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Homepage/Divisions/Senior Expert Chemists/School Education Careers/Presentation topics
School Education Careers

Presentation topics

Presentation topics

Lecture topics as part of the school partnerships

For an overview, the topics of the lectures on offer are organised into the following subject areas:

- Management
- Natural sciences
- Energy
- History
- General chemistry
- Dyes
- Plastics, polymers
- Biochemistry, biotechnology, genetic engineering
- Pharmacy and medicine
- food chemistry
- Water
- Photochemistry
- Industrial chemistry, materials
- Environment

Organisational details. Travel expenses are covered by the inviter. No fees are charged. Please contact the speakers directly to arrange a date.

List of topics (see below). To open the individual topics, click the green triangle to expand them. Alternatively, download the complete list of topics as a PDF. The links in the names lead to the relevant speaker’s page with a more detailed title and information on the target audience and duration of the lecture.

  • Whither pharmaceutical research? (Kleemann)
  • The pharmaceutical industry in transition (Kleemann)
  • The long road from idea to product (Heywang)
  • When does an investment pay off? Dealing with risk (Kunz)
  • The employment situation of chemists in Europe (Salzer)

  • Careers in the natural sciences (Stevens)
  • ­Natural science experiments in nursery school (Stevens)
  • ­What gets us vibrating? Acoustics and standing waves (physics) (Heywang)
  • ­A little light is burning (Heywang)
  • Can chemistry be kosher? (Roth)
  • ­Children’s exhibition ‘Pipette’ (Schram)
  • Stockholm or Harvard? (Roth)
  • Curiosity and scientific progress (Franz)
  • Serendipity, or the role of chance in discoveries (Ehlers)
  • Women and the natural sciences (Ehlers)
  • Excited states for exciting chemistry – Curricular innovation research in chemistry education (Tausch)
  • Photons and molecules – Experimental lecture and workshop for schools and universities (Tausch)
  • Plant light laboratory – Experimental lecture and workshop for schools and universities (Tausch)
  • Photo & Nano: a powerful pair – Thin films with key functions (Tausch)
  • The tongue – a jack of all trades (Heywang)
  • Something is dripping – (almost) everything about droplets (Heywang)

  • Chemistry for energy storage technologies (Franz)
  • Production-integrated environmental protection (Heywang)
  • Fracking – cheap energy with nasty consequences? (Bader)
  • Energy, our elixir of life – where does it come from, where does it go? (Schwab)
  • Efficient electrical heating with carbon (Kunz)
  • Excited states for exciting chemistry – curricular innovation research in chemistry education (Tausch)
  • On the way to artificial photosynthesis – switch on the light! In chemistry education too! (Tausch)
  • Plant light laboratory – experimental lecture and workshop for schools and universities (Tausch)
  • Chemical utilisation of carbon dioxide – what is possible and what makes sense (Röper)
  • Lithium: the white gold of the Andes (Schultheiß-Reimann)
  • Renewable energies – technological foundations and significance for sustainable living on our planet (Gürtzgen)

  • ­Heroes of Science – Bernoulli, Carothers, Hoffmann and Bayer (Heywang)
  • ­Dimitri I. Mendeleev – a multi-talented individual? (Boeck)
  • ­People and Chemistry – society, cultural history of a love-hate relationship (Schram)
  • ­Book exhibition on chemistry books from 500 years (Schram)
  • Dyes through the ages (Hartmann)
  • The Dresden Dye Collection (Hartmann)
  • 150 years of the periodic table of the elements (Ehlers)
  • Women and the natural sciences (Ehlers)
  • Luminescence – a paradigm shift for colour: “Colours are deeds of light” (Tausch)
  • The Walden inversion and the person behind it (Boeck)
  • On the first women chemists (Boeck)
  • Lothar Meyer and the periodic table (Boeck)
  • The fate of Jewish chemists during the National Socialist era (Boeck)
  • Ferdinand Friedlieb Runge and a precursor to chromatography – the Runge pictures (Boeck)
  • The discovery of nitroglycerine and what came of it (Ehlers)
  • Wilhelm Ostwald and the birth of modern catalysis (Koppe)
  • Paracelsus — genius instead of chemistry (Koppe)
  • The development of chemistry into an independent branch of science (Salzer)

