News
from the Becker Lab
03/2024 - Publication in the ZAAC online!
Raphael I. Petrikat's publication on the equilibrium of mono- and binuclear Cu(II)-dimethylglyoxime complexes and its use for the simple preparation of Cu(I) salts [Cu(CH3CN)4]X (X = ClO4-, BF4-, OTf-) is online.
11/2023 - "Metalheads" - What is all that metal actually doing in our heads?
We all have metals in our heads. But what effect do they have there? Why are some bad and without others literally nothing works? Sabine Becker provided answers to questions like these at a CampusKultur lecture at RPTU on Thursday - and also discussed current impulses from research.
11/2023 - DFG bewilligt neues Graduiertenkolleg WERA
The DFG has approved an application by RPTU to set up a Research Training Group for the recovery of raw materials from wastewater. This means that 8.6 million euros will be available for five years from next summer. The new research training group, called WERA (Wertstoff Abwasser), will focus on the recovery of phosphorus from wastewater.
A total of 11 researchers from the fields of chemistry, physics, civil engineering and mechanical and process engineering are involved in the application. These include four chemists: Prof. Dr. Sabine Becker (Inorganic Chemistry), Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kleist (Technical Chemistry), Prof. Dr. Stefan Kubik (Organic Chemistry) and Prof. Dr. Werner Thiel (Inorganic Chemistry).
10/2023 - Sabine Becker is appointed University Professor of Inorganic Chemistry
On 20.10.23, Junior Professor Dr. Sabine Becker, previously Junior Professor in the Department of Chemistry at RPTU, was appointed University Professor (W2).
09/2023 - Sabine Becker Deputy President of the German Chemical Society
From 2024, Sabine Becker will not only help shape the fortunes of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) for the four years as a member of the Executive Board, but was also elected Deputy President of the GDCh by the Executive Board. The term of office is one year.
09/2023 - MI(N)Tmachwelt Experimentation Days at the Kaiserslautern Gartenschau
Over two days, we were able to introduce children and young people to the wonderful world of chemistry with various hands-on experiments as part of the MI(N)Tmachwelt and put a smile on the faces of many.
07/2023 - Sabine Becker becomes part of the GDCh board
The GDCh members have elected Sabine Becker to the Board for the term of office 2024 - 2027.
06/2023 - Symposium on sustainability
What are the energy sources of the future? What does climate change mean for forests and the sea? Why is (waste) water so valuable? How can we as individuals make the world a little more sustainable? As part of a teaching project, students at the Rhineland-Palatinate University of Technology Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) have addressed questions such as these and put scientific findings into a generally understandable form.
06/2023 - Show debate: Should the Mainzelmännchen represent the RPTU?
In a show debate, students and lecturers at RPTU in Kaiserslautern engaged in a heated and witty verbal battle over the question of whether the Mainzelmännchen should represent RPTU. On the side of the lecturers, Sabine Becker and her colleagues argued against the Mainzelmännchen, who also won the show debate.
05/2023 - MINT-Festival Maria-Ward-Schule Landau in der Pfalz
As part of the MINT-Festivals under the slogan “Promoting girls in the MINT field” - Nothing easier than that! Rapahel I. Petrikat and Marisa F. Jakobs used various hands-on experiments to introduce schoolgirls from the Maria Ward School in Landau to the wonderful world of “Bioinorganic chemistry - how metal ions control life”.
05/2023 - Publication in the Special Issue "Commemorating 150 Years of Justus von Liebig's Legacy" in Chemistry online!
The publication by Stephanie L. Faber and Nesrin I. Dilmen on the redox equilibrium of TPP- and TPPO-containing Cu(I)- and Cu(II)-complexes has now been published with open access in Chemistry (MDPI).
Article: 10.3390/chemistry5020087
03/2023 - Marisa F. Jakobs is awarded a Steinhofer Prize!
Together with two other Master's graduates from the department, Marisa F. Jakobs was awarded the Steinhofer Prize for the best academic achievements in 2022! The Steinhofer Prizes are awarded annually to the three best graduates of the year at a ceremony organized by the Department of Chemistry. Congratulations, Marisa!
03/2023 - Inside Cover in Chemistry online!
Our publication in Chemistry - A Eurpoean Journal was awarded with an inside cover:
R. I. Petrikat, S. Steiger, E. Barani, P. J. Boden, M. E. Huber, M. E. Ringenberg, G. Niedner-Schatteburg, K. Fink, S. Becker: Cooperativity-Driven Reactivity of a Dinuclear Copper Dimethylglyoxime Complex, Chem. Eur. J. 2023, e202203438.
Article: 10.1002/chem.202203438
Cover: 10.1002/chem.202203438
03/2023 - Sabine Becker is running in the election of the GDCh Board
In the upcoming GDCh Board election (term of office 2024-2027), Sabine Becker is running in Area A (Universities, Research Institutions and Authorities). She sees her future work on the Board as focusing on strengthening university teaching, promoting young talent in terms of gender equality and equal opportunities, internationalization and intensifying public relations/science communication. Further information on the election and the 24 candidates standing for election can be found here and here.
