Highlights from the 46th EUCHEM Conference on stereochemistry, Bürgenstock, Switzerland, May 2011.

Recognizing known faces of possible speakers at the train station is usually how the journey to the outstanding Bürgenstock conference starts, now held in the majestic village of Brunnen, Switzerland (Fig. 1). Tradition dictates that the programme remains a mystery until the beginning of the conference and that speakers can only give one plenary lecture during their life-time. The conference is characterized by a well-balanced blend of scientists from both academia and industry and participants (roughly 100) are requested to stay for the whole week. Every year since the 1st edition back in 1965, the Bürgenstock gathers 14 of the world’s leading scientists within the chemical sciences to present their research under the inspirational views of the Swiss Alps (Fig. 1). President Luisa de Cola (Université de Strasbourg and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) together with the local organising committee constituted of Alain De Mesmaeker (Syngenta Crop Protection Research, Stein), Jérôme Lacour (University of Geneva), Reto Naef (Novartis Pharma AG, Basel), Philippe Renaud (University of Bern) andHelmaWennemers (ETH Zürich) undertook the challenging job of putting together the scientific programme of the 2013 edition as well as an entertaining set of social activities. While stereochemistry was at the centre of the Bürgenstock meeting, today’s scientific program covers a wide range of fundamental aspects within the chemical sciences as well as interdisciplinary approaches that, importantly, are providing a path toward collectively addressing the many challenges of chemistry. These efforts were translated into a diverse and rich scientific program, the highlights of which are described in this report. The President opened the conference by welcoming the participants and presenting the Guest of Honor of the 48th EUCHEM conference on stereochemistry, David Reinhoudt (Twente University). This was followed by highlights of the conference procedures and the promise of chocolate during the lectures, given the President is a confessed chocolate lover. Of course, the President offered the responsibility for the weather to the Vice-President Antonio Echavarren (Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia), who did a great job keeping the rain away from Brunnen during most of the conference. The conference had officially started and a banquet dinner preceded the first evening lecture. The scientific program started with a fascinating lecture by Michael Grätzel (EPFL Lausanne) after an original introduction involving ‘‘explosions and flames’’ Fig. 1 Panoramic picture of the inspirational Brunnen. Photo credit: Martina Steiner.