(TCLS= Thursday Chemistry Lunch Seminar: 12.15-13 @ Tripletten
  • For ALL employees at the Chemistry Department!
  • Welcome Mathias!

    Hi everyone, I am Mathias Brevik. Originally from the north-western town of Kristiansund, I moved to Bergen five years ago for my bachelor’s and master’s in chemistry. I am now excited to be joining the department as a PhD candidate.

    The PhD project will focus on the development of multivariate techniques for the analysis and interpretation of mass cytometry data. Additionally, the project will explore approaches for the automatic optimization of chemical reactions via high-throughput experimentation. The work will be performed in the research group for chemistry in medical technology under the supervision of Bjørn Grung.

    Beyond my PhD work, personal interests include reading, cinema, and music – both through listening and playing. You can find me in room 3059!

    Julie joins Int’l Summer School Program – Congrats!

    Every year two world leading large scale international centers, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, organize a highly regarded joint International Summer Student Programme on X-Ray and Neutron Science. Participants of the summer school will be trained in the principles and applications of X-ray and neutron science (magnetism, materials science, soft matter, structural biology, imaging, etc.) and perform a four-week experimental project embedded in a research group at the ESRF or ILL. The participants are selected undergraduate students from universities of the 22 Member and Scientific Associate Countries of ESRF or ILL. It is a great pleasure to announce that one of our own students, Julie Brun, who is working on her master project in Pascal Dietzel’s research group, has been accepted as one of the approximately 20 participants this year. Congratulations, Julie! We hope you enjoy the summer school!

    (text: Pascal Dietzel)

    , juli 5, 2023. Category: Person.

    ISOM-XXIV is off to a good start!

    Vidar and Deryn were proud and thrilled to welcome to Bergen the participants of the 24thedition of the International Symposium on Olefin Metathesis and Related Chemistry!

    Following the kick-off in 1976 in Mainz, this important series of conferences has been held every odd-numbered year up to and including 2019, when ISOM-23 was held in Barcelona. 2021 was the exception, for reasons well known to all. Now, the olefin metathesis community is again gathered and gathering strength for new progress, right here in Bergen!

    Located at the West Coast at the slopes of high mountains, Bergen has been an internationally oriented city since way before Hanseatic time, and it makes perfect sense that this international symposium is held in Bergen. On the other hand, there is no denying that geographically, Norway lies at the outskirts of Europe. We rely on our guests to bring the world in and thereby include us in the international community.

    Priority research areas at University of Bergen are Marine research, Climate and energy transition, and Global challenges. Chemistry holds the keys to progress on many of these challenges, including the sustainable synthesis of materials and chemicals, better pharmaceuticals, the utilization of bio-based feedstocks, and low-carbon energy carriers, to name but few.

    The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in their press release on the 2005 Nobel prize in chemistry, hailed olefin metathesis as one of organic chemistry’s most important reactions. Continuing, “This represents a great step forward for “green chemistry”, reducing potentially hazardous waste through smarter production. Metathesis is an example of how important basic science has been applied for the benefit of man, society and the environment.”

    The scientific program of ISOM-24 very much reflects this rôle, as exemplified by session titles such as Sustainable metathesis, sustainable catalysts, and circular economy. Another observation from the program, is the forward-leaning and ambitious attitude, which is truly becoming for a mature scientific field. Session titles New perspectives, New frontiers, and Emerging reactions indicate that there is still much ground to break before the potential of olefin metathesis is fully achieved and put to work!

    In their bid for ISOM-24, the conference chairs, professors Deryn Fogg and Vidar Jensen, expressed concern that the actual industrial uptake of olefin metathesis technology has been slower than expected. This puts double pressure on the ISOM series, as the main arena for communication between stakeholders in olefin metathesis.

    Department of Chemistry is proud to be entrusted the organization of this important event. The conference chairs have done everything in their power to ensure a top scientific program and exciting extra-scientific events. Moreover, the local organizing committee, including

    • Karianne Søreide
    • Pål Magnus Gunnestad
    • Giovanni Occhipinti
    • Marco Foscato
    • Saifon Maneesai
    • Lise Clarke Capp-Isaksen

    have made a massive effort in planning, preparing and now driving the many cogwheels that make a conference buzz, with good help from Christian Blanco, Eliza-Jayne Boisvert, Samantha Cormier, Jonas Ekeli, Dmytro Lemeshchenko, and Immanuel Reim.

