www.jugend-forscht-bw.de

As part of the CRC's activities, "4f for Future" supported the "Jugend forscht" project of Malte Willmann (Justus-Knecht-Gymnasium, Bruchsal, together with the Jugendforschungszentrum (center for young researchers) Schwarzwald-Schönbuch) by performing measurements on a single-crystal X-ray diffractometer at KIT's AOC. 

With more than 10,000 participants annually, "Jugend forscht" (literal translation: “Youth researches”) is a German youth science competition and the biggest of its kind in Europe. Mr. Willmann won the first prize (chemistry) in the Baden-Württemberg state competition this year with his project on jasmine scent against fungal diseases. 

HHU Düsseldorf

Pia Heinrichs and Sophie Gutenthaler-Tietze, from the research group of Prof. Lena Daumann (HHU Düsseldorf), have recently launched an inspiring science communication initiative: “Meet a Scientist”.

As part of the project, funded by the Bürgeruniversität Düsseldorf, the two early-career researchers visit schools to share their personal journeys into science and talk about their exciting research on lanthanide-utilizing bacteria. Their goal is to spark curiosity, inspire the next generation of scientists, and make science more relatable and accessible.

Want to learn more? Visit their website: https://www.bioac.hhu.de/meet-a-scientist.

If you're a teacher and would like to invite them to speak to your class, don't hesitate to get in touch: meetascientist@hhu.de. 

C. Ritschel, CRC 1573

The CRC Spring Seminar Days 2025 were held in Wildberg on April 7-8. The event, attended by more than 40 participants, was organized by project leaders Prof. Stefanie Dehnen and Prof. Manfred Kappes, along with our IRTG manager Christian Ritschel. Over the course of two days, doctoral researchers from various CRC projects delivered a series of presentations and discussions on physics and chemistry of 4f elements.

The program was further enriched by talks such as “Engagement in Science Inside and Outside the Laboratory” by Prof. Kappes and “Family and Academic Career (as a Woman): Is That Compatible?” by Prof. Dehnen. A networking session with professionals from various industrial and business branches provided an opportunity to explore career opportunities. In addition, Dr. Olya Vvedenskaya from Dragonfly Mental Health gave an insightful guest lecture on Mental Health Literacy. 

CAS / J. Gutenthaler-Tietze

Congratulations to Dr. Sophie Gutenthaler-Tietze, postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Lena Daumann's group at HHU Düsseldorf, who was appointed a 2025 CAS Future Leader in the American Chemical Society's program to support the growth of science leadership among early-career scientists. This year's participants were selected from among hundreds of highly qualified applicants, representing a wide array of scientific disciplines and organizations from around the world. 

Sophie has been working in "4f for Future" for quite a while and completed her PhD on bio-inspired Ln-binding peptides and isolating metallophores from methylotrophic bacteria in early 2025. She is also a very dedicated science communication enthusiast.

CRC 1573

As a guest of our CRC Prof. Dr. Polly L. Arnold OBE FRS  (in the photo on the left), director of the Chemical Sciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and professor of chemistry at UC Berkeley, USA, visited KIT from March 14-17, 2025.

Organized by our project leader and host Prof. Dr. Tonya Vitova, the visit included not only fruitful discussions with other project leaders on topics closely related to "4f for Future" but also two public lectures on “A new class of earth abundant metal catalysts for dinitrogen conversion at ambient conditions” and “Transuranic organometallic chemistry”, respectively. The tight but rich schedule was complemented by an insightful career development event for young female researchers from our CRC meeting and discussing with our guest.  

Claus Feldmann, CRC 1573

Our project leader Prof. Claus Feldmann visited the Technical School in Aalen on February 20, 2025, to awaken their students' interest in science and chemistry in general - and rare-earth chemistry in particular. As a follow-up on the school's visit to KIT last year, Prof. Feldmann gave an inspiring presentation on the bliss of studying chemistry, our CRC "4f for Future", and the use of lanthanides in today's applications. The new students in grades 11-13 - a total of 80 young ladies and gentlemen - very much appreciated these insights and the fruitful discussions afterwards. 

Stefanie Dehnen / KIT

Congratulations to our Mercator Fellow Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Roberta Sessoli (Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy), leading expert in molecular magnetism: she received her certificate of appointment as a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina on February 19, 2025, during the ceremony in Halle (Saale), Germany (Prof. Sessoli is the 5th from the left in the group photo).              

EuChemS

The upcoming policy workshop "The Rare Earth Elements: These high tech enablers" on May 14, 2025, will focus on the impact of using rare earth elements (REEs) on reserves, resources, geopolitics, and the environment, as well as on REE applications and REE recycling. 

Conscious of the importance to link science to society, the European Chemical Society (EuChemS) organises policy workshops where science meets citizens and policymakers to debate and provide scientific feedback and answers to some of the most pressing challenges we face. 

Our CRC speaker Prof. Peter W. Roesky will lead this event at the European Parliament and the EuChemS office, both in Brussels, as scientific chair; the list of speakers includes project leader Prof. Mario Ruben. More information can be found here.