27th Solvay Conference on Chemistry
Exploring Frontiers in Chemistry
Brussels, 9 - 11 October 2025 (By invitation only)
Organizers
Prof. Ben Feringa
University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Chair
Prof. Helma Wennemers
ETH Zürich, Switzerland
Vice-Chair
The meeting will be devoted to discussion sessions initiated by short oral presentations. It will start on Wednesday October 8th in the evening with a welcome reception at the Plaza Hotel where the conference will take place.
The six sessions will be distributed over 3 days (9 – 11 October). Each session will be initiated by the Session Chair(s) and a panel of 5 to 6 participants. With a 20-minute presentation, the Chairperson(s) will introduce the Session theme and survey the research to be discussed (rather than primarily present own results). The panelists will comment on the subject of the session from their viewpoints, with presentations on their latest research of duration up to 10 minutes. The Chairperson(s) will moderate the ensuing discussion, first among the panelists and then with all the participants. All participants should attend the full conference.
Conference Program
Wednesday October 8th
07:30 pm
Buffet dinner at the Plaza Hotel
Thursday October 9th
09:00 am
Welcome addresses by Marc Henneaux (Executive director of the Solvay Institutes), Yves Geerts (Director of the Solvay Institutes for Chemistry) and Opening Session by Ben Feringa, (Chair of the conference)
09:40 am
Coffee break
Session 1
Chemical Complexity: From Materials to Complex Order
Chairs: Takuzo Aida and Omar Yaghi
10:20 am
Introductory statement by chairs of the session
Statements: Andrew Goodwin, Patricia Horcajada, Bert Meijer, Akif Tezcan, Vivian Yam
Auditors: Véronique Van Speybroeck, Carmela Aprile
11:30 am
Discussion
01:00 pm
Lunch
Session 2
Emerging Methodology: Sustainable Synthesis & Photoredox Catalysis
Chair: David MacMillan
02:30 pm
Introductory statement by chair of the session
Statements: Thorsten Bach, Matt Gaunt, Todd Hyster, Jim McCusker, Franziska Schoenebeck, Zhiwei Zuo
Auditors : Cédric Theunissen, Ludovic Troian-Gautier
03:50 pm
Coffee break
04:20 pm
Discussion
05:50 pm
End of the session
07:30 pm
Reception at Rooftop 58
*Meeting in the lobby of the hotel at 19:10
Friday October 10th
Session 3
Exploring the Chemistry–Biology Interface
Chair: Helma Wennemers
09:00 am
Introductory statement by chair of the session
Statements: Shankar Balasubramanian, Emily Balskus, Dorothea Fiedler, Peter Seeberger, Hiroaki Suga
Auditors: Han Remaut, Chloé Martens
10:20 am
Coffee break
10:50 am
Discussion
12:20 pm
Group Photo
12:35 pm
Lunch
Session 4
The Lab of the Future: AI, Robotics, Automation
Chairs: Andy Cooper and Frank Glorius
02:00 pm
Introductory statement by chairs of the session
Statements: Jacqui Cole, Kim Jelfs, Klavs Jensen, Berend Smit, Felix Strieth-Kalthoff
Auditors: Yannick De Decker, Mercedes Alonso-Giner
03:10 pm
Coffee break
03:40 pm
Discussion
05:10 pm
End of the session
07:30 pm
Reception at the Solvay’s
*Meeting in the lobby of the hotel at 18:45
Saturday October 11th
Session 5
Chemistry in Confined Space
Chairs: Joanna Aizenberg and Thomas Ebbesen
09:00 am
Introductory statement by chairs of the session
Statements: Stephen Mann, Angel Rubio, Anoop Thomas, Bettina V. Lotsch, Lauren Zarzar
Auditors: Jeremy Harvey, Yoann Olivier
10:10 am
Coffee break
10:40 am
Discussion
12:10 am
Lunch
Session 6
Dynamic Chemical Systems
Chairs: Stefan Hell and Bert Weckhuysen
02:00 pm
Introductory statement by chairs of the session
Statements: Arne Gennerich, Peng Chen, Beatriz Roldan, Peidong Yang, Ahmet Yildiz
Auditors: Sara Bals, Françoise Remacle
03:10 pm
Coffee break
03:50 pm
Discussion
05:20 pm
Farewell adress
05:30 pm
End of the session
07:30 pm
Banquet at the Plaza Hotel
Sunday October 12th
02:30 pm
VIP drink next to the Studio 4
03:00 pm
Public event at Flagey
06:00 pm
Public Drink
All conference participants will be seated around a U-shaped conference table. You may take any available seat, except during your session.
