5th SEC Technology Tour: Senior chemists from GDCh and VAA visit Hundertwasser House and Merck in Darmstadt

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A tried and tested concept: joint excursions by Senior Expert Chemists (SEC) from the GDCh and retired VAA members from the Hanau-Wolfgang plant group. Technology combined with art and enjoyment: the fifth SEC Technology Tour on 14 Nov 2013, which included the Waldspirale (the Hundertwasser House) and the Merck company in Darmstadt.

Ulrike Strobl, a fellow chemist, organised the visit to Merck to perfection. We had previously chosen organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) as our main topic. Merck is currently conducting intensive research in this specialised field. Beforehand, however, the senior citizens were able to admire Merck's 1 km2 site in Darmstadt from the bus. Dr Voges from OLED research then welcomed them with a presentation on the mode of operation and possible applications of organic light-emitting diodes - naturally with the help of an OLED screen measuring several square metres. The centrepiece of an OLED is a thin layer of semiconducting organic compounds that emit light when a voltage is applied. OLED displays are self-luminous and therefore, unlike LCD screens, do not require a backlight. In addition, they can be produced on curved or even flexible materials, they show rich colours and, above all, a deep black. Thanks to the possibility of printing the display electronics onto a substrate (instead of vapour deposition), OLED screens can be produced much more cheaply in the future. The new OLED research building at Merck was inaugurated in 2010 in the presence of the German Chancellor. At EUR 50 million, it is the largest single investment in the history of Merck research. The senior citizens were able to admire the latest generation of curved and even transparent screens, also in 3D. They were even able to take a tour of the OLED test laboratories and marvel at the clean rooms from the outside. Afterwards, Dr Thomas Geelhaar, spokesperson for Chemical Research, gave an insight into the methods used at Merck to find ideas for the future. The networking of young talents and the dialogue between experienced R&D managers and top students play a major role here. But new applications are also constantly being developed in the now mature LCD technology - Merck has a global market share of over 60% in this sector. For Merck, this means close local co-operation with important customers in Korea, China and Japan. After an overview of the history of the company and the Merck family, the senior citizens were able to deepen their impressions over coffee and cake.

The Waldspirale is a late work by Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. He died in 2000 shortly before the building was completed. The large building with 102 flats, a café and a restaurant winds in a large spiral around an inner courtyard. Together with the architect Springmann, Hundertwasser consistently realised his concept. For the artist, the spiral symbolises communication and proximity; two golden onion domes, visible from afar, crown the building, an allusion to Hundertwasser's Jewish origins and a symbol of wealth. Above all, he avoids any straight lines! In his 1958 "Mouldy Manifesto", he wrote: "Today we live in a chaos of straight lines..." and later: "The straight line is godless." Every window in the house is unique. Nature is carefully incorporated in the form of trees or streams, and the roof surfaces of the spiral ramp are consistently wooded.

SEC Technology tours are currently organised by Wolfgang Gerhartz, Tel 06251-938558. Suggestions for the organisation of future excursions are welcome.