Keynote Status Meeting: Prof. Dr. Rainer Herges

Date/Time
18.07.2023
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Location
Hotel Am Rosengarten
Osterbergstraße 16
74206 Bad Wimpfen



We are very happy to welcome as a keynote speaker at our Status Meeting 2023:

Prof. Dr. Rainer Herges

Christian Albrechts University in Kiel, Otto Diels Institute for Organic Chemistry

Title: “Switchable Molecular Magnets”.

 

Abstract: Molecules or ions are either paramagnetic (unpaired electrons) or diamagnetic (all electrons are paired). Switching between the two states under ambient conditions was considered a typical solid-state phenomenon and has been coined spin crossover. The first single molecular spin switches operated with light in solution were discovered a decade ago in our group, and they have been developed towards a number of technical applications that are not accessible to solid-state systems. We designed switchable contrast agents for MRI guided, catheter-based interventions (stroke patients), switchable molecular magnets for MRI imaging of 3D temperature maps (location of heat sources, tumors, inflammation) and molecular electronics and spintronics. Using light control of magnetic field strengths, we currently work on super-high-resolution MRI.

Biography: Rainer Herges studied chemistry in Saarbrücken, obtained his PhD at the TU-Munich (Prof. Ugi) and from Munich he worked his way north to Erlangen (habilitation), Braunschweig (C3-Prof.) and finally Kiel (C4-Prof., since 2001). In between he was visiting professor at ENS in Paris, Stanford, Melbourne, Canberra and MIT (Boston). He started his independent career with the development of programs and applications of artificial intelligence in chemistry, i.e. the prediction and subsequent synthetic realization of new chemical reactions. Among further achievements are the synthesis of the first Möbius annulenes, and the first magnetically switchable molecules. Rainer Herges served as a member of the DFG panel Molecular Chemistry and was initiator and spokesman of the CRC677 “Function by Switching” during 12 years. He received numerous awards and is currently director of the Institute of Organic Chemistry at Kiel University.

The CRC cordially invites all who are interested to the lecture.