The Cluster of Excellence Unifying Systems in Catalysis (UniSysCat) is an interdisciplinary research network funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as part of the federal and state excellence strategy of Germany (Exzellenzstrategie). The funding period runs from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2025. Around 300 researchers from the Berlin and Potsdam area work in UniSysCat on current issues in catalysis research. UniSysCat is the follow-up project of the Cluster of Excellence Unifying Concepts in Catalysis (UniCat), which was funded from 2007 to 2018 as part of the federal and state excellence initiative of Germany ( Exzellenzinitiative).

Aims

Catalysis Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

is an active field of research in chemistry. The aim of UniSysCat is to understand coupled catalytic reactions and thus advance catalysis research, particularly with a view to sustainability. One approach of UniSysCat is to learn from nature. Biocatalysts, mostly enzymes, enable biochemical and physiological processes in living beings. Researchers in UniSysCat want to understand the complex, coupled processes that are driven by biocatalysts in nature in order to use the knowledge gained to recreate similar catalytic reaction networks in the laboratory. These catalytic reaction networks should be controllable and used in a targeted manner in order to pave the way to sustainable chemistry based on the example of nature according to the principles of "

green chemistry Green chemistry, also called sustainable chemistry, is an area of chemistry and chemical engineering focused on the design of products and processes that minimize or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. While environmental che ...

Consortium

Technische Universität Berlin The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...

Humboldt Universität zu Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of ...

Freie Universität Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

Universität Potsdam The University of Potsdam is a public university in Potsdam, capital of the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is mainly situated across three campuses in the city. Some faculty buildings are part of the New Palace of Sanssouci which is known ...

* Charité - Universitätsmedizin * Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft * Max-Planck-Institut for Colloids and Interfaces *

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (Helmholtz Centre for Materials and Energy, HZB) is part of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres. The institute studies the structure and dynamics of materials and investigat ...

* Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie Spokespersons: Holger Dobbek (HU Berlin), Matthias Driess (TU Berlin),

Arne Thomas Arne Thomas (born 1975) is a German chemist who researches Porous medium, porous and Nanomaterials, nanostructured materials for Catalysis, catalytic applications. Career Thomas studied chemistry at the University of Giessen, the University of M ...

(TU Berlin)

Research

The research network UniSysCat consists of around 60 research groups with expertise in experimental methods and theoretical approaches in the fields of molecular and

structural biology Structural biology is a field that is many centuries old which, and as defined by the Journal of Structural Biology, deals with structural analysis of living material (formed, composed of, and/or maintained and refined by living cells) at every le ...

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

and

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...

chemical synthesis As a topic of chemistry, chemical synthesis (or combination) is the artificial execution of chemical reactions to obtain one or several products. This occurs by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions. In mod ...

, physical and

theoretical chemistry Theoretical chemistry is the branch of chemistry which develops theoretical generalizations that are part of the theoretical arsenal of modern chemistry: for example, the concepts of chemical bonding, chemical reaction, valence, the surface o ...

and

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

. UniSysCat's research strategy is based on the previous work of the UniCat Cluster of Excellence (Unifying Concepts in Catalysis). UniSysCat aims at deciphering reaction networks in chemical and biological catalysis so that they can be controlled and simulated. Which key parameters enable and control chemo- and biocatalytic networks? How can chemical and biological processes be coupled to create catalytic systems with new functions? These are the central research questions of UniSysCat.

Clara Immerwahr Award

The Clara Immerwahr Award, launched in 2011 by the UniCat Cluster of Excellence, is an award to promote outstanding young women in catalysis research. The award is given annually to a young scientist from Germany or abroad in an early phase of her career (postdoc, young scientist) for excellent performance in catalysis research. It is associated with a financial grant of 15,000 euros for a research stay in a UniSysCat research group and is intended to establish close cooperation with UniSysCat working groups. The Clara Immerwahr Award is dedicated to Dr. Clara Immerwahr (1870-1915), who was the first women in Germany to receive a doctorate in physical chemistry in 1900.

PhD progam EC2/BIG-NSE

A structural goal of UniSysCat is the sustainable promotion of young scientists. UniSysCat supports the so-called "EC2/BIG-NSE" doctoral program. The term EC2/BIG-NSE is made up of the terms EC² (Einstein Center of Catalysis) and BIG-NSE (Berlin International Graduate School of Natural Sciences and Engineering). BIG-NSE was an international PhD program, that dbeen founded on 29. Mai 2007 at the Technical University Berlin, and was part of the Cluster of Excellence UniCat. Since January 1st, 2019, the BIG-NSE doctoral program has been financed by the "Einstein Center of Catalysis" sponsored by the Einstein Foundation Berlin. It followed the renaming to EC2/BIG-NSE. The mission of this doctoral program is to overcome the limits of the classic disciplines in catalysis.

Knowledge transfer

Catalysis research also plays an important role in industry, especially for sustainable chemistry. Various projects have been established to transfer the research results of UniSysCat to industrial application.

BasCat

In 2011, the UniCat Cluster of Excellence and the chemical company

BASF BASF SE () is a German multinational chemical company and the largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The BASF Group comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries ...

founded the joint laboratory BasCat at the Technical University of Berlin. BasCat is dedicated to basic research in the field of heterogeneous catalysis. The basic research should then also be transferred to industrial application.

Chemical Invention Factory

The Chemical Invention Factory (CIF, John Warner Center for Start-ups in Green Chemistry) is a project initiated at the TU Berlin that aims to encourage young scientists to found their own start-ups. The Chemical Invention Factory supports research in the fields of green chemistry, materials, and nanotechnology. In a planned new building there will be state-of-the-art laboratories in which young scientists, accompanied by mentors, can research their own ideas with the aim of developing their results in a start-up until they are ready for the market.

INKULAB

The INKULAB was a project to promote young entrepreneurs in chemistry. The INKULAB project ended in April 2020 after five years of successful work. During these five years, eight junior teams had the opportunity to work in the laboratories while they were supported by the Center for Entrepreneurship at the Technical University Berlin.

References

External links

* {{official website, url=https://www.unisyscat.de/ Research groups