Universität Würzburg Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy

03/06/2026

Chem Cup days are our favorite days!

Yesterday our working groups took a break from the lab and hit the football pitch for the annual tournament. The weather held out long enough for Team DiTaktiker to take the trophy for the second year in a row! This year's second place went to Arche Nuhn and third to Team Thullinger. Congratulations to all!

The afternoon brought the whole Faculty together for grilling, beer and some healthy competition. Thanks to the Boron Bandits for organising this year's event. We already can't wait til next year!

12/05/2026

Congratulations to Prof. Gerhard Sextl on his Julius-Maximilians Medal of Merit, which he recieved yesterday at Foundation Day celebrations. The award recognizes Prof. Sextl's outstanding achievements during his over 15 year career in the dual role as Chair of the Chemical Technology of Material Sythesis at the JMU and Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg.

More information on Prof. Sextl's career can be found the laudation: https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/aktuelles/einblick/single/news/verdienstmedaille-sextl/

11/05/2026

Last week, we had the pleasure of having Nobel Prize winner Dr. Benjamin List at the Faculty to accept this year's Siegfried-Hünig-Lecture. His talk, "Catalysis for our World", drew quite the crowd, filling Lecture Hall B to standing room only.

Dr. List, director of the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung since 2005, is one of the founders of organocatalysis, for which he won the Nobel Prize in 2021. Catalysts from his laboratories have since enabled a multitude of—mostly asymmetric—syntheses that either would not be possible with metal-containing catalysts or enzymes, or are less economical or less environmentally friendly. Some examples include the synthesis of fragrances such as β-santalol (found in sandalwood oil) and ambrox, a component of ambergris.

More information can be found in our News story: https://www.chemie.uni-wuerzburg.de/startseite/news-detail/news/auf-der-suche-nach-dem-universellen-katalysator-1/

28/04/2026

Congratulations to Prof. Lutz Nuhn on the renewed funding of the research project curATime, which implements artificial intelligence and modern immunological techniques to develop tailored treatment methods and preventive strategies in order to significantly reduce mortality from cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks and strokes. AK Nuhn has recieved 250.000 Euro for his continued research.

Prof. Lutz's portion of the project focuses specifically on nanocarriers, polymer-based capsules that help to deliver the active pharmaceutical ingredients directly to the target cells in the patient. What makes the Würzburg development unique is that the capsules are designed to be completely broken down by the body once their work is done and can be specifically tailored to the needs of different patient groups.

For more, check out this week's Einblick article:

Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen sind die häufigste Todesursache weltweit. Die Universität Würzburg forscht deshalb an maßgeschneiderte Therapien auf Basis von RNA. Dafür gibt es jetzt eine Förderung in Höhe von 250.000 Euro.

24/04/2026

Our MINT-Girls' Day event was an absolute blast! Nearly 100 girls, from 6th grade onwardstook part in workshops across the MINT fields of our university.

Our Faculty offered workshops diving into the research of Prof. Hierlmeier Bestgen in the Inorganic Chemistry and following doctoral students from AK Nuhn on a tour through the Center of Polymers for Life. In the afternoon, the girls had the chance to get active in the lab through the Teaching Programme's Egg Races, using their knowledge of chemistry to create the most foam or make a lemon-scented perfume.

WE hope all the participants enjoyed the day as much as we did, and hope we encouraged at least a few of you to persue Chemistry in the future!

20/04/2026

Congratulations to Prof. Frank Würthner on his Izatt-Christensen Award, the most prestigious international award in the field of supramolecular chemistry. The award recognizes Prof. Würthner's significant contributions to the field, from his fundamental discoveries regarding the self-assembly of functional dye molecules and the development of supramolecular polymers and nanomaterials.

Among the scientific milestones Prof. Frank Würthner has achieved are the development of biomimetic nanoreactors for light-driven water splitting, as well as groundbreaking work on the production of dye aggregates and their use as light-harvesting systems and organic semiconductors—both of which are fields of research paving the way for next-generation sustainable energy technologies.

For more information: https://www.chemie.uni-wuerzburg.de/startseite/news-detail/news/izatt-christensen-award2026/

05/04/2026

Happy Easter from the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy at the University of Würzburg!

24/03/2026

Prof. Frank Würthner's group has published a new discovery in Nature Chemistry. Together with their international partners, Professor Dongho Kim's group at Yonsei University in Seoul, they have discovered a new synthesis method that allows dye molecules to be stacked in a precise order and arrangement. With this method, the team was able to avoid the commen problem of quenching and make significant strides in the brightness capacity with the Perylene bisimide Foldamer used in their research.

As the next step, the research consortium combining chemistry and physics, led by Würzburg Professors Tobias Brixner (Chemistry) and Bert Hecht (Physics), plans to address the challenge of translating this into practical, everyday devices.

For more:

Chemie: Ein ausgeklügeltes Verfahren stapelt Farbstoff-Moleküle so aufeinander, dass ihre Leuchtkraft mit zunehmender Größe sprunghaft steigt – ein wichtiger Impuls für die Elektronik von morgen.

23/03/2026

Congratulations to Prof. Claudia Höbartner on her Albert Kossel Prize! Awarded by the German Chemical Society (GDCh), comes with a 7.500 Euro prize and recognizes Prof. Höbartner's achievements in the field of catalytic nucleic acids.

This award honors two of Prof. Höbartner's major discoveries. Firstly, she succeeded in determining the structure of a DNAzyme for the first time worldwide. This scientific breakthrough opened up new insights into molecular catalytic mechanisms and unlocked a wide range of potential applications.

Additionally, Prof. Höbartner identified a ribozyme capable of transferring methyl groups. This property is of great significance for research into the origin of life. It also opens up far-reaching prospects for synthetic biology.

Both studies were published in the leading journal Nature and brought international recognition to the field of research.

For more information, check out the Einblick article on Prof. Höbartner's newest award: https://www.chemie.uni-wuerzburg.de/startseite/news-detail/news/kosselpreis-claudia-hoebartner/

17/03/2026

Junior-Professorin Gabriele Hierlmeier has been busy! She was recently accepted into the Young Academy of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences & Humanities (Bayrische Akademie der Wissenschaft) and was awarded the ADUC Lecture Award.

As part of the Young Academy of the BAdW, Prof. Hierlmeier will have scientific freedom to work on creative and innovative projects outside of the university through a grant of 12.000 €. She will also be able to expand her experience through exchange with her other Young Academy members.

With her ADUC Lecture she will present and be part of the presentation jury at the GDCh's "Chemiedozententagung".

Congratulations to Prof. Heirlmeier on all your recent success!

For more information, see the Einblick Article: https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/aktuelles/einblick/single/news/jungeskolleg-hierlmeier/