Chair of the session and panelists: When you are the chair of the session or a panelist, please sit near the screen and the lectern, where you will find name tents indicating “Chair of the Session” or “Panelist of the Session.” After the presentations and for the discussion period, the chair and panelists will be asked to shift slightly so that the U-shape closes into a rectangle, allowing everyone to face each other for the discussion. The setup will be prepared in advance to ensure this transition is smooth and efficient.
Proceedings
An important part of the Conference is the publication of Conference Proceedings. These will contain short manuscripts (1 to 5 printed pages) by each Chairperson and each panelist, and transcripts of the discussions (will be prepared by the Solvay Institutes).
Please send your article both:
- in WORD format using THIS TEMPLATE along with original high resolution figures as separate files
- in PDF format
- and please fill in and send the COPYRIGHT FORM
to Isabelle Van Geet (isabelle.vangeet@solvayinstitutes.be) no later than September 15, 2025. We are asking you to adhere to this strict deadline so that all articles can be made available on our website BEFORE the conference.
To help you see the format of typical articles written in previous editions, you can download the proceedings of the previous conferences HERE. Just click on the word “proceedings” following the name of the conference. The current format is the one of the last three editions
Should you have any question, please contact Prof. Anne De Wit (anne.de.wit@ulb.be), member of the Solvay Institutes who will assist in the editing of the Proceedings.
Articles
Please note that articles will not be available in printed form at the conference. Click on the name of the participant to see the corresponding article.
Aida Takuzo
Aizenberg Joanna
Bach Thorsten
Balasubramanian Shankar
Balskus Emily
Chen Peng
Cole Jacqui
Cooper Andy
Ebbesen Thomas
Feringa Ben
Fiedler Dorothea
Gaunt Matthew
Gennerich Arne
Glorius Frank
Goodwin Andrew
Hell Stefan
Horcajada Patricia
Hyster Todd
Jelfs Kim
Jensen Klavs
Lotsch Bettina V.
MacMillan David
Mann Stephen
McCusker James
Meijer Bert
Beatriz Roldan Cuenya
Rubio Angel
Schoenebeck Franziska
Seeberger Peter
Smit Berend
Strieth-Kalthoff Felix
Suga Hiroaki
Tezcan Akif
Thomas Anoop
Weckhuysen Bert
Wennemers Helma
Yaghi Omar
Yam Vivian
Yang Peidong
Yildiz Ahmet
Zarzar Lauren
Zuo Zhiwei
Travel and accomodation
Inès Tirvengadum
(ines.tirvengadum@ulb.be) will take care of your flight/train and hotel reservations. She will contact you to organize your trip. You will be staying at the Hôtel Le Plaza Brussels where the whole conference will take place.
Conference venue
Hôtel Le Plaza Brussels – Boulevard Adolphe Max 118-126 – 1000 Bruxelles
Social Activities
- Wednesday October 8th:
Buffet dinner at 7:30 p.m. at the Hôtel Le Plaza Brussels - Thursday October 9th:
Reception at 7:30 .p.m at Rooftop 58
Meeting in the lobby of the hotel at 07:10 p.m. - Friday October 10th:
Reception at 6:45 p.m. at the Solvay’s
Meeting at 06:45 p.m. in the lobby of the hotel - Saturday October 11th:
Conference Banquet at 7:30 p.m. at the Hôtel Le Plaza Brussels
Dress code: Smart casual
Please let us know if you have any special dietary requests or restriction so that we can accommodate your needs.
Public Lectures
Sunday October 12th
Two lectures will be given by scientists who have participated in the 27th Solvay Conference. These lectures are open to the general public and are located in Flagey, one of the best-known culture houses in Brussels. All participants are welcome to attend the event.
More information HERE