Changes on the CHIMIA Editorial Board

From January 1, 2026, there will be changes to the CHIMIA Editorial Board. 

Dr. Fridtjof Schroeder, until very recently a research scientist at Givaudan, will be joining the Board to take up the position of Editor-in-Chief from 2027. His experience in industrial chemistry and research interests in process development including green chemistry and biotechnology will ensure a continuation of excellent special topics for CHIMIA. He will work together with the current Editor-in-Chief Catherine Housecroft during 2026 to learn the processes involved and to guarantee a smooth transition in 2027. The Editorial Board of CHIMIA welcomes him!

Prof. Catherine Housecroft, professor emerita at the University of Basel, joined the Editorial Board in 2018 and took over as Editor-in-Chief in 2020. She has invited guest editors from the most diverse fields of the chemical sciences to produce issues that covered all the traditional subjects and topics of increasing interest, such as AI, the environment, and materials science. With her extensive experience in publishing including editorships at other journals, she has contributed greatly to the running and development of CHIMIA. Catherine also has a strong interest in chemical education, publishing textbooks in inorganic chemistry, and is active in the SCS Division of Chemical Education. She edits and is a frequent author of the Chemical Education column in CHIMIA. The Editorial Board of CHIMIA is very grateful to Catherine for all her efforts in the past and is pleased to announce that she will take over as Chair of the Editorial Board from the beginning of 2026.

Dr. Gillian Harvey, the current Chair of the Editorial Board, will resign this position at the end of 2025. She has worked for CHIMIA since 1999 as technical editor, incorporating and developing many changes to the publication processes including digitalisation. Gillian retired as technical editor at the beginning of 2024 and handed over to Gordon Honeyman. She took over as Chair of the Editorial Board in 2019 from Roland Kunz. Gillian introduced changes to the format and general appearance of the journal with a redesign of the title page and supported the webmaster Martin Brändle and SCS Head Office in setting up a website based on OJS to enable all activities from submission through to online publishing. This in turn enabled the journal to be flipped to diamond open access in 2020. Gillian is grateful to all the Editorial Board members over the years who supported her work and is also appreciative of the opportunities she was given to develop and to, hopefully, make a difference to CHIMIA.

G. Harvey, D. Spichiger, SCS
27.11.2025

EuChemS Magazine: November 2025

Policy, research and community perspectives on chemistry in Europe and beyond

Explore our monthly compilation of science-related policy developments in Europe and the latest EuChemS news in this newsletter. Check out our headline stories or read the EuChemS Magazine Online

Editorial by Floris Rutjes

Research

Perspectives

Policy News

Interview

Read the full magazine on: https://www.magazine.euchems.eu/

David Spichiger, SCS
24.11.2025

Abstract submissions for ECC10 now open

That abstract submissions for the 10th EuChemS Chemistry Congress (ECC10) are open, and we motivate all our members to consider a participation and to represent Switzerland in Antwerp, Belgium, from July 12-16, 2026.

This prestigious biennial congress will unite the chemistry and life sciences communities for five days of cutting-edge science and collaboration at the state-of-the-art Flanders Meeting & Convention Center Antwerp (FMCCA) in Antwerp, Belgium.

Celebrating Excellence in Chemistry
We're thrilled to celebrate the recent announcement of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi for their groundbreaking work in developing metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). These revolutionary molecular structures demonstrate chemistry's power to address global challenges: from harvesting water in arid regions to carbon capture and catalysis.
Notably, Professor Yaghi presented his pioneering research at ECC9 in Dublin, exemplifying the caliber of speakers and science that defines the EuChemS Chemistry Congresses.

Website and registration
https://euchems2026.eu

Submit your abstract
Researchers can present breakthrough work through oral presentations or poster sessions across 8 congress themes. All submitted abstracts undergo blind peer review to ensure scientific quality, innovation, and contribution to the field.

Key dates
Call for abstracts open: 20 October 2025
Call for abstracts closes: 20 December 2025
Notification of authors: 10 March 2026

David Spichiger, SCS
17.11.2025

 

Chemical Landmark 2026 of the SCNAT honors Arosa and Erwin Schrödinger

The Chemistry Platform of the Swiss Academy of Sciences has established the “Chemical Landmark” program to identify and highlight scientific and technological heritage in the field of chemistry within Switzerland.

Switzerland is particularly grateful to chemistry, its discoveries and successes in research, and the resulting chemical industry for a large part of its economic success. Significant places in the history of chemistry here in Switzerland are designated as “Historical Sites of Chemistry” in order to remind chemists, students, teachers, historians, and the general public of chemical discoveries, famous chemists, and the places where they worked.

In January 2026, Arosa will be designated a Chemical Landmark. Exactly 100 years ago, Erwin Schrödinger formulated the equation named after him here as a basis for quantum mechanics.

Instead of following his passion for skiing, physicist Erwin Schrödinger developed the so-called Schrödinger equation during his Christmas vacation in Arosa in 1925/1926. This equation allows us to describe the behavior of the smallest particles: not where they are, but how likely it is that they are at a certain position. The equation forms the foundation of quantum physics and quantum chemistry and has revolutionized science and society. Without it, there would be no computers, solar cells, GPS, or smartphones, among other things. In 1933, Schrödinger received the Nobel Prize for his work.

On January 11, 2026, the Platform Chemistry of the SCNAT invites interested community members to celebrate this achievement in Arosa. The event at Hotel Blatter's (Blatter's Arosa Hotel, Untere Waldpromenade 2-6, 7050 Arosa) is open to the public, but space is limited. Please register here:

Registration Chemical Landmark 2026, Arosa

Programm

Moderation: Prof. Dr. Caspar Hirschi (Universität St. Gallen)

16.00  Begrüssung - Prof. Dr. ​Jean-Marc Piveteau (Präsident SCNAT)
16.10  Erwin Schrödinger – Physiker jenseits der Konventionen
               Dr. Dr. Magdalena Gronau (Leibniz-Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturforschung, Berlin)
               Martin Gronau (Leibniz-Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturforschung, Berlin)
16.40  Quantenmechanik im Alltag - Prof. Dr. Andrea Hofmann (Universität Basel)
17.05  Von Wellenfunktionen zu Molekülen und Materialien – wie Schrödinger die Chemie veränderte - Prof. Dr. Fabian von Rohr (Universität Genf)
17.30  Spaziergang zur Gedenktafel – Laudatio und Enthüllung der Gedenktafel
               Prof. Dr. Christian Bochet (Universität Fribourg),
               Prof. Dr. Jean-Marc Piveteau (SCNAT),
               Prof. Dr. Laura Baudis (Universität Zürich),
               Yvonne Altmann (Gemeindepräsidentin Arosa),
               Ingo Schlösser (Direktor Tschuggen Grand Hotel)
18.00  Apéro
19.00  Ende

Disclaimer: „The cathedrals of science were built by people, not by saints, and while some committed truly reprehensible acts, when we use their names, we recognize their scientific contributions and honour their intellectual legacy, not their morals or political views.” Anna Krylov

David Spichiger, SCS / SCNAT.ch
17.11.2025

 

 

SCNAT Newsletter 09/2025

Page 2 of 304