Summit Program at a Glance
The program of the Transforming Chemistry Summit 2026 offers a blend of scientific excellence, forward‑looking perspectives, and opportunities for cross‑disciplinary collaboration. Over two days, participants will engage with plenary keynotes, session talks, poster presentations, and dedicated opportunities to connect with peers — all centered on advancing circular and sustainable chemistry. Explore the schedule below.
Here you will find more information on how to get to the conference venue.
Day 1 – Tuesday, 15 September 2026
8:00 – 9:00 am
Foyer
Registration
9:00 – 9:30 am
Welcoming
Hörsaal Nord
Prof. Peter H. Seeberger, Scientific Director, Center for the Transformation of Chemistry
Prof. Eva Inés Obergfell, Rector, Leipzig University
Prof. Heike Graßmann, State Secretary, Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture, and Tourism
9:30 – 10:30 am
Plenary Lecture 1
Hörsaal Nord
Prof. Bartosz Grzybowski, UNIST
TBA
10:30 – 11:00 am
Foyer
Coffee Break
11:00 – 12:30 pm
Parallel Session 1
Hörsaal Süd
Session A — Data-driven Chemistry | Hörsaal Süd 1
11:00 – 11:30
Prof. Philippe Schwaller, EPFL
Teaching Language Models to Speak Chemistry
11:30 – 12:00
Dr. Kevin Maik Jablonka, FSU-Jena
TBA
12:00 – 12:30
Prof. Jens Meiler, Leipzig University
How artificial intelligence is reshaping protein structure prediction and therapeutic design
Session B — Renewable Feedstocks| Hörsaal Süd 2
11:00 – 11:30
Dr. Majd Al-Naji, Leipzig University
Heteroatom-Based Carbocatalysts: Tuning Acidity, Basicity and Redox Activity for Sustainable chemical processes
11:30 – 12:00
Prof. Francesca Toma, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon
Engineering Waste into Value: From CO₂ Reduction to Lignin-Based Materials
12:00 – 12:15
Dr. Jakob Wolf, Nanyang Technological University
Autonomous studies for reaction development
12:15 – 12:30
Nils Frank, Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung
The Photohydrolysis of Furans
12:30 – 1:30 pm
Foyer
Lunch Break
Enjoy a lunch break with time to connect, exchange ideas, and discuss the morning’s presentations in a relaxed setting.
1:00 – 1:30 pm
Hörsaal Süd 1
Dr. Nino Tomini & Joshua Barthel, HHL/DIGITAL SPACE
Turning Deep-Tech Ideas into Value – How to Validate Ideas Quickly
1:00 – 2:00 pm
Foyer
Poster Session
2:00 – 3:00 pm
Plenary Lecture 2
Hörsaal Nord
Prof. Alexei Lapkin, University of Cambridge
(SM3) Sustainable Molecules and Materials Manufacture – design of complete chemistry value chain for ‘net-zero chemistry‘
3:00 – 3:30 pm
Foyer
Coffee Break
During this time a group photo will also be taken. Location: Entrance steps
3:30 – 5:00 pm
Parallel Session 2
Hörsaal Süd
Session A — Automated Synthesis | Hörsaal Süd 1
3:30 – 4:00
Prof. Leonidas-Dimitrios Syntrivanis, University of Colorado-Boulder
Towards a programmable synthesis of complex terpenes
4:00 – 4:30
Prof. Victor Sans Sangorrin, Universitat Jaume I
Towards Predictive Reactor Engineering for Sustainable Processing
4:30 – 4:45
Dr. Jose Danglad-Flores, MPIKG
Integrating automated platforms for chemical synthesis and reaction studies
4:45 – 5:00
Dr. Nicole Jung, KIT
Chemotion: Software to enable FAIR data and automation based on machine readable reaction processes
Session B — Sustainability Assessment | Hörsaal Süd 2
3:30 – 4:00
Prof. Liselotte Schebek, TU-Darmstadt
Assessing circular economy: what is it all about?
