SCG: Société suisse de chimie
The year 2024 has shown a rarely precedented series of major events, at many levels: political – in Europe and overseas; climatic – societal and scientific. Today’s world being highly interconnected, these events mutually influence each other, and their overall impact is (or will be) felt by everyone, including in our ‘safe’ Switzerland. But let’s limit our considerations to chemistry only. The global geopolitical turbulences triggered a significant increase in military spending throughout Europe, and this has not been without consequences for the funding of education and science. Our universities and research institutions have been seriously impacted by budget cuts, and there is a serious risk that the Swiss National Science Foundation will be the next victim. A unified front from the whole scientific community will be essential to limit the damage.
In my last year’s message, I discussed the rise of generative AI and its dangers for science, in particular creating a ‘recursive picture of reality’. Interestingly, a recent work from Princeton University by Brooks, Eggert and Peskoff (arXiv 2410.08044) identified more than 5% of English-based Wikipedia pages as being generated by AI. While we may question the methodology and minimize the consequences, this is a clear sign that we are being increasingly flooded with information that is, in fact, not information. And this is now hitting science.
Another area in which we may have reached an absurd situation is the topic of open access publishing. As you most probably know, research carried out with public funds faces certain restrictions in where and how it can be published. Many of us had warned of the real implications of these restrictions. Well, here we are. Due to negotiation ‘issues’ with certain publishing houses, it seems that once again, we start the year not knowing which journals are and are not allowed! Last year, an agreement with Elsevier was only reached in June(!), and now is the turn of Wiley (ironically, the publisher of Helvetica Chimica Acta, a journal of our Society!). That being said, rest assured, CHIMIA is truly diamond open access, and thus is not impacted!
A solution to the three examples above does not require convoluted schemes or technology. Just common sense, and resisting the temptation of short term fixes that only look good!
Contrary to how it may look, this editorial is actually very optimistic. Because we as scientists have common sense and long-term vision. And the aim of the SCS is to keep it so! As usual, our portfolio of activities is very rich, with five events just for January, starting with the Swiss Snow Symposium on January 16.
We look forward to seeing all of you very soon, at the latest at our General Assembly (April 24, in Bern) and we wish you again a very nice year in 2025.
Prof. Christian Bochet, SCS President
Prof. Catherine E. Housecroft, University of Basel, continues to manage the journal content as Editor-in-Chief and published, in collaboration with the guest editors, ten issues of our membership journal. Contributions from all fields of chemistry and related areas were considered for publication in the form of Review Articles and Notes.
- Issue 1-2: Ambizione Fellows and Young Professors in Chemistry in Switzerland (Catherine E. Housecroft)
- Issue 3: Academic / Industrial Collaborations in Process Chemistry & Technology (Lucie Lovelle)
- Issue 4: Laureates: Junior Prizes of the SCS Fall Meeting 2023 (Eva Hevia and Hans Peter Lüthi)
- Issue 5: Operando Spectroscopy in Switzerland (Davide Ferri and Maarten Nachtegaal)
- Issue 6: Sustainable Development Goals in Chemistry in Switzerland (Jovanna V. Milic
- Issue 7/8: SCS Major Awards / Fall Meeting 2024 (Christian G. Bochet and Catherine E. Housecroft)
- Issue 9: Scientific Integrity – Added Constraint or Best Practice? (Edwin C. Constable)
- Issue 10: ERC and SNSF-ERC Funded Research 2019–2023 (Jason P. Holland)
- Issue 11: Atmospheric Chemistry in Switzerland (Claudia Mohr and Urs Baltensperger)
- Issue 12: Materials Chemistry (Maxim Kovalenko, Simon C. Boehme)
The SCS Junior Awards (issue 4) and SCS Major Awards articles together with the program of SCS Fall Meeting (issue 7/8), are regular features of the annual program. The column section with the Swiss Science Concentrates, Highlights of Analytical Sciences, Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology Highlights, Chemical Education, Flow Chemistry Highlights, Universities of Applied Sciences, and SCS Foundation is well-established and with the Conference Reports give a regular insight into the activities of the SCS and its Divisions. The new Materials Chemistry Division introduced itself with a full issue and an introductory column in 2024 and will continue in 2025. The Society information pages provide news and information about current and future events.
The CHIMIA.ch website consolidates all CHIMIA activities on one site: journal information, submission, editorial activities, and publication. The site is working well: submissions are efficiently processed and the CHIMIA back catalogue, including the community content, is available to 1990. Digitization of the back catalogue 1947–1989 has begun and the first issues (1947–1949) now appear on the website and the project is expected to be completed in 2025. CHIMIA is listed in the most important databases, including PubMed.