    In addition to stimulating and challenging scientific talks, the value of a conference also lies in the informal discussions, about observations yet unexplained, of failed attempts that rarely make it to the top journals, of thoughts on how and where to proceed, of collaborations to push for progress, of introducing young colleagues to an extensive network and so on. It remains with the participants see to it that ISOM-24 becomes a great success also in this respect!

    For a few days Bergen is the center of the olefin metathesis community!

    Thanks!

    Dear all! Thanks for joining in last Thursday, in celebration of my second coming of age! I appreciate your company, the nice words said, as well as the beautiful flowers! — Knut

     

    , juli 3, 2023. Category: Person.

    Congrats to dr. Stian!

    Last Friday, Stian Hersvik Hegdahl’s dissertation ceremony got a semi-frenetic prologue as it became evident that one of the opponents was stuck and would not get to Bergen in time! Thanks to Stian himself, our PhD-advisor Torill and considerable and hard-earned experience from the Covid years, a fully satisfactory hybride format of the ceremony was rapidly concocted. After Stian had presented highlights from his thesis «From waste to bio-oil: Hydrothermal liquefaction of digested sewage sludge in small and large scale», dr  Patrick Biller, Aarhus University, examined the candidate for over an hour from Kastrup and from the big screen in Auditorium 1. Opponent dr. Joseph Samec, Stockholms Universitet, physically present, continued the examination, and Stian continued answering promptly and clearly. The evaluation committee, including both opponents and local member Øyvind, approved of the performance. The newly minted philosophiae doctor Stian and main supervisors Tanja and Camilla were all pleased and happy as well! Our congratulations to Stian and thanks to all contributors with assigned roles as well as all those showing up in the lecture hall!

    Welcome to Susan!

    Greetings from Susan !!

    My name is Susan Sen and I recently joined Kjemisk Institutt as a postdoctoral fellow to work with Prof. Dietzel on the design and development of functionalized metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to explore their catalytic activity.

    I received my Ph.D. degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India and then, moved to the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), Kyoto University, Japan to work with pioneer MOFs scientist Prof. Susumu Kitagawa as a specially appointed research fellow. Before joining UiB, I was working at the Department of Applied Chemistry, Nagoya University, Japan.

    My research is mainly focused on design and development of functionalized porous materials such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs) and porous organic polymers (POPs) for their wider application in small molecule separations, energy storage and conversion, and heterogenous catalysis. Looking forward to meeting you all and exploring the chemistry in nanopores at UiB.

    Please feel free to stop by and say hello to me in room 2002, Realfagbygget

    , juni 22, 2023. Category: Person.

    Parveen Gartan accepted for internship at AstraZeneca through DLN

    Digital Life Norway PhD internship program “The industry internship program presents a remarkable chance for aspiring researchers to venture into career avenues beyond academia,” said Rosalie Zwiggelaar, Senior adviser for training and career development in DLN and coordinator of the DLN Research School. “The experience acquired by these doctoral candidates is highly valued, and a number of past participants have transitioned into successful roles within the industry.”

    http://www.pdf-tools.com

    The goals of the internship program include strengthening links between higher education institutions and non-academic organizations across biotechnology sectors, including health, marine, industrial biotech, and innovation. Students are given the opportunity to receive training that is relevant to the professional world and working life.

    Parveen is one of only two UiB PhD candidates accepted to the prestigious programme this year. He will work for 3 months at AstraZeneca with a project entitled «Breaking it down: Molecular Fragmentation-Based Calculation of Absolute Binding Free Energies.» Congratulations Parveen!
    , juni 22, 2023. Category: Person.

    Welcome to Liaqat

    I am Liaqat Zeb, a new SEAS postdoc fellow in the research group of Bioresources and Pharmaceutical Chemistry (Monica’s group). My interest in marine natural products brings me to work on marine sustainability in the SEAS project. I will be working on extracting polyphenols and natural products from brown seaweeds.

    I received my PhD in Bioengineering and Biotechnology in 2020 from the School of Bioengineering, Dalian University of Technology, China. I worked as a postdoc researcher in the same school from 2020 to Jan 2023. My research focused on the cultivation of microalgae, extraction of natural products from Antarctic krill and Schizochytrium. SR21, and extraction with natural deep eutectic solvent.

