December 9 – Check out Akzo Nobel’s highlight on our RESPOND project
Together with the Wong, Spruijt, and Geiger groups and with Akzo Nobel and Wetsus, we will be working on creating new solutions for on-demand removal of coatings. Check out the highlight of this KIC project here.
December 1&2 – Dream Chemistry Award Competition
Michael presented our group’s vision on chemically driven robotics at this year’s Dream Chemistry Award competition at IOCB Prague. Two full days of dreaming and visionary chemistry! Thank you everyone for making this such a memorable experience!
December 3 – Join us at NWO CHAINS for our focus session
Michael and Albert organize a focus session at the up-coming CHAINS conference in Veldhoven (Dec. 2&3, 2025) on ‚Intelligent Materials: Chemical Feedback Control at Soft Interfaces‘. We have a great line-up including Prof. A. Taylor (U. Southampton), Dr. Ghislaine Vantomme (TUEindhoven), Dr. Hang Zhang (Eastern Institute of Technology), and Prof. B. Overvelde (AMOLF). Join us for an interesting session that takes us from chemical reaction networks to soft robots.
November 26 – SUCCeSS Lunch Seminar on Sustainability
The Stockholm University Center for Circular and Sustainable Systems is hosting a webinar featuring Merle Plassmann, Thomas Freese, and Michael Lerch to present their recent efforts on ‚How to increase sustainability in research laboratories‘. Join us and learn more about My Green Labs and Sustainable Lab Practices in general.
November 15th – Manuscript accepted!
Our work on using spiropyrans as non-innocent crosslinkers in hydrogels has just been accepted to Advanced Functional Materials. Congratulations to all co-authors!
Save the date – GRS Systems Chemistry 2026
Toufic Mrad (Manchester, UK) and Michael are organizing next year’s Gordon Research Seminar on Systems Chemistry (June 21 – 26, 2026). As a warm-up to the Gordon Conference, we will delve into the work by early career researchers, discuss ‚Tools for the Understanding and Rational Design of Complex Systems‘, and share career advice. Join us and sign up!
November 13 – Michael presents at Groningse Chemische Kring
Groningen has its own subchapter of the KNCV and Michael had the chance to present our group’s work to its members in a relaxed evening event. Thank you for the invitation and interesting discussion!
November 3 – TOGETHER Erasmus+ project starts
Our multi-disciplinary project (economics, engineering, chemistry, law, computer science, sustainability, …) TOGETHER started today. In the coming three years, experts from UGent, UGroningen, UUppsala, Ilya State University, and UBern will work together to create a simulation game on future-proof cities. Stay tuned!
November 3 – Stratingh Opening Symposium Feringa Building
To celebrate the science made possible in the new Feringa Building, our institute put together a spectacular program. The day featured Prof. Miquel Costas, Prof. Yimon Aye, Prof. Erick Carreira, Prof. Job Boekhoven, Prof. Serena DeBeer, and Prof. Todd Hyster with plenty of time to interact with speakers and with each other. May it be a great start to much more scientific excellence to come!
October 29 – Chemische Binding Symposium – Back to Base
Michael was honored to feature again in this year’s annual symposium organized by Groningen’s chemistry student association (de chemische binding). In the theme ‚Back to Base‘, speakers with a connection to Groningen talked about their work and shared career insights.
October 28 – ARC CBBC community day
This year’s ACR CBBC community day took place in Groningen. It brought together all researchers of the advanced research center chemical building blocks consortium. The day kick-started with a lecture by Nong Artrith and Pim Koeckhoven, then featured a career panel from industry. After lunch, we heard from Kevin van Geem and Goda Perlaviciute on Sustainability and Public Acceptability. Michael hosted the event. The day rounded off with a poster session and dinner. Thank you for a wonderful day!
October 10 – KNCV group membership
Our group pioneered a new program of the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society (KNCV): signing up the entire group to join the society. To celebrate the occasion, KNCV’s director Jan-Willem Touring visit us in Groningen to personally hand over a goody bag with a the coveted KNCV periodic table blanket. Sign up your research group today!
October 3 – Zpannend Zernike
As every year, we featured again at the Weekend of Science in the city center. During the Speedmixer activity, kids (and adults) alike, could learn how we mix components in the lab and mix candy themselves.