Founded in 1995, Chemistry Europe is an association of 16 chemical societies from 15 European countries. It publishes a family of high-quality scholarly chemistry journals, covering a very broad range of disciplines.
Its mission is to evaluate, publish, disseminate, and amplify the scientific excellence of chemistry researchers from around the globe in high-quality publications. It supports its members at every stage of their careers as they strive to solve the challenges that impact humankind. In all its work, Chemistry Europe values integrity, openness, diversity, cooperation, and freedom of thought.
SCS holds 5% of shares of Chemistry Europe A European Journal and participates as co-owner of ChemElectroChem, ChemPlusChem, ChemistryOpen, ChemCatChem, ChemPhotoChem, Batteries & Supercaps and Chemistry Select. SCS supported the marketing initiatives of Chemistry Europe on its website, during SCS events and in CHIMIA.
SCS Spring Meeting 2024
SCS Seminar on Flow Chemistry 2024
Bern Symposium on Radical Chemistry 2024
Peptide Therapeutics Forum 2024
SCS Fall Meeting 2024
Swiss Summer School 2024, «Chemical Biology Synthesis»
Prof. Eva Hevia, University of Bern and Jérôme Waser, EPFL Lausanne served now in their third year as Co-Editors-in-Chief. In 2024 Helvetica has published 74 manuscripts. Some of the articels completed the special issues dedicated to Scott Denmark, Andrea Vasella, Alois Fürstner, Roger Alberto, Marcel Mayor, Erick Carreira or Peter Chen. In addition special collections highlighting the work of female scientists across chemical sciences to celebrating industrial chemistry in Switzerland. For the last one, Helvetica has introduced a new article type: synthetic procedures, especially for process chemists, which is completely unique within the Wiley chemistry journal portfolio.
Helvetica will continue to grow and invites all authors in Switzerland and abroad to submit their best papers to Helvetica. Helvetica not only publishes good science but also supports the SCS and the community at a lot of conferences and lectureships with sponsorship and prizes.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15222675
The Division of Fundamental Research and the Division of Analytical Sciences hold shares of Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (PCCP) and Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (ABC) respectively.
19.-21.01.2024: Swiss Snow Symposium 2024, Hotel Alphubel Saas-Almagell (youngSCS)
12.02.2024: DMCCB Basel Symposium 2024: «Therapeutics by Computational Design: Innovations in Drug Discovery and AI», Biozentrum Basel (DMCCB)
04.04.2024: BeNeFri Student Spring Symposium 2024, Université de Neuchâtel (youngSCS)
10.-12.04.2024: CHanalysis 2024, Dorint Hotel Beatenberg (DAS)
28.04.-02.05.24: SCS Conference on Stereochemistry 2024 (Bürgenstock Conference), Brunnen (SCS)
28.05.2024: Section Chemistry and the Environment (SCE) Young Scientists Event 2024
07.06.2024: SCS Spring Meeting 2024, «Frontiers in Homogeneous Catalysis», University of Zurich (DFR/SCE)
10.-14.06.2024: 27th ETH Nanoparticles Conference 2024, ETH Zürich (SCS/ETH)
13.-14.06.2024: SCS Seminar on Flow Chemistry 2024
27.-28.06.2024: 1st Bern Symposium on Radical Chemistry, University of Bern (SCS)
22.-23.08.2024: Peptide Therapeutics Forum, University of Basel (SCS/DMCCB)
25.-29.08.2024: Swiss Summer School on Chemical Biology, Kurhaus Bergün (SCS/DMCCB)
05.09.2024: SCS Fall Meeting 2024, University of Fribourg (SCS/DFR)
18.09.2024: Ilmac Lausanne, Expo Beaulieu Lausanne (SCS and partners)
20.09.2024: Swiss Chemistry Science Night 2024, Casino Bern (SCS)
13.10.2024: EFMC International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC-ISMC 2024), Roma, Italy (DMCCB)
24.10.2024: 7th SCS-Syngenta Symposium 2024, Syngenta Research Center, Stein (SCS)
07.-08.11.2024: SCS Seminar on Intellectual Property (IP) 2024 – Hands-on Workshop for Scientists in Chemistry & Life Sciences, Löwenberg (SCS)
25.11.2024: AI Symposium 2024: Critical Use of AI in Quantum Chemistry, University of Fribourg (SCS)
27.02.2024: IUPAC Global Women’s Breakfast, online (SWC)
22.04.2024: Visit to dsm-firmenich in Geneva (youngSCS)
02.05.2024: DIAC Annual Member Meeting 2024 and Visit of Syngenta, Stein (DIAC)
15.05.2024: From Lab to Production – Insights into Process Chemistry 2024/1, University of Geneva (DIAC)
28.05.2024: Section Chemistry and the Environent (SCE Young Scientist Event 2024, Givaudan Schweiz Kemptthal (SCE)
24.10.2024: Visit to SpiroChem in Basel, (youngSCS)
29.10.2024: From Lab to Production – Insights into Process Chemistry 2024/2, University of Zurich (DIAC)
19.11.2024: Swiss Women in Chemistry Networking event at F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Basel (SWC)
20.11.2024: From Lab to Production – Insights into Process Chemistry 2024/3, University of Fribourg (DIAC)
10.12.2024: Visit to Novartis in Basel, (youngSCS)
In addition, several evening events were held as part of the SCS mentoring programs.
