Aylişa Elma and Aaron von Seggern, employees and doctoral students at the Institute of Chemistry, were each awarded a scholarship from the Heinz Neumüller Foundation.
"The foundation supports doctoral candidates who have demonstrated ability, initiative and responsibility during their studies," says Bernd Seifert, Chairman of the Foundation. "We are delighted to be able to support two outstanding young researchers at the University of Oldenburg this year, Ms Elma and Mr von Seggern, who fulfil these criteria in an impressive way." Since the first award in 1996, around 140 doctoral candidates have already received support totalling over 650,000 euros. With its funding, the foundation aims to invest specifically in the academic and academic appointments of future generations of researchers, entrepreneurs and leaders.
Congratulations, Aylişa and Aaron!
Aylişa Elma is doing her doctorate at the Institute of Chemistry in the field of organic chemistry in the working group of Prof. Dr Sven Doye, whose research focus is on titanium-catalysed hydroaminoalkylation. This process describes a catalytic reaction through which functionalized amines are accessible in a single step and without the generation of by-products or waste, which makes it fundamentally different from other established synthesis methods for the preparation of amines. As part of her intended dissertation, she is conducting catalytic and mechanistic studies on titanium-catalysed C-H bond activations. Ms Elma's research focuses on the identification and characterisation of suitable catalyst systems for the development of new areas of application for titanium-catalysed hydroaminoalkylation with tertiary amines, which has so far only been feasible to a very limited extent. In addition, she is researching the development of new titanium-catalysed C-H activation reactions, which are intended to make other industrially relevant nitrogen-containing substrates accessible via one-step processes alongside amines.
Aaron von Seggern is doing his doctorate in the field of technical chemistry in the working group of Dr Lars Mohrhusen. As part of the project funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) Su2nCat-CO2 project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Technology and Space, he is investigating the combination of conjugated organic networks with inorganic semiconductor surfaces. The aim of his research is to develop and characterise novel catalysts that can activate carbon dioxide with the help of sunlight and convert it into valuable platform chemicals. His work thus makes an important contribution to research into sustainable technologies for the utilisation ofCO2 as a raw material, a key element in achieving the European climate targets.
About the Heinz Neumüller Foundation:
The Heinz Neumüller Foundation was established on 4 April 1995 by Senator h. c. Heinz Neumüller, the founder of the CEWE Group. With a foundation capital of 550,000 euros, it supports doctoral projects of young scientists at the University of Oldenburg in the fields of Computing Science, Economics, Law and Natural Sciences. Applications for funding in 2026 can be submitted until 31 October 2025.
Further information can be found here: uol.de/neumueller-stiftung