Coffee Lectures present important databases, tools and concepts in an entertaining way and in just 10 minutes. Because you can only use what you know!
The Chemistry | Biology | Pharmacy Information Center began offering Coffee Lectures in December 2013, and by now more than 114 libraries have already adopted this format. Our Coffee Lectures take place in blocks of 3 weeks, always on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and always start at 1 pm sharp with free coffee or tea and chocolate. For each Coffee Lecture you will receive a Coffee Lecture Card summarizing the most important information. We will announce new series in our News, and you will also find the dates and topics in the Event Calendar (where you can also filter by Coffee Lectures).
Check out past Coffee Lectures on our YouTube Channel!
The current series
From November 17 to December 3, 2026 you can join the 39th series of Coffee Lectures, always Tuesday to Thursday, 13:00–13:10 at HCI G2 and under https://ethz.zoom.us/j/63020946312. Import the dates of the current series from our event calendar!
Dimensions (No. 63)
Tuesday, 17.11.26, Presenter: Dr. Leo Betschart
Dimensions is a literature database comparable to Scopus or Web of Science. Its unique features are the possibility to search for grants and policy documents, its diverse search options and an extensive analysis module.
NMR Challenge (No. 84)
Wednesday, 18.11.26, Presenter: Dr. Emmanuel Meyer
The NMR Challenge is a free web-based resource which offers exercises for solving structures based on real NMR spectra. It provides problems of increasing difficulty on both 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy. Moreover, the NMR-Quiz tests your knowledge on a range of NMR topics.
KnowItAll Spectra Database (No. 6)
Thursday, 19.11.26, Presenter: Dr. Jozica Dolenc
Would you like to identify your NMR spectrum using chemical shifts or determine unknown components in complex samples? Access more than 2 million spectra (IR, NMR, MS, Raman, and UV-Vis) through KnowItAll AnyWare.
AlphaFold (No. 61)
Tuesday, 24.11.26, Presenter: Dr. Gina Cannarozzi
AlphaFold, a program for predicting protein structure, revolutionized structural biology. The latest version, AlphaFold3, also predicts the structure of complexes. We present an overview of the software and the structure database it created.
Consensus (No. 85)
Wednesday, 25.11.26, Presenter: Dr. Emmanuel Meyer
Consensus is an AI-powered tool designed to streamline research discovery. Using its database of over 220 million papers, Consensus enables researchers to quickly find, understand, and summarize topics. After posing a natural language question, users receive relevant literature along with a citation-rich, evidence-based summary.
Store & cite references with Zotero (No. 70)
Thursday, 26.11.26, Presenter: Dr. Leo Betschart
Zotero is an open-source alternative to reference management systems like EndNote or Mendeley. Use its browser plug-in and PDF editor to efficiently store, retrieve, edit, and cite your documents. Share your reference collection and collaborate with others. ETH users enjoy free unlimited cloud storage!
AI at ETH (No. 32)
Tuesday, 1.12.26, Presenter: Dr. Gina Cannarozzi
Using generative AI models requires careful consideration of data security. ETH Zurich provides access to generative AI platforms that meet ETH data protection requirements and cloud regulations. We show which systems have been approved, what kind of data can be used with them, and how to get access with your ETH credentials.
Trello (No. 87)
Wednesday, 2.12.26, Presenter: Patricia Facchin
Do you struggle to keep track of your to-dos? Trello might be able to help. Trello is a project management tool and will be briefly introduced in this Coffee Lecture. This lecture will be in German.
WebCSD – the portal to the Cambridge Structural Database (No. 22)
Thursday, 3.12.26, Presenter: Dr. Jozica Dolenc
The Cambridge Structural Database is the world’s largest curated repository for small-molecule organic and metal-organic crystal structures. Learn what options WebCSD offers for searching and finding.