September 26 – European Researcher’s Night & Phoebe wins Science Battle
Our group was again present at the annual European Researcher’s Night in the Forum Groningen showcasing the Speedmixer. Together with Adriana Vasi and Patrick van Rijn, we also showcased our clinical robotics work, which garnered a lot of attention. Finally, Phoebe participated in the science battle and won her round with a convincing performance.
September 26 – HTRICxUEF kicks off
The Health Technology Research and Innovation Cluster (HTRIC) is a cross-faculty cluster between the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the University Medical Center Groningen. With the support of the Ubbo Emmius Foundation, HTRIC is building a unique push towards medical innovation from bench to bedside. Today, HTRICxUEF kicked off the multi-year programme with a celebration at the Forum in Groningen featuring talks and showcases.
September 25 – Clement gives talk at Diamond Light Source
Clement was invited to give a talk at the Diamond Light Source. He presented his work on liquid crystalline elastomers that he performed in the Davidson research group together with the advanced characterization techniques he used.
September 24 – Tushar Narayan Singh graduates from the Biomedical Engineering program
Congratulations to Tushar for graduating today from the Biomedical Engineering program at the University of Groningen! Well-done and we are grateful for the shared project and fun time!
September 22-25 – Workweek
Our group went on the annual workweek, this time to TU Einhoven. We visited AMSL, had a symposium with ICMS, and did some team building.
September 15-21 – Postdoc Appreciation Week
A big shout-out to all postdocs and a big thank you for all the work they are doing! In the first national postdoc appreciation week, postdoc councils across the Netherlands organized workshops and events to celebrate the vital contributions of postdocs to universities. The University of Groningen’s postdoc council organized a workshop on academic careers on Wednesday September 17th, where Michael and Kristina Haslinger shared tips and experiences.
September 15 – Stella Korfia graduates from Chemistry Master program
Congratulations to Stella for graduating today from the Chemistry program at the University of Groningen! Thank you for all your hard work, the fun time, and your contributions to the group! Success for in your next adventure (PhD in the Pescarmone research group)!
September 7-12 – Marina at the 39th ECIS UK Colloids Conference (Bristol, UK)
Marina represented our group at the 39th ECIS UK Colloids Conference in Bristol (UK). The European Colloids and Interface Society put together again a fantastic program and Marina presented her work in a poster.
September 4&5 – Clements visit Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam
Our MSCA postdoc Clement visited the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces to present his postdoc work. Exciting!
September 4 – Michael receives ERC Starting Grant (TactoChem)
We are proud to announce that Michael has been awarded a prestigious ERC Starting Grant for the project TactoChem. This 5 year project takes inspiration from the human sense of touch — particularly the baby grasp reflex — to develop a new generation of robots that feel and move through chemistry instead of electronics. This approach has the potential to revolutionize soft robotics, medical technologies, and prosthetics.
Sept. 1 – Welcome Phoebe Lowy!
Phoebe Lowy joins us today as a postdoc. In collaboration with the Vollmer lab (at UUtrecht), she will investigate how we can build better mechanorecyclable coatings. We are looking forward to a fruitful project and many interesting experiments!
Aug. 2 – TOGETHER Project – ERASMUS+ granted
The University of Groningen joins forces with 4 other European universities, including Ghent, Uppsala, Ilia State and Bern to launch the TOGETHER project, a European initiation to empower students as sustainability changemakers by educational simulation games. At the heart of the project is the development of the TOGETHER hybrid serious game – a digital-physical learning tool where students from different disciplines and universities collaboratively run a future-proof city. In the role of urban planner, policy maker, or as a start-up business owner, students will develop sustainability competencies outlined in the European Commission’s GreenComp framework, while also practicing collaboration, problem-solving, and systems thinking across borders.
July 17 – Teacher of the Year of Biomedical Engineering
Michael has been voted teacher of the year in the Biomedical Engineering Programme of the University of Groningen!
July 7 – 11 – Next Generation Leaders in Dutch Chemistry
In an intense and active week, 35 young principal investigators met at the Lorentz center in Leiden discussing leadership and the future of chemistry. With generous support of KNCV and the Lorentz center, our cohort developed a vision of what we want chemistry to look like in the future! Learn more here.
July 3 – Michael features at Sustainability Panel Discussion
Highlighting the need for more sustainable laboratory practices, Michael joined Sustainability Panel Discussion at the 74th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Chemistry. In an engaging and broad discussion entitled ‚From Linear to Circular: Chemistry’s Pathway to Sustainability‘, panelists discussed anything from new batteries to the responsibility of each individual scientist. Watch the panel discussion here.
