From 29 August to 1 September, EuChemS had the pleasure to join the GDCh Science Forum Chemistry (WiFo) as an exhibitor which was for the first time organised entirely online. GDCh President, Professor Dr. Peter R. Schreiner, welcomed the participants during the WiFo Opening Ceremony on 29 August and presented the programme of the Congress, together with Professor Dr. Peter Gartner, President of the Austrian Chemical Society (GÖCH).
During the opening ceremony, Professor Dr. Petra Mischnick received the Hildegard Hamm Brücher Prize for Equal Opportunities in Chemistry. Additionally, Professor Dr. Evamarie Hey-Hawkins gave a lecture “From Phosphorus Compounds and Materials to Biological Applications of Carboranes” and received the Karl Ziegler Prize. EuChemS congratulates all the GDCh awardees and is pleased that Professor Dr. Barbara Albert, former chair of the International Award Committee for the EuChemS Lecture Award (IACL), handed to Professor Dr. Evamarie Hey-Hawkins the award. In 2020, Professor Dr. Evamarie Hey-Hawkins gave a talk on “Phosphorus, an essential element to feed the world” during the workshop The value is on circularity – Recycling-reusing-reinvesting on critical raw materials co-organised by EuChemS and MEP Maria Spyraki.
Other prestigious GDCh prizes have been awarded, such as the GDCh Prize for Journalists and Writers to Dr. Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim. During this digital event, registrants also had the opportunity to attend various conferences from the scientific programme, including discussions on various international top research topics such as infections, energy, sustainability, and climate. In addition, a poster session and a job fair enabled young scientists to present their research.
WiFo 2021 was also a great opportunity for networking as the digital conference platform offered participants direct chat and video functions. Furthermore, the virtual exhibition enabled companies and institutions to present themselves, including EuChemS, thus offering many opportunities for networking. Registrants interacted with the EuChemS team through its virtual booth. For this occasion, EuChemS also set up a webpage to provide the registrants of WiFo 2021 with the most up-to-date information on the latest chemistry-related and science-policy news, awards, and upcoming events in Europe and beyond.
You can visit the webpage “EuChemS @ WiFo 2021” here.