  • Fascination with chemistry: “Vivaldi goes Chemistry" (Full und Ruf)
  • The chemical magic of a Stradivarius (Roth)
  • H2O – drawn off and originally corked (Roth)
  • Can chemistry be kosher? (Roth)
  • ­Highlights from everyday chemistry – experiments with supermarket products (Schwedt)
  • Molecules that move the world – Part 1: Small molecules, major impact (Ehlers)
  • Molecules that move the world – Part 2: Molecules as the building blocks of life (Ehlers)
  • Molecules that move the world – Part 3: Drug molecules that have made history (Ehlers)
  • Sugary-sweet chemistry – experiments from glucose to starch (Schwedt)
  • Chemistry for energy storage technologies (Franz)
  • Function, invention, innovation – chemistry as a key technology (Franz)
  • ­Crystals and their growth (Altenburg)
  • ­World of crystals (Altenburg)
  • ­Salt – crystals of life (Bitsch)
  • ­From table salt to ruby (Altenburg)
  • ­Right and left – a chemical problem too (Boeck)
  • ­Chemistry in computers (Hecht)
  • ­Solar catalysis – gentle chemistry with air and sunlight (Kisch)
  • Science and art: companions and kindred spirits (Schreckenbach)
  • Measurements in chemistry (Zschunke)
  • Analysis of terminology in chemistry (Zschunke)
  • 150 years of the periodic table of the elements (Ehlers)
  • Changes in the use of raw materials for the chemical industry (Schwab)
  • Industrial catalysis – a decisive success factor for the chemical industry (Schwab)
  • Photons and molecules – experimental lecture and workshop for schools and universities (Tausch)
  • Photosynthesis, a case for two – interaction of chlorophyll and β-carotene in photosynthesis (Tausch)
  • Photo & nano: a powerful pair – thin films with key functions (Tausch)
  • Luminescence – a paradigm shift for colour: “Colours are the deeds of light” (Tausch)
  • The tongue, a jack of all trades (Heywang)
  • Value chains in industrial organic chemistry (Röper)
  • Homogeneous catalysis in the chemical industry (Röper)
  • Chemical utilisation of carbon dioxide – what is possible and what makes sense (Röper)
  • Measuring water (Koppe)
  • Lithium: the white gold of the Andes (Schultheiß-Reimann)

  • Dyes Through the Ages (Hartmann)
  • The Dresden Dye Collection (Hartmann)
  • Dyeing with Natural Dyes (Hartmann)
  • Colour – Music for the Eye and the Optics of Effect Pigments (Franz)
  • Tattoo – Chemistry That Gets Under Your Skin (Roth)
  • Crime Scene Berlin: Prussian Blue – Its Discoverers and Betrayers (Roth)
  • Photo & Nano: A Powerful Pair – Thin Films with Key Functions (Tausch)
  • Luminescence – A Paradigm Shift for Colour: “Colours are the Deeds of Light” (Tausch)

  • Functional plastics – unsung helpers in everyday life (Rehan)
  • Fibre-reinforced materials – efficient materials modelled on nature (Kunz)
  • Plastic waste: knowledge and speculation (Kunz)
  • The world of large molecules! – Plastics: curse or blessing? (Ehlers)

  • ­Chemical and physiological properties of plant polyphenols (Bitsch)
  • ­Contributions of biotechnology to the treatment of the widespread disease diabetes mellitus (Ehlers)
  • ­Nature as a model – isolation of new medicines from natural sources (Ehlers)
  • ­Isolation and purification of pharmaceutical active ingredients from culture broths (Ehlers)
  • Vitamin D – a long-known and newly reassessed vitamin (Bitsch)
  • ­Chromatography – a key technology for the purification of biopharmaceuticals (Ehlers)
  • ­The importance of biotechnology for the industrial production of new substances (Ehlers)
  • Genetic engineering – What is it? How does it work? (Jany)
  • Genetic engineering in everyday life (Jany)
  • Genetically modified foods – opportunities and risks (Jany)
  • Green genetic engineering – forming opinions through discourse (Jany)
  • Ecotoxicology – conventional and genetically modified plants (Jany)
  • From Mendel to modern plant breeding (Jany)
  • Chemistry of the cell – life or death (Saaler-Reinhardt)
  • Chemistry of the cell – transboundary molecular transport (Saaler-Reinhardt)
  • Of sailors, guinea pigs and citrus fruits (Roth)
  • Using biotechnology to produce pharmaceutical active ingredients (Kleemann)
  • On the way to artificial photosynthesis – let there be light! Also in chemical education! (Tausch)
  • Plant light laboratory – experimental lecture and workshop for schools and universities (Tausch)
  • Photo & Nano: a strong pairing – thin films with key functions (Tausch)

  • Where is pharmaceutical research heading? (Kleemann)
  • The pharmaceutical industry in transition (Kleemann)
  • What makes pharmaceutical active ingredient research so attractive? (Kleemann)
  • Alternative forms of therapy! – Fashion? Bestseller? Quackery? Placebo effect? What lies behind it? (Ehlers)
  • Iodine contrast media for computed tomography (CT) (Schmitt-Willich)
  • Gadolinium contrast media for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (Schmitt-Willich)
  • Chemistry’s contributions to diagnostic imaging: contrast media in CT, MR tomography and PET (Schmitt-Willich)
  • Drugs and addiction – a problem for all societies (Ehlers)
  • Diabetes and obesity (adiposity) (Ehlers)