July 2 – Foteini presents her sustainability work
Foteini gave a flash presentation entitled „Leading the Shift Towards Sustainable Laboratory Practices“ to Nobel Laureates and young scientists about our work as part of Green Labs. She featured in the Thematic Next Gen Science Session on Sustainability by and in Chemistry. Well-done Foteini!
June 30 – July 4 – Lindau Nobel Laureate Conference
Clement, Foteini, and Michael will join this years 74th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Chemistry.
July 1 – ComeniusFestival
Sharing our recent insights from the NRO SoTL and Comenius grants, Michael and team organized a workshop at the ComeniusFestival 2025 in Den Haag on game-based learning.
June 22-27 – EPF European Polymer Congress in Groningen
This year, Groningen had the honor to host the EPF European Polymer Congress at the Martini Plaza. Organized by our local stars Prof. K. Loos, Prof. M. Kamperman, Dr. D. Maniar, and Prof. G. Portale, the conference was a full success! Thank you for everyone who made it such an inspiring event. The Lerch lab was featured with a talk by Foteini and Michael.
June 25 – Lerch Group at the 4th Münster Symposium for Intelligent Matter & Poster Prize
The Lerch lab journeyed to close-by Münster to mingle with experts on intelligent matter in the annual Münster Symposium on Intelligent Matter. As every year, the line-up of speakers was amazing and the day filled with good discussions and exciting science. Foteini won one of the poster awards, congrats!
June 24 – Stratingh Day at BioToop & Award for Best Costumes
The Lerch lab participated in the yearly institute day at the BioToop in Haren close to Groningen. The day kicked off with a keynote by Michael on our recent hydrogel work and followed by a poster session and inspiring lectures on various topics. The highlight next to the science was of course the annual costume relay race. While our group was not the fastest, their rendering of a fruit bowl won us the award for best costumes. Yay, well done!
June 18-20 – EuroSoTL conference in Groningen
This year´s EuroSoTL congress took place in Groningen. It was a great success!
Michael helped putting together a strong programme. Our recent work on teaching innovation featured as a showcase, a fringe session (on educational escape rooms) and a panel discussion (organized by the CoP Gamification) on interdisciplinary education and challenge-based learning. Thank you everyone for making this such an inspiring and fun event!
June 5 – KIC RESPOND Program awarded
The Lerch lab has been awarded a NWO KIC grant on ’smart materials‘. Together with industrial, public, and academic partners, we will in the coming 6 years explore new ways to selectively delaminate coatings to facilitate recycling and reduce waste.
Find more info here.
Feb. 14 – Our escape game becomes runner-up for FSE Best Practice in Teaching & Learning Award
Our efforts in the context of the Comenius & SoTL projects (see teaching innovation section) were recognized both by our students (through a nomination) and the faculty. We made it to runner-up for the Best Practice in Teaching & Learning Award of the faculty of science and engineering!
Feb. 12 – Michael presents at the YAG Pub Lecture series
The Young Academy Groningen organizes a regular Pub Lecture series at the Cafe de Toeter, see here., as part of the broader Pint of Science initiative! Michael presented some of our group´s work on soft robotics today in a talk entitled: `Robots of the Future – How Chemistry Can Help Make Them Safer (and More Fun)?`.
Jan. 29 – Our soft actuator work featured in C2W
Our recent science article has been featured in KNCVs chemisch weekblaad (C2W), read it here in Dutch or English.
Jan. 18-24 – Mahdi at the GRS/GRC Peptide Materials
Mahdi is sharing his work on supramolecular peptide-based coatings at the GRS/GRC Peptide Materials in Pomona, CA (USA).
Jan 1st – Happy New Year!
The Lerch Lab wishes everyone a prosperous New Year!
2024
Dec. 6th – Read our latest work on bidirectional LCE actuators in Science
In our work, we demonstrate that molecular design allows for programmable multistep deformations in liquid crystalline elastomer microstructures. As such, the results bring us a step closer to more capable microscale robots. Congratulations to Fotini and the entire team for their thorough work and inspiring collaboration!
Dec. 3rd & 4th – Dutch Chemistry Conference CHAINS in Veldhoven
Members of our group undertook the traditional trip to Veldhoven near Eindhoven for the yearly CHAINS conference. As always, it was an intense experience packed with many talks and social interactions! Michael hosted a parallel session on Dynamic Systems. Congrats to Fotini on an inspiring talk and everyone for the nice posters!
