The major goals of our research are the development and application of new synthetic methods in organic chemistry. The focus is on catalytic methods which enable previously unknown transformations employing both photochemical and conventional techniques. Applications to the synthesis of natural products are pursued and have led to the first total syntheses of – among others – wailupemycin B, punctaporonin C, lactiflorin, and pinolinone. In transition metal catalysis, there is a major research interest in new Pd- and Ni-catalyzed processes for C(sp²)-H activation and in supramolecular approaches to the regioselective and enantioselective transformation of C(sp³)-H bonds. In photochemistry, we aim at the enantioselective formation of complex molecules employing catalytic approaches based on chiral sensitizers and chiral acids. The former catalyst class activates substrates by energy transfer while the latter catalysts activate substrates by modification of the chromophore (chromophore activation). Visible light has been identified as the ideal energy source to promote these and related photochemical processes.