SCS-Syngenta Symposium 2011 IYC “Modern Catalysis for Sustainable Chemistry”
In his opening remarks, Gerardo Ramos, Head of Crop Protection Research & Development (R&D), said that “chemistry has significantly improved people’s quality of life, for example through the development of novel pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and modern telecommunications to name but a few. We at Syngenta are proud to continue the tradition of making significant advancements in chemistry to ensure sustainable agriculture and help meet the global food challenge we are now facing.”
Sustainable chemistry
Andrew Plant, Head of Chemistry within Crop Protection R&D, who spoke to close the symposium, said “this was a fantastic event, with excellent lectures and, more importantly, some vigorous discussions around catalysis and sustainable chemistry. Syngenta is proud to have fostered the advancement of these technologies.”
Speeding up Catalysis – the process of speeding up a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst – is already a very important aspect of chemistry and is used widely in many industrial applications. Research in this area moves extremely quickly and many of the catalytic methods now considered to be standard by organic chemists were almost unthinkable just 10 years ago. It is a field that can potentially yield many more new real-world applications in the future.
Discussing and learning The symposium was designed as a forum to discuss and learn more about catalysis as a tool to address the sustainability challenge in modern chemistry. The one-day event brought together participants from both leading companies and top universities from across all of Switzerland, as well as the US, France and Germany, for a series of lectures and a poster session discussing many aspects of catalysis, including bio-, organo- and organometallic technologies.
The event’s location at the Syngenta research site in Stein, located approximately 35 kilometers from Basel, is befitting the area’s strong history in chemistry. Hosting this event in the Basel region serves as a reminder of the importance that chemistry continues to play in the production of plentiful and healthy food, medicines and consumer products that people around the world depend on each and every day.
About the Swiss Chemical Society (SCS) The Swiss Chemical Society represents chemistry in the broadest sense in Switzerland and in international organizations. The SCS organizes and supports scientific meetings, workshops and other activities that serve the chemical community in Switzerland, and that promote the interests of chemists in Switzerland and in international professional organizations. The SCS also produces publications including Helvetica Chimica Acta and CHIMIA. The SCS has approximately 2600 individual and 40 corporate members and five collective member societies.
Organizer contact details:
Dr. Sarah Sulzer
Syngenta Crop Protection Münchwilen AG
Research Chemistry
Schaffhauserstrasse
CH-4332 Stein
Switzerland
Phone: +41 62 866 0233
Email: sarah.sulzer-mosse@syngenta.com
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