Chemist with heart and soul

Prof Dr Heinrich Lang

Prof Dr Heinrich Lang is a passionate chemist. The Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Chemnitz University of Technology has found his calling in his profession. His commitment goes far beyond his normal workload. With sensational experiments, he inspires young and old alike for the natural science of chemistry, which deals with the nature, properties and changes of substances.

You think chemistry is rather dry. Are you trying to make the subject spectacular and tangible? Why and where does your commitment to chemistry come from?
Prof Dr Heinrich Lang: I have to disagree here. Why do you live for the natural science of chemistry? Because chemistry is simply inspiring. Chemistry is a wonderful science and not at all boring.
If I may expand a little: a little over ten years ago, we launched the cross-school project "REAGI" between Chemnitz University of Technology, several secondary schools and primary schools as well as municipal daycare centres in the city of Chemnitz. Pupils and children are introduced to science through play. Not by us professors, but by secondary school pupils and students - with the help of teachers and lecturers from the TU, of course.
Due to the small age difference to the secondary school pupils and students, the children take to the subject matter better than when a teacher or professor stands in front of them and gives a lecture. Emphasis is placed on do-it-yourself experiments so that the children have fun. This works and is very successful. It leads to the children experimenting themselves and taking part in 'Schüler experimentieren' and 'Jugend forscht', for example. But the most important thing is that the children are enthusiastic about it. And when you see how young people develop an enthusiasm for complex natural sciences, then that is the reward for your own commitment. The enthusiasm is then transferred to us 'oldsters' (laughs).

You organised molecular cooking in front of an audience under the motto: chemistry meets cookery. How do you come up with such ideas?
What is chemistry? It's 'cooking' when you do preparative work. And a chemist just likes to cook - in the traditional sense. That's how things like this come about. We started at one of the first university balls. The response was great. That's why we're continuing with it.

Have you also published a cookery book?
Yes, of course. If you've already tried it, then you should put it down on paper. In addition to culinary delicacies prepared at low temperatures with unforgettable flavour experiences, the book also includes simple chemical experiments that you can copy. It has also been expanded to include drinks, in particular alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails.

We also brewed the first TU beer last year. It was well received and tasted very good.
I'm currently writing my first chemistry-based Erzgebirge thriller. It's a great way to combine the natural science of chemistry with crime stories.

Your annual chemistry Christmas lectures are also legendary. You sometimes stand in front of the audience as a "smoking man" from the Ore Mountains or a rocket flies through the hall.
It's a tradition that simply has to be kept alive. With the Christmas lectures, we try to demonstrate the fun factor not only to the students, but also to ourselves. Here we can let off steam and do what we really enjoy. You become a child again.The Christmas lecture already existed before I started working at Chemnitz University of Technology. I then continued it in 1998/1999. The Chemistry Christmas Lecture is not a TU Chemnitz-specific event. It is also offered at other universities. Our 'open-air' events on the Chemnitz market square, in the Saxon Industrial Museum and on Walpurgis Night in Thuringia are also unforgettable.

You show over 40 experiments in one event. How are they created?
What we have introduced at Chemnitz University of Technology is something special because it doesn't exist at every university: We have experimental lectures here on the entire periodic table of elements. These are offered in the second and third semesters. We can show very interesting experiments on individual elements. As a result, we naturally have a rich resource. We also do research and if one of us sees an interesting experiment somewhere, we try it out here.

Are there visitors/students who have visited your experiments and then decided to study chemistry?
That has already happened and naturally makes us a little proud.

Heinrich Lang doesn't find it difficult to get other people interested in chemistry. He also came to the natural sciences in a roundabout way. "My first choice of study was not available, so I ended up in chemistry and did my doctorate there." Now 61 years old, he resisted the lure of industry and completed his habilitation in Heidelberg in 1992. For the past 21 years, he has swapped his home on Lake Constance for Chemnitz.

What brought you to Chemnitz?
We are glad that we came to Chemnitz and that we like it here. Twenty years ago, and in between, I had other offers and it's always difficult to weigh them up. The other offers came from somewhere in the West and then it quickly became clear that it would be Chemnitz and stay. Why? Because the TUC is a super-equipped university with a great pool of equipment and what's more: we have first-class scientists. We also saw the potential of the city of Chemnitz and the 'open' people. That was the deciding factor for us. In addition, the Ore Mountains and Saxon Switzerland are on our doorstep. As a skiing and climbing enthusiast, it's just great.

