Chemistry, both as a basic as well as an applied science, is of fundamental importance to our society. From food to clothing, from construction materials to nanoelectronics, from drugs to dyes, from cars to molecular machines; nothing would be possible without modern chemistry. Although not fully recognized by most people, chemistry is clearly one of the major technologies that have improved drastically the quality of our daily life. Nevertheless, despite the advances made, our science still offers significant challenges for the coming years. I am convinced that chemistry will also play a major role to provide solutions for the crucial problems of the next century:
* Contributions to the use of alternative energy supplies (hydrogen technology, fuel cells, biomass to liquid, etc.). * The introduction of CO 2 -neutral raw materials for the chemical industry (use of renewable resources, carbon dioxide as a C1 building block, etc.). * The development of new pharmaceuticals (against Alzheimer's disease, cancer, HIV) and the enabling of new materials (performance polymers), molecular electronics, and more. * And last but not least, more sustainable processes for the production of bulk and fine chemicals (aniline, phenol, caprolactam, propylene oxide, polyurethanes, etc.).