Venue: FIAS Hörsaal

On September 10, 2025, the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS), together with the Giersch Foundation, will present the Senior Fellow Laureatus award to Prof. Dr. Ben L. Feringa, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2016. As part of the award ceremony, Prof. Feringa will give a public lecture entitled The Art of Building Small, offering insights into his groundbreaking research on molecular machines and motors.

Thanks to the generous support of the Giersch Foundation, the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) will once again present the FIAS Senior Fellow Laureatus in 2025. This year, the award goes to Prof. Dr. Ben L. Feringa, Jacobus H. van’t Hoff Distinguished Professor of Molecular Sciences at the University of Groningen.

Feringa is one of the leading chemists of our time. For his pioneering work on molecular machines – tiny motors at the nanoscale – he was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His research has shaped our understanding of dynamic molecular systems and opened the door to visionary applications, from smart medicines to responsive materials and artificial muscles.

As part of the award ceremony, Prof. Feringa will present his lecture The Art of Building Small (lecture language: English).

Abstract: The Art of Building Small

Exploring across the current frontiers of chemical sciences there is vast uncharted territory to experience the joy of discovery. Far beyond Nature’s design, the creative power of synthetic chemistry provides unlimited opportunities to realize our own molecular world as we experience every day with products ranging from pharmaceuticals to displays that sustain modern society. In their practice of the art of building small, chemists in joined efforts with many other disciplines have shown amazing success in the past decades, producing the materials for everyday life including our cars and smart phones. At the dawn of the next revolution nanotechnology holds the promise to go far beyond our current frontiers. Our research program is focused on molecular nanoscience building tiny motors and machines.

An essential feature of life is motion which is evident from the fact that we can walk, talk, see and reproduce. Moving from static molecules and materials to dynamic molecular systems the fundamental challenge is how to control and exploit motion at the nanoscale.

In this presentation the focus is on my journey in the world of molecular nanoscience. Designing molecular machines, the size of which 1 billion of a meter. Science or science fiction? In particular, the synthesis and functioning of molecular switches and motors will be discussed and applications ranging such as smart medicines or responsive materials and artificial muscles. In this lecture the process of discovery and my personal experiences through my scientific career are also presented. I will address how fundamental questions, serendipity and molecular beauty have guided me on this journey.

Event Details

Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Time: 5:00 p.m. Lecture & Award Ceremony, followed by a reception at 6:00 p.m.
Venue: FIAS Lecture Hall, Ruth-Moufang-Straße 1, Frankfurt am Main
Lecture Language: English
Admission: Free of charge, registration requested via veranstaltungen_at_fias.uni-frankfurt.de

Short CV Prof. Dr. Ben L. Feringa

Ben L. Feringa obtained his PhD degree at the University of Groningen under the supervision of Prof. Hans Wynberg. After working as a research scientist at Shell in the Netherlands and the UK, he was appointed lecturer and in 1988 full professor at the University of Groningen. In 2004, he was named Jacobus H. van’t Hoff Distinguished Professor of Molecular Sciences.

He is a member of numerous prestigious academies, including the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences (former Vice President), the German National Academy Leopoldina, the Royal Society (London), the Chinese National Academy of Sciences, and the US National Academy of Sciences.

Feringa has received numerous awards, including the Koerber European Science Award (2003), the Spinoza Award (2004), the Chemistry for the Future Solvay Prize (2015), and the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

His research interests include stereochemistry, asymmetric catalysis, organic synthesis, molecular switches and motors, self-assembling systems, molecular nanosystems, and photopharmacology.

FIAS Senior Fellow Laureatus Award: 

The FIAS Senior Fellow Laureatus has been awarded since 2016, made possible through the generous support of the Giersch Foundation. With this distinction, FIAS honours internationally outstanding scientists whose research makes a significant contribution to the interdisciplinary focus areas of the institute.

The Giersch Foundation has been supporting excellent science for many years and is particularly committed to enhancing the visibility of Frankfurt as a research location and promoting the exchange of international top-level research.

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