Travel Award 2026
Congratulations to the winners of the Chemistry Travel Award 2026
The "Chemistry Travel Award" honors excellent doctoral students in the field of chemistry and supports their participation in an international conference. It is sponsored by the Chemistry Platform of SCNAT and the Swiss Chemical Society.
The winners of 2026 are:
Megane Aebischer, University of Geneva
Advisor: Davy Guillarme
Conference: 35th International Symposium on Chromatography (ISC)
Contribution: Two-Dimensional AEX – IP-RPLC: New Insights on mRNA Integrity and Encapsulation Efficiency of mRNA-Lipid Nanoparticle Formulations
Cynthia Antossian, ETHZ
Advisor: Ulrich Krieger
Conference: International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Conference (iCACGP-IGAC) 2026
Contribution: Ozonolysis induces liquid-liquid phase separation in aqueous trans aconitic acid aerosol particles
Gian-Marco Beshara, ETHZ
Advisor: Javier Pérez-Ramírez
Conference: American Institute of Chemical Engineering (AIChE) Annual Meeting 2026
Contribution: Gold-modified rare earth oxides with tunable lattice oxygen reactivity for N2O synthesis
Elisabetta Bonaglia, EPFL
Advisor: Jeremy Luterbacher
Conference: Catalysis Conference GRC 2026
Contribution: Atomic Ni/Al₂O₃ clusters for enhanced H₂ production from low-temperature dry methane reforming
Cosima Brudy, ETHZ
Advisor: Bill Morandi
Conference: Ischia Advanced School of Organic Chemistry (IASOC) 2026
Contribution: Harnessing Light-mediated HAT for Catalytic CO Metathesis to Enable Molecular Editing of Unactivated C(sp3)–H bonds
Luca Bürgi, UZH
Advisor: Laurent Bigler
Conference: International Mass Spectrometry Conference 2026
Contribution: Mass spectrometry-based structure elucidation of bacterial exudates
Ray Cowen, EPFL
Advisor: Lyndon Emsley
Conference: Rocky Mountain Conference on Magnetic Resonance
Contribution: Surface-only NMR of calcium silicate hydrate: Advancing surface-selective methods to the atomic-level surface structure of cements
Jean de Montmollin, EPFL
Advisor: Kay Severin
Conference: International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (ISMSC) 2026
Contribution: Isomer-selective syntheses of hexanuclear palladium and platinum coordination cages
Ole Dressler, ETHZ
Advisor: Maksym Kovalenko
Conference: MATSUS Spring 2027
Contribution: Tuning the Fermi Level enables Highly Emissive Tin Halide Perovskite Quantum Dots
Marco Finger, ETHZ - Empa
Advisor: Gabriela Borin-Barin
Conference: The 26th International Conference on the Science and Applications of Nanotubes and Low-Dimensional Materials
Contribution: In-situ Raman Spectroscopy and Transfer of Reactive Graphene Nanoribbons (GNRs) in Ultra-High Vacuum (UHV)
Claire Grigglestone, UZH
Advisor: Nina Hartrampf
Conference: European Peptide Symposium
Contribution: Facile late-stage P(V) on-resin polyphosphorylation of serine, threonine and tyrosine
Salomé Guilbert, EPFL
Advisor: Philippe Schwaller
Conference: Computational Chemistry GRC
Contribution: Understanding the reaction mechanism of fluoroacetate dehalogenase for the design of enzymes that degrade “forever chemicals”
Jasmin Huber, ETHZ
Advisor: Shana Sturla
Conference: HUPO Proteomics Plus: Transforming Lives
Contribution: Proteomic profiling of DNA adduct-binding proteins to elucidate cellular responses to mutagenic DNA lesions
Melanie Johanning, EPFL
Advisor: Kevin Sivula
Conference: Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Congress 2026
Contribution: From hours to seconds of processing: Exploiting surface restructuring as a mechanism for core/shell doping of Rh,La:SrTiO3photocatalysts
Eunsong Jung, ETHZ
Advisor: Tae-Lim Choi
Conference: Bordeaux Polymer Conference
Contribution: Cascade Aromatic Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization
Sabrina Kleynemeyer, ETHZ
Advisor: Máté Bezdek
Conference: International Conference on Organometallic Chemistry (ICOMC) 2026
Contribution: Air-Stable Cobalt–Semiquinone Radical Complexes on Carbon Nanotubes: A Redox Switch for Anion Response
Dorothea Kossmann, UZH
Advisor: Pablo Rivera-Fuentes
Conference: Methods and Applications in Fluorescence
Contribution: A ratiometric pH sensor for Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
Anastassia Kraimps, UZH
Advisor: Karl Gademann
Conference: 38th European Peptide Symposium
Contribution: Solid-Phase Peptide Macrocyclization based on Cycloaddition Reactions
Najung Lee, EPFL
Advisor: Jerome Waser
Conference: 19th Belgian Organic Synthesis Symposium
Contribution: Development and application of novel hypervalent iodine reagent containing small rings
Xiao-Yu Li, University of Basel
Advisor: Christof Sparr
Conference: Stereochemistry GRC
Contribution: Stereoselective total synthesis of skew-tetramantane, diamond's chiral core
Yang Li, University of Fribourg - AMI
Advisor: Jessica Clough
Conference: Multiscale Mechanochemistry and Mechanobiology GRC 2026
Contribution: Optical Force Monitoring in Polymeric Materials with a Coumarin-based Mechanophore
Sally Liu, ETHZ
Advisor: Jean-Christophe Leroux
Conference: Mucins in Health and Disease
