3rd SEC Annual Meeting, Bitterfeld Wolfen 3-5 June 2010
Under the motto "Like a phoenix rising from the ashes", senior and young chemists met in Bitterfeld-Wolfen from 3 to 5 June 2010.
The third SEC annual meeting in 2010 exceeded the success of the previous conferences in Hanau with around 250 participants. The local organisers, Egon Fanghänel, Horst Hennig and Rainer Moll, and the scientific committee made a significant contribution to this with an attractive programme. The conference venue was the Bitterfeld-Wolfen Municipal Culture Centre. Many thanks are due to all those responsible for preparing the meeting, especially from the local Technology and Start-up Centre (TGZ).
The chemical site of Bitterfeld-Wolfen was synonymous with a polluted environment 25 years ago1). A tour of the now rehabilitated site with state-of-the-art production facilities and industrial monuments showed visitors the success of the gigantic remediation work that has been going on for 15 years. The same applies to the Leuna industrial site visited. The German Chemical Museum in Merseburg was also impressive: apparatus for chlor-alkali electrolysis, synthetic rubber and high-pressure technology are reminders of the epochal advances made in chemistry in the 20th century.
The evening event was opened by SEC Chairman Horst Altenburg. The Mayor of Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Petra Wust, the TGZ Managing Director, Kurt Lausch, the President of the GDCh, Michael Dröscher, and the Deputy Federal Spokesman of the JCF, Arne Bernsdorf, gave welcoming speeches. Heiner Lück then presented an early achievement of the region: the "Sachsenspiegel", a law book written in German by Eike von Repgow almost 800 years ago with far-reaching effects in Europe up to the present day.
The theme of the first day of the conference was "The transformation of Bitterfeld-Wolfen as a chemical site". As Michael Polk described, a centre of chemical research and production emerged around 1890 thanks to cheap lignite, Mulde water and favourable transport links. From 1945 onwards, a wide variety of products were manufactured in the Bitterfeld chemical combine, often at the expense of the environment. After exemplary remediation, 1200 hectares of the previously highly polluted region were transformed into the modern ChemiePark Bitterfeld-Wolfen. Christian H. Schleicher's presentation described the exemplary development of Bayer Bitterfeld with the aim of creating new jobs and preserving the chemical site. Jörg Gloede reported on the development of the growth regulator Ethephon. This made it possible to break the alternance of plant flowering, bring about earlier flowering and ripening and significantly increase the yield of cereals by shortening the stalk.
The latest topics in bioorganic chemistry were presented by Annette G. Beck-Sickinger and Gunter Fischer. Peptides are successful in the treatment of autoimmune diseases thanks to coupling to lipids or polyethylene glycol. The understanding of protein folding can be used to treat diseases such as hepatitis C, asthma or stroke with suitable inhibitors. As Jörg Bagdahn described, university and industry are efficiently linked in research and production in the photovoltaic cluster. SolarValley, which is funded by the federal and state governments, aims above all to achieve technological market leadership in order to hold its own against competition from the Far East. Ernst R. Barenschee reported on lithium-ion batteries. Long service life, high safety and low costs are important here, especially in large-scale production. Rudolf Taube then gave an in-depth insight into the performance of modern homogeneous organometallic catalysts for regio- and enantioselective synthesis.This conference day ended with an exciting presentation on the myth and reality of ancient steels. Werner Kochmann reported on his many years of research, according to which the legendary very hard steels contain unusual carbon modifications.Saturday began with Hans-Jörg Hofmann's highly engaging presentation on 130 years of the eventful history of the "Old Chemical Institute" in Leipzig. Names such as Beckmann and Ostwald and discoveries such as the Nernst and Arrhenius equations reflect the importance of this historic centre of chemistry. Adolf Zschunke then showed how important the accuracy of measurements, transparent determination of measurement uncertainties and standardisation are for decisions in business, environmental protection, sport and law. Historian Michael Schneider focussed on the role of the chemical industry during the Nazi regime. He examined the question of the extent to which production and location decisions were autonomous industry decisions or political constraints. Finally, Carsten Tschierske provided an aesthetic insight into the supramolecular chemistry of liquid crystalline phases. His group is developing modular systems for this purpose, from which much can be learned about the self-organisation of small molecules.
The organisers had planned plenty of time for discussions between the lectures. There was also an opportunity to discuss the posters they presented with students from nearby universities - a delightful novelty at an SEC annual meeting, which was brought to a close in the early afternoon by former GDCh President Henning Hopf. According to legend, the phoenix has a life cycle of 500 to 1000 years. Perhaps a good omen for the industrial location of Bitterfeld-Wolfen and even for future SEC annual meetings!3rd SEC Annual Meeting, footer
| Wolfgang Gerhartz, Usrula Kraska, Ingeborg Lenze 1) M. Maron, Flugasche. S. Fischer, Frankfurt, 1981. | promoted by |  |
See also
Nachr. Chem. 2010, 58, 186
Nachr. Chem. 2010, 58, 947
Bitterfelder Ztg. 5 June 2010
VDI IngPost Halle
Photo gallery
List of lectures
| Many, but not all presentations are available as PDF. If you are interested, please send an email to Wolfgang Gerhartz | |
Thursday, 3 Jun 2010 | |
| Prof. Dr iur. Heiner Lück Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg |
Friday, 4 Jun 2010 | |
| Dr Michael Polk, Managing Director P-D ChemiePark Bitterfeld-Wolfen GmbH |
| Prof. Dr Jörg Gloede, formerly of the Central Institute for Organic Chemistry at the AdW, Berlin |
| Dr. Christian Schleicher, Managing Director Bayer Bitterfeld GmbH |
| Prof. Dr. Annette Gabriele Beck-Sickinger, University of Leipzig, Institute of Biochemistry |
| Prof. Dr Gunter Fischer, Director Max Planck Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Halle |
| Dr Ernst R. Barenschee, Litarion GmbH, Kamenz |
| Prof. Dr. Jörg Bagdahn, Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials, Halle |
| Prof. Dr Rudolf Taube, German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Halle |
| Prof. Dr Werner Kochmann, formerly Chemie AG Bitterfeld-Wolfen |
Saturday, 5 Jun 2010 | |
| Prof. Dr Hans-Jörg Hofmann, University of Leipzig, Institute of Biochemistry |
| Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Adolf Zschunke, formerly Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin |
| Dr. Michael C. Schneider, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Chair of Economic and Social History |
| Prof. Dr Carsten Tschierske, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg |
| Dipl.Ing. Kurt Lausch, TGZ Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Bitterfeld-Wolfen |