News – Barta Group

News

Highlight: Closed-loop recyclability of a biomass-derived epoxy-amine thermoset by methanolysis

We are delighted that our latest research paper on polymer chemistry was published in Science! In this study demonstrate a recyclable epoxy-thermoset based on renewable resources! Huge congratulation to the entire team and all researchers involved. The news was alreay picked up by the Univerity as well – Enjoy the read!

Highlight: Clean Synthetic Strategies to Biologically Active Molecules from Lignin

We are proud to announce that our recent publication in Angewandte Chemie on lignin derived biologically active molecules made it to the homepage of the University of Graz! Congratulations to the authors who conducted this exciting research. Enjoy the read!

Fantastic news: ERC Consolidator Grant awarded to the Barta Group!

Prof. Katalin Barta Weissert has been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant of 2 million EUR! During this research we will develop novel, fully sustainable catalytic methods for the production and recycling of thermosetting plastics from renewable raw materials. The approach combines several disciplines including organic synthesis, polymer synthesis and advanced material characterization.

Time to celebrate: The AWS Phönix price is ours!

We are happy to announce that our sustainable surfactant prototypes from the aws Gründungsfonds funded prototype project “Abfall zu Abwasch” and the EIC Transition funded project PureSurf has won the Austrian Phoenix Founders Award in the category prototype.

Read more: „Grüner“ Gewinn

Foto: Land Steiermark/Streibl

Great news: We got the EIC Transition Grant!

We are beyond happy to announce that we were selected by the European Innovation Council (EIC) as one of the receivers of the 2.5 million euros grant awarded to take breakthrough projects into real life.

Foto: Uni Graz/Tzivanopoulos

Highlight: A method to produce polymers from lignin

We are proud to announce that our recent publication on bio-based polymers from paper industry waste made it to the homepage of the University of Graz! Congratulations to the authors who conducted this exciting research. Enjoy the read!

Merit Scholarship for former PhD student from Barta Group

Congratulations to Dr. Anastasiia Afanasenko (now post-doc at McGill University in Canada) for receiving the Merit Scholarship for foreign students (PBEEE 2021-2022)!

The Barta research group at University of Graz

A news piece was published on the website of the Institute of Chemistry about our research group!
Read more here: Gut Holz!

Prof. Katalin Barta appointed as Editorial Board Chair of ChemSusChem

We are happy to announce that Katalin has joined ChemSusChem as a new Chair of the Editorial Board!

Read more in the editorial: A Fresh Look at Sustainable Chemistry, by Dr. David J. Smith

ERC CatASus Project dissemination in Project Repository Journal

You can read the latest updates about the ongoing ERC CatASus Project the group is working on, in the latest issue of the Project Repository Journal!

You can access the article, written by Prof. Katalin Barta Weissert, here: Project Repository Journal, Volume 5, April 2020, Pages 74-75
or
Cleave and couple: Sustainable Routes to Bio-based Amines – CatASus Project Dissemination

We moved!

It is with a heavy heart that we leave our beloved laboratory at the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen. Thanks everyone for the fantastic research atmosphere! We will miss you!

The past few months were incredibly busy, beside everything else, we moved! A fantastic and ongoing team effort to build up our new labs at the Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz. Stay tuned for more exciting research from this new location!

ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Lectureship Award for Prof. Katalin Barta!

Great news! Katalin was awarded the ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Lectureship Award 2020, for her work on the development of sustainable catalytic solutions for lignin depolymerization and the valorization of lignocellulosic biomass!

Baltrusaitis, Barta, and Wang: 2020 Winners of the ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Lectureship Awards
David T. Allen
ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2019, 7, 22, 18197-18197

Turning lignin into bioactive molecules

Medicine from lignin? It’s possible! Saravana’s work on how to obtain bioactive molecules from lignin through a waste-free, green process will be featured on the cover of ACS Central Science and was highlighted by C&EN news.

Turning lignin into bioactive molecules in three green steps

ERC Proof of Concept Grant awarded to Prof. Katalin Barta

Great news! Prof. Katalin Barta has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) Grant worth €150,000. The prestigious ERC PoC grant allows researchers to explore the commercial and societal potential of their ongoing ERC funded discoveries and fudning can be used for example to explore business opportunities, prepare patent applications or verify the practical viability of scientific concepts.

The awarded project ‘PURE’ aims to explore cleaner and more sustainable catalytic pathways for the conversion of renewable resources to valuable building blocks that are of interest for industrial partners.

Congratulations to all past and present group members who have made great contributions!

https://erc.europa.eu/news/PoC-recipients-2019-second-round

Interview with Katalin Barta in ChemCatChem

Professor Katalin Barta was interviewed in celebration of her Netherlands’ Catalysis and Chemistry Conference Award 2019!
Read more here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cctc.201900930

First N3C Award for Katalin Barta

Katalin Barta received the first N3C Award for her outstanding achievements in the field of catalysis. The purpose of the N3C award is to recognize excellent work in catalysis and chemistry carried out by an early career PI. The award is intended to give the next generation of talented catalysis researchers working in the Netherlands an extra encouragement and bring them in the spotlight of catalysis communities in the Netherlands and abroad.
https://www.rug.nl/news/2019/03/first-n3c-award-for-katalin-barta-

Sustainable alternative to fossil fuels and chemicals in the making

How can we use renewable resources efficiently for the production of fuels and chemicals? Replacing fossil fuels with sustainable alternatives, and polluting technologies with clean ones, is a great societal challenge and an important issue facing scientists. This is the central theme of the research of 2015 ERC Starting Grant winner Katalin Barta from the University of Groningen. Her research team has already published several high-quality papers and a patent in this field.
Read more…

ERC starting grant of 1.5 M eu awarded to support research activities in the Barta group!

Dr. Katalin Barta of the Synthetic Organic Chemistry group (Stratingh Institute for Chemistry) has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant of 1.5 million EUR. During this research she will develop novel, fully sustainable catalytic methods for the conversion of renewable resources to industrially relevant bulk and fine chemicals. The approach combines several disciplines including homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis in order to address key fundamental challenges in the field. The ERC Starting Grant enables researchers to establish their team to further develop their research lines.