Contribution: Quantitative Profiling of Mucinases across Airway Mucins: Identifying Pulmonary Lead Candidates
Luis Enrique Llanes Montesino, University of Geneva
Advisor: Thomas Bürgi
Conference: 30th IUPAC Symposium on Photochemistry
Contribution: Beyond Kasha’s Rule: revealing complex photophysics in gold nanoclusters
Julia Lorenzetti, ETHZ - Empa
Advisor: David Reber
Conference: 42nd Topical Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry
Contribution: Enhancing Solid Booster Utilization in Redox-targeted Flow Batteries with Non-fluorinated Binders
Xueqing Ma, University of Geneva
Advisor: Chan Cao
Conference: From Solid State to Biophysics XII
Contribution: Identification of glycosaminoglycans with different sulfation degrees through magnesium-mediated interaction with a biological nanopore
Andrea Elizabeth Melgar Aguilar, EPFL
Advisor: Angela Steinauer
Conference: EMBO- Chemical Biology 2026
Contribution: Harnessing PROTAC-mediated degradation to trigger cytosolic uncoating of an engineered nucleocapsid
Debaarjun Mukherjee, ETHZ
Advisor: Jeremy O. Richardson
Conference: Path Integral Quantum Mechanics in the Era of Machine Learning
Contribution: Semiclassical Spin Exchange via Temperature-Dependent Transition States
Michelle Jessy Müller, ETHZ - Empa
Advisor: Renato Zenobi
Conference: International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Conference (iCACGP-IGAC) 2026
Contribution: Investigating Regional Halocarbon Emissions: The Seoul Tracer Release Experiment
Murad Najafov, University of Fribourg
Advisor: Ali Coskun
Conference: Catalysis GRC 2026: Shaping the Future of Catalysis: Bridging Fundamentals and Emerging Applications
Contribution: Dynamic Confinement Approach for High Metal Loading Single-Atom Catalysts Based on Covalent Organic Frameworks
Anamarija Nikoletić, FHNW
Advisor: Oya Tagit
Conference: MACRO 2026
Contribution: Thermoresponsive Polymer Nanoassemblies in Complex Biological Media
Muhammed Jibin Parammal, University of Basel
Advisor: Jonathan De Roo
Conference: International Conference on Coordination Chemistry (ICCC)
Contribution: Mechanicsm-guided precision hydrolysis of early transition metals to access (mixed-metal) oxo clusters
Sofia Pasolini, ETHZ - PSI
Advisor: Patrick Steinegger
Conference: INTDS
Contribution: Gd-doped Pd alloys targets for radiolanthanides production in a pressurized water power reactor’s core
Patrycja Petrasz, University of Neuchatel
Advisor: Edith Joseph
Conference: ICOM-CC 21st Triennial Conference
Contribution: Comparative evaluation of application methods for archaeological copper bio-induced stabilization
Lea Pompizii, University of Fribourg
Advisor: Ali Coskun
Conference: MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit 2026
Contribution: Non-fluorinated ether electrolytes for Li metal batteries
Gianluca Righetti, University of Bern
Advisor: Martin Albrecht
Conference: ICOMC 2026
Contribution: Ligand flexibility as a concept to unlock catalytic activity: acyclic carbenes for base-free transfer ruthenium hydrogenation catalysis
Florian Ruepp, ETHZ
Advisor: Bill Morandi
Conference: 19th Belgian Organic Synthesis Symposium
Contribution: “Iodonitrene”-Mediated? Mechanistic Study of Aminative Oxidation Reveals an N-Iodonium-Iminoiodinane Pathway
Stefan Schmid, ETHZ
Advisor: Kjell Jorner
Conference: Computational Chemistry GRC
Contribution: Rapid generation of transition state conformer ensembles via constrained distance geometry
Clément Tanguy, EPFL
Advisor: Jerome Waser
Conference: BOSS XIX 19th Belgian Organic Synthesis Symposium
Contribution: Diastereoselective Synthesis of Housanes via the Carbocupration of Cyclopropenes
Simon Trippmacher, University of Basel
Advisor: Oliver Wenger
Conference: PhotoIUPAC
Contribution: Light-Triggered Substrate Coordination as a New Mode of Photochemical Reactivity in First-Row Transition Metal Complexes
Johannes Wega, University of Geneva
Advisor: Eric Vauthey
Conference: GRC on Electron Donor-Acceptor Interactions 2026
Contribution: Ground-State Structure and Excited-State Dynamics of a Donor-Acceptor Complex with Two Charge-Transfer Bands
Lujie Xu, UZH
Advisor: David Rombach
Conference: Nagoya Fluorine Days 2026
Contribution: Poster - Expanding the Chemical Space of Pentafluorosulfanyl-containing Compounds
Navadheer Yalamanchili, EPFL
Advisor: Giuseppe Zuccarello
Conference: ACS FALL 2026
Contribution: Photoinduced Deracemization enabled by Hydrogen Atom Relay via Non-covalent Catalyst Assembly
Yupu Zhang, University of Geneva
Advisor: Eric Bakker
Conference: 77th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry
Contribution: Self-Calibrating Ion Sensing Based on Electrochemically Internal Standard Addition
Heng Zhao, University of Fribourg
Advisor: Stefan Vuckovic
Conference: 18th International Congress on Quantum Chemistry
Contribution: Accurate Density Functional Theory for Non-Covalent Interactions in Charged Systems
Zhengxing Zhao, University of Basel
Advisor: Christof Sparr
Conference: The 24th International Conference on Organic Synthesis
Contribution: peri-Naphthylenes: Configurationally-Stable Truncated Higher Helicenes