2024
20th Edition of the Blue Danube Symposium
on Heterocycles in Chemistryon Heterocycles in Chemistry
From August 25 to 28, 2024, the 20th jubilant edition of the international conference, the Blue Danube Symposium on Heterocycles in Chemistry, took place at the Faculty of Science of Charles University. The event was organized by Dr. Lukáš Rýček and Prof. Martin Kotora.
Since its beginnings, the primary mission of the Blue Danube Symposium has been to unite experts in the field of heterocyclic chemistry. Over the 33 years of this series, organic chemistry has undergone significant evolution. It may seem that heterocyclic chemistry is no longer at the forefront of interest as it was thirty years ago. However, it is hard to imagine any branch of organic chemistry where heterocyclic compounds do not play at least a minimal role. Quite the opposite. In many fields, whether discussing medicinal chemistry and the development of new drugs, materials chemistry, chemical biology, the development of ligands for metal catalysts, organocatalyst development, total synthesis of natural products, and many other areas, heterocyclic compounds remain absolutely essential.
The meeting consisted of a number of excellent plenary talks by Prof. Lutz Ackermann, Dr. Josep Cornella's, Prof. Jérôme Lacour, Prof. Romano Orru and Prof. Michal Hocek.
The Danube Five countries traditionally send their representatives to the conference as Blue Danube speakers, and this year was no exception. Austria sent Wolfgang Kroutil (Karl Franzens Universität Graz) and Bartholomäus Pieber (Institute of Science and Technology Austria). Overall, this year's edition of the conference attracted 111 scientists from 15 countries worldwide, highlighting the interest in the symposium beyond the core consortium countries. The organizers were also pleased with the high student turnout, as the conference traditionally provides a platform for young scientists early in their careers to present their work at an international level. Twelve doctoral students gave presentations at the conference, and a jury selected the presentation by Ines Kulašić from the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia as the best student presentation.
In addition to a rich scientific program, the organizers also prepared a varied social program, including visits to the Mineralogical Museum and the Chlupáč Museum of Earth History, both operated by the Faculty of Science of Charles University, a boat trip on the Vltava River, and a gala dinner at the Kaiserstein Palace.