02/2023 - Publication in Chemistry A European Journal now online!
Raphael I. Petrikat's publication on cooperativity in copper-dimethylglyoxime complexes is now online! Many thanks also to our collaboration partners!
01/2023 - Book Review online
Our review of the book "Molecular Bio-Sensors and the Role on Metal Ions" (Volume 23 of Metal Ions in Life Sciences, Series Editors: Astrid Sigel, Helmut Sigel, Eva Freisinger, Roland K. O Sigel, Guest Editor: Thomas J. Meade) is now online in Inorg. Chim. Acta online.
01/2023 - From now on we are the RPTU Kaiserslautern - Landau
Since 01.01.2023, the TU Kaiserslautern and the university location Landau together form the Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau, the RPTU!
09/2022 - Application for Lehre Plus funding approved!
Sabine Becker's proposal to set up an interdisciplinary symposium on sustainability has been selected as a Teaching Plus project 2022! This means that €20,000 is now available to set up a new module that combines the topic of sustainability with science communication and the transfer of specialist knowledge to pupils! More information can be found here.
08/2022 - Cover in ZAAC!
Our publication in ZAAC was awarded the cover:
R. I. Petrikat, S. Becker, BF4- as source for the preparation of BF2 bridged copper(II) dimethylglyoxime complexes, Z. allg. anorg. Chem. 2022, 648, e202200150
Article: doi.org/10.1002/zaac.202200150
07/2022 - Lectureship at the University of Vienna
From 04/15 - 06/30/2022, Sabine Becker was a guest professor at the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Vienna. In addition to working on scientific collaborations, she was involved in teaching the Master's degree course in Chemistry with the lecture "Concepts of Bioinorganic Chemistry". She also gave the lecture "Bioinorganic Chemistry - From small molecule activation to zinc imaging in live cells" as part of the spring festival. Further information can be found here.
06/2022 - Publication in ZAAC online!
Raphael I. Petrikat's publication on the decomposition of BF4 and subsequent incorporation of BF2 units into the ligand scaffold of copper dimethylglyoxime complexes is online!
06/2022 - Scholarshipf of the Heinrich Böll Foundation for Annika Pick
Annika Pick obtained a PhD scholarship from the Heinrich Böll foundation for her project "synthesis and characterization of photoswitchable zinc sensors based on azobenzene". Congrats and all the best for the project start, Annika!
09/2021 - Six questions for...
Now online: Sabine Becker in the series "Six questions to..." of the Klaus Tschira Foundation
https://www.klaus-tschira-stiftung.de/sabine-becker-chemikerin-bei-sechs-fragen-an/
02/2021 - Trend Report Inorganic Chemistry online
The Trend Report Inorganic Chemistry (Nachrichten der Chemie) by Dragos-Adrian Rosca and Sabine Becker is now online and can be found here.
03/2020 - Klaus Tschira Boost Fund granted!
Our application ("ClickbareFluoreszenzsensoren zur Detektion von Zinkionen in neuronalen Systemen") for the Klaus Tschira Boost Fund, a joint initiative of the German Scholars Organization and the Klaus Tschira Stiftung, was granted!
01/2020 - Cover picture and -interview in Eur. J. Inorg. Chem.
C. Gawlig, S. Schindler and S. Becker, One-pot conversion of Cyclohexane to Adipic Acid Using a µ4-Oxido-Copper Cluster as Catalyst Together with Hydrogen Peroxide, Eur. J. Inorg. Chem.2020
Publication: doi.org/10.1002/ejic.201901052
Cover-Interview: https://doi.org/10.1002/ejic.202000010
02/2019 - Poster prize for Sabine Becker at the Bruker-AXS/MIT Symposium
Sabine Becker is awarded the poster prize at the Bruker-AXS / MIT Symposium in Cambridge (USA) for her poster "A Crystallographer's Nightmare or a Fascinating Case of Disorder? - The Detailed Refinement of a Large and Highly Disordered Structure"
02/2019 - Research funding by the TU-Nachwuchsring
The TU-Nachwuchsring grants 10.000 € for our research about zinc sensors.
12/2018 - Third funding period of SFB/TRR 88 "3MET" approved!
The DFG grants the third funding period of 3MET (2019-2022), ich which we are investigating cooperative effects in homo- and hetermetallic complexes.
03/2018 - Cover picture in Acta Cryst B!
S. Becker: The crystal structure of [Fe2(PIMIC6)(AnthCO2)(CH3CN)]·[Fe2(PIMIC6)(AnthCO2)(CH3CN)0.9(CH2Cl2)0.1]·[Fe2(PIMIC6)(AnthCO2)(OH2)]·0.75CH3CN: a crystallographer's nightmare or a fascinating case of disorder? Acta Cryst2018, B74, 122, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1107/S2052520618000689
11/2017 -TU-Nachwuchsring grants research funding
The TU-Nachwuchsring grants 10.000 € for a research project concerning photoswitchable sensors.