19.-21.01.2024, Hotel Kristall, Saas-Almagell.
Organizing SCS Unit: youngSCS
Chairs: Patrick Fritz (UniFr), Tara Forrest (UniGE), Marie-Désirée Schlemper-Scheidt (UniNE)
The program included: 7 invited lectures, 10 contributed talks and 22 posters.
Awards: 1 best contributed talk and 2 best posters
Details and program: Chimia 12/2023
12.02.2024, Biozentrum, Basel.
Organizing SCS Unit: Division of MedChem & ChemBio
Chair: Dr. Christoph Sager, leadXpro
The program included: 9 invited lectures and 8 posters.
Awards: 2 best posters
Details and program: Chimia 12/2023
04.04.2024, University of Neuchâtel.
Organizing SCS Unit: youngSCS
Chairs: Marie-Désirée Schlemper-Scheidt (UniNe),Gaetano Geraci (UniBe),Chrysanthi Papadimou(UniNe), Ghewa Al Sabeh (AMI/EPFL), Dr. Andrea Dodero (AMI) and Patrick W. Fritz (UniFr)
The program included: 2 invited lectures and 9 contributed talks.
Awards: 1 best contributed talk
Details and program: Chimia 7-8/2024
10.-12.04.2024, Dorint Resort Blüemlisalp, Beatenberg.
Organizing SCS Unit: Division of Analytical Sciences
Chairs: Dr. Davide Bleiner (Empa), Dr. Hanspeter Andres
METAS, Dr. Christoph Meyer (Lonza)
The program included: 8 invited/award lectures, 12 contributed talks and 13 posters.
Awards: 2 best posters
Details and program: Chimia 1-2/2024
24.04.-02.05.2024, Hotel Waldstätterhof, Brunnen.
Organizing SCS Unit: assigned Organizing Committee
Chairs: Prof. Karl Gademann (University of Zurich), Dr. Fabrice Gallou (Novartis), Prof. Francesca Paradisi (University of Bern), Dr. Maud Reiter, (dsm-firmenich SA), Prof. Thomas R. Ward, (University of Basel), Prof. Jérôme Waser (EPFL Lausanne)
The program included: 13 invited talks and a poster session.
Details and program: https://bc25.scg.ch
07.06.2024, Biozentrum, Basel.
Organizing SCS Unit: DFR and assigned Organizing Committee
Chairs: Prof. Konrad Tiefenbacher (University of Basel)
The program included: 6 invited/award lectures
Details and program: Chimia 1-2/2024
13.-14.06.2024, La Domaine Notre-Dame, Villars-sur-Glâne.
Organizing SCS Unit: Flow Chemistry Network
Chairs: Dr. Marc-André Müller (Solvias), Prof. Roger Marti (HEIA Fribourg), Dr. Agnieszka Ladosz (Syngenta)
The program included: 6 invited lectures, 3 supplier talks and 17 posters.
Details and program: Chimia 1-2/2024
27.-28.06.2024, University of Bern.
Organizing SCS Unit: assigned Organizing Committee
Chair: Dr. Fabrice Dénès (University of Bern)
The program included: 19 invited/award lectures and 31 posters.
Details and program: Chimia 3/2024
22.-23.08.2024, Biozentrum, Basel.
Organizing SCS Unit: Division of MedChem & ChemBio
Chairs: Prof. Nina Hartrampf (University of Zurich), Prof. Roderich Süssmuth (TU Berlin), Dr. Thomas Vorherr (TU Berlin)
The program included: 12 invited lectures, 8 contributed talks and 22 posters.
