Honorary Colloquium on the occasion of the 90th birthday of Prof. Hubert Schmidbaur, May 6, 2025
After the colloquium was opened by Prof. Richard W. Fischer (Münchener Chemische Gesellschaft, LMU), Prof. Thomas F. Fässler featured the development of Prof. Hubert Schmidbaur’s broad research portfolio and its continued influence on current research. Schmidbaur received his doctorate in chemistry from TUM in 1960 and became Professor of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry from 1973 to 2003. Speakers Prof. Pekka Pyykkö (University of Helsinki, Finland) and Prof. Norbert Mitzel (University of Bielefeld) highlighted the honoree’s scientific progress since the 1970s with emphasis on gold chemistry and aurophilic interactions and the ways these developments have directly influenced their own research lines. Dr. Eva Wille (Lives in Chemistry) presented an autobiography chronicling Schmidbaur’s life and scientific contributions, which was received with enthusiasm by doctoral students, colleagues, and supporters in the audience. Finally, he received two special issues of scientific journals that were published on the occasion of his 90th birthday. In closing, Prof. Schmidbaur thanked individual colleagues for their collaborations and support during his studies and career, and throughout his retirement.
Symposium on Surface and Interface Physics on the occasion of Prof. Dietrich Menzel’s 90th birthday, 30 April 2025
Prof. Dietrich Menzel held the Chair of Surface and Interface Physics at TUM from 1973 to 2003. A pioneer in the field of chemical physics of surfaces, especially in spectroscopy, electron dynamics and electronically stimulated reactions, the Menzel-Gomer-Redhead model is well-known to everybody working in this field today. Prior to the symposium, video messages from Prof. Cynthia M. Friend (President Kavli Foundation), Prof. Giovanni Cornelli (University of Triest), Prof. Pedro M. Echenique (President Donostia International Physics Center), Prof. Kazuo Watanabe (Tokyo University of Science), Prof. em. Maki Kawai (President National Institutes of Natural Sciences) and Prof. Ulrike Diebold (TU Wien) were shown, as well as a personal letter from Prof.em. Gerhard Ertl (Nobelprize 2007). Prof. Hans-Joachim Freund from the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society Berlin then opened the symposium, addressing the time when Menzel was working with him as a "post-prof". Focusing on how the years in the Menzel Lab (known as the E20 group) formed them and shaped their careers, eleven former E20 members (dubbed Menzelitos by Prof. Echenique at the occasion of Menzel’s 80th birthday) then provided insight into their current scientific research. Thanking the speakers for their contributions, Prof. Menzel reflected on his career stating, he “could not have done it without them” and reminded everyone of the most important priority: “to have fun in life”.
Publications
- Present challenges in surface science, a special issue in honor of Dietrich Menzel. Surface Science, 2016, doi.org/10.1016/j.susc.2015.10.054
- Laudatio: In celebration of the 90th birthday of Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Hubert Schmidbaur. Zeitschrift für Anorganische und Allgemeine Chemie, 2025, doi.org/10.1002/zaac.202400221
- Special issue dedicated to Professor Hubert Schmidbaur on the occasion of his 90th birthday. Chemical Sciences - Zeitschrift für Naturforschung B, 2024, https://www.degruyterbrill.com/journal/key/znb/79/12/html
Lives in Chemistry autobiography “Hubert Schmidbaur: From Chemical Craftsmanship to the Art of Gilding Atoms”. Lives in Chemistry, 2024, https://l-i-c.org/hubert-schmidbaur.html
More information and links
- Prof. Thomas Fässler, Chair of Inorganic Chemistry with Focus on Novel Materials
- Prof. Johannes Barth, Chair of Surface and Interface Physics
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