  • Sparkling wine – scientifically effervescent too! (Heywang)
  • ­Egg, egg, egg! (Heywang) NEW: also available as an online lecture
  • ­Healthy ingredients in fruit and vegetables – made visible in experiments (Schwedt)
  • ­Principles of nutrition for senior citizens (Bitsch)
  • ­Meat – an expendable food? (Bitsch)
  • The chemistry of espresso (Roth)
  • The chemical secret of the Christmas scent (Roth)
  • H2O – drawn off and originally corked (Roth)
  • Can chemistry be kosher? (Roth)
  • Sweeteners, the sweet side of chemistry (Roth)
  • The chemistry of sauces – from Paul Boucuse to the packet (Roth)
  • From the first beer to the hangover (Roth)
  • Chocolate – a chemical sensory intoxication (Roth)
  • Absinthe – The kiss of the Green Fairy (Roth)
  • The chemical secret of Berlin currywurst (Roth)
  • Who’s afraid of the big E? (Food additives; Roth)
  • From the Isenheim Altarpiece to the Beatles (Roth)
  • Chilli – ‘’Some like it hot! (Roth)
  • Food of the future – Novel Foods (Jany)
  • Food intolerances – allergies and pseudo-allergies (Jany)
  • Chemistry and physiology of vitamins (Bitsch)
  • Calcium, iron and iodine as critical minerals/trace elements in
    the population (Bitsch)
  • Fragrances, aromas, olfactory delights (Büning-Pfaue)
  • A taste for chemistry in food (Büning-Pfaue)
  • Honey and nature’s sweet treats (Heywang)

  • Water – an everyday miracle (Heywang)
  • Splish splash – experiments with water (Heywang)
  • The physics and chemistry of water (Altenburg)
  • Water as the elixir of life – people’s water requirements (Bitsch)
  • Something’s dripping – (almost) everything about droplets (Heywang)
  • Water: cooling – dissolving – corrosion (Koppe)
  • Measuring water (Koppe)

  • Solar Catalysis – gentle chemistry with air and sunlight (Kisch)
  • On the way to artificial photosynthesis – Let there be light! In chemical education too! (Tausch)
  • Photons and Molecules – Experimental lecture and workshop for schools and universities (Tausch)
  • Plant Light Laboratory – Experimental lecture and workshop for schools and universities (Tausch)
  • Excited States for Exciting Chemistry – Curricular Innovation Research in Chemistry Education (Tausch)
  • Photosynthesis – a case for two – Interaction of chlorophyll and β-carotene in photosynthesis (Tausch)
  • Photo & Nano – a powerful pair (Tausch)

  • Development of chemical processes from the laboratory to production readiness (Stevens)
  • Teaching topic: Chemical Production (Stevens)
  • ­The long road from idea to product (Heywang)
  • ­Functional plastics – unsung helpers in everyday life (Rehan)
  • ­Electrically conductive polymers – history and current applications (Heywang)
  • ­From crude oil to polycarbonates (Heywang)
  • Lithium (Rittmeyer)
  • ­Ceramic superconducting substances (Altenburg)
  • ­Perspectives of chemistry on the way to nanoelectronics (Waser)
  • Changes in the use of raw materials for the chemical industry (Schwab)
  • Industrial catalysis – a decisive success factor for the chemical industry (Schwab)
  • Carbon – true gold? (Kunz)
  • Efficient electric heating with carbon (Kunz)
  • Value chains in industrial organic chemistry (Röper)
  • Homogeneous catalysis in the chemical industry (Röper)
  • Changes in the raw-material base for the chemical industry (Röper)
  • Changes in the raw-material base in the (petro)chemical industry (Schwab)

  • Production-integrated environmental protection (Heywang)
  • Fracking – cheap energy with nasty consequences? (Bader)
  • Energy, our elixir of life – where does it come from, where does it go? (Schwab)
  • Changes in the use of raw materials for the chemical industry (Schwab)
  • How can the IR absorption of CO2 be calculated using “readily available means”? (Kunz)
  • Plastic waste: knowledge and speculation (Kunz)
  • Energy efficiency through material selection (Kunz)
  • Strategy, visions and illusions for saving the climate (Kreysa)
  • Small molecules, major impact – trace gases in the atmosphere (Müller)
  • Renewable energies – technological foundations and significance for sustainable living on our planet (Gürtzgen​​​​​​​)

Schulpartnerschaft

Are you interested in passing on your knowledge to pupils and teachers? We welcome your suggestions via email.