The Max Planck Society was founded in Göttingen on February 26, 1948
The birthday celebrates the new beginning for the Society, formally founded in Göttingen in 1948 on the basis of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society. At the insistence of the Allies, the Kaiser Wilhelm Society of 1911 had been dissolved after the WWII. Bearing the name of the internationally respected and politically untarnished Nobel Prize winner Max Planck, the Society succeeded in making a new start. Under the new democratic framework conditions, it has developed its current profile.
Throughout the anniversary year, the Max Planck Society will focus on its history as part of contemporary German history. "Pioneers of Science" presents the Nobel laureates of the Max Planck Society in a digital story and a traveling exhibition and showcases how science can influence social developments. As part of the range of events planned to mark this celebratory year, there will also be community activities on the Max Planck social media channels throughout the year.
An overview of the anniversary year
The "Pioneers of Science” exhibition takes visitors on an eight-station tour of various fields of research ranging from biochemistry and anthropology via astrophysics to biochemistry and chemistry - such as catalysis as a key industrial technology. The project conveys knowledge and showcases the creativity behind the award-winning research. But it also invites discussion about the value of science for industry, medicine, ecology and everyday life, and illustrates how the assessment of discoveries has changed over time.
The "Pioneers of Science” exhibition takes visitors on an eight-station tour of various fields of research ranging from biochemistry and anthropology via astrophysics to biochemistry and chemistry - such as catalysis as a key industrial technology. The project conveys knowledge and showcases the creativity behind the award-winning research. But it also invites discussion about the value of science for industry, medicine, ecology and everyday life, and illustrates how the assessment of discoveries has changed over time.
Pioneers of Science: the Nobel Laureates of the Max Planck Society
The Nobel Prize is the most prestigious – and most coveted – trophy in science. Awarded annually in Stockholm, it has been regarded as the most important international research prize for over a hundred years. The Max Planck Society counts 30 Nobel Prize Winners in the natural sciences, including researchers from its predecessor organisation, the Kaiser Wilhelm Society. .
"Pioneers of Science" presents the research fields of the Nobel laureates of the Max Planck Society in a digital story, and in compact form in a traveling exhibition. To mark the 75th anniversary of the Max Planck Society, the exhibit will be on display from February 2023 to January 2024 in several German cities: Munich, Jena, Göttingen, Hamburg, Dresden or Leipzig, Tübingen and Berlin.
Open to all
Under the hashtag #MaxPlanckandMe, the Max Planck community is invited to join in the birthday celebrations: On the library sofa, an inherited designer piece from the former Max Planck Institute of Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker and Jürgen Habermas in Starnberg, scientists* at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Politics enjoy their time of scientific reflection.
Under the hashtag #MaxPlanckandMe, the Max Planck community is invited to join in the birthday celebrations: On the library sofa, an inherited designer piece from the former Max Planck Institute of Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker and Jürgen Habermas in Starnberg, scientists* at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Politics enjoy their time of scientific reflection.
On June 23, 2023, there will be a day filled with different events at our founding site in Göttingen, shining a spotlight on the Max Planck Society’s various research fields. You can visit a science market, guided tours of the BioDiversum on the Faßberg in Göttingen or evening science slams to learn more