This year’s Chemiedozententagung or Young Professors’ Meeting took place on March 2–4, 2015 at the University of Regensburg, Germany. The event is held annually as a gathering of chemistry professors with the aim of giving up-and-coming professors a chance to present their work to more senior members in the field. Traditionally, the meeting has been used by younger and senior researchers with the view of filling available positions within the German language university system.

The meeting is organized by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Universitätsprofessoren und -professorinnen für Chemie (ADUC, Association of German University Professors of Chemistry) of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh, German Chemical Society). The ADUC was founded in 1897 as an association of laboratory directors at German universities. Since 1999, it is a working group in the GDCh.

In Regensburg approx. 300 participants discussed nearly 100 presentations during three parallel tracks. Topics included all kinds of catalysis including photo- and biocatalysis, innovative materials, spin crossover, water splitting, analysis of chemical bonds, metal-organic frameworks, asymmetric synthesis, and structure-function relationship of biomolecules such as DNA and proteins.

Professor Alexander Schiller, University of Jena, and Dr. Kallol Ray, Humboldt-University, Berlin, presenting their research.

The conference also provided plenty of time for fruitful discussions.

Evenings
The conversations continued in the evenings at the get-together (1st evening) and the conference dinner (2nd evening). The conference dinner took place at the Salzstadel (Salt House) next to the Stone Bridge in the old town of Regensburg. It was built in 1616 for the storage of salt.

Professor Udo Hebel (pictured left), president of the University of Regensburg, said in his introductory talk that alredy in 1420 Duke Albrecht IV of Bavaria persued the foundation of a universtiy in Regensburg. However, due to economic reasons the idea had to be postponed. Finally, in 1962 the university was founded and officially opened to students in 1967.

Learning and Teaching in the Digital Age
A workshop on e-learning and the future of textbooks – electronic as well as print – was held by Dr. Gudrun Walter and colleagues from Wiley-VCH. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on topics such as present and potential future use of electronic tools for knowledge transfer, apps, and newsgroups. Thereafter, they had a lively discussion on the needs and wishes of university teachers, students, and librarians. (You can join the questionnaire (German only); e-mail to [email protected] before March 31.)

The general opinion was that electronic material has advantages in terms of visualization and could be a suitable complement for, e.g., preparation of practical courses. However, the tenor was that printed textbooks still offer many advantages over electronic teaching methods.

Awards
The Horst Precejus Prize and the Carl Duisberg Memorial Prize of the GDCh have been awarded to Professor F. Dean Toste, University of California, Berkeley, USA, and Dr. Kallol Ray, Humboldt-University, Berlin, Germany, respectively.
The recipients of the annual ADUC prizes were Dr. Tanja Gaich, University of Hanover, Dr. Viktoria H. Däschlein-Geßner, University of Würzburg, and Dr. Michael Sommer, University of Freiburg, all Germany.

From left to right: Mrs. Ray and Dr. Kallol Ray, Humboldt-University, Berlin, Germany, Professor Christian Limberg, Humboldt-University, Berlin (held the laudatio), Professor Wolfram Koch, Executive Director of the GDCh, Professor F. Dean Toste, University of California, Berkeley, USA, Dr. Thomas Geelhaar, Merck KGaA and President of the GDCh. © GDCh

From left to right: Professor Roland Winter, TU Dortmund and president of the ADUC, Dr. Tanja Gaich, University of Hanover, Dr. Viktoria H. Däschlein-Geßner, University of Würzburg, Dr. Michael Sommer, University of Freiburg, and Professor Arno Pfizner, University of Regensburg (organizer of the conference), all Germany. © GDCh

Chemiedozententagung 2016
The next Chemiedozententagung will be held in Heidelberg from March 21–23, 2016.

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Also of interest:

• Horst Pracejus Prize 2015
  F. Dean Toste, University of California, Berkeley, USA, honored
• 2015 Carl Duisberg Memorial Prize
  Kallol Ray, Humboldt-University, Berlin, Germany, honored
• ADUC Prizes 2014
  Tanja Gaich, Viktoria H. Däschlein-Geßner, and Michael Sommer honored