Nov. 28th – Marina wins UMIC Image Contest
In the yearly Image Contest of the University Medical Center Groningen Microscopy and Imaging Center (UMIC), Marina won best electron microscopy image for her work on photonic supraparticles. Well done, Marina!
Nov. 18th – University Teaching Qualification Ceremony
After finishing his university teaching qualification at the end of last year, Michael finally received his certificate in a festive ceremony with the rector magnificus.
Nov. 11-14th – Lerch lab on tour (work week)
On our trip to Münster, we were hosted by the Ravoo and Glorius group for an invigorating one-day symposium featuring talks by Prof. Voskuhl and Prof. Ritter. After some socializing, we visited Evonik in Essen the next day and learned a lot about why additives matter, from tires and car seats to shampoos and non-sticky coatings. During the bonte avond, we learned more about the secret history of Bommen Berend. It was a great trip, thank you everyone!
Nov. 7th – Lerch lab featured in Matter’s 35 under 35
Our lab’s efforts are highlighted in the just published “35 Challenges in Materials Science Being Tackled by PIs Under 35(ish) in 2024” in Matter. Based on peer-recommendations, the selected research groups illustrate the excitement and breadth of research directions explored by young PIs in materials sciences.
Nov. 5th – Michael is invited to the 36th Dutch Soft Matter Meeting @NatLab in Eindhoven
In its 36th edition, the Dutch Soft Matter Meeting visited the NatLab, a historic landmark turned cinema/culture space and formerly Philip´s physics laboratory. The rich history resonanted through the talks and lots of scientific discussions brought together the Dutch soft matter community.
Nov. 1st 2024 – Welcome Adriana!
Adriana Vasi joins our group as a PhD student that will lead a project on soft surgical robots. In this project, we will explore multi-responsive hydrogels for treating aneurysms, taking innovation from bench to bed side in collaboration with Prof. Sarthak Misra from the Surgical Robotics Lab at the UMCG/UTwente and Prof. Jean-Paul de Vries from Surgical departments & Gastroenterology at UMCG, funded through the Health Technology & Innovation Cluster (HTRIC).
Oct. 15th 2024 – Marina wins another Poster Prize
The annual ARC CBBC community event took place in Utrecht, with a day packed with scientific lectures, interactive sessions, and workshops. Michael organized a session on games for sustainability. Marina won her second poster prize within a month for her work on colloidal self-assembly of supraparticles. Congratulations Marina!
Oct. 9th 2024 – Michael presents at the NWO Community Day – Chemistry of Materials day
PIs of the Chemistry of Materials community gathered at the NWO building in Utrecht to discuss recent developments in the field and listen to talks of (relatively) new PIs in the Netherlands. Michael presented the group´s recent work on liquid crystalline elastomers and our vision on smart microscale robotics.
Oct. 1st & 3rd 2024 – Laura leads workshop on representation in STEM teaching & talks at closing event of FSE Diversity Week
Laura shared her experiences as biomedical engineering student and the efforts to make the learning environment in the course ‚Molecules of Life‘ more inclusive. Together with participants, they discussed the importance of scientific role models and brainstormed how we can share these role models for the inspirations of others.
September 25th, 2024 – Marina wins Poster Prize
Congratulations to Marina on winning a poster prize for her work on photonic supraballs at the Münster Symposium on Intelligent Matter!
September 25th, 2024 – Lerch group at the 3rd Münster Symposium on Intelligent Matter
In its 3rd edition, the Münster Symposium on Intelligent Matter was packed with an impressive lineup of speakers and lots of scientific discussions! We had a great group trip!
August 28-30th, 2024 – Marina in Utrecht at the Self-Assembling the Future of Colloid Science Symposium
Marina represented the Lerch group in Utrecht at the SCM 25th Anniversary Symposium on the occasion of Prof. van Blaaderen´s 60th birthday. A couple days packed with exciting science at the frontier of colloidal science.
March 15th, 2024 – Fotini wins poster prize!
Congratulations to Fotini for winning a poster prize at the 50th German Liquid Crystal Conference (13-15.03.2024) at the Universität Duisburg/Essen!
March 9th, 2024 – Our concept article in ChemSystemsChem is out!
