chemistry

Sijbren Otto

Sijbren Otto is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sijbren Otto rather than just read about it. In short: Sybren Otto (Groningen, 3 August 1971) is Professor of Systems chemistry at the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen. Career Otto studied chemistry at the University of Groningen and in 1994, he received his Master's degree, focusing on physical organic chemistry and biochemistry, with the distinction cum laude.

Key takeaways

Sijbren Otto belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sijbren Otto to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sijbren Otto from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sybren Otto (Groningen, 3 August 1971) is Professor of Systems chemistry at the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen.

Career Otto studied chemistry at the University of Groningen and in 1994, he received his Master's degree, focusing on physical organic chemistry and biochemistry, with the distinction cum laude. In 1998, he obtained his PhD, again with the distinction cum laude, from his supervisor Prof. Jan B.F.N. Engberts for his thesis entitled Catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions in water. After his subsequent research in both the United States (in 1998, with Prof. Steven L. Regen) at Lehigh University and in the United Kingdom (first with Prof. Jeremy K.M. Sanders and then, from 2001 onwards, as a Royal Society University Research Fellow, both at the University of Cambridge), he was appointed assistant professor at the University of Groningen in 2009. In 2011, he was promoted to associate professor and in 2016, to full professor. From 2014 to 2019, he coordinated the master's degree programme in chemistry. Alongside his work at the university, Otto is also one of the six principal investigators of the Dutch national gravity programme for functional molecular systems (FMS; €26 million, over 10 years, 2013–2023). The ambition of this programme is to gain control over molecular self-assembly. With this technology, nanomotors could be made, for example, or biomaterials to repair damaged bodily tissues. Otto was the lead applicant and chair of the European Cooperation in Science & Technology (COST) Action CM1304 (Emergence and Evolution of Complex Chemical Systems), which united more than 95 European research groups. He is the chair of the Gordon Research Conference on Systems Chemistry 2020 and is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Systems Chemistry. Otto is a member of the Royal Dutch Chemical Society (KNCV), fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and member of the American Chemical Society. He is member of the steering committee of the Origins Center. The Origins Center is a Dutch research platform for scientists who are involved in the key questions of the Dutch Research Agenda on the origin, evolution and future of life on Earth and in the universe. Otto is active on several fronts in both the Netherlands and abroad. Otto was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020.

Research The research conducted by Otto and his research group is focused on various fields, varying from the origin of life (self-replicating systems and the Darwinian evolution thereof), to materials chemistry (self-synthesizing fibres, hydrogels and nanoparticle surfaces). Specific interests include self-replicating molecules, foldamers, catalysis, molecular recognition of biomolecules and self-synthesizing materials (materials of which their self-assembly drives the synthesis of the molecules that assemble). The complex chemical mixtures that are designed, made and researched often display new properties that are relevant to understanding how new traits are able to arise in nature. The final goal of all of this research is the de novo synthesis of new forms of life via the integration of self-replicating systems with metabolism and compartmentalization. His 114 publications have been cited a total of 8,873 times by other scientists. His h-index is 51.

Grants and prizes 1999 Marie Curie Fellowship, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. 2000 Junior Research Fellowship, Wolfson College, Cambridge, United Kingdom. 2001 Royal Society University Research Fellowship, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. 2011 ERC Starting Grant (subsidy) from the European Research Council for research into: Self-replication in dynamic molecular networks 2013 Vici grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) for research into: the Darwinian evolution of molecules. (Vici grants are intended for excellent senior researchers who can demonstrably develop their own innovative research lines and who are suitable for coaching early-career researchers. 2013 Appointed as Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. 2013 Visiting professor, University of Strasbourg, France. 2017 ERC Advanced Grant (subsidy) from the European Research Council. 2018 Visiting professor, LMU Munich, Germany. 2018 Supramolecular chemistry prize of the Royal Society of Chemistry. 2020 Member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Science (link). 2023 ERC Synergy Grant (subsidy) from the European Research Council.

References

External links Sijbren Otto's Staff page (University of Groningen website) An overview of Sijbren Otto's work on making life in the lab Overview of Otto's publications Website of the Otto Research Group Can we make life in the lab? Presentation by Sijbren Otto (YouTube) 'Self Replication: How molecules can make copies of themselves (YouTube)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sijbren Otto

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sijbren Otto claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sijbren Otto before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sijbren Otto ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sijbren Otto

In research: Sijbren Otto appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sijbren Otto in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sijbren Otto is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1971 births, 21st-century Dutch chemists, Academic staff of the University of Groningen, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sijbren Otto outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Sijbren Otto” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Sijbren Otto in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sijbren Otto means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sijbren Otto out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sijbren Otto in simple terms?

Sybren Otto (Groningen, 3 August 1971) is Professor of Systems chemistry at the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen. Career Otto studied chemistry at the University of Groningen and in 1994, he received his Master's degree, focusing on physical organic chemistry and biochemis…

Why does Sijbren Otto matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sijbren Otto?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sijbren Otto.