During this year's project planning course from 24.02.20 to 06.03.20, students from various universities dealt with the topic of plastics recycling. The focus was on planning a pyrolysis plant.

The annual meeting of the ProcessNet specialist groups high-pressure process technology and membrane technology took place in Freising from 17th to 19th February. In the high-pressure process technology our working group is represented with the topics LDPE process, safety engineering, determination of thermodynamic data and modeling.

On 18.12.2019 was the graduation party of the department of chemistry, which takes place twice a year. Nine of the attending graduates have completed their Bachelor's or Master's degree or doctorate in the last six months in the working group of Prof. Busch.

For this year's christmas party the working group met with Prof. Busch on 16.12.2019 for bowling. After a mulled wine at the Christmas market, the evening was rounded with a meal at the Grohe brewery.

On 3 December 2019 the annual Santa Claus coffee of the working group took place. Besides the participation of current members, it has been a tradition for years to invite the alumni as well. This year, with 10 out of 30 participants, a particularly high number of alumni were present.

The AIChE Annual Meeting was held in Orlando from November 10 to 15, 2019. The annual conference organized by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) focuses on innovations in chemical engineering.

On October 28, 2019 Maria Stimeier successfully defended her doctoral thesis entitled “Influence of Copper- and Cobalt- Transition-Metal Complexes onto the High-Pressure Polymerisation of Ethene”.

On October 22, 2019, 26 students and PhD students visited the fair K in Düsseldorf together with Prof. Busch, where 3300 exhibitors from all over the world presented the latest developments in the plastics and rubber industry.

On October 21, 2019 Sebastian Fries successfully defended his doctoral thesis entitled “Modelling of Fouling Mechanisms in the LDPE Synthesis”.

From 26 to 30 August the Summer School of the IMPRS (International Max Planck Research School) took place in Magdeburg. This event brings together doctoral students working in the fields of applied mathematics, chemical engineering and bioprocess engineering.