Well done, Jarne and Fotini! Congratulations on their newest perspective in ChemSystemsChem on chemical communication. You can find the article here.
March 2nd, 2024 – We are hiring!
As part of HTRIC, the Lerch lab, the Surgical Robotics lab and vascular surgery are hiring! Join us for a research project on improving medical procedures for aneurysms and making them minimally invasive. Link here!
Feb. 29th, 2024 – Goodbye Sebastian!
After rollercoaster past years in setting up our groups, Sebastian Beil is leaving the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry and the University of Groningen to continue his (and his lab´s) journey at the Max Planck Institue for Chemical Energy Conversion in Mülheim (Germany). Sebastian, thank you for all the hard work, all the wonderful moments, and the countless (scienctific) discussions! We will miss you!
Feb. 27th, 2024 – Welcome Kamila
We are excited to welcome Kamila Handke to our group. In the coming months during her Master´s research project, she will work with Fotini on soft robotic films. Kamila holds a Bachelor´s degree from TU Eindhoven in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry and is currently pursuing the Nanoscience Master´s Program. Welcome, Kamila!
Feb. 20th, 2024 – Michael @ The Role of STEM Education in a Changing World Symposium
The RUG´s Centre for Learning and Teaching organized a very informative one-day symposium on the role of STEM education in today´s world. Michael featured as panel member talking about our recent efforts in making basic science teaching more inclusive and fun through a combination of escape games and diverse role models. The symposium featured many thought-provoking talks/workshops/demonstrations and invited its participants to think more fundamentally about what the purpose of STEM education is and should be.
Feb. 12th, 2024 – HTRIC Winners announced
We are excited to be awarded with a HTRIC PhD fellowship together with the department of vascular surgery, the Surgical Robotics lab, and Bether Encaspulates. Stay tuned for the PhD position announcement!
https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7163152631475998721
Jan. 22nd-24th, 2024 – NWO Physics
Clement, Marina, Fotini, and Michael went to NWO Physics to share their latest results on liquid crystalline elastomers and colloidal self-assembly. The poster sessions were a success and we all enjoyed plenty of excellent talks and inspiring encounters.
Jan. 22nd, 2024 – Clement visits TU Eindhoven
Clement visited Prof. Dr. D. Broer and Dr. D. Liu at TU Eindhoven to talk about his work on liquid crystalline elastomers.
Jan. 1st, 2024 – A happy New Year everyone!
We wish everyone a happy, healthy, and productive new year! We are looking forward to 2024 and all the great science to come!
2023
Dec. 1st, 2023 – Clement joins our group
Clement Chan is joining us as a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow on 3D printing of structural color, shared with the Davidson group. Clement holds a PhD from Cambridge University (Prof. S. Vignolini) on structural color. Welcome Clement!
Nov. 28th, 2023 – A guidebook for sustainability in laboratories
Check out, our new lab guidebook that we compiled for the faculty of science and engineering on how to be more sustainable in our daily lab practices! A huge shout out for Thomas Freese for spearheading the effort and to the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry for supporting the grass-roots movement.
Nov. 1st, 2023 – Yingqi joins our group
Yingqi Ren is joining the Autonomous Soft Materials research group as 4th PhD student. She has a BSc in Applied Chemistry from QUST and a MSc of Material Science & Engineering from the Shanghai Insitute of Technology (both China), having worked with Prof. Zhifu Liu on responsive structural color. We are looking forward to welcome Yingqi to our team.
October 11-13th, 2023 – ENLIGHT Teaching and Learning Conference (Bordeaux)
We recently had the chance to present our approach to foster student engagement through co-creative student activities at the ENLIGHT Teaching and Learning Conference in Bordeaux. Darina (a teaching assistant) and Angelos (educational expert) presented the outcomes of a recent pilot in the course ‚Molecules of Life for BME‘ in the BSc program biomedical engineering. They got many questions and enthusiastic feedback!
October 13th, 2023 – Michael speaks at ‚Molecules that Matter!‘ (Chemische Binding Symposium)
The student association for all chemistry students and chemical engineers at the University of Groningen called CB (= chemische binding; Dutch for chemical bond) organizes an annual symposium. The event features academics and industrial representative and is designed as an educative event for the students. This year´s symposium had the theme ‚Molecules that Matter‘. In a fun and educative day hosted by Kasia Tych, we had the pleasure to listen to lectures by Fabian Eisenreich, Filip Szczypinski, Alexander Dömling, and Nynke Ligtenberg/Adrian Apetri.