4:00 – 4:30
Prof. Peter Saling, BASF, TU Dresden
Sustainability assessments supporting decisions in circular economy of chemicals
4:30 – 4:45
Zoe Caterina Scarsella, Fraunhofer IKTS
Prospective LCA of Emerging Bio-based Technologies
4:45 – 5:00
cancelled – Dr. Daniel Breite, Leibniz IOM
Life Cycle Assessment for Polymer Membrane Preparation and Modification – The Role of Recycled Polymers, Green Solvents, and Electron Beam Treatment
5:15 – 6:15 pm
Plenary Lecture 3
Hörsaal Nord
Prof. Bert Sels, KU Leuven
TBA
Day 2 – Wednesday, 16 September 2026
8:00 – 9:00 am
Foyer
Registration
9:00 – 10:00 am
Plenary Lecture 4
Hörsaal Nord
Prof. Katalin Barta, University of Graz
TBA
10:00 – 10:30 am
Foyer
Coffee Break
10:30 – 12:00 pm
Parallel Session 3
Hörsaal Süd
Session A — Computational Chemistry | Hörsaal Süd 1
10:30 – 11:00
Prof. Julia Westermayr, Leipzig University
Machine learning photochemistry
11:00 – 11:30
Prof. Ganna Gryn’ova, University of Birmingham
Data-Driven Design of Redox-Active Molecules
11:30 – 11:45
Dr. Stefan Zahn, Leibniz IOM
Uncovering Molecular Secrets of Deep Eutectic Solvents
11:45 – 12:00
Prof. Haojie Zhang, MLU Halle-Wittenberg
Automating ALD: A Self-Driving Thin-Film Growth Platform for Sustainable Materials Discovery
Session B — Recycling and Circularity | Hörsaal Süd 2
10:30 – 11:00
Prof. Ulrich Schubert, FSU-Jena
Switchable polymers for intelligent and circular polymers: Design of new chemistries and high-throughput technologies
11:00 – 11:30
Prof. Chris Slootweg, University of Amsterdam
Smarter Chemistry: Green, Circular and Safe by Design
11:30 – 11:45
Dr. Georg Künze, Leipzig University
Development of high-efficiency PET-degrading enzymes using structure-based design and machine learning
11:45– 12:00
Dr. Rebecca Sebers, RWTH Aachen
catalaix: Transforming Plastic Waste into Circular Value Chains
12:00 – 1:00 pm
Foyer
Lunch Break
12:30 – 1:30 pm
Foyer
Poster Session
1:30 – 3:00 pm
Parallel Session 4
Hörsaal Süd
Session A — Sustainable Synthesis | Hörsaal Süd 1
1:30 – 2:00
Prof. Helen Sneddon, University of York
Solvents: Part of the Solution
2:00 – 2:15
Dr. Ningyu Huang, Nanyang Technological University
Electrocatalytic Valorization of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural toward Value-Added Chemicals
2:15 – 2:30
Dr. Tomasz Stawski, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, BAM
Accelerating the discovery of High-Entropy Transition Metal Phosphates via automated synthesis and sequential learning
2:30 – 2:45
Dr. Gerrit Schaper, PTS — Institut für Fasern & Papier
Malaprade-Oxidation of Lignocellulosic Biomass: A novel Biorefinery-Concept for highly functional, sustainable Biopolymers
2:45 – 3:00
Dr. Marcus Lehnertz, SECARA | ITMC RWTH Aachen
Catalytic Depolymerization of Technical Polymers: From Unrecyclable Waste to Drop-In Monomers
Session B — Biobased Materials and Catalysis | Hörsaal Süd 2
1:30 – 2:00
Prof. Roger Gläser, Leipzig University
Epoxidation of Renewable Biodiesel with Hydrogen Peroxide over Enhanced Ti-Containing Silicate Catalysts
2:00 – 2:30
Prof. Antje Potthast, BOKU University Vienna
Lignocellulose Analytics
2:30 – 2:45
Aybike Terzi, BasCat, TU Berlin
Exploring Large Catalyst Composition Spaces via Machine Learning
3:15 – 4:15 pm
Plenary Lecture 5
Hörsaal Nord
Dr. Nils Bottke, BASF, Universität Würzburg
(substitutional for Prof. Frank Rosowski, BASF, TU Berlin)
TBA
4:15 – 4:45 pm
Hörsaal Nord
Closing and Awards
Our Event Partners
More details about the collaboration agreements with HHL and with Leipzig University.
If you have any further questions, please contact us at: ctc.conference@ctc-germany.org
