Under the title "The Christmas Catalyst - When Chemistry Accelerates the Festive Season", the Chemistry Didactics and Science Communication working group led by Prof. Dr. Marco Beeken from Osnabrück University invites you to the traditional Christmas lecture on Thursday, December 4, 2025.
A catalyst lowers the activation energy, accelerates chemical reactions and remains unchanged itself - a fascinating principle that Prof. Beeken and his team humorously transfer to the Christmas season. Because hand on heart: a small "catalyst" can sometimes also be helpful during the celebration of love - be it in the success of the festive menu, in decorating the tree or in bringing peace to the family after the third plate of cookies.
With spectacular experiments, a pinch of humor and a lot of self-irony, the working group shows how chemical principles can be playfully transferred to everyday life. This year, the researchers are pursuing a very special - and of course satirical - mission: to develop individual Christmas gifts for celebrities on behalf of a mysterious client. What a passionate sausage lover, a strategic financial expert, a communicative mediator or an energy policy pioneer will find under the Christmas tree will be revealed with lots of fun - and lots of chemistry.
When science, society and satire react with each other, the result is the unique mixture that has characterized the Osnabrück Christmas Lectures for years: entertaining, surprising - and guaranteed to react.
Tip for families: Santa Claus has also announced his attendance and is particularly looking forward to the young guests!
The Christmas lecture starts at 6 pm in Building 66, Room E33/34 ("Reithalle") at Campus Westerberg, Barbarastrasse 12, in Osnabrück. As the number of seats in the Reithalle is limited, interested parties can reserve free tickets from mid-November at www.uos.de/weihnachtsvorlesung2025.
Further information for the media:
Prof. Dr. Marco Beeken, Osnabrück University
School of Biology/Chemistry
E-mail: marco.beeken@uni-osnabrueck.de
