Major donors - their stories, and why they support us.
Every one of our benefactors can tell a story in which he or she plays a major role. There is the industrialist dedicated to pushing the boundaries of cancer research. There is the investor, who's venture capital bridged the gap from finding to a concrete application. There is the donor, who saw her own goals substantiate in a sciencists' work.
They all share a common ground: they are all convinced that frontier research propells innovation, making it essential for innovation and prosperty of this country, and mankind as a whole. And they all are proud to have brought change by supporting our research. This a selection of their stories.
Thanks to a legacy of a considerable nine digit sum, Hermann Neuhaus established a foundation in 2007. The foundation's sole mission is to support research carried out by the Max Planck Society.
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Reinhard Pöllath is a linchpin, and his commitment and foresight are pivotal to the success of the Max Planck Foundation, the establishment of which he made possible with Stefan von Holtzbrinck in 2005.
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Anne-Liese Gielen was associated with the Max Planck Society in a very special way. For herself she demanded "the freedom and strength to keep doing extraordinary things".
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The lights were threatening to go out early on a unique Research Group conducting a legal comparison of over 30 Islamic legal systems governing the family and inheritance. For Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto, however, the importance of this subject was obvious and she acted immediately.
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Thanks to the support of two long-time patrons of the Max Planck Society, the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz has dedicated a new laboratory to the married couple Sibylle and Walter Kalkhof-Rose.
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"The whole is always more than the sum of its parts" – it would be difficult to find someone to whom this maxim is more applicable than to businessman Rudolf Wanzl. Hard-working, dogged, curious, brimming with ideas, commitment and at the same time down-to-earth and modest.
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From chemist to high-ranking ambassador — Heinz Ludwig Krekeler had an astonishing career in turbulent times. For his entire life, he strived to achieve a social order based on consensus between freely deciding citizens.
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Much has been written about Gunter Sachs - who acquired fame as a successful designer, sportsman, entrepreneur, art collector, respected filmmaker and photographer. But there were sides to him less well-known than his jet-set lifestyle.
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A major supporter of the natural sciences, computer science and mathematics - this is a description that fits entrepreneur Klaus Tschira, who made industrial history in his own career.
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"Following a busy and eventful life, which often put me on the sunny side of things, establishing a foundation seemed like a logical step," says the 90-year-old Helmut Storz looking back on his achievements.
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Innovation through venture investment shaped Wolfgang Hanrieder's professional life. Today, he continues to invest venture capital with the establishment of the Hanrieder Foundation for Excellence. The foundation's aim is to provide support for talented young scientists.
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These two gifts, which are seldom found in harmony, are combined in Karl Ziegler. He refused many millions due to him from his patents and made them available to science.
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