October 2nd/3rd, 2023 – ARC CBBC Community Event & HighTech Chemistry Day
The ARC CBBC Community and HighTech Chemistry Event took place at Eindhoven University of Technology on October 2nd and 3rd. Marina had the opportunity to showcase her poster to scientists from both academia and industry.
September 29th&30th, 2023 – European Researcher´s Night and Zpannend Zernike
The weekend of Science was again a full success and we made many kids happy with goo made from our planetary orbital speedmixer using gummy bears and other candy. We hope to see you next year again!
September 29th&30th, 2023 – Get ready for the European Researcher´s Night and Zpannend Zernike
Up-coming weekend, we will be present again at the European Researcher´s Night and the Zpannend Zernike event. You can find us in the Groninger Forum. Come visit us and learn more about what we do!
September 22nd, 2023 – New Accounts on Magnetic Alignment Published
Read our new accounts on the power of magnetic alingment and soft lithography for making powerful microscale robots here.
September 12th-15th, 2023 – Traditional Work Week in Mainz
This year, we went to Mainz to meet the Walther, Besenius, and Waldvogel groups at the Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz to learn more about their approach to chemistry, visit local industry, and get to know each other better. A special treat was the visit to the BASF site in Ludwigshafen. Thank you everyone for a fantastic trip and lots of excellent science!
August 20th-25th, 2023 – Marina at IUPAC | CHAINS 2023 @Den Haag
Marina represented our group at the IUPAC | CHAINS 2023 conference in The Hague. During an eventful week, Marina could get to know Dutch (and international!) science and explore beautiful The Hague.
June 19th, 2023 – Stratingh Day 2023 @Biotoop Haren
On a warm and sunny day, we had a fun institute retreat at the former biology department of the University of Groningen, which now works as a creative space, the Biotoop. Mixed with science, workshop-style lectures, and social parts, it was a great way to relax and spend time with all the other researchers. A highlight was the ‚Rondje Biotoop‘, a relay race in costumes, that our group did together as a team with members from the Beil lab. Go team!
April 21st, 2023 – Autonomous Matter Symposium @AMOLF
The Lerch group went for a trip to Amsterdam to join the AMOLF Autonomous Matter Symposium, where we had a chance to listen to leaders in the field, brainstorm about what autonomous actually means, and meet new colleagues and friends. Thanks to all the organizers and speakers for an excellent conference!
April 20th, 2023 – Highschool Thesis Prize Event
Martijn and Jarne were representing the Beil & Lerch groups at the yearly award ceremony for high school students for the so-called ´profielwerkstukken´. They show-cased how one can use the speedmixer to make goo from gummy bears!
April 20th, 2023 – Michael visits the soft matter groups in Leiden
Michael visited Leiden University and the Leiden Institute for Physics to give a talk at the regular SLAM colloquium (SLAM = soft living and active matter). It was an inspiring day with many exciting scientific discussions. Thank you!
April 17th, 2023 – Our group is growing further!
Welcome Tushar! We have Tushar Narayan Singh join us for 8 weeks for his BSc thesis on intelligent actuators! Go soft robots!
April 1st, 2023 – Welcome Marina!
Marina Karsakova is joining the Lerch Laboratory as 3rd PhD student. She has a BSc in BSc in chemical engineering at St. Petersburg State Institute of Technology and a Master´s Degree in physics from ITMO University. We are super happy to have Marina join our team and are looking forward for her to lead our efforts in functional coatings as part of ARC CBBC!
March 24th, 2023 – 1st Groningen Münster Symposium
The Stratingh Institute for Chemstry had important guests: a delegation of the chemistry department of the University of Münster (WWU Münster, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster) joined us for the 1st Groningen Münster Symposium. Over a full day, we had the pleasure to exchange most recent results, listen to captivating talks, and forge (and renew) connections! We are grateful for a productive and fun day and thank especially the Stratingh Institute and the Backer Foundation for financial support.
Our group was well-represented by Pepijn during the poster session!
March 23rd – 31st, 2023 – Fotini visits Boston & Brookhaven National Labs
Fotini is traveling to Boston and the Brookhaven National Labs to perform measurements and visit the national synchrotron light source – 2 (NSLS-II). Success with your measurements and greetings to beautiful New England and Long Island.
