Following a successful first day in Shanghai, the OBC Symposium travelled to Lanzhou. On arrival we were greeted by a huge banner opposite the entrance. No one visiting the University would be in any doubt that OBC were in town!
The OBC symposium banner at the entrance to Lanzhou University
The day started with a welcome by Director of the State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry at Lanzhou Professor Yongqiang Tu, which was followed by Dirk Trauner’s presentation on natural product synthesis. The morning was rounded-off by Professor Xiaoming Feng from Sichuan University, who guided us through his research on asymmetric catalysis using chiral N,N’-Dioxide ligands.
Professor Andrei Yudin at Lanzhou University
Following lunch Professor Hongbin Zhang from Yunnan University presented the syntheses of some bioactive alkaloids. Professor Tu then returned to the stage to continue the natural products synthesis theme by giving an overview of his work on syntheses which employ 1,2-migration reactions. Andre Yudin gave another overview of his work using amphoteric molecules and the final talk of the day was given by Professor Hanmin Huang from Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, on C-C and C-N bond formation via C-H activation.
All in all it was a very enjoyable visit to Lanzhou. Our thanks go to Professor Tu for hosting us, Professor Wei Wang and his colleagues for local organisation and to all the speakers.
