Registration is open...
The Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1459 will host the 5th Münster Symposium on intelligent matter on June 24th, 2026.
We would like to invite you to join exciting plenary lectures, to contribute with your results within an extensive poster session, or to apply for the MüSIM 2026 Young Researcher Award for a recent outstanding scientific paper published within the field.
Please find here more information on the event!
Visit the Münster Symposium on Intelligent Matter as one highlight within the scientific calendar!
In the News...
From International Chemistry Student to Junior Professor Developing Switchable Molecules at the University of Münster
Robert Hein, a Junior Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Münster and project leader of the CRC 1459 Intelligent Matter, combines supramolecular chemistry and electrochemistry to create electrically switchable molecules for intelligent, environmentally friendly materials—see the full feature on the Uni‑News portal and his group´s webpage.
Seraphine Wegner receives Momentun Grant from the Volkswagen Stiftung
Through its “Momentum” program, the Volkswagen Foundation supports young professors in strategically advancing their research and research-based teaching, and is providing Seraphine Wegner with € 940,000 for this purpose. In this project, she aims to create a plastic containing encapsulated plastic-degrading enzymes that remain inactive until the material breaks into microplastics and comes into contact with water, triggering them to break down the plastic.
More information is available on the university’s press release [DE] and the Wegner Group’s website.
Hector Research Career Development Award for Robert Hein
The Hector Fellow Academy has recognized Junior Professor Robert Hein of the Organisch- Chemisches Institut with the Research Career Development Award.
The prize confers a five‑year membership in the Academy, a research grant, and funding for a doctoral position to support the long‑term advancement of his outstanding scientific work in addition to access to the valuable network of the Hector Fellow Academy’s scientific community.
Further information can be found on the Hector Fellow Academy website and on the news portal of the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy [DE]] and the website of Robert Hein´s lab.
Insights into the energy landscape of a ‘memristive’ material
Findings from doctoral student Sebastian Walfort and Prof Martin Salinga’s team at the Institute of Materials Physics reveal the connection between electronic noise and thermodynamic properties.
Further information on this work, including the press release can be found here.
Click here for the original publication.
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz-Awardee 2026
DFG honours Prof. Dr. Armido Studer for outstanding research
Prof. Dr. Armido Studer is awarded with the 2026 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize for his outstanding contributions to organic radical chemistry—especially for developing sustainable synthetic methods using organic radicals.
With Germany´s most prestigious research‑funding award, worth €2.5 million, the DFG recognises and honours excellent scientists for their extraordinary scientific achievements.
More information about this year’s prize can be found here (in German) and on the website of the Studer group.