March 9th, 2023 – Jarne´s trip to Utrecht
As part of ARC CBBC, Jarne is following a presentation training, which takes place at the University of Utrecht and is organized by ARTESC. Go Jarne!
February 21st, 2023 – Official LEAF Launch and Award Ceremony
After a successful pilot program (including the Lerch & Beil research groups), the Faculty of Science and Engineering is officially launching the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) at the University of Groningen. Thomas Freese (LEAF coordinator) and Fotini Trigka (our lab sustainability officer) presented about the LEAF pilot and shared tips on how to make labs more sustainable. In addition, we had the honor to receive the official accreditation and awards from the faculty board! We are grateful for the strong support of the faculty and university, particularly by Green Labs RUG FSE, the Green Office, GreenLabs.NL, and the SELs network.
February 13th, 2023 – Michael at AMOLF
Michael had the opportunity to present our work at the Autonomous Matter colloquium at AMOLF in Amsterdam. Thank you to all group leaders and researchers for making it such a fun experience!
January 30/31st, 2023 – Pepijn visits Berlin
Pepijn is undertaking a trip to our collaborators in Berlin for measurements! Success and have fun!
2022
December 20th, 2022 – Lerch Lab achieves Silver Level in LEAF Programme
Our lab sustainability officer Fotini has delivered on her promise to get our lab to the next LEAF level before Christmas. We are proud to announce that we have reached Silver Level in the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF).
November 22nd, 2022 – Sustainable Efforts Featured in the UKrant
Our efforts to make our labs more sustainable have been covered by the university newspaper (UKrant). Read more here:
November 14th, 2022 – Dutch Soft Matter Meeting at Wageningen University
Our Team ventured to Wageningen University & Research (WUR) for the 32nd Dutch Soft Matter Meeting. We enjoyed a day full of interesting and fun science across physics, materials sciences and chemistry.
October 27th, 2022 – A Crucial Step for Lab Sustainability
The Lerch lab has been working hard to ensure we are doing our part to contribute to a more sustainable research environment. We are proud to announce that we have reached Bronze Level in the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF). Key steps to reduce our environmental impact are proper and safe waste disposal, recycling wherever possible, energy saving on equipment, and increasing awareness about sustainable practices. A big thank you to Fotini for getting our lab in shape and for Thomas Freese for his help as LEAF coordinator. We are also grateful for all the efforts and support by the Green Labs RUG FSE, the Green Office, GreenLabs.NL, and the SELs network.
September 30th/October 1st, 2022 – Zpannend Zernike
The Lerch group will be present at Zpannend Zernike this weekend at the Forum in Groningen. Join us for the EU Researchers Night on Friday evening and for a fun little experiment on Saturday afternoon to learn more about polymer processing!
September 29th, 2022 – Lecture at AMOLF/UvA
Michael was invited to talk about soft robotics at the group event of the Noorduin/Reek lab in Amsterdam. It was a very enjoyable (though short) visit, thank you!
September 20.-22., 2022 – CHAINS Conference
The Lerch group was joining the yearly Dutch chemistry conference CHAINS at the Koningshof in Veldhoven in the south of the Netherlands. Michael presented the results of the NextGenChem@NL meeting during the PI meeting the evening before the conference. Jarne presented a poster on his recent work. Overall, it was two days packed with top science and interesting discussions and fun social events. Thank you and until next year!
August 3rd, 2022 – PhD vacancy
The Lerch lab is hiring! As part of the ARC CBBC Multilateral Program on smart coatings, there will be a PhD student vacancy to support our efforts on smart coatings and structurally colored materials.
August 1st, 2022 – Fotini joins our group
Fotini Trigka is joining the Lerch Laboratory as 2nd PhD student. She has a BSc and MSc both from the University of Athens, having worked as part of the Athens Organocatalysis group with Prof. Kokotos. After graduating, she has spent a year teaching. We are excited to welcome Fotini to our team and are looking forward for her to join our efforts in patterend reaction cascades.
July 2022 – Course of the Year 2021-2022 for Molecules of Life for BME
Our course Molecules of Life for the Biomedical Engineers has been chosen as the course of the year by the Bachelor program biomedical engineering. We are very proud and it has been a lot of fun teaching this course. Thanks to my co-lecturers Clemens Mayer (course coordinator), who set up the course, and to Wiktor Szymanski.
