Chemistry

The Faculty of Chemistry plays a key role within the main research areas of the University of Duisburg-Essen. The area of Genetic Medicine and Medical Biotechnology is also supported by activities in the fields of Bioorganic Chemistry, Biomaterials Research, Drug Release and Bio-physical Chemistry, in particular the work of 
Professors Stephan Barcikowski, Matthias Epple, Gebhard Haberhauer, Christian Mayer, Carsten Schmuck, Thomas Schrader and Mathias Ulbricht. Faculty members also play an active role in the Centre for Medical Biotechnology (ZMB) and 
cooperate closely with colleagues from Biology and Medicine.
The area of NanoSciences (CeNIDE) is supported by numerous projects in the fields of surface chemistry and surface functionalisation, as well as nanomaterials research. Close links exist to the area of Medical Biotechnology wherever biomedical aspects are investigated on the nanometre scale. Professors Stephan Barcikowski, Matthias Epple, Jochen Gutmann, Eckart Hasselbrink, Georg 
Jansen, Christian Mayer, Carsten Schmuck, 
Andreas Schnepf, Stephan Schulz, Eckhard Spohr, 
Mathias Ulbricht and Reinhard Zellner in particular contribute to this strategic research area. The German Textile Research Centre North-West (DTNW) in Krefeld is an affiliated institute and is very active in application-oriented materials research. The Director (Jochen Gutmann) and the Vice-Director (Mathias Ulbricht) of DTNW are members of the Faculty of Chemistry and contribute significantly to the linkage between fundamental and applied research.
The main area of Empirical Educational 
Research is represented in Essen particularly by the Didactics of Chemistry and Professors Stefan Rumann, Karin Stachelscheid and Elke Sumfleth. The research topics focus on the quality of 
chemistry teaching in schools (e. g. experiments, cooperative work, problem solving), measuring competence levels and the professional knowledge of chemistry teachers.
The main area of Urban Systems – Sustainable Development, Logistics and Traffic is supported by the Faculty of Chemistry through its active contribution to the Centre for Water and Environmental Research (ZWU). Key topics include water research, technology and analytics, the 
microbiology of water, isotope analytics and the monitoring of pollutants and nanoparticles in the environment. Active members are Professors Matthias Epple, Hans-Curt Flemming, Alfred Hirner, Wolfgang Sand, Torsten Schmidt (head of ZWU), Bettina Siebers, Mathias Ulbricht and Reinhard Zellner. Strong links exist in this area to further affiliated institutes such as the IWW Water Centre in Mülheim, where two Chemistry professors are Scientific Directors, and the Institute of Energy and Environmental Technology (IUTA) in Duisburg. One very important strength of the Faculty here is its Biofilm research, which is unique in Germany in this form.
Scientists from the Faculty are involved in several coordinated projects of the German Research Foundation (DFG), including Collaborative Research Centre SFB 616 “Energy Dissipation at Surfaces”, DFG Research Unit 618 “Aggregation of Small Molecules”, DFG Research Unit 511 “Teaching and Learning Science”, DFG Research Training Group 902 “Teaching and Learning of Science”, DFG Research Training Group 1431 “Transcription, Chromatin Structure and DNA Repair in Development and Differentiation”, and TRR 60 “Interaction of Viruses with Cells of the Immune System in Persistent Virus Infections”. The DFG Priority Programme 1313 “Biological Responses to Nanoscale Particles” (“Bio-Nano-Responses”) has been coordinated from Essen since 2008 (Reinhard Zellner).
The Faculty has also attracted three high-ranking scientists since 2008 with the appointment of 
Professors Andreas Schnepf (Inorganic Chemistry), Jochen Gutmann (Physical Chemistry) and Stephan Barcikowski (Industrial Chemistry).
In 2010, the Analytical Chemistry groups and the Biofilm Centre moved into fully refurbished facilities on the Essen Campus. This marks another significant improvement for research and teaching within the Faculty. The state-of-the-art laboratories are not only used by doctoral students and postdocs, but as training labs also contribute to the excellent teaching and training conditions for advanced students and for work on Bachelor and Master theses.
Research in the Faculty produces around 
140 peer-reviewed publications and more than 300 presentations annually. It is also reflected 
in the courses offered by the Faculty (B.Sc./M.Sc. Chemistry, B.Sc./M.Sc. Water Science and Teaching of Chemistry), where students gain their own research experience in various types 
of projects at an early stage. Around one third 
of Bachelor and Master theses lead to scientific publications.