News

5

December

2019

Dream Chemistry Award 2019 goes to Yujia Qing of University of Oxford

Yujia Qing of University of Oxford has won the 2019 Dream Chemistry Award, an international competition for young scientists that took place on 2-3 December 2019, at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague). In addition to the Dream Chemistry Award statuette, the winner also received two monetary prizes totaling €11,000.

The Dream Chemistry Award is a competition for young scientists up to 37 years of age who have defended their doctorate within the last eight years and have been nominated by respected scientists from around the world. The nominees submitted proposals for visionary projects in the field of chemistry or on the borderline between chemistry and other natural sciences with the ambition and potential to effect positive change in the world.

The authors of the five best projects received the Dream Chemistry Top 5 award together with a monetary prize of €1,000 and an invitation to participate in the finale at IOCB Prague, where they presented and defended their projects before a panel of experts and competed for the highest honors and prize money of €10,000.

The dreams of the young researchers of today shape the science of tomorrow, and I am glad that IOCB and IPC recognize this,” says the competition’s founder and co-organizer Prof. Robert Hołyst of the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPC PAS).

As in previous years, we heard beautiful presentations from five super-bright young researchers who will be shaping modern areas of chemistry in the years to come, and again it was extremely hard to pick the ultimate winner, the one who struck the right balance between dreams and reality, their head high in the clouds but with their feet planted firmly on the ground,” explains Prof. Pavel Jungwirth of IOCB Prague, organizer of the Czech branch of the competition, in assessing this year’s finalists.

In the end, the 2019 Dream Chemistry Award went to Yujia Qing of the Hagan Bayley Group at University of Oxford, UK. She is currently working on the development of transmembrane signaling systems for synthetic cells and tissues. She prevailed in the competition with a project called “Sequencing Life”, in which she is pursuing the creation of a universal tool for parallel sequencing and analysis of multiple polymer structures present in biological matter. Such a tool would be of great value in all the research of the molecular basics of life.

I am grateful and honored to have won the Dream Chemistry Award,” says Yujia Qing. “It has provided a unique stage for us to talk about our bold and ambitious proposals for unmet chemistry challenges. The event also allowed us to interact with top scientists in chemistry and related fields, who provided constructive feedback in shaping and realizing our dreams.

Among the finalists were Emiliano Cortés from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany, with a project entitled “Lighting Up Chemical Reaction Pathways”, Jeffrey D. Martell from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, with a project called “DNA Nano-Scaffolds for Rapid Discovery of Enzyme-Mimicking Catalysts”, Hannes Mikula from Vienna University of Technology in Austria with his project “Double-targeted In Vivo Synthesis of Drugs at the Site of Disease”, and Yoeri van de Burgt from Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands, with a project entitled “Brain-Inspired Organic Modular Lab-on-a-Chip for Cell Classification”.

The Dream Chemistry Award competition was established in 2013 by the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPC PAS) in Warsaw. In 2017, IOCB Prague came on board as a co-organizer, and since then the competition has alternated each year between Prague and Warsaw.

The main partner and sponsor of the 2019 competition was the company IOCB Tech.

Yujia Qing of the Hagan Bayley Group at University of Oxford, UK won the 2019 Dream Chemistry Award 2019 with a project called “Sequencing Life”.

Top5 Prize winners and the DCA team from left: Zdeněk Hostomský (IOCB Prague Director), Pavel Jungwirth (DCA coordinator, IOCB Prague), Jeffrey D. Martell (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA), Yoeri van de Burgt (Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands), Yujia Qing (University of Oxford, UK), Emiliano Cortés (Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany), Hannes Mikula (Vienna University of Technology, Austria), Robert Hołyst (DCA coordinator, IPC PAS).


Archive

5

December

2023

Prague

This year's winner of the Dream Chemistry Award competition is organic chemist Mark Levin with his vision for revolutionizing the synthesis of functional molecules

The Dream Chemistry Award, a unique competition that does not count scientific articles in prestigious journals or affiliations with renowned universities, knows its winner for this year. Its contestants are young scientists within seven years of having received their doctorate. To be true to its name, it rewards ideas so novel that their realization is akin to fulfilling a bold human dream. The 2023 award has been given to Mark Levin from the University of Chicago, whose aim is to simplify the design of pharmaceutically active substances.

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10

October

2023

Prague

Finalists of the Dream Chemistry Award 2023 selected

The DCA Scientific Committee selected top projects from this year’s submissions. Five finalists are invited to present their projects in person during the contest’s final, which will be held at IOCB Prague on 4–5 December 2023.

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23

March

2023

Prague

Call for Dream Chemistry Award 2023 nominations

We accept nominations for the Dream Chemistry Award 2023. Nominators must hold a PhD and have at least ten years of experience since the publication of their first scientific paper. The nominations are open until June 30.

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6

December

2022

Warsaw

From capturing energy to capturing the Dream Chemistry Award 2022

Today is a big day for science. Young minds were awarded in the contest like no other. The scientists, visionaries, and dreamers, not hesitating to ask "What if?" achieved the prizes in the Dream Chemistry Award competition in Warsaw, Poland. This award is not about scientific achievements but about vision. This unique international contest promotes young researchers who want to step forward with innovative dreams. The Dream Chemistry Award was established in 2013 by Robert Hołyst from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (ICF), Warsaw, Poland. Since 2017 the contest has been co-organized with the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague), Prague, Czech Republic.

