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On October 17, 2002, during the annual meeting of the Swiss Chemical Society (SCS) in Basel, Switzerland, Werner Nau, chemistry professor at the IUB School of Engineering and Science, received the SCS Werner Prize.
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Oct
23, 2002]
The Werner Prize, established in 1915 and named after the Swiss Nobel laureate Alfred Werner, is one of four SCS awards and is awarded yearly to young scientists, Swiss or others working in Switzerland, for excellent chemistry research work. Nau, who joined IUB this year, was honored for his research in the field of ”molecular intelligence“ during his five-year assistant chemistry professorship at Basel University.
Nau’s specialty is the development of intelligent molecular probes for the study of supramolecular and biomolecular systems. These probes explore the cosmos of biomolecules such as DNA molecules and proteins. They do not work like classical sensory instruments but are chemical substances with attached fluorescent dyes that recognize specific molecules or structures within cells and react to environmental conditions in the immediate proximity to the molecules. Thus they produce various measurable signals that allow the observation of parameters like the pH or the molecule polarity at minute scales that before have not been accessible. ”Detecting information beyond the visualization of spatial structures is what makes the probes ’intelligent,’“ says Nau. ”Working with the probes helps us to understand more about the functioning and structure of molecules. Now we also have a ’direct view’ of the speed of molecular processes such as structural changes, molecular reactions and the interaction of molecules.” Intelligent molecular probes are regarded as valuable tools not only for fundamental research in biochemistry and molecular biology. They also are applied in pharmaceutical research for investigating and optimizing industrial molecular processes.
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Dr. Werner Nau |
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Born in 1968; doctorate in Chemistry at the Univ. Würzburg, Germany, in 1994; research and teaching positions at the Canadian universities St. Francis Xavier and Ottawa as well as at the American Univ. Madison, Wisconsin; assistant professorship (1996-2001) at the Univ. Basel, Switzerland; IUB professor of chemistry in the School of Engineering and Science since 2002; received numerous national and international awards and honors
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Swiss Chemical Society |
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The New Swiss Chemical Society was founded in 1992 by a merger of the Swiss Chemical Society (founded 1901) and the Association of Swiss Chemists (founded 1920). In 2001 the New Swiss Chemical Society changed its name to Swiss Chemical Society (SCS).
In spring 2002 the SCS had approximately 2200 individual and corporate members representing trade, industry, universities and other research institutions.
The SCS represents chemistry in the broadest sense in Switzerland and in international organizations. Its goals and objectives are information supply, discussion and education in all fields of pure and applied chemistry, including economical, ecological and social perspectives. It organizes and supports scientific meetings and workshops and publishes scientific journals (Helvetica Chimica Acta and CHIMIA).
Four research awards are presented annually or biannually.
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