Awards: 2 best contributed talks and 2 best posters
Details and program: Chimia 3/2024
25.-29.08.2024, Kurhaus Bergün.
Organizing SCS Unit: Division of MedChem & ChemBio
Chair: Prof. Jean-Louis Reymond (University of Bern)
The program included: 10 invited lectures, 12 contributed talks and 18 posters.
Awards: 3 best contributed talks and 3 best posters
Details and program: Chimia 4/2024
05.09.2024, University of Fribourg.
Organizing SCS Unit: Swiss Chemical Society
Chair: Prof. Ali Coskun (University of Fribourg)
The program included: 12 invited/award lectures, 73 contributed talks and 306 posters.
Awards: 17 best contributed talks and 22 best posters
Details and program: Chimia 7-8/2024
13.-18.10.2024, Alpine Classic Hotel, Leysin.
Organizing SCS Unit: Division of MedChem & ChemBio
Chairs: Dr. Gerhard Müller (Spirochem), Dr. Katarzyna Borsuk (ZoBio)
The program included: 30 invited lectures
Details and program: Chimia 5/2024
24.10.2024, Syngenta Research Center, Stein.
Organizing SCS Unit: Syngenta and SCS Head Office
Chairs: Dr. Amandine Kolleth-Krieger & Dr. Vlad Pascanu, (Syngenta Crop Protection AG)
The program included: 8 invited lectures and 8 posters
Awards: 2 best posters
Details and program: Chimia 5/2024
07.-08.11.2024, Centre Löwenberg, Murten.
Organizing SCS Unit: assigned Organizing Committee
Chairs: Dr. Christian Moser Nikles (Eidg. Inst. für Geistiges Eigentum, IGE), Dr. Michael Kock (Dr. Kock Consulting)
The program included: 7 lectures and 3 workshops
Details and program: Chimia 5/2024
25.11.2024, University of Fribourg.
Organizing SCS Unit: Network of Computational Chemistry and Artificial Intelligence
Chair: Dr. Stefan Vu?kovi? (University of Fribourg)
The program included: 7 invited lectures
Details and program:
Chimia 10/2024
Delegates from the Swiss Chemical Society
- Board of Directors: Christophe Copéret, ETHZ
- Executive Board and Board of Directors as Treasurer: Hans Peter Lüthi, SCS Foundation
- Division of Organic Chemistry: Christof Sparr, University of Basel
- Division of Inorganic Chemistry: Kay Severin, EPFL
- Division of Analytical Chemistry: Franka Kalman, HESSO/VS
- Division of Chemistry and the Environment: Thomas Bucheli, Agroscope
- Division of Nuclear and Radiochemistry: Patrick Steinegger, PSI
- Division of Food Chemistry: Laura Nyström, ETHZ
- Division of Organometallic Chemistry as Chair of the Division: Martin Albrecht, Bern
- Division of Chemistry in Life Sciences: Leonardo Scapozza, University of Geneva
- Division of Computational Chemistry: Hans Peter Lüthi, SCS Foundation
- Division of Physical Chemistry: Stefan Willitsch, Basel
- Division of Education: Markus Müller, Kanti Frauenfeld and Klemens Koch, PH Bern
- Division of Solid State and Materials Chemistry: Maksym Kovalenko, ETH Zurich
- European Young Chemists' Network EYCN: Chrysanthi Papadimou, and Marie-Désirée Schlemper-Scheidt, University of Neuchâtel
- International Award Committee for the EuChemS Lecture Award (IACL): Dr. Hans Peter Lüthi, SCS Foundation
- Working Party on Chemistry for Culturall Heritage: Edit Joseph, Haute Ecole Arc Neuchâtel
SCS maintains also contact with other international organizations like Eurachem, SusChem Europe (ETP), IUPAC and partner societies from its neighboring countries.
Through the «Chemistry Travel Award», contributions towards the cost of participation at an international conference in the chemical sciences are granted to selected PhD students. The award is sponsored by the Platform Chemistry of the SCNAT and the Swiss Chemical Society. Students from all fields of chemistry and from any Swiss institution were invited to participate. 44 winners were honored with the Chemistry Travel Award 2024.
The SCS Foundation runs three different programs, supported by industry, all focused on the promotion of research and education in the fields of chemistry and biochemistry.
Twelve scholars completed their master’s studies in 2024. Their Master Thesis research projects are presented in the November issue of CHIMA (pages A797 to A810). The vast majority of students continued their careers in Switzerland, with some joing industry.