    I am interested in exploring Nature, climbing mountains, and playing sports.

    You can find me in room 3035.

    , juni 21, 2023. Category: Person.

    Congrats to The Catalysts – UiB Champs in the national Bike-to-work campaign

    At the conclusion of this spring’s national Bike-to-work campaign, chemistry and chemists are standing tall with impressive results both at the individual level and even more in terms of team spirit! Among UiB teams, The Catalysts, featuring Marius, Vidar, Marit, Pascal, and Pål, climb to the top of the podium at UiB and placed 6th nationally, with the second chemistry team, Good Chemistry, rolling in to a very nice 10th position among UiB teams! Individually, Reidun made her way  to the second place and winner of the silver medal — great work by her and the family dog! På Høyden published a very nice article on the achievement (in Norwegian only), with selected quotes given below.

    Head of admin, Pål, has been the driving force behind chemistry’s participation in this yearly and national campaign, and he is also one of the five pedal pumpers on the winning team.

    – It feels fantastic and well-deserved, says Pål. Our team name refers to an important field of research within the department, and is also an uplifting and motivating name. We have resisted temptations such as relaxing weekends and taking the bus to work in pouring rain. The team effort has been phenomenal. As a relatively new employee at the Department of Chemistry, the competition has given me the opportunity to get to know my colleagues better.

    UiB as a company was number 228 out of 2,647 participating companies in Norway, compared to 383 out of 3,208 last year.
    A total of 9,904 sessions and a total distance of 42,995 km were recorded by UiB employees. Last year, 40,300 km were registered.

     

     

    Master exams this and the following weeks

    All our master exams include the candidates presenting their projects and project results. These presentation are open to everybody to attend and you are hereby encouraged to do so when it fits in! Here is a list of presentations coming up this and the following weeks:

    Mohanad Lotfi Abdallah (Nanoscience) presents his thesis: “Anti-icing Properties of ZnO surfaces prepared via Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering Compared to a Bare Aluminium Surface with Native Oxide” 19th of June at 09:00 at room 366 in the building of Physics (Allégaten 55)

    Eivind Adams Amofah (Integrated Teacher Programme in Science and Mathematics) presents his thesis: “En kvalitativ studie av samtaler mellom elever, og elever og lærer i utforskende arbeid i kjemi” 19th of June at 10:00 in auditorium 3.

    Linnea Frang (Medical Technology) presents her thesis: “The Heart as an Organ at Risk inRadiation Therapy of Locally Advanced Non Small Cell Lung Cancer” 19th of June at 10:00 in 3069 (Tripletten)

    Thea Våge (Medical Technology) presents her thesis: “Glioma Microstructure Modeling from Diffusion MRI: A Self-Supervised Deep Learning Approach “on 20th of June at 10:15 in room 292 in the building of Physics (Allégaten 55)

    Suzette Denisse Pacheco Lara (Pharmacy) presents her thesis Påvirkning av stabilisator i phytantriol- baserte kubosomer og dens potensielle anvendelse som intravenøs levering av lumefantrin” on 20th of June at 10:00 in room 3069 (Tripletten)

    Roschin Abdullah (Pharmacy) presents her thesis: Påvirkning av stabilisator i Glyserol monooleat kubosomer og deres potensielle anvendelse for legemiddellevering av lumefantrine» on 20h of June at 13:00 in room 3069 (Tripletten)

    Synnøve Hodnekvam (Medical Technology) presents her thesis: “A developed 3(4) step synthesis strategy for radiolabeling Flumazenil with carbon-11 in the carbonyl position and establishment of a process for [11C]-methylation of Flumazenil” 21st of June at 13:00 in room 3069 (Tripletten)

    Hedda Vik Askeland (Chemistry) presents her thesis “Molecular Dynamics Studies on the Lipid Transfer Protein – STARD11” on 29th of June at 14:00 in Auditorium 3.

    Kasper Bratteng Strandengen (Chemistry) presents his thesis “Multivariate calibration for qNMR of sugars in aqueous solution and application on samples from thermochemical conversion of fruit waste” on 29th of June at 10:00 in room 3069 (Tripletten)

    Alfred Abbasi (Medical Technology) presents his thesis: “Hardware and Software Studies for the Alignment of the Proton CT” 3rd of July at 10:15 in room 546, Allégaten 55.