Under the motto “Playtime,” the TV show "Die Sendung mit der Maus" (WDR) is once again hosting its Open Door Day on October 3^rd. MausFans will have the opportunity to look behind doors that would otherwise remain closed to them.

On October 3^rd from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., MausFans got a glimpse behind the doors of Technical Chemistry. We showed children aged 6 and up the path from molecules to membranes and their applications in a playful way.

Going to the University during your school summer holidays?  "Yes, of course!" was the answer of over 20 school students who listened to Prof. Roth's introductory lecture on membranes. 

Beginning from natural membranes within our body, like the kidney, Hannah Roth introduced the kids to synthetic membranes, demonstrated membrane fabrication live on stage, and introduced the technical application in advanced drinking water treatment. The lecture was closed with a demonstration of heat and mass transfer by making ice cream using liquid nitrogen.

Since April 2025, Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hannah Roth has taken the role of Head of Chair of Technical Chemistry II at the University of Duisburg‑Essen. With her leadership, the chair continues to advance frontier research in hollow‑fiber membrane fabrication and functional polymer materials.

Prof. Roth's research will focus on membranes for water, energy, and medical applications. Thus, contributing to major challenges like clean water supply, sustainable energy conversion and storage, and improved medical care. 

Our research group leader Dr.-Ing. Stefan Herrmann was awarded the prestigious "IFWW Förderpreis" 2025 for his dissertation "Advanced Reactors for Photocatalytic Ozonation of Water" at the 58^th Essener Tagung. 

The award was presented by Elke Reichert, head of the committee, who underlined the importance of research on advanced water treatment to degrade micropollutants. "The Dissertation of Dr. Herrmann is an important contribution to protect our environment."

(Picture: Lea Hagen, Elke Reichert, Stefan Herrmann) 

In July 2024, Dr. Hannah Roth, Assistant Professor at the University of Twente's Membrane Science and Technology Cluster, was awarded a prestigious Veni grant by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). The Veni grant, part of the NWO Talent Programme, provides up to €320,000 in funding over three years to support early-career researchers in developing their innovative ideas. 

Dr. Roth's research project, titled "Beaming Green Membranes," aims to revolutionize membrane fabrication by replacing fossil-fuel-based polymers and toxic solvents with a new water-based fabrication method. The project focuses on transitioning to renewable polymers while achieving the necessary mechanical robustness through electron beam crosslinking. The anticipated sustainable membranes have potential applications in water purification, medical devices, and gas separation. The project began in mid-December 2024 and the research work will be carried out until the end of 2027.

This recognition underscores Dr. Roth's significant contributions to the field of membrane science and her commitment to advancing sustainable technologies.