The German Chemical Society has appointed Karsten Danielmeier as the new President, with Katharina Uebele acting as VP.
The current head of growth businesses in the Coatings and Adhesives Business Entity at Covestro, Karsten Danielmeier, will become the new president of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) starting from 1st January 2022. Peter Schreiner, who held the same position for the past two years, will now act as vice-president together with Katharina Uebele, GDCh board member and economic chemist. It is the first time that a young chemist has been elected as Vice President. Timo Fleßner from Bayer AG was also confirmed in his position as treasurer.
GDCh, which includes more than 30,000 members, is a chemical scientific society that promotes scientific work, research and education as well as the exchange and dissemination of new scientific findings. It also supports the creation of networks, transdisciplinary and international cooperation and ongoing education and training in schools, universities and professional settings.
Danielmeier was elected as future president at the board meeting that took place on 30th August 2021. The new committee aims to further expand the three guiding principles of the society, focusing on digitisation, diversity and internationalisation.
“We can be truly proud of what the GDCh has achieved and what it represents, but we also want to support the changes in society and science and thus play an active role in shaping the future of the GDCh,” stated Danielmeier.
Danielmeier attended the University of Bonn, where he received his doctorate in synthetic organic chemistry. He was also active in several roles of increasing responsibility in raw materials research for coatings and adhesives in Germany and the United States for Bayer AG. More recently, he headed research for the Functional Films division in Leverkusen and was Senior Vice President for Research and Development in the Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties segment at Covestro from 2015 to 2021. He has been a member of the GDCh board since July 2020 and had previously served for several years on the scientific planning committee of the Coatings Chemistry division.