Report: Visit Each Other at ETH Zurich

On the 15^th June 2019, the second edition of the “Visit Each Other” initiative took place at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) of Zürich. Organized by the Swiss Young Chemists’ Association (SYCA) and sponsored by the Swiss Chemical Society (SCS), this event is an excellent opportunity for the groups of the host institution to showcase their work and for the visitors to network and become aware of the cutting-edge research that is performed in the laboratory next door. 

The visit started at the ETH campus Hönggerberg from the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences (D-CHAB), where the Laboratory of Prof. Christophe Copéret was represented by Ms. Margherita Pucino (Figure 1a,b). Her amazing results in the field of organometallic catalysts-mediated C=C metathesis demonstrated once more that it is at the meeting point between basic and applied research where technological breakthroughs can arise. 

Moving to the Department of Materials (D-MATL) and to the Multifunctional Materials Laboratory, led by Prof. Markus Niederberger, Dr. Walter Remo Caseri unraveled the chemical secrets of roman concrete (Figure 1c), Ms. Murielle Schreck discussed the production of photocatalytic aerogels (Figure 1d), while the use of lipid vesicles as nanoreactors and the development of wearable batteries were the topics respectively of Mr. Cvjetan Nemanjaand Ms. Linda Wehner. 

Figure 1. Moments of the visit to (a,b) Prof. Copéret Laboratory, (c,d) Prof. Niederberger Laboratory.

The variegated activities of the Laboratory of Soft and Living Materials (Prof. Eric R. Dufresne) were then presented by Ms. Tianqi Sai (structural colors by colloidal assembly), Mr. Alexandre Torzynsky (mechanical properties of lipid vesicles and bilayers) and Dr. Guido Panzarasa (complex chemical dynamics for the development of transient, self-regulating materials).

The permanent exhibition on the history of chemistry, with its collection of chemicals, instruments and other laboratory paraphernalia from the 19th century, gave the opportunity to consider that modern chemists really stand on the shoulders of past giants such as Werner, Ruzicka, Staudinger and many others which also contributed to make the chemical research performed at ETH a worldwide model. 

After so much food for thought, it became time to consider actual food too! The lunch took place on the terrasse of the restaurant “Die Waid”, from which the eye could also rejoice from the beautiful view over Oerlikon and Zürich (Figure 2). 

Figure 2. Lunch at the restaurant “Die Waid”.

The event was concluded after a brief tour of the historical building of ETH Zentrum, which gave also the possibility to enjoy the view from the Polyterrasse, and a stroll in Zürich around the Limmat.  

In total, 14 people attended the event, of which two were post-doctoral researchers and the others PhD students. The visitors came from EPFL (Lausanne), PSI (Villigen) as well as from ETH. The first “Visit Each Other” took place in EPFL last year; the next will be hosted at the University of Bern, soon after the summer break.

Dr. Guido Panzarasa, ETHZ and SYCA
17.06.2019

Swiss Young Chemists' Association: 'Visit Each Other' @ETH, June 15, 2019

While performing your research in Switzerland, what do you know about other Swiss research institutes and their locations? If the answer is “not a lot”, then we are happy to invite you to another 'visit each other' event, organized by the Swiss Young Chemists’ Association (SYCA):

SYCA's "Visit Each Other"@ ETH - Saturday 15 June 2019

Program

Contact

Guido Panzarasa, ETH Zurich and Member of the SYCA board

Registration

The places are limited! If you are interested, please register (deadline June 10^th) by sending an e-mail to:  

David Spichiger, SCS
27.05.2019

14th European Young Chemists’ Network Delegate Assembly

The 14^th Delegate Assembly (DA) of the European Young Chemists’ Network (EYCN) took place in Bremen on March 17-20, 2019 and it was organized in collaboration with the German Young Chemists’ Network (GDCh-JCF). The Swiss Young Chemists’ Association (SYCA) was represented by
two Delegates, namely Dr. Jovana V. Milić and Amin Hodaei (EPFL).

