53 The Israel Chemist and Chemical Engineer Issue 9 · January 2023 · Tevet 5783 Report Shirly Avargil of the Technion lectured on “Assessing students in a chemistry-based escape room - why and how?” Roman Dobrovetsky of Tel Aviv University, winner of the ICS Young Investigator Award, lectured on “P with a touch of B.” Amnon Bar-Shir of the Weizmann Institute, winner of the ICS Young Investigator Award, lectured on “Molecular and cellular imaging with MRI: Probes design and applications.” Francesco Ferella of INFN and University of L’Aquila, Italy, spoke about “Performing matrix extraction and characterization of copper cables for LEGEND experiment by high-resolut ion induct ively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.” Gershon Kurizki of the Weizmann Institute of Science spoke about “From open-system to closed-system quantum thermodynamics: Coherent heatronics.” Emanuel Peled of Tel Aviv University, lectured on “Highenergy lithium metal batteries.” Ilan Marek of the Technion lectured on “Nucleophilic substitution at quaternary carbon stereocenters.” Yossi Weizmann of the Ben-Gurion University lectured on “Diverse self-assembly structures from nucleic acids and nanoparticles for biological and plasmonic applications.” Efrat Lifshitz of the Technion lectured on “Local and global magnetism in semiconductor nanostructures.” Meital Reches of The Hebrew University spoke about “Biodegradable coatings that resist bacteria, viruses, and fungi.” Assaf Friedler ofThe HebrewUniversity spoke about “Peptide inhibitors of protein-protein interactions.” Gabriel Lemcoff of the Ben-Gurion University lectured on “A personal perspective on ring-opening metathesis polymerization.” Michal Leskes of the Weizmann Institute spoke about “Elucidating the structure and function of the electrodeelectrolyte interface by new solid state NMR approaches.” Lihi Adler-Abramovich of Tel Aviv University lectured on “Designing new bioinspired 3D nanostructure for biological applications.” They explained that biomineralization is widespread and involves many disciplines in chemistry, biology, materials sciences, optics, environmental and historical sciences. The evolution of mineralized products is well-documented in the fossil record because they are relatively well preserved. Hence, this field has a rich history. Organisms deposit a wide range of organic and inorganic compounds to fulfill disparate functions from defense to structural support, from camouflage to vision. Depending on the functions and the evolutionary pathways, the final phase of the deposited solids may be crystalline or stable amorphous. The basic processes in biomineralization involve the uptake, transport, and deposition of ions in a solid state or concentration of endogenously produced molecules. In many cases, organisms form a disordered transient phase that subsequently crystallizes. Most of the utilized compounds are sparingly soluble in both extra- and intracellular environments, raising the question of how cells transport and concentrate vast amounts of the materials without compromising their metabolism. Steve and Lia focused on two main subjects. The first addressed ion pathways in biomineralization, with a perspective on the uptake, transport, and deposition of calcium, carbonate, and phosphate. The second was on the structure and function of organic crystals that produce structural colors, are critical components in visual systems, or may be involved in enhancing photosynthesis. They pointed out that biomineralization is an inherently interdisciplinary field that presents many fascinating research questions. This field is essential for understanding challenging questions relevant to diverse disciplines, some of which relate to the many threats our planet is now experiencing. Keynote lectures Gonen Ashkenasy of Ben-Gurion University lectured on “Emergence of function in primitive chemical systems outof-equilibrium.” Micha Fridman of Tel Aviv University spoke about “Guiding antifungal drugs to their target-harboring organel le: Stretching drug delivery to a higher level of resolution.” Moshe Kol of Tel Aviv University lectured on “Poly(lactic acid): New catalysts, materials and processes.” Yaron Paz of the Technion lectured on “Transient FTIR spectroscopy as a tool for studying photocatalytic materials.”
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