Looking back at the eventful autumn 2024

As the year draws to a close, it’s natural to reflect on the past twelve months. This autumn was particularly eventful, with several notable invited talks. These included a plenary lecture at the 13th International Symposium on Heterogeneous Catalysis in Burgas, Bulgaria, a lecture at the inspiring Topsoe Advanced Biofuels Seminar 2024 in Lyngby, Denmark, and presentations at Oviedo University and the Technical University of Vienna. Additionally, I participated in several interesting doctoral thesis defences—two at the University of Nova Gorica in Slovenia and one at Oviedo University in Spain—and attended the kick-off meeting of our new European project, ABATE, in Brussels, Belgium.

Choosing a favourite event from these experiences is nearly impossible, as each was incredibly rewarding and featured engaging discussions that extended beyond scientific topics. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to be part of them all. However, if I had to select one standout event, it would be a lecture at Symposion—a conference organized by the students of the Prague grammar school, Gymnázium Jana Keplera. This event was unique because it allowed me to interact with a young audience on the importance and implications of industrial chemistry during my presentation titled “Green Chemistry – Defending Industrial Chemistry.”