Functional Supramolecular Assemblies

Five of the seven lecturers listed above are ERC grant winners with above-average scientific achievements and bibliometric data. The main topic of this series of lectures will be functional supramolecular materials based on cage-type topologies. This is one of the most up-to-date scientific topics carried out in leading teams around the world. The latter is due to the high application potential of the cage systems that have already been used in many aspects of modern science: from biology, through physics to materials science. Each of the invited lecturers has a slightly different approach to creating, analyzing and using cage systems as sensors or in recognition of biologically active molecules or purification / separation processes. Undoubtedly, the academic community of our University will benefit immensely from listening to the lectures of such distinguished scientists, which will translate not only into establishing potential international cooperation, but may be an inspiration for new grant applications.

The Many Forms And Functions of Coordination Cages

Jonathan Nitschke

Following undergraduate studies (Williams College, MA) and graduate studies (Berkeley, CA) in the U.S., he undertook postdoctoral studies in France, and then started an independent research career at the University of Geneva (Switzerland). The Nitschke group moved to the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) in 2007.

The Many Forms And Functions of Self-Assembly of Mono-Metallic: Nano-Cages Featuring Two Different Polar Binding Sites

Pablo Ballester

Between 1990 and 1994 he held the positions of assistant professor and associate professor at UIB. In 1994-95 he was in the USA again as a visiting scientist at the pharmaceutical company Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Cambridge).

Between 1996 and 2002 he served as secretary of the Chemistry Department, vice-dean of the Faculty of Sciences and head of studies of Chemistry at UIB. From 2002 to 2003 he spend a sabbatical year at the Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, USA) with the rank of associate professor of research. Afterwards, he took a position as ICREA (Catalan Institution of Research and Advanced Studies) research professor and he joined the ICIQ as a group leader.

Pau Ballester has several honours and awards (Spanish Ministry of Education Special Award B.A. degree; Spanish Ministry of Education Pre-doctoral Fellow; Spanish Ministry of Education Post-doctoral Fellow; Alfred P. Sloan Fellow etc.), he has given several lectures (XIII Biennial Meeting of the Organic Chemistry Group, Sitges, 1991; Series of Lectures of the Institute of General Organic Chemistry, CSIC, Madrid, 2001; Ronald Breslow Award 2004, National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, California, 2004, etc.) and has done numerous publications.

Creating Cavities for Catalysis

Jack Harrowfield

Professeur Conventionné (equivalent to emeritus), University of Strasbourg

Principal Research Interests: Metal Ion Coordination Chemistry, Ligand Synthesis, Structure and Reactivity of Metal Complexes, Supramolecular Chemistry

Publications: 426 fully refereed papers, including invited reviews concerning actinide and lanthanide complexation by calixarenes, lanthanide structural chemistry of biological relevance, and labile interactions in coordination complexes; co-editor of three books and a special edition of Comptes Rendus de l'Academie Française. Holder of two patents concerning applications of cage amine complexes.

Self-Assembled Molecular Vessels

Partha Sarathi Mukherjee

Indian inorganic chemist and a professor at the Inorganic and Physical Chemistry department of the Indian Institute of Science. He is known for his studies on organic nano structures, molecular sensors and catalysis in nanocagesand is a recipient of the Swarnajayanthi Fellowship of the Department of Science and Technology and the Bronze Medal of the Chemical Research Society of India. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2016, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Multifunctional And Stimuli-Responsive Coordination Cages

Guido Clever

Research in the Clever Lab is motivated by fascination for the structural and functional complexity of nature’s biochemical machinery. We draw joy from the bottom-up design and construction of artificial devices, aggregates and complex systems on the nanometer scale. We create functional molecules and supramolecular assemblies as diagnostic tools, selective reagents and stimuli-responsive materials. Prof. Clever is an author of more than 130 publications in very prestigious journals. He received numerous fellowships and awards, among them prizes for his diploma and PhD theses, German Chemical Industry’s FCI Kekulé PhD stipend, AvH and JSPS postdoc fellowship, ADUC young investigator award of the German Chemical Society and the Young Investigator Award of the Fonds of the German Chemical Industry. In 2015, he secured an ERC Consolidator grant of the European Union. As PI he is currently involved in the German Cluster of Excellence RESOLV and the DFG-funded Graduate School “Confinement-controlled chemistry”. He further serves as vice dean of the department of chemistry, has co-organized a number of international meetings and acted as reviewer and board member of several research initiatives.

MultifunctConstruction and Destruction of Coordination Cages

Kay Severin

Professor of chemistry at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. His research group works on synthetic organic and inorganic chemistry, with projects ranging from small molecule activation (the chemistry of laughing gas) to the construction of functional nanostructures.

Catalysis in Confined Spaces

Konrad Tiefenbacher

Professor Konrad Tiefenbacher received chemical basic education at the Technical University of Vienna and the University of Texas in Austin. After finishing his diploma thesis in the lab of Prof. Fröhlich, he pursued his interest in total synthesis of biologically active natural products during a Ph.D. in the lab of Prof. Mulzer at the University of Vienna. He then moved to Prof. Rebek’s lab at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla to learn about molecular recognition and self-assembly. In 2012 he started his independent career as a Junior professor (W1-position) at the Technical University Munich. In June 2016 he was appointed to a dual tenure track assistant professorship position at the University of Basel and the ETH Zürich, and received tenure in 2020.