Maksim Nikitin

young chemist in König's Group, University of Regensburg

[Maksim Nikitin @rode_lunner]

My first one. Don’t judge strictly

[KoenigChemistry @ChemistryKoenig]

Turns out that giving nickel the freedom of choice enables all kinds of carbon-heteroatom cross-coupling reactions in a simple, predictable, and general manner. Check out our Nature paper (https://t.co/tQ1eODTydS) with the @AnanikovLab to learn more about the concept of AD-HoC!

[KoenigChemistry @ChemistryKoenig]

This is our new concept for thiol-yne-ene coupling reactions in great collaboration with @AnanikovLab : a metal-free photoredox three-component coupling of thiols with readily available alkynes and alkenes @angew_chem https://t.co/uomOtnI3Xy

[KoenigChemistry @ChemistryKoenig]

Happy to announce our new publication in @green_rsc (25th Anniversary Collection). Congratulations to Maksim @rode_lunner and Florence for advancing the green metrics of AD-HoC with Nickel and recyclable mpg-CN!

https://t.co/JqLGsBzmDR

[Maarten van Smeden @MaartenvSmeden]

It is the only way

[Jadson Jall, PhD @JadsonJall]

Colleagues and fellow researchers,
Our community must be aware of these red flags, as they hinder our research's progress and quality and impact the mental and emotional well-being of our brightest minds.
See the full post in my newsletter: https://t.co/bRkSlJdzjj
#LabCulture #ResearchIntegrity #HealthyWorkplace #ScienceMatters

[Andrew Akbashev @Andrew_Akbashev]

This week, scientists have been STUNNED by the possible discovery of room-temperature superconductivity.

IF it is true, humanity might have passed a HUGE milestone.

The impact will be WAY bigger than the combined impact by ChatGPT, artificial AI and anything else you’ve heard of.

In #science, this discovery is much bigger than any graphene, Li-ion batteries, observation of black holes, and even Higgs boson.

▫️

In a long run, the consequences can be bigger than the outcome of industrial revolution and discovery of nuclear reactions and energy. It will deeply transform the humanity.

▫️

I’m putting a list of things that come to my mind. However, there are many more points in reality. Some changes will be so "core" that we can't even foresee them today.

1⃣ Electric vehicles and levitating high-speed trains will benefit immensely. We will see a drastic increase in energy efficiency. Putting it together with high-efficiency superconducting motors, I wonder - "Gas stations will become obsolete?".

2⃣ Energy Storage and Transmission. First, we will see the emergence of LOSSLESS electrical grids with extremely long distance of electricity transmission. Second, a RT superconducting coil is a “perfect battery”. It can store and release a lot of energy with 100% cycling stability and ulta-slow “self-discharge”. It will change everything, from power grids to space shuttles.

3⃣ Computers!!! We will see the emergence of ultrafast, low-energy-consuming computing devices. Stable quantum computing at RT may become a perfectly feasible thing. Overall, this will revolutionize the ways we build computers and devices.

4⃣ Extraordinary sensors in everyday life. Currently, regular superconducting sensors (e.g. near-IR single-photon detectors, or magnetic field sensors) need very low temperatures and are used in very specific/expensive domains. RT superconductors will bring them to our houses, changing the technologies around us forever.

5⃣ Super-cheap MRI machines for medical diagnostics. MRI relies on superconductors, but they can operate at very low temperatures, making the instruments super-expensive. With RT superconductors, they will become compact and cheap. New era for accessible medical diagnostics!

6⃣ High-efficiency and powerful motors. When conventional electric motors incorporate superconducting materials, it will make them a LOT more efficient. Reduced energy consumption + smaller size will revolutionize the industrial machinery and appliances. I am sure that airplanes with electric propulsion will finally become possible.

7⃣ Nuclear fusion may become viable (and controllable) because superconductors are one of the key ingredient.

As you see, such a discovery will change the world as we know it.

▫️

Now, the key question is - can someone reproduce these results?

As far as I see, many groups have jumped into this topic.

Let’s wait for the outcome!

#AcademicTwitter #Engineering

[crc_325 @crc_325]

This summer semester closes with a fantastic presentation by @AlisonWendlandt! Many thank`s for sharing insights into 'Selective Catalytic Isomerization Reactions'. Now we are looking forward to our #LIT'23 conference full of excitement and anticipation 👉https://t.co/cISyK4xSTV

[Andrew Akbashev @Andrew_Akbashev]

Not able to produce “favorable results” in the lab? You are a “loser”.