Only four out of nine students granted a scholarship in 2024 did actually start their studies in Fall. Two students decided to take offers from other universities, two students had received opportunities for internships, and one student had received a governmental scholarship from Japan for his studies in Switzerland. This low rate of first-year students compared to the scholarships awarded is unexpected but shows that the students selected by the SCS Foundation Allocation Committee are of highest quality. It also shows that top-students do have a choice of the place they want to study at.
As every year, the Award Ceremony honring the best presenters was one of the highlights of the 2024 Fall Meeting. The summary of their research will be published in the Junior Laureates Awards edition of CHIMIA in April 2025. This program has been supported by the Metrohm Foundation and dsm-firmenich for over a decade. It is also one of the best-endowed programs of its kind worldwide.
The newly launched program, led by the youngSCS, successfully completed its first cycle. Contrary to classical mentoring programs, its format is not based on a 1:1 mentor-to-mentee relationship, but rather on groups of up to twenty mentees assigned to a team of four to six mentors representing different institutions. These cohorts, based at four different locations, are led by a local organizing committee (OC) of students and agree on their own program. These include various topics, such as making and implementing career decisions, issues of work-life balance, and may also include a company visit. A full account of the 2024 program, presented in the members of the local OCs, was published in the September issue of CHIMIA, pages 629 to 632.
- Prof. Christian Bochet, University of Fribourg, SCS President
- Dr. Yves Auberson, Novartis Pharma AG, SCS Vice-President, projects and partnerships
- Dr. Gillian Harvey, Luzern, Chair of the CHIMIA Editorial Board
- Dr. Maud Reiter, dsm-firmenich AG, SCS Treasurer
- David Spichiger, Swiss Chemical Society, SCS Executive Director
- Dr. Davide Bleiner, Empa Dübendorf/University of Zürich, President Division of Analytical Sciences (DAS)
- Prof. Thomas Bürgi, University of Geneva, President Division of Fundamental Research (DFR)
- Prof. Fides Benfatti, Syngenta Crop Protection AG, Stein, President Division of Medicinal Chemistry & Chemical Biology (DMCCB)
- Prof. Maksym Kovalenko, ETH Zurich/Empa Dübendorf, President Division Materials Chemistry (DMC)
- Dr. Niklaus Künzle, Lonza AG, Visp, President Division Industrial & Applied Chemistry (DIAC)
- Prof. Jan Cvengros, ETH Zurich, President Division Chemical Education (DCE)
- Dr. Hans Peter Lüthi, ETH Zurich, Director SCS Foundation, EuChemS Executive Board
- Prof. Christophe Copéret, ETH Zurich, Member of the board, EuChemS Board of Directors
- Dr. Leslie Fendt, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Member of the board
- Dr. Corinne Jud, Agroscope, Member of the board
- David Spichiger, Executive Director (1.0 FTE)
- Gordon Honeyman, CHIMIA Technical Editor (0.6 FTE)
- Hans Peter Lüthi, Director SCS Foundation (0.4 FTE)
- Robert Meyer, Finance & Accounting (0.3 FTE)
- Sarah Schmitz, Business Support (0.8 FTE)
- Céline Wittwer, Events & Communication (1.0 FTE)
The General Assembly 2024 took place during the lunch break of the SCS Spring Meeting on June 7, 2024, at Biozentrum, University of Basel.
The assembly approved the annual report, the financial statement, and the audit reports, confirmed personnel turnovers in the Board of Directors (BoD) and the Executive Board (ExB) and set the course for the SCS of the upcoming years.
Prof. Christian Bochet, SCS President and David Spichiger, Executive Director, led the meeting and ensured that all legal requirements were fulfilled. The minutes of the meeting were published in CHIMIA 7-8/2024, A569ff.
We further established the SCS Partnership as a new strategic tool to strengthen our collaboration with industrial partners and to align our activities to the community’s requirements.