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21

November

2022

Warsaw

Dream Chemistry Award 2022 is coming

Nothing is better than dreaming about progress, innovation, and the future. All scientists have a dream, but not everyone dares to dream loudly, crossing schematic boundaries and jumping into the deep water. There are many grants supporting research and awards appreciating curious minds; however, there is only one unique award worldwide for visionary research projects in chemistry or a chemistry-related discipline. It is the Dream Chemistry Award.

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15

November

2022

Warsaw

Dream Chemistry Award 2022 Final – Schedule

Five finalists, selected by the DCA Scientific Committee were invited to present their dream projects and compete for the Dream Chemistry Award 2022. The final will take place on 5–6 December at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw.

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27

September

2022

Warsaw

Finalists of the Dream Chemistry Award 2022 selected

The DCA Scientific Committee selected top projects from this year’s submissions. Five finalists are invited to present their projects in person during the contest’s final, which will be held on December 5–6 in Warsaw, Poland.

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22

December

2021

Prague

The organizers and the winner on the Dream Chemistry Award 2021

We asked Jarad Mason, the winner of the 2021 Dream Chemistry Award, about his impressions of the competition and his future research plans; as well as the main organizers of the Dream Chemistry Award, Pavel Jungwirth and Robert Hołyst, what they think about this year's competition and its development in recent years.

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7

December

2021

Prague

Treating hypoxia with microporous water – the 2021 Dream Chemistry Award goes to Jarad Mason of Harvard University

The winners of the 2021 Dream Chemistry Award and the TOP 5 Prize have been decided. This year’s Dream Chemistry Award and the financial prize of EUR 10,000 goes to Jarad Mason of Harvard University for his project on treating hypoxia with microporous water.

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1

December

2021

Prague

Dream Chemistry Award 2021 Final – Live stream

The final of the Dream Chemistry Award 2021, which takes place on 6–7 December 2021 in Prague, will see five finalists who will present their dream projects.

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1

October

2021

Prague

Finalists of Dream Chemistry Award 2021 selected

The DCA Scientific Committee selected top projects from this year’s submissions. Five finalists are invited to present their projects in person during the contest’s final, which will be held at IOCB Prague on 6–7 December 2021.

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8

December

2020

Warsaw

Dreaming big about the smallest things: Dream Chemistry Award 2020

On the 1 December, the jury has announced the winner of this year's Dream Chemistry Award. Because of the pandemic restrictions, the whole event has been carried online.

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1

February

2020

Emiliano Cortés: “To have big dreams you need to imagine that things can be different and that you can contribute towards that.”

An interview with Emiliano Cortés (Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany), the TOP 5 finalist of the Dream Chemistry Award 2019 with the project “Lighting Up Chemical Reaction Pathways”.

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1

February

2020

Jeffrey Martell: “We need to think expansively to identify research goals that others haven't thought of.”

An interview with Jeffrey D. Martell (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA), the TOP 5 finalist of the Dream Chemistry Award 2019 with the project “DNA Nano-Scaffolds for Rapid Discovery of Enzyme-Mimicking Catalysts”.

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1

February

2020

Yoeri van de Burgt: “Imagination and the ability to dream is essential. Most other logical and reasonable ideas have already been tried.”

An interview with Yoeri van de Burgt (Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands), the TOP 5 finalist of the Dream Chemistry Award 2019 with the project “Brain-Inspired Organic Modular Lab-on-a-Chip for Cell Classification”.

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1

February

2020

Hannes Mikula: “The Dream Chemistry Award was an amazing experience.”

An interview with Hannes Mikula (Vienna University of Technology, Austria), the TOP 5 finalist of the Dream Chemistry Award 2019 with the project “Double-targeted In Vivo Synthesis of Drugs at the Site of Disease”.

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1

February

2020

Yujia Qing: “The DCA gave me a unique opportunity to distill my abstract thoughts, which emerged during daily research, into a systematic plan.”

An interview with Yujia Qing (University of Oxford, UK), the winner of the Dream Chemistry Award 2019 with the project “Sequencing Life”.

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5

December

2019

Prague

Dream Chemistry Award 2019 goes to Yujia Qing of University of Oxford

Yujia Qing of University of Oxford has won the 2019 Dream Chemistry Award, an international competition for young scientists that took place on 2-3 December 2019, at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague). In addition to the Dream Chemistry Award statuette, the winner also received two monetary prizes totaling €11,000.

Continue

4

December

2018

Warsaw

Dr. Eric Daniel Glowacki with the Dream Chemistry Award 2018

The winner of the global Dream Chemistry Award competition this year is Dr. Eric Daniel Glowacki from the Linköping University. The Scientific Committee awarding the prize praised the laureate's project on catalysts for the production of clean energy from the hydrogen peroxide.

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10

October

2018

Warsaw

Dream Chemistry Award 2018 knows its Finalists

This year’s edition of the Dream Chemistry Award knows its finalists. The Scientific Committee selected top 5 candidates and their projects and invited the authors to Warsaw, Poland, to the finale of the contest which will be held on 3-4 December 2018.

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6

December

2017

Prague

Winning project of the DCA 2017 focuses on new perspectives for cancer treatment

On 4-5 December 2017, the finale of the international scientific contest Dream Chemistry Award was held in Prague, organized by the leading chemistry institutes of the Czech and Polish Academy of Sciences.

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