Research Philosophy
Mechanical manipulation is central to shaping the macroscopic world: from weaving fabrics to tying knots, these operations yield materials with defined form and function. Achieving comparable precision at the molecular scale would open new possibilities in synthetic chemistry, allowing the deliberate construction of interlocked architectures with tailor-made properties.
We develop artificial molecular machines that perform precise mechanical operations to construct increasingly complex molecular architectures. Our long-term vision is to establish machine-directed synthesis as a new way of building molecules and thereby expand the chemical space accessible to synthetic chemistry.
Group Philosophy
Fundamental research is a creative discipline. It requires imagination. It is driven by curiosity.
As molecular machinists we are inventors and explorers at the same time: we engineer a molecular machine to use it as a tool to discover new chemical space. This requires a creative, communicative and open-minded working environment, where problems are approached from different angles. We believe that this can only be achieved with a diverse team.
Interested in joining our group? Please contact Michael directly.