2016 Exchange in Kiel Germany
There were a total of 12 delegates selected from 6 universities from Boston and New Hampshire. We had two pre-program getting to know you events before our flight from Boston to Hamburg. We were greeted in Hamburg by Elisabeth Kapatsina of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh) and and Andre Augustin of the JungChemikerForum (JCF) who organized the activities, tours, and travel while in Germany. From there we took a bus to Kiel where we met with the local Kiel JCF group at the Kieler Brauerei for dinner and excellent German beer!
Before the start of the conference, we spent the first three days touring a combination of academic and industrial labs. Monday was spent in Kiel touring the IPN Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, the Collaborative Research Centre at the University of Kiel, and the Geomar Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research. Tuesday was spent in Hamburg where, thanks to the Hamburg section of the JCF, we got an exclusive tour of the Shell Corporation plant. Wednesday before the conference, we toured the Agro Lab Group LUFA ITL before joining the other conference participants for a walking tour of Kiel.
The main event was the Frühjahrssymposium at the University of Kiel March 16th – 19th where the theme was “Chemistry by the Seaside”. Kyle Cole (Boston College) and Andrew Therrein (Tufts University) were selected for talks at the conference and the other participants had posters. Along with the JCF we had a meet and greet lunch with the GDCh President Dr. Thisbe K. Lindhorst. Each evening of the conference there were social activities at bars and clubs near the university that kept the fun going. The conference dinner on the 19th as at a beautiful restaurant Kieler Schloss where we wined and dined before the conference party at the Luna Club.
The last day of the conference concluded with another poster session and a keynote address. At the closing awards ceremony, our very own Emily Nicotera (Tufts University) won an award for her poster presentation! After the conference several participants went on a tour of the Town Hall Tower which gives a beautiful 360 view of Kiel. The program concluded with a farewell dinner at Schone Aussichten on the waterfront and were gifted our own Kieler Brauerei beer glasses! The Kiel JCF chapter and GDCh were excellent hosts and organized a great experience for all of us. Many thanks to all of those who put in the work to make this exchange wonderful!
