After studying chemistry, environmental studies, comparative literature, and philosophy at TUM and LMU Munich, I pursued a PhD in philosophy within the International Doctorate Program “Rethinking Environment”, funded by the Elite Network of Bavaria, and co-hosted by the Environmental Science Center of the University of Augsburg and the Rachel Carson Center of LMU Munich. My PhD thesis, titled “Unnatural, toxic, foreign: Conceptual Analysis of Major Topoi in the Critique of Chemistry”, sheds new light on the public perception of chemistry in an age of environmental crisis. Besides that, I have worked as a chemist at the Chair of Analytical Food Chemistry at TUM for several years, where a second PhD project on mass spectrometric analysis of mulberry is currently on hold. In 2026, I joined TUM’s TransforM-Cluster, working in Prof. Niewöhner’s Anthropology of Science & Technology Group, setting up the Public Technology Lab.
- Philosophy and History of Chemistry
- Philosophy of Science and Technology
- Science and Technology Studies
- Environmental Humanities
Schnurr, C. (2019): The History of Munich's Waste Management. In: Seeing in the Woods. A Blog by the Rachel Carson Center, 08.01.2019. Online available via https://seeingthewoods.org/2019/01/08/the-history-of-munichs-waste-management/.
Bachmann, T.; Schnurr, C.; Zainer, L.; Rychlik, M. (2020): Chemical synthesis of 5'-β-glycoconjugates of vitamin B6. In: Carbohydrate research 489, S. 107940. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carres.2020.107940.
Schnurr, C. (2022): „Is this natural or does it contain chemicals?“ Towards an interdisciplinary understanding of the public notion that synthetic chemicals are ‘unnatural’. GAIA – Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society 31 (2): 94-102. https://doi.org/10.14512/gaia.31.2.6.
Schnurr, C. (2022): Naturprodukte im Zeitalter ihrer technischen Reproduzierbarkeit. In: Martin, C.G. (ed.) Naturästhetik im Zeitalter der ökologischen Krise. Leiden: Brill mentis, S. 165–193. https://doi.org/10.30965/9783969752685_007
Schnurr, C.; Ziller, U. (2023): Proteins for the megacity. Food products from soy, algy and co. for Singapore. TUM campus 2023 (2). https://www.tum.de/en/news-and-events/all-news/press-releases/details/proteins-for-a-megacity.
Schnurr, C.; Buckett, L.; Bitenc, J.; Rychlik, M. (2025): Quantification of mulberrin and morusin in mulberry and other food plants via stable isotope dilution analysis using LC-MS/MS. Food Chemistry. 143061. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.143061.
Schnurr, C. (2025): “The Concept of ‘Nature’ in Chemistry in a Digital and Ecological Age.” Foundations of Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10698-025-09536-2.
Schnurr, C. (2025): Toxic silence. Toward an auditory phenomenology of polluted environments. Comparative and continental philosophy. https://doi.org/10.1080/17570638.2025.2565729
Schnurr, C. (2025): “Coming to Terms with Toxicity. Elements of a ‘Philosophical Toxicology.’” Culture and Dialogue. https://doi.org/10.1163/24683949-12340144.
Schnurr, C. (forthcoming): Das Bild der Chemie in der Öffentlichkeit. Und das Bild der Öffentlichkeit in der Chemie. In: Rehn-Taube, S. (ed.) Chemie: Ausstellungskatalog. Deutsches Museum, München.
Schnurr, C. (forthcoming): Vom Stoff zur Praxis. Naturphilosophie der Chemiekritik. In: Krebs, A., Gasser, G., Weichlein, R. (eds.) Ethik und Ästhetik der Natur. Überlegungen im Anschluss an das Weltbild der Igel. Schwabe, Basel.
Soentgen, J.; Schnurr, C. (forthcoming): „Phenomenology of Chemistry.“ In: Wiltsche, H. (ed.) Oxford Handbook of Phenomenology of Science. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
- Philosophy of Chemistry
- Philosophy of Nature
- Phenomenology
- Environmental Humanities
- History of Chemistry
2021: „Naturprodukte im Zeitalter ihrer technischen Reproduzierbarkeit.“ Naturästhetik im Zeitalter der ökologischen Krise. Nachwuchs-Workshop an der Universität Heidelberg.
