GRK 1582:  Fluorine as Key Element: Discovering Innovative Synthetic Concepts to Generate Novel Molecules with Unique Properties

• Subject Area: Molecular Chemistry
• Term: from 2009 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 99919608

The Research Training Group offers the participating graduate students an educational programme that features the introduction of fluorine into diverse chemical structures with the aim of discovering novel compounds that will have applications in catalysis, materials science as well as in pharmaceutical and biological chemistry. The intention is to fill a knowledge gap that has been forming at German universities, which, if allowed to continue to grow, would lead to an unacceptable loss of expertise in the area of fluorine chemistry.
There exists at this time in Berlin a situation in which a large number of research groups, from a wide variety of scientific backgrounds and expertise, have concentrated their efforts on the synthesis of unusual fluorinated compounds as well as the investigation of their properties. This presents a rare opportunity that is best taken advantage of by pooling these resources in the form of a Research Training Group, which is expected to produce further synergies that will reinvigorate both teaching and research in fluorine chemistry in Germany.
The members of the Research Training Group are self-financed and otherwise financed graduate students who will receive, within the framework of the marketability concept, research training that is internationally recognised and integrated. The participation of three industry partners in the educational programme will enable students to obtain a level of practical experience that is unprecedented for a programme of this kind. Aside from the fluorine chemistry focus of the teaching and research programmes, resources will be made available for the acquisition of soft skills that will ensure the readiness of students to enter the job market. According to the principle of equal opportunity, the advancement of women is explicitly supported, and is actively demonstrated by the contributions of two female university professors to this proposal.

• DFG Programme: Research Training Groups
• Applicant Institution: Freie Universität Berlin; Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
• Business and Industry: Bayer AG; Pharmaceuticals; Biolitec AG; Pharmapur GmbH; Solvay Flour GmbH; SFLU-SBURA
• Participating Researchers: Professor Dr. Ulrich Abram; Professor Dr. Thomas Braun; Professor Dr. Nediljko Budisa; Professor Dr. Constantin Czekelius; Professor Dr. Rainer Haag; Professor Dr. Erhard Kemnitz; Professorin Dr. Nora Kulak; Professor Dr. Dieter Lentz; Professorin Dr. Beate Paulus; Privatdozentin Dr. Gudrun Scholz; Professor Dr. Konrad Seppelt
• Spokesperson: Professorin Dr. Beate Koksch