June 22nd/23rd, 2022 – FMS course in Supramolecular Chemistry
For the last part of the FMS course in supramolecular chemistry, FMS students traveled to the Nijmegen. Jarne had a lot of fun (beyond discovering the awesome PTE below).
June 20th, 2022 – Stratingh Day
A very successful institute day at the Biotoop in Haren packed full of science, lectures, and fun activities (including a relay race and a visit to the local botanical garden). We even had some moments to relax in the sun!
June 2022 – We join the LEAF Network
As part of the Stratingh Sustainability Committee we have managed to advocated our institute to become part of the LEAF network (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework), a program for making research labs more sustainable. A big shout out to Thomas Freese, Meagen Beatty, and everyone else involved! Also thanks to greenlabs.nl & the sustainable european laboratories network (SELs).
June 5th-9th, 2022 – Jarne joins the Summer School on Soft Solids and Complex Fluids
Jarne has ventured across the ocean to learn more about soft matter, materials sciences, and physics. As part of the Summer School on Soft Solids and Complex Fluids at UMass Amherst in Massachusetts (USA), he learned about active matter (Julia Yeomans), elasto-capillary phenomena (Narayanan Menon), amorphous solids (Bulbul Chakrabotry), and geometrical and topological principles in soft matter (Mark Bowick).
May 24/25th, 2022 – FMS course in Supramolecular Chemistry
After a successful two days in Groningen earlier this month (with talk also by Michael), FMS students traveled to the University of Twente to learn more about cutting edge research in supramolecular chemistry. A successful event with plenty of learning experiences!
April 12/13th, 2022 – ARC CBBC Lab Opening
Our labs (and others on the 9th floor of the Linneausborg) have been officially opened as part of the ARC CBBC Symposium 2022. A range of interesting panel sessions, intriguing show-cases, lightning talks, and live-streams from the labs have made the symposium a productive community event and exciting get-together.
https://arc-cbbc.nl/2022/04/the-arc-cbbc-symposium-2022-greenification-in-groningen/
March 1st, 2022 – Welcome Ruichen
Ruichen Zhang is joining our team for 4 months to work on multi-stimuli-responsive meta-material structures. We are looking forward to an exciting and productive months!
Jan. 24-26th, 2022 – Physics@Veldhoven
This years edition of Physics@Veldhoven took place fully online. The Lerch group was present through a poster presented by Michael on Wednesday Jan. 26th. On Tuesday Jan. 25th, ARC CBBC hosted a focus session on ´Functional responsive materials´ featuring fascinating talks by Prof. Bert Meijer, Prof. Nathalie Katsonis, and Prof. Peter Fratzl.
Jan. 1st, 2022 – First Ph.D. student – Jarne de Jong
Jarne has started his Ph.D. in the Lerch group. Welcome! Equipped with plenty of experience in spectroscopy and synthetic chemistry, Jarne will be working on synthetic reaction cascades embedded in soft materials! We are looking forward to your work!
2021
Dec. 16th, 2021 – Change Inc. cover
Check out the coverage of ARC CBBC researchers in Change Inc., featuring among others also our work.
Dec. 9th, 2021 – JACS paper on spiropyran dynamics in hydrogels accepted
Our recent work (from my postdoc) on unusual isomerization dynamics in spiropyran-based hydrogels has been accepted at the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Congratulations Amos, Tom, and Ankita! Check it out here!
Dec. 3rd, 2021 – Lerch lab at the University of Groningen M.Sc. Infomarket
At today’s infomarket for Master Students, the Lerch lab is present with a poster. Come by and say ‚hi‘ and learn more about the interesting science happening at the Lerch Lab and become part of the team!
Nov. 19th, 2021 – NWO Talent Day
On Friday, Nov. 19th, Michael went to Utrecht for the NWO Talent Day, an inspiring afternoon packed with talks and workshops.
Oct. 18th, 2021 – Coverage About Our Work
Check out this new portrait about my work recently published by the University, which also features the work of my new colleague Sebastian Beil.
Oct. 3rd, 2021 – Weekend of Science in Groningen
Past weekend, the ARC CBBC hub Groningen was well-represented at the Weekend van de Wetenschap! Despite continuous rain, we had many young future scientists joining our truck and learn about sustainable paint, the power of light, and how we make the coatings of the future. It was tremendous fun and we are looking forward to next year´s edition! Many thanks also to Zpannend Zernike.
Lerch Lab 