Last year, Chemnitz University of Technology organised the first "NANO-Tech" summer school in cooperation with the University of Jordan. Master's students and doctoral candidates from Jordan and Chemnitz took part in a one-week course programme at the TU and then in Amman, Jordan "Nanotechnology is a byword these days. We wanted to help familiarise young people with nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is on everyone's lips, but hardly anyone knows what it means," says Heinrich Lang, explaining the intention behind the programme. "The Secretary General of the Association of Arab Universities is a very good friend of mine and together we initiate projects like this to promote the concept of nanotechnology in the Arab world." We are currently preparing a summer school on the topic of "Sustainable Water Management" together with Jordanian and Kazakh universities.

Isn't this also intensifying the cooperation between Chemnitz University of Technology and the Arab world?
There have always been intensive contacts between the Arab world and Chemnitz University of Technology, formerly Chemnitz University of Technology - even in the GDR era. Students came to Chemnitz from Iraq, Syria, Libya, etc. in particular. That fell away a little after reunification. We have revitalised this through contact. We also fertilise each other through joint conferences and research work, etc.
For example, around ten doctoral students from Jordan, Iraq and Tunisia have completed their doctorates in my working group. Seven of them are now professors in Jordan. In this respect, we have always had close contacts. We also have exchange professors, short-term stays of three to four months per year by professors and junior researchers at the professorship. During this time, they do their academic work here. To become a 'full professor', they must have a certain number of publications. These are then produced in Chemnitz because the infrastructure is simply good.

Does Chemistry at Chemnitz University of Technology have a good international reputation?
Yes, we enjoy a good reputation not only nationally, but also internationally. We are known for the topics we work on, even across institutes. There are always people who want to come here because of our scientific expertise. We are currently receiving enquiries in the field of nanotechnology. We have made a name for ourselves worldwide in this field in recent years. We are also receiving enquiries in the field of electron transfer. We are one of the world's leading research groups in spectroelectrochemistry (editor's note: transport of electrons in molecules).

In 2008, scientists led by Professor Lang created a new class of molecules by linking seven different transition metal atoms together via carbon-rich Pi-conjugated bridging ligands. A compound that attracted worldwide attention. A very theoretical matter for the layman. When asked about the new creation, Heinrich Lang literally goes into raptures: "What's so beautiful about it? Simply the aesthetics. The chemist is delighted because there are seven different metal atoms with different properties in one molecule. This has never been achieved before. This is pure basic research, and above all something for the eye. When it comes to application, you can't do anything with it." One review of a publication wrote about the compound: "Fun chemistry that contains clever applications of all the tools of the trade in inorganic and organic chemistry." "That's high praise," says Professor Lang.

You have to fight for every student who chooses chemistry, don't you?
This is a nationwide trend, that you have to fight for students. Not just in Chemnitz or Saxony. Young people need to be inspired for laboratory work, for new things and we contribute to this with REAGI and the public experimental lectures, for example. What could be better than questioning: why, why, why? This is what makes a science a science.

Do students often stay with you as research assistants after graduation?
Yes, thank God, I have to say. Because the expertise also needs to be passed on to the younger generation. When people leave after their doctorate, the expertise is gone.

Where do you see yourself and the institute in 2025?
It will be a young, dynamic institute, which is very important. The 'older' colleagues, including myself, will no longer be working at the institute by 2025. Over the next four or five years, there will be a reorganisation of staff. We will support the young people wherever we can.
In my opinion, the institute is already very well positioned today and will continue to position itself positively in scientific terms. This has already begun in several research areas that are promising for the future. What characterises our institute: We are very flexible and open to interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary cooperation. This is the interface in science that brings new things. Among other things, we will be focussing on the field of new materials, but there will also be a branch that deals with the environment - which is very important in today's world - for example, renewable raw materials and energy issues, and water treatment will also be a topic. Innovative nanotechnology can also be integrated very well and used sustainably.