As SCS Partnership company, institutions enjoy all the benefits of a “classical” corporate membership and make the difference through:
- active involvement in the strategic alignment of the society (board-, committee-, and jury-membership)
- becoming Swiss Industrial Science Awards stakeholders
- invited guests at the Swiss Chemistry Science Night
Arxada AG, Basel; Bachem AG, Bubendorf; BASF Schweiz AG , Basel; CARBOGEN AMCIS Innovations AG, Bubendorf; Chemspeed Technologies AG, Füllinsdorf; Clariant International Ltd., Muttenz; Dottikon Exclusive Synthesis AG, Dottikon; Dr Maurice van Eis, Basel; DSM Nutritional Products Ltd., Kaiseraugst; F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Basel; Firmenich SA, Satigny; Firmenich SA, Satigny; Givaudan Schweiz AG, Kemptthal; IBM Research GmbH, Rüschlikon; Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Allschwil; INEOS Group AG, Rolle; Lonza AG, Visp; Metrohm Schweiz AG, Zofingen; Mettler-Toledo (Schweiz) GmbH, Greifensee; Sigma-Aldrich Production GmbH, Buchs; Sika Technology AG, Zürich; SpiroChem AG, Basel; Syngenta Crop Protection AG, Stein; Vifor (International) AG, St. Gallen;
In addition to the partnerships for CHF 3’000, the following companies participated in the activities of the SCS with a corporate membership for CHF 800:
Adolphe Merkle Institute, Fribourg; CABB AG, Pratteln; CIM Chemicals AG, Zug; Comsol GmbH, Göttingen; HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis SA, Biasca; Helsinn Healthcare SA, Pazzallo-Lugano; Ivoclar vivadent AG, Schaan; Magritek GmbH, Aachen; MDPI AG, Basel; Metalor Technologies SA, Marin; METAS, Federal Institute of Metrology, Bern; Omya International AG, Oftringen; Pentapharm AG, Aesch; Plasmion GmbH, Augsburg; Primco, Chêne-Bourg; Rolic Technologies Ltd, Berlin; Schärer & Schläpfer AG, Rothrist; Shimadzu Schweiz GmbH, Reinach; SICPA SA, Prilly; Siegfried AG, Zofingen; SimplyScience Stiftung, Zurich; Société Suisse des Explosifs, Brig; Thermo Fischer Scientific (Schweiz) AG, Reinach; TÜV Süd Schweiz AG, München; UCB Farchim SA, Bulle; Willy A. Bachofen AG, Muttenz.
For all SCS events we implemented specific websites and if required platforms for online conferences. In addition, we communicated via our Social Media channels, as well as with flyers and posters. Our LinkedIn profile counts more than 5’100 followers, on X more than 3’800 persons follows us. At the end of 2024 we also opened a BlueSky account.
By sending newsletters, we managed to inform specific groups of the community about events according to their sphere of interest. Furthermore, publications in the CHIMIA journal, such as Columns and Conference Reports give a regular insight into the activities of the SCS and the networks. The Society information pages also provide news and information about current and future events.
To complement the activities of our traditional divisions and sections, SCS has implemented additional thematic networks in recent years. The networks were quite active, organizing on-site events and providing platforms for personal interactions with the community members.
As of December 2024, the SCS maintains the following thematic networks:
- Analytical Sciences (DAS)
- Catalysis (SwissCat)
- Chemical Ecology (ChemEco)
- Chemical Education (ChemEdu)
- Chemistry and the Environment (SCE)
- Computational Chemistry / Artificial Intelligence (CC)
- Flow Chemistry (FlowChem)
- Food Chemistry via Swiss Society for Food Chemistry (SFC)
- Green & Sustainable Chemistry (SusChem CH)
- Industrial & Applied Chemistry (DIAC)
- Inorganic Chemistry (IC)
- Intellectual Property (IP)
- Mass Spectrometry via Swiss Group for Mass Spectrometry
- Materials Chemistry (MatChem)
- Medicinal Chemistry & Chemical Biology (DMCCB)
- Organic Chemistry (OC)
- Photochemistry (PCS)
- Physical Chemistry (PC)
- Fundamental Research (Umbrella for OC, IC, PC, CC)
As of December 2024, the SCS maintains the following social networks:
- youngSCS
- Swiss Women in Chemistry (SWC)
- Honorary Members
- Alfred Werner Scholars Alumni
- Chemistry Europe Fellows
The SCS is member of the Academies of Natural Sciences (SCNAT) and the Academy of Technical Sciences (SATW) and maintains a good partnership with joint-initiatives and mutual support for each other’s activities.
David Spichiger represents the SCS in the board of scienceindustries and participates in the Executive Committee Education and Research.
As the majority of the SCS mandates are based on volunteer work, SCS maintains good contacts to all stakeholders in the field to find board members at all levels and in all fields, representing academia, industry, and government.
