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mechanism of oxidation reactions. The total volume of industrial organic chemical research is substantial. Good research is done in support of the organic chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Much of this work involves organic synthesis and the development of processes for industrially important substances such as organic intermediates, agricultural chemicals, textile chemicals and dyes, synthetic polymers, and pharmacologically active compounds. In the latter category, work is being done on nitrogen-containing steroids and other steroids and on heterocyclic pharmaceuticals at the VEB Jenapharm. Also active in organic research, including catalytic processes, is the VEB Leuna Works at Leuna-Merseburg. Petrochemical research is becoming increasingly important with the growth of the State-owned Petroleum Refinery at Schwedt.

Research in inorganic chemistry is of high quality and has concentrated on organochromium compounds and various types of metal complexes with organic compounds. A leading researcher in inorganic chemical research is Egon Uhlig, professor of inorganic chemistry at Friedrich Schiller University, who has done extensive work on coordination chemistry of oxides and aromatic amino-carboxylic acids and on nickel and cobalt complexes. Considerable research on selenium compounds also has been done at this university. Researchers at the Humboldt University have studied inorganic fluorine compounds. Applied research on industrial inorganic chemicals and catalysts is conducted by a variety of facilities throughout the country.

Several universities are active in biochemical research. Martin Luther University has done work on nucleic acid models, labeling of insulin with iodine-125, and proteins and peptides. The Central Institute for Microbiology and Experimental Therapy of AW in Jena has a strong biochemical research program, which has included studies in antiviral activity of various types of organic compounds and the binding of metal ions to nucleic acids.

Research in physical chemistry is receiving significant attention. The best work is done in the subfield of electrochemistry, and the most important effort is under the direction of Kurt Schwabe, professor of physical chemistry and electrochemistry at the Technical University of Dresden. He and his associates have done extensive research on polarography, electrochemical technology, fuel cells, kinetics of anodic passivation, corrosion, corrosion inhibitors, and electrode kinetics. The University of Rostock is engaged in studies of physicochemical properties of gases. The Central Institute for Physical Chemistry, Adlershof, is doing work on molecular orbital calculations, as well as research on electron-impact-induced decompositions and on catalysts.

East Germany has a comprehensive metallurgical research and development program of high quality, directed primarily to applied aspects. It is not as broad as that in West Germany, however. Strong areas include vacuum technology, nonferrous metallurgy, welding technology, and thin-film technology. Only average quality research is underway in such areas as process metallurgy, foundry technology, and ferrous and nonferrous physical metallurgy. The weakest subjects are fundamental physical metallurgy and metallurgical solid-state physics. Because East Germany is not a major steel producer, research and development on steel production has been limited.

Freiburg has long been a center of metallurgical education and research. The principal school for training metallurgists is the Freiburg Mining Academy. Some of the most important metallurgical research facilities are located in the city and include the Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals, the Metallurgy and Materials Institute, the Iron Metallurgy Institute, and the Institute of Metal Forming. The Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals has done significant research in vacuum metallurgy, analytical chemistry, metal deformation, and general nonferrous metallurgy. The Metallurgy and Materials Institute has conducted important fundamental research in defect structures, diffusion, thin films, and stress corrosion. The main interest of the Iron Metallurgy Institute has been the metallurgy of low alloy steels, while the Institute of Metal Forming is concerned with research on metal fabrication, including forcing and deep drawing, as well as explosive forming. The Freiberg Mining Academy has a broad research program covering such diverse subjects as electrolytic refining of copper, the metallography of aluminum alloys, slag-metal reactions in steelmaking and transformations occurring in steel, impact forging dynamics, the mechanical metallurgy of hot rolling operations, and the study of dislocation movements. Research also is being done on the development of tantalum-niobium alloys, possibly directed toward nuclear applications.

Appreciable metallurgical research is undertaken at the Technical University of Dresden and at institutes associated with the university, especially the Institute of Metal Physics and High Purity Metals and the Institute of Metals and Special Materials. Other facilities conducing metallurgical research include the higher technical schools in Karl-Marx-Stadt,

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R00020011022-9