2022, mit Fumagalli, L.: “Toxic Atmospheres. A Phenomenology of Silence.” Earth Sensations: Affects, Sensibilities and Attachments in an Era of Climate Change. Konferenz am Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies.
2022, mit Fumagalli, L.: “Toxic Atmospheres. A Phenomenology of Silence.” Toxic! Toxicity In-Between the Humanities and Natural Sciences, Symposium an der Universität Würzburg.
2023, Teilnehmer: Global Young Scientists Summit, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
2023, mit Brendel, B.: „Konfliktstoffe und Grenzwerte – Wann ist ein Gift eigentlich ein Gift? Wahrnehmung und Unspürbarkeit von Chemikalien und Giften.“ Wie wir mit dem Gift leben. Chemikalien und Materialien in unserer Umwelt. Ringvorlesung an der TU Darmstadt.
2023, Poster: “LC-MS Analysis of Prenylated Flavonoids in Mulberry and other Plant Samples.” Munich Metabolomics Meeting, Helmholtz Zentrum München.
2023: „Ist das natürlich oder ist da Chemie drin? Das Verhältnis Chemie–Natürlichkeit im Zeitalter der ökologischen Krise.“ Natürlich interdisziplinär! Das ‚Weltbild der Igel‘ und andere Perspektiven auf die Natur. Workshop an der Universität Augsburg.
2024, Poster: “Targeted and Untargeted LCMS Analysis of Prenylated Flavonoids in Mulberry and Other Plant Samples.” 55. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Massenspektrometrie. TU München.
2024: “Toxic Atmospheres. The Motive of Silence in Pollution Literature.” Environment in Crisis – Crisis in Aesthetics. Asian, North American and European Approaches. Konferenz der Working Group on Environmental Aesthetics, Bildungszentrum Kloster Banz.
2024: “‘Having No Counterparts in Nature.’ Clarifying the Notion of ‘(Un-)Naturalness’ in the Critique of Chemistry.” 27th Annual Symposium of the International Society for the Philosophy of Chemistry, University of Zagreb.
2024: “‘Having No Counterparts in Nature.’ A Systematic Clarification of the Concept of ‘Nature’ in Public Debate About Chemicals in the Environment Since Silent Spring.” 11th Conference of the European Society for History of Science, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona.
2024: “Unnatural Enemy. A Philosophical Clarification of the Term 'Unnaturalness' with Regards to Synthetic Chemicals.” 4th World Congress of Environmental History, University of Oulu.
2025: “The Death of Chemophobia. Revisiting the Public Image of Chemistry.” 14th International Conference on the History of Chemistry, Universitat de València.
2025: „Alles ist vergiftet. Philosophie des toxischen Lebensgefühls.“ Publikumspreis der Salzburger Hochschulwochen, Universität Salzburg.
2025: „Philosophische Perspektiven auf das Naturverhältnis der Chemie im Ökologie- und Digitalzeitalter.“ Chemisches Universum trifft planetare Grenzen. Jahrestagung der Fachgruppe Umweltchemie und Ökotoxikologie der Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker, Umweltbundesamt Dessau-Roßlau.
2026: „Chemiekritik und ihre Hater. Historische, soziologische und philosophische Perspektiven auf das Unbehagen mit der Chemie.“ Vortragsreihe der Halleschen Chemieforschungsgruppe, Halle/Online.
2026: “The Concept of Nature in Chemistry in a Digital and Ecological Age”, Workshop Secrets of Nature, Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry / Allard Pierson, Amsterdam.
Commission on Ethics in Chemistry of the German Chemical Society
Working Group on Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology in the German Chemical Society
Working Party on Ethics in Chemistry of the European Chemical Society
International Society for the Philosophy of Chemistry
Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry
2013: Prize of the German Chemical Society, best high school diploma in chemistry
2015–2019: Scholarship holder of the Cusanuswerk (Bishop’s Scholarship Foundation)
2021: GAIA Master Student Paper Award
2024: Travel Grant from the Commission for the History of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences
2025: Travel Grant from the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry
2025: Travel Grant from the German Chemical Society
2025: 2nd Audience Award for Science Communication of the Salzburg University Weeks