Stay in the shadows of those who can bring cool data to the Big Prof.

Sounds familiar? It's not only about this case at Stanford.

It's about academic culture in general:

- Keep pushing for metrics. Quantity over quality. Look for flashy conclusions.

- Skyrocket your profile. Build your research enterprise. Outcompete everyone in your field.

Isn’t it how academia works today? 🤨

▫️

Albert Einstein remarked: “An academic career, in which a person is forced to produce scientific writings in great amounts, creates a danger of intellectual superficiality”. 

Peter Higgs said he could NOT replicate his discovery in today’s academic climate: “Not enough peace and quiet in the present sort of climate to do what I did in 1964”.

▫️

Wonder about the results of this “culture”?

1. Thousands of FAKE research articles are published. 30% of all scientific articles may be fake products of paper mills. There is even a special lengthy page on Wiki called “Replication crisis”.

2. Life-draining tenure requirements that fuel the rat race. Why? To ensure the university ranking and recognition is going up.

3. Most PhDs don’t see themselves in science anymore. In many places, you are not required to be creative and knowledgable. Instead, you should demonstrate you can win a race.

Everyone knows it but few things change.

▫️

I am happy that Stanford showed courage and carried out investigation. It is an excellent example of HOW to react to manipulated papers and unhealthy lab dynamic.

It's just another reminder that:

We should STOP focusing on taking “professional selfies”.

We should STOP trading our passion for glory.

Focus on science instead

#AcademicChatter #AcademicTwitter #phdchat

[Maksim Nikitin @rode_lunner]

This should officially be called Zhang-Studer reaction

[nature @Nature]

Nature research paper: Photocatalytic phosphine-mediated water activation for radical hydrogenation https://t.co/LJ51wjO83G

[Universität Regensburg @uni_regensburg]

75 Deutschlandstipendien an der Uni Regensburg – Feierliche Vergabefeier mit Studierenden und Fördernden. Das Deutschlandstipendium unterstützt seit 2011 bundesweit Studierende, deren Werdegang herausragende Leistungen in Studium und Beruf erwarten lässt. https://t.co/yRRKqzPooM

[Prof. Feynman @ProfFeynman]

There's no shame in not knowing things! It's Okay to say "I don't know"

The only shame is to pretend that we know everything.

[The Nobel Prize @NobelPrize]

"After all, science is essentially international, and it is only through lack of a historical sense that national qualities have been attributed to it."

- Marie Skłodowska Curie, the first person to be awarded two Nobel Prizes, the 1903 physics prize and 1911 chemistry prize.

[Lives in Chemistry @livesinchem]

🎁Headlights on Burkhard Koenig, turning 60 today: PhD with Armin de Meijere @unihh, postdoc with Barry M. Trost @StanfordUChem; since 1999 Prof. of #Organic #Chemistry @uni_regensburg; he merged #photocatalysis and #organicsynthesis and has been chair of the Editorial Board of @EurJOC since 2004. Cheers!
#photocatalysis #catalysis #light

[Maksim Nikitin @rode_lunner]

"The imperfection of experimental data, caused by human factor or measurement error, makes your data real. I will never trust your NMR spectra unless they contain at least a bit of grease."

[Universität Regensburg @uni_regensburg]

Licht und Nickel verbessern chemische Reaktionen: Forschende unter der Leitung von Prof. Dr. Burkhard König in Kooperation mit dem Zelinsky Institut entwickeln Methode zur verlässlichen Planung von Synthesen. https://t.co/6U4Bmw3WRx

[Ananikov Lab @AnanikovLab]

Our joint study just published in @Nature on the development of dynamic catalysis to achieve universality and broad applicability of visible light-driven Ni-catalyzed synthesis.

Great collaboration with @ChemistryKoenig !

https://t.co/HKLbFNzl5a

[KoenigChemistry @ChemistryKoenig]

Also have a look at the @nature research briefing (https://t.co/t8YdJEglub) with a comment from @ndchiappini!

[nature @Nature]

Research briefing: Nickel catalyses a host of chemical reactions in a general method https://t.co/HHp9rnjG1V

[Andrei Yudin @andrei_yudin]

You might imagine that well-known reactions should have a sense of mechanistic consensus, but they are usually “left” in a state of utter disarray.

I wanted to read something definitive on the mechanism of Mukaiyama aldol. Tons of contradicting papers and different conditions.

[Prof. Feynman @ProfFeynman]

• Don't fear mistakes.
• Be open to new ideas and opinions.
• Read books.
• Enjoy your learning.