweet #StickToScience

David Spichiger, SCS
23.06.2022

The SCS Fall Meeting is the major regularly organized event of the Swiss Chemical Society and one of the largest annual research conferences in Switzerland. For decades, the SCS Fall Meeting has been a great platform for young chemists trained in Switzerland to present their research - often for the first time ever at a major conference - and to be inspired by the people they meet there.

The Scientific Program offers Award Lectures presented by leaders in their respective fields, as well as invited and contributed lectures in nine thematic sessions covering most areas of chemical sciences. For each of these thematic sessions there will also be a poster session. We expect a total of more than 100 oral contributions and more than 400 posters. 

Apply for a Short Talk (15min) or a Poster Presentation (A0 format) in one of the nine sessions by submitting your abstract after the registration. Participation and abstract submission is free of charge for SCS members. Website: https://fm22.scg.ch

Extended abstract submission deadline is June 5, 2022!

As a short talk or poster presenter you automatically participate in the renowned Best Presentation Award Program that is supported by Metrohm and DSM. The total prize sum (cash, travel awards and publication vouchers) is more than CHF 42'000. Don't miss this opportunity and submit your abstract by next Sunday.

Program Highlights

  • Two plenary sessions with lectures of four SCS prize winners 2022
  • Nine thematic parallel sessions with keynote lectures and 15min PhD presentations
  • Poster Session during the Lunch Break
  • Best oral and best poster presentation award ceremony
  • Commercial Exhibition

Topics of the Parallel Sessions are

  • Analytical Sciences
  • Catalysis Science & Engineering
  • Computational Chemistry
  • Chemistry and the Environment
  • Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry
  • Medicinal Chemistry & Chemical Biology
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Physical Chemistry
  • Polymers, Colloids & Interfaces

David Spichiger, SCS
30.05.2022

The call for nominations for the SCS Awards 2023 is open until September 30, 2022.
Please visit our Website for further details and hand in nominations electronically to

Werner Prize
CHF 10'000 and medal in bronze. Awarded to a promising young scientist for outstanding independent chemical research.

Sandmeyer Award
CHF 10'000 for individuals or CHF 20'000 for groups. Awarded to a person or to a group for outstanding work in industrial or applied chemistry.

SCS Industrial Science Awards
This program includes awards on three career levels with cash checks of CHF 7'000, 10'000 and 15’000. It honors active industrial scientists working in Switzerland for their outstanding contributions in industrial R&D.

Green & Sustainable Chemistry Award
CHF 10’000. Honors outstanding scientific discoveries that lay the foundation for environmentally friendly approaches and products. It is supported by Syngenta as founding partner and SusChem Switzerland as hosting institution.  

Grammaticakis-Neumann Award
CHF 5’000. The Prize is awarded to a promising young scientist for outstanding accomplishments in the field of experimental or theoreticalphotochemistry. 

Balmer Prize
CHF 2'000 for individuals and CHF 2'000 for the school’s chemistry department or CHF 3'000 for a group and CHF 1'000 for the school’s chemistry department. Awarded to a teacher working in Switzerland at high school (gymnasium) level for innovation in chemistry teaching.

Dr. Max Lüthi Award
CHF 1'000 and medal in bronze. Presented for an outstanding diploma thesis in Chemistry conducted at a Swiss University of Applied Sciences.

Simon-Widmer Award
CHF 5’000. Honors distinguished scientists for their contribution to analytical science and the education of analytical scientists.

METAS Award
CHF 5’000. Honors outstanding contribution to the field of metrology in chemistry and/or biology.

Cancer Drug Discovery Research Award
CHF 10'000 in total for 2-4 winners. The award (supported by RGCC International) honors outstanding scientific achievements of MSc, PhD students or Postdocs from Switzerland that are working in the field of cancer drug discovery research.

DMCCB PhD Prize
Certificate and cash check of CHF 1’500. The prize is for exceptional PhD theses in the field of Medicinal Chemistry and/or Chemical Biology completed at a Swiss University or ETH/EPF

DIAC Fellowship
CHF 1'000 and lecture tour in Switzerland. The distinction is granted to distinguished scientists from Industry for significant contributions and innovations over many years in the field of industrial chemistry and chemical process technology in Switzerland.

scg.ch/awards

 

David Spichiger, SCS
17.05.2022

The SCS Fall Meeting is the major regularly organized event of the Swiss Chemical Society and one of the largest annual research conferences in Switzerland. For decades, the SCS Fall Meeting has been a great platform for young chemists trained in Switzerland to present their research - often for the first time ever at a major conference - and to be inspired by the people they meet there.

SCS Fall Meeting 2022
University of Zurich, Irchel Campus
September 8, 2022, 08.30-18.30h
fm22.scg.ch

The Scientific Program offers Award Lectures presented by leaders in their respective fields, as well as invited and contributed lectures in nine thematic sessions covering most areas of chemical sciences. For each of these thematic sessions there will also be a poster session. We expect a total of more than 100 oral contributions and more than 400 posters. 

> Apply for a Short Talk (15min) or a Poster Presentation (A0 format) in one of the nine sessions by submitting your abstract after the registration.
Participation and abstract submission is free of charge for SCS members.

Abstract submission deadline is June 5, 2022!

Program Highlights

  • Two plenary sessions with lectures of four SCS prize winners 2022
  • Nine thematic parallel sessions with keynote lectures and 15min PhD presentations
  • Poster Session during the Lunch Break
  • Best oral and best poster presentation award ceremony
  • Commercial Exhibition

Topics of the Parallel Sessions are

  • Analytical Sciences
  • Catalysis Science & Engineering
  • Computational Chemistry
  • Chemistry and the Environment
  • Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry
  • Medicinal Chemistry & Chemical Biology
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Physical Chemistry
  • Polymers, Colloids & Interfaces

Fall Meeting Chairs 2022

  • Prof. Roger Alberto
  • Dr. Hans Peter Lüthi

Website: https://fm22.scg.ch

 

David Spichiger, SCS
02.05.2022

  1. Short Review and Photos of the SCS Spring Meeting 2022
  2. Financial Statement 2021 and SCS General Assembly 2022
  3. ScienceComm'22: Register now!
  4. Chemistry Europe Award 2023: Call for nominations

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