- Verein Schweizerischer Amts- und Spitalapotheker (GSASA)
- Swiss Association of Computational Chemistry (SACC)
- Swiss Society for Food Chemistry (SSFC)
- Swiss Group for Mass Spectrometry (SGMS)
- Verein Schweizerischer Naturwissenschaftslehrerinnen und –lehrer (VSN)
- Life Sciences Switzerland LS2
Issue 9: Scientific Integrity – Added Constraint or Best Practice?
Guest Editor: Prof. Edwin C. Constable
This issue of CHIMIA is devoted to scientific integrity, with a particular emphasis on chemistry. Recent incidences of high-profile figures contesting scientific findings in order to boost their own agenda in areas such as human health; worldwide pandemics; climate change and the impact of artificial intelligence on society highlight how “Fake News” is given credibility boosted by examples of scientific misconduct that open the door to questions about the integrity of scientists and their research. Research integrity is an issue for all scientists who should embrace the promotion of best practices in their own disciplines.
https://www.chimia.ch/chimia/issue/view/2024_09
The SCS awarded twelve individuals and one group of scientists for their outstanding contributions. A total sum of CHF 90’000 as well as medals and award certificates were given to the winners.
CHF 20’000 and a medal in gold; awarded to scholars who have produced outstanding scientific research in the field of chemistry at an international level.
The award was given to Prof. Armido Studer, Universität Münster, for his outstanding contribution towards the development of novel radical-based methodologies. The award lecture took place at the Bern Symposium on Radical Chemistry 2024.
CHF 10'000 and medal in bronze; awarded to a promising young scientist for outstanding independent chemical research.
The award was given to Prof. Athina Anastasaki, ETH Zurich, for her excellence in research spanning across the broad areas of polymer synthesis, polymer self-assembly and chemical recycling, also referred to as depolymerization.
The award lecture took place at the SCS Fall Meeting 2024.
CHF 20'000 awarded to a person or to a group for outstanding work in industrial or applied chemistry.
In 2024 the SCS awarded The Eawag team “Advanced wastewater treatment”
namely Prof. Urs von Gunten, EPFL Lausanne/Eawag, Prof. Juliane Hollender, ETH Zurich, Dr. Christa McArdell, Dr. Adriano Joss, Marc Böhler and Dr. Christian Abegglen, Eawag, and Prof. em. Hansruedi Siegrist, ETH Zurich, in recognition of the team’s outstanding achievements in using chemistry to address a challenge of large societal im-portance: securing clean water.
One award lecture took place at the SCS Fall Meeting 2024 and the other will take place at the 17. Freiburger Symposium 2025.
The prize is given to honor very successful and established investigators with outstanding achievements over many years. The winner receives a certificate and a cash check of CHF 10’000.
The 2024 prize was given to Dr. Michel Muehlebach, Syngenta Crop Protection AG, for his impactful scientific contributions across two different product lines that have been critical to the discovery of two active ingredients, namely the herbicide Pinoxaden and the insecticide TINIVION™ technology (Spiropidion). The award lecture took place at the Swiss Industrial Chemistry Symposium in Basel on January 31, 2025.
The prize is given to honor successful investigators with outstanding achievements. The winner receives a certificate and a cash check of CHF 7’000.
The 2024 prize was given to Dr. Rosa Maria Rodriguez Sarmiento, F. Hofmann-La Roche AG, for her impactful contributions to numerous research initiatives in various therapeutic areas such as CNS and rare diseases, as well as Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases coupled with her influence on the scientific community both within and outside the company.
The award lectures took place at the SCS Fall Meeting 2024.
CHF 10'000 honors outstanding contribution to the field of metrology in chemistry and/or biology.
The 2024 award was given to Prof. Rebecca Buller, ZHAW Wädenswil, for her extraordinary achievements in making state of the art enzyme catalysis easily and widely accessible for industrial use, that have become indispensable assets in moving toward a sustainable chemical industry in Switzerland and beyond.
The award lecture took place at the SCS Spring Meeting 2024.
CHF 5'000 honors a young and promising scientist working in Switzerland for an outstanding contribution to the field of metrology in chemistry and/or biology.
The 2024 award was given to Dr. Andrea Rösch, Agroscope, for the development of a comprehensive measuring method for around 150 pesticides in soil. Quantification is based on matrix-matched internal standards calibration, using 95 isotopically labelled analyte analogues. Issues such as proper sampling and applicability to routine private/cantonal laboratories were also addressed.
The award lecture took place at the CHanalysis 2024.
CHF 4'000 and a medal in bronze: awarded to a teacher working in Switzerland at high school (gymnasium) level for innovation in chemistry teaching.
