ChemGeo Alumni-Newsletter SoSe 2022

Issue summer semester 2022

Dear Alumni and Friends of the Faculty of Chemistry and Earth Sciences,

finally! At last, it was and is possible to hold face-to-face events again: lectures and seminars as well as events for the public.

Therefore, we would like to give you some tips for excursions where you can experience geoscientific research at first hand, for example on a guided tour of the world-famous Bromacker fossil site in the Thuringian Forest. Excavations are taking place there again, in which researchers from the Institute of Geosciences at the University of Jena are also involved.

Enjoy reading and have a nice summer!

Your

Claudia Hilbert
(Dean's Office Faculty of Chemistry and Earth Sciences)

 

Content

News from the faculty (and university)

  • Hands-on geoscientific research: Two excursion tips
  • Glass is the focus of the current issue of the research magazine LICHTGEDANKEN
  • New Vice-President and new Professor

News around research and teaching

  • The Materials Science programme is excellent
  • 45 million euros for sustainable water research
  • Highest European research funding for Prof. Dr Ulrich S. Schubert

Impressions from Jena: University's Information Day finally on site again

Imprint

News from the faculty (and university)

Visitors can learn more about the diversity of habitats in the new permanent exhibition on the treetop path in the Hainich designed by Jena researchers.
Visitors can learn more about the diversity of habitats in the new permanent exhibition on the treetop path in the Hainich designed by Jena researchers.
Image: Robert Lehmann/ Universität Jena

Hands-on geoscientific research: Two excursion tips

New permanent exhibition on biodiversity on the Hainich treetop trail

The new permanent exhibition in the treetop path in Hainich National Park is dedicated to the topic of biodiversity and it was designed by Prof. Dr Kai Uwe Totsche and his team from the Institute of Geosciences at the University of Jena.

The exhibition "Diversity of life and habitats under our feet" deals with the role of biodiversity for the functions and services of ecosystems, their importance for humans and the threats posed by climate change. It opened in March 2022 and can be visited during the opening hours of the treetop trail in the Hainich National Park daily from 10 am to 4 pm (November to March) or from 10 am to 7 pm (April to October).

Learn more about the permanent exhibition on the treetop trail in HainichExternal link

Action months at the Bromacker fossil site

Want to look over the shoulders of geologists and palaeontologists and dive into the world of the primordial dinosaurs together with them? That's possible until October at the Bromacker fossil site in the Thuringian Forest.

Excavations are taking place there again this summer, as well as deep geological drilling at Hainfelsen and Gallberg - including free guided tours for the public. In addition, the "Bromacker Lab", an interactive exhibition on the region's geological history, recently opened at Schloss Friedensstein in Gotha. The events are part of the "Bromacker" research project launched in 2020, in which Prof. Dr Christoph Heubeck and his team from the Institute of Geosciences at the University of Jena are also involved.

Here is an overview of all events during the "Bromacker Action Months":

  • Guided tours at the Bromacker excavation site: 27.7-20.8, Wednesdays and Saturdays 10 am, free of charge.
  • Guided tours of the deep boreholes: until October, Wednesdays 2 p.m., free of charge
  • Bromacker Lab at Schloss Friedensstein Gotha, open daily except Mondays 10 a.m.-5 p.m., free admission
  • Family days on 5.8., 12.8. and 19.8.: daytime programme including a special trip on the Thuringian Forest Railway and a visit to the Bromacker excavation site

Bromacker Action Months: Learn more about the dates and registrationExternal link

Learn more about the Bromacker research projectExternal link

 

Pierre Stallforth is the new Professor of Bioorganic Chemistry and Palaeobiotechnology.
Pierre Stallforth is the new Professor of Bioorganic Chemistry and Palaeobiotechnology.
Image: Anna Schroll/Leibniz-HKI

New Vice-President and new Professor

The chemical computer scientist Prof. Dr Chistoph Steinbeck is the new Vice President for Digitisation at the University of Jena. This means that two chemists are now members of the Presidential Board of the Friedrich Schiller University.

The faculty already welcomed a new face at the beginning of the year: Prof. Dr Pierre Stallforth is the new Professor of Bioorganic Chemistry and Palaeobiotechnology at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry. The chemist was previously a junior research group leader and department head at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute (Leibniz-HKI) in Jena.

Learn more on the newly established Vice Presidency for DigitalisationExternal link

Learn more about Prof. Dr Pierre Stallforth and his research interestsExternal link

 

The topic of "glass" is the focus of the current summer issue of the research magazine LICHTGEDANKEN.
The topic of "glass" is the focus of the current summer issue of the research magazine LICHTGEDANKEN.
Image: Claudia Hilbert/Universität Jena

Glass is the focus of the current issue of the research magazine LICHTGEDANKEN

The United Nations has proclaimed 2022 the "International Year of Glass", in the preparation and design of which Jena researchers were and are also involved. To mark the occasion, the current issue of the University of Jena's research magazine "LICHTGEDANKEN" is dedicated to the topic of glass. It is about glass research in Jena, which began in the 19th century with the work of Otto Schott and where research is still being carried out today on new types of glass and forward-looking applications.

