16th doctoral seminar
16th Doctoral Seminar
Insight into current research at the Department of Chemistry
On 13.03.2026, the Department of Chemistry held its sixteenth doctoral seminar. In front of a large audience of professors, staff and students, eight doctoral students from different areas of study reported on their current research results and answered questions from the interested audience.
Food chemistry/toxicology kicked things off with exciting studies on the health-promoting effects of fruit juices, dealcoholized wine and the polyphenols they contain. Two further presentations explained why nitrite curing salt in sausage products is harmful to health and then evaluated new methods to replace costly animal experiments in cancer research with fast and cell culture-based alternatives. In the second part of the seminar, doctoral students in didactics explained how their own research can be effectively integrated into teaching and whether a game-based approach increases the motivation and professional competence of students. The seminar concluded with a presentation on organic and inorganic chemistry. In the first project, new substances for the rapid and effective detoxification of Novichoks were synthesized and tested, while the second project dealt with the synthesis and characterization of copper complexes for oxidation catalysis. Following the doctoral seminar, new ideas and findings were discussed in a relaxed atmosphere.
For the first time in the history of the doctoral seminar, the audience had the opportunity to vote for the best presentation. The lecture prize is endowed with €200 and was provided by the Professor Dr. Drs.h.c. Adolf Steinhofer Foundation. With a narrow majority, Ms. Nesrin Dilmen (AK Prof. Sabine Becker, Inorganic Chemistry) was awarded for her very good lecture entitled "Using μ4-oxido copper clusters with encapsulating ligands in the catalytic oxidation of cyclohexane". Congratulations to her!
The first doctoral seminar of the chemistry department celebrated its premiere on September 22, 2016. The idea for this seminar arose in connection with a reorganization of the department's doctoral regulations. One of the aims of the doctoral seminar is to train doctoral students in giving appealing presentations and explaining scientific results in a generally understandable way. The seminar also aims to promote internal and interdisciplinary cooperation.