During the DA, EYCN Delegates and former Board members presented their activities. Moreover, anumber of special guests contributed to the event. The German Chemical Society (GDCh) CEO, Prof. Wolfram Koch, welcomed the EYCN delegates and attendees. The President of European Chemical Society (EuChemS), Pilar Goya Laza, together with the Science Communication and Policy Officer, Alex Schiphorst, talked about the role and actions of EuChemS.Furthermore, American Chemical Society (ACS) was represented by Jackie O’Neil and Juan Carlos Aponte-Santini (ACS-YCC), whereas other insightful contributions were provided by Bibiana Campos-Seijo (Editor-in-Chief of C&EN), CatherineRawlins (Conference Presence Chair of IYCN), Christian Bürger (CEO of chembid GmbH), Anni Siltanen (ECEG, the Finnish Chemical Industry), as well as Matthias Kleff (Evonik Industries, long-term partner of the EYCN). 

The 14^thDA also involved the elections of the new Board of EYCN.The SYCA Delegate, Dr. Jovana V. Milić (EPFL), was elected Team Leader of the Networks team, formerly led by Dr. Victor Mougel (currently Professor at ETH Zurich). The team is dedicated to increasing the impact of EYCN through its activities and international partnerships with academia, industry, and governmental bodies, while connecting and supporting young chemists. Moreover, Amin Hodaei (EPFL) joined the Global Communications team as a participating Delegate. Over the next two years, the EYCN will continue with the activities and public outreach, promoting the interactions of the young chemists across Europe. The next DA will take place in February 2020 in Sitges, Spain, and it will be organized by the Catalan Chemical Society. The participation of the Swiss Delegates will hopefully promote closer collaboration between the two associations.

Participants of the 14^thEYCN Delegate Assembly in Bremen, Germany in March 2019

For more information about EYCN, please refer to their website www.eycn.eu.

The Swiss Young Chemists Association
in collaboration with the EYCN Team
07.05.2019

The Morpheus Cup is back in Luxembourg

The fifth edition of the largest European Universities & Graduate Schools Championship will take place in Luxembourg City on May 22nd2019 at the European Convention Center. Supported by the European Commission since its first edition, held in 2015, the Morpheus Cup has attracted hundreds of students from campuses all over Europe, with the ambition of tackling the upcoming talent shortage. 

After being held in Paris in 2018, the European event returns to the Grand Duchy, where the competition began. The event already attracted more than 200 campuses and awarded many of them including Warsaw School of Economics, Mannheim Business School, HEC Paris, Autonomous University of Barcelona, University of Oxford, as well as students from Luxembourg, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and many other countries.  

The championship is divided into two sections, the Morpheus Prize, a remote call for projects, and the Morpheus Day, a full day of live challenges: students can decide whether they participate in one or both parts. This championship is a great opportunity for students to challenge themselves, showcase their skills in front of influential personalities and industry experts at European scale; gaining self confidence and credibility for their idea.   

The Morpheus Prize requires participants to submit a project or startup idea online by April 7th.  

Finalists will have the opportunity to pitch in front of an international jury composed of renowned personalities in tech, digital, business and sciences. Past editions welcomed jury members from Google Lunar XPrize, WarnerBros, Accenture, European Investment Fund, FC Barcelona, ESA, Canal+, Novak Djokovic Foundation, Alibaba, Forbes France, etc. This year's projects will focus on the notably growing tech fields, including Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Customer Experience, FinTech, HealthTech, E-commerce, HRTech, Augmented and Virtual Reality.  

The Morpheus Day invites students to participate in a full day of themed challenges and to solve business questions designed by international employers and brands on specific topics, including: Technology & ICT, Business, Marketing, Science & Engineering, Creative industries.  

Registration for students and recent graduates (less than 12 months) is now open on the Morpheus Cup website (http://www.morpheuscup.com/register-now) and it is completely free of charge. Moreover, the initial list of partners, jury members and employers will be unveiled soon online. 

The Top Reasons For Students to Participate in The Championship  

• It is the largest European Universities & Graduate Schools' Championship. 
• Chance to boost knowledge and develop an innovative project during the Morpheus Prize.
• Represent your School and Country internationally during the Morpheus Day. 
• Chance to showcase skills in front of leading brands looking for talents and renowned international judges. 
• Network and exchange ideas with European counterparts. 
• Free access to ICT Spring, the global Tech conference featuring renowned professionals in their fields.   
• Chance to win different awards, boost soft skills, and gain credibility and awareness for your idea/project.
  
  

About the Morpheus Cup  

One of a kind, the Morpheus Cup, organised by Farvest Group invites the greatest talents among European students to compete together through innovative projects and a day of themed challenges. More than 200 campuses from over 20 countries have sent their teams or projects supported by 80 employers and innovative brands.   

More information: http://www.morpheuscup.com

David Spichiger, SCS
13.02.2019