Successful Young Scientists

Chemistry is the focus of the 74th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. Four of our young scientists will be there to discuss with Nobel Prize winners in chemistry and other young scientists from across the world.

Both applications from our faculty and the proposal from the Elite Network of Bavaria from our faculty were successful this year. Additionally, one of our Master's students applied through the Studienstiftung and also recieved an invitation. Leonard Fink (WG Prof. Lehmann), Alexander Fuchs (WG Prof. Nuhn), Dorothee Schaffner (WG Prof. Fischer), and Lukas Dellermann are looking forward to an exciting week in Lindau at the end of June. We wish you an instructive and stimulating conference!

Leonard Fink

Leonard Fink studied chemistry in the bachelor's and master’s program at the JMU. He wrote written his master's thesis in WG Prof. Lehmann and has been working on his doctorate in Prof. Lehmann's group since 2023. The group is working on various novel liquid crystals. These soft materials combine the direction-dependent physical properties of crystals with the flowability of liquids. The aim of the research is to make targeted use of this ability in order to tailor liquid crystalline molecules for electronic applications. Leonard's research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of novel liquid crystalline star molecules with thiophene-based arms, with the long-term goal of developing semiconductors and photovoltaic cells.

Alexander Fuchs

Alexander Fuchs completed an interdisciplinary degree in biomedical chemistry in Mainz. There he became acquainted with Lutz Nuhn's group at the MPIP, which attracted him due to its diversity, ranging from organic chemistry to macromolecular chemistry and medicine. After Prof. Nuhn accepted a professorship at the JMU, Alexander began his doctorate in Würzburg.

In the group, they are working on nanoscale polymer-based drug carrier systems that can be used, for example, in (personalized) vaccines against cancer. Specifically, Alexander is working on completely hydrophilic, keratinized micelles - so-called nanogels. They consist of aliphatic polycarbonates and are therefore biodegradable. The nanogels are also cationic, as he wants to use them to transport polyanionic biomolecules such as RNA and DNA or their therapeutic derivatives.

Dorothee Schaffner

Dorothee Schaffner completed her Bachelor's and master's degrees in Chemistry at JMU. She then began her doctorate in physical chemistry in Prof. Dr. Ingo Fischer's working group on the topic of “X-ray spectroscopy of reactive molecules” at the end of 2022, which is funded by a Kekulé doctoral scholarship. Here, she primarily investigates astrochemically relevant reactive molecules (e.g. radicals or other small molecules) with VUV or soft X-rays. She uses time-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy and threshold photoelectron spectroscopy, so that not only valence electrons, but also inner-shell electrons can be investigated. She carries out her measurements at various synchrotrons and free-electron lasers in France, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland.

Lukas Dellermann

Lukas Dellermann finished his Bachelor's in Chemie at the JMU in July of 2024. He wrote his Bachelor's thesis in the working group from Prof. Braunschweig. Before beginning his Master's degree in the following winter semester, he completed a 10-week research internship at the University of Ottawa (Canada) with Prof. Stephen G. Newman through the DAAD. This summer he will begin his second semester in his Master's programme, focusing on inorganic and organic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis. He applied for the Laureate Meeting through the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes.

by Rachel Steinhaus