The programme includes an interview with Prof. Dr.-Ing Lothar Wondraczek, in which he explains how glass can help us live more sustainably. Two reports on the research work of Prof. Dr Delia Brauer and Prof. Dr Falko Langenhorst also show why glass is so well suited for regenerating human tissue and what we can learn about our solar system from glass. And Dr Franziska Scheffler reports on her research on volcanic glass.

To the digital edition of "LICHTGEDANKEN"External link

 

Host box made of Saale gold is a new jewel in the Mineralogical Collection

The Mineralogical Collection of the University of Jena has been enriched by a special exhibit: for the next two years, a 17th century host box made of Saale gold will be on display in the exhibition rooms. The hosti box is on loan from the Evangelical Lutheran Parish of Jena and, according to curator Dr Birgit Kreher-Hartmann, "special in two ways, namely on the one hand from a mineralogical point of view and on the other hand with regard to its original owner".

The Mineralogical Collection (Sellierstraße 6) is open to the public on Mondays and Thursdays 1-5 p.m. and Sundays with advance notice 1-5 pm. Admission is free. The current special exhibition "Raw materials - from mobile phones to e-cars" has been extended and can be seen until 10 October.

Learn more about the host boxExternal link

 

News around research and teaching

In the CHE university ranking, the study programme "Materials Science" achieved top marks.
In the CHE university ranking, the study programme "Materials Science" achieved top marks.
Image: Jens Meyer (University of Jena)

The Materials Science programme is excellent

In the current university ranking by the Centre for Higher Education Development (CHE) from May 2022, the Materials Science programme achieved top marks: The subject is in the top group nationwide for all factors - with the exception of rooms, which only receive a medium grade from the students.

The Materials Science programme (B.Sc., M.Sc.) is offered jointly by the Faculty of Chemistry and Earth Sciences and the Faculty of Physicas and Astronomy at the University of Jena. Students learn the basics of natural sciences and engineering and deal with the properties, production and application of various materials such as glass, plastics and ceramics.

Learn more about the results of the CHE University RankingExternal link

 

45 million euros for sustainable water research

Research into new, forward-looking approaches to a safe and sustainable water supply will receive long-term funding in Thuringia. The "Thuringian Water Innovation Cluster" prevailed in the final round of the "Clusters4Future" competition and will be funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research from 2023. Over the next nine years, up to 45 million euros in funding will flow into the development of new water technologies and research into how society deals with this increasingly scarce resource.

The cluster is an initiative of a team led by Prof. Dr Michael Stelter from the Institute for Technical Chemistry and Environmental Chemistry at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS and Ernst Abbe University Jena.

Learn more about the Thuringian Water Innovation ClusterExternal link

 

Highest European research funding for Prof. Dr Ulrich S. Schubert

The Centre for Energy and Environmental Chemistry (CEEC Jena) at the University of Jena has been successfully working on the "battery of the future" for years. Now the research can be advanced with European help: Prof. Dr Ulrich S. Schubert is being funded with a so-called "ERC Advanced Grant" from the European Research Council (ERC). Over the next five years, the chemist and materials scientist will receive around 2.5 million euros for the new research project "FutureBAT". The ERC Advanced Grant is the most highly endowed European research funding for individuals and at the same time the most important European award for outstanding scientists.

At the end of June 2022, the topping-out ceremony was held for two CEEC Jena extensions. Two new research buildings are being built on the Landgrafen campus: CEEC Jena II and the CEEC Jena Application Centre. The two new buildings are being financed by the federal and state governments with funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and with support from the Ernst Abbe Foundation, the Carl Zeiss Foundation and the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena.

Learn more about the new research project FutureBATExternal link

 

More news around research and teaching de

Information

Graduate portraits wanted

We would like to know how our graduates fared after their studies. Such personal experience reports illustrate the wide range of career opportunities and they also help pupils and current students. Would you also like to tell us about your professional career? Then please contact us by e-mail at claudia.hilbert@uni-jena.de. We are happy about every new graduate portrait!

Impressions from Jena: University's Information Day finally on site again

Around 1,200 visitors from all over Germany came to the University of Jena's  Information Day (HIT) on 14 May 2022 to find out about thestudy programmes and to talk to students and lecturers. The HIT was able to take place in attendance again for the first time since 2019 - a relief and great pleasure for everyone involved. The individual departments of the Faculty of Chemistry and Earth Sciences were also there again with information stands, experimental lectures and talks.

Learn more about the study programmes of the Faculty of Chemistry and Earth Sciences

On 14 May 2022, after a break due to corona, Information Day of the University of Jena  was held on site for the first time since 2019.
On 14 May 2022, after a break due to corona, Information Day of the University of Jena was held on site for the first time since 2019.
Image: Christoph Worsch (University of Jena)
Am Infostand Biogeowissenschaften zum Hochschulinformationstag 2022
At the information stand biogeosciences
Experimentalvorlesung Chemie im Döbereiner-Hörsaal zum Hochschulinformationstag 2022
Experimental Lecture Chemistry in the Döbereiner Lecture Hall

Imprint

Publisher: Faculty of Chemistry and Earth Sciences of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Humboldtstr. 11, 07743 Jena
Editoral Office: Claudia Hilbert
Email: claudia.hilbert@uni-jena.de
Phone: +49 3641 948005
Web: http://www.chemgeo.uni-jena.de/ImpressumExternal link

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