The 2024 award was given to Dr. Klemens Koch, Gymnasium Biel-Seeland und PHBern, für seine unermüdliche und einflussreiche Arbeit für einen guten Chemieunterricht in der Schweiz und im angrenzenden Ausland, welche durch die grosse Fülle und Breite an Aktivitäten und Initiativen über eine lange Zeitdauer besticht.
The award lecture will take place at the ChemEdu 2025 in Zürich.
CHF 1’000 and medal in bronze; presented for an outstanding diploma thesis in Chemistry conducted at a Swiss University of Applied Sciences.
The SCS awarded Frau Céline Spack, HEIA Fribourg, für ihre herausragende Bachelorarbeit «Nachweis von Torf in Erdproben mithilfe von Biomarkern».
Certificate and cash check of CHF 1’500; presented for exceptional PhD theses in the field of Medicinal Chemistry and/or Chemical Biology completed (successful PhD exam) at a Swiss University or ETH/EPF during the 24 months preceding the submission deadline.
The SCS awarded Dr. Jennifer Müller, ETH Zurich, group of Prof. K.-H. Altmann, for her thesis «Synthesis of Tyrosine- and Tryptophan-based LAT1 Inhibitors as Potential Antitumor Agents»
and Dr. Lukas Schneider, University of Basel, group of Prof. D. Gillingham, for his thesis «A novel selection approach for DNA-encoded libraries using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase».
The award lectures of the DMCCB PhD Prizes and award ceremony are included as part of a DMCCB event, e.g. the DMCCB Basel Symposium.
In 2024 the SCS Lectureship Award was given to five world-class distinguished scientists. Over the course of a week, the lecturers gave five presentations at different locations at Swiss universities/ETHs and discussed the latest developments and challenges with colleagues and their research groups on site.
The selection of the lecturers follows a bottom-up approach where PIs from all Swiss research institutions can propose candidates. The proram coves all areas of chemistry. The choice among the proposed lectureships is made by the board of the SCS Division of Fundamental Research (DFR).
Prof. Stefan Hecht, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Germany) «Illuminating Materials, Devices, and Manufacturing with Photoswitches»
Tour dates: March 11-15, 2024
Tour organizier: Prof. Stefan Salentinig, University of Fribourg
Prof. Jonas C. Peters, California Institute of Technology (USA)
«Reductive PCET Mediators for Electro- and Photoelectro-catalysis»
Tour dates: March 18-22, 2024
Tour organizier: Prof. Marinella Mazzanti, EPFL Lausanne
Prof. Kazuaki Ishihara, Nagoya University (Japan)
«Rational Design of High-performance Catalysts Based on Acid–Base Combination Chemistry»
Tour dates: April 8-12, 2024
Tour organizier: Prof. Jérôme Lacour, University of Geneva
Prof. Charlotte Williams, University of Oxford (UK)
«Using Catalysis to Make and Recycle Polymers»
Tour dates: June 3-7, 2024
Tour organizier: Prof. Eva Hevia, University of Bern
Prof. Kyoko Nozaki, The University of Tokyo (Japan)
«Catalyst development toward effective use of unutilized carbon resources»
Tour dates: October 14-28, 2024
Tour organizier: Prof. Jérôme Lacour, University of Geneva
The program was generously supported by the Platform Chemistry of the SCNAT and Helvetica Chimica Acta.
The Heilbronner-Hückel Lecture Series was implemented in 2009 with the first series in 2010 together with the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh). The annual series takes place alternatively in Switzerland and Germany.
As 2024 Lecturer the SCS selected Prof. Peter R. Schreiner, Justus Liebig University Giessen (DE). His group focuses on reaction dynamics and reactive intermediates, quantum tunneling as well as London dispersion interactions as probed in the realm of nanodiamonds and organocatalysis.
The Heilbronner-Hückel lecture tour 2024 took place in May 2024. Prof. Schreiner visited University of Bern, University of Geneva, University of Zurich, ETH Zurich and University of Basel from May 13-17, 2025, and talked about « Cool Organic Chemistry Toward CHO-Systems Chemistry» and «Rethinking Chemistry: The Role of Quantum Mechanical Tunneling».
The DIAC Fellowship 2024 award was given to Dr. Florian Kleinbeck, from Novartis AG, Basel, for his tremendous impact on process chemistry and outstanding contributions in delivering innovative and breakthrough solutions in route design, (bio)catalysis, and process development for more important Novartis compounds such as Piqray, Entrestro or Leqvio.
The three lectures took place at University of Basel, dsm-firmenich and University of Fribourg between June to October 2024.