A conference on innovation and responsibility with a wonderful community
“Makro is like a class reunion of polymer research. You meet so many people here who are enthusiastic about polymers and their possibilities.” I keep hearing these or similar sentences again and again during my two days at the Macromolecular Colloquium in Freiburg (Breisgau) at the end of February 2025. It is the community spirit that makes this conference so special.
Prof. Prasad Shastri (University of Freiburg) organizer of Makro in Freiburg opens the first session on February 27, 2025 in front of a packed hall with a focus on shared responsibility. Polymer scientists are a close-knit community and have long been a kind of sub-group of the chemical and materials sciences. Today, hardly any branch of industry is thinkable without the achievements of polymer research. The renowned Prof. Rolf Mühlhaupt (University of Freiburg/ Freiburg Materials Research Center) also focuses on this fact. He shows the evolution from the beginnings to today's high-tech applications. He particularly emphasizes the major focus on sustainable polymer materials made from renewable raw resources such as lignins and the biodegradability of polymers as a responsible task and opportunity for the future. A concern that is also very close to KNAUER's heart. Makro 2025 featured a total of 20 exciting presentations by renowned scientists. In addition to the major topic of sustainability, other focal points include 3D printing of innovative materials and the design of intelligent materials. I was particularly impressed by the presentation by Prof. Susanne Ludwigs (University of Stuttgart). Her topic “From Multifunctional Polymer Materials to Soft Robotics Applications” perfectly captured the spirit of polymer research for me. The presentation by Dr. Barabara Gall (UPM Biochemicals GmbH) was also very inspiring. With her presentation “Utilizing Lignin for Industrial-Scale Sustainable Solutions”, she showed how diverse sustainable solutions can be based on the same raw material, in this case wood waste.
It’s like a big class reunion of European polymer research. - Dr. Felix Löffler, Group Leader for biomolecular systems and synthetic array technologies (Max Planck Institute of colloids and interfaces, Potsdam, Germany)
Focus on the next generation
In addition to the big names in polymer research, an estimated 300 young scientists also traveled to the Makro in Freiburg. Many of them traveled with me by train, so the first reunion with former fellow students and students of mine took place on the platform. Many of them had brought posters with their research results. It was a particularly exciting moment for all of them when the poster videos were played. Some doctoral students from the University of Potsdam told me that presenting themselves and the entire content of a poster in just a few seconds is both a challenge and very instructive. The sometimes very creative, funny or inspiring video clips provide a wonderful introduction to the poster sessions. In my opinion, the poster walls provide the optimum opportunity to engage with people. I find that I learn a great deal of new information, and I am able to offer assistance when required. Thus, between snacks and poster discussions, specific questions are asked about how to optimize a valve circuit for peak recycling or whether KNAUER actually offers GPC and SEC columns, because they have not been so satisfied with the selection so far. A frequent question that we are particularly happy to answer is about career opportunities at KNAUER. Many KNAUER employees have found their way into our team in exactly this way. After the two poster sessions of the Makro 2025 three cooperations for application developments were initiated, and five young people want to apply for open positions. Many questions about our GPC software and our modules for GPC were answered. Many discovered that KNAUER offers completely biocompatible SEC systems from the smallest, cost-effective compact system to large preparative systems, and can also assemble the same optimized for organic solvents such as THF, DMF or DMSO.
A full lecture hall and many lively discussions during the breaks and poster sessions in a beautiful city make the Makro an ideal location for the big polymer class reunion.
The surroundings are particularly beautiful
For me, a conference is a chance to network and learn a lot of new things, but also to get to know new places. Dr. Ulla Gerling-Driessen (Group Leader, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and University of Freiburg) showed me the beautiful city center of Freiburg with its many small canals and quaint bars. She told me about the cathedral and the city's wine tradition and advised me to climb the Schlossberg and take in the panorama from there. So, I got up early on the day of my departure to do just that and was rewarded with a spectacular view as far as the Vosges mountains and lots of birdsong. I love HPLC and I love Freiburg.
Sales Representative Marius Segel and Product Manager Dr. Kristin Folmert present the KNAUER booth at Makro 2025 in Freiburg (Germany).
When I get on my train back to Berlin after the conference, I take with me many impressions of enthusiastic, inspiring people. I learned a lot about the needs of GPC users and how our GPC systems help polymer scientists advance great innovations.
Here you can find more information about the KNAUER GPC and SEC systems: https://www.knauer.net/gpc/sec
For further information on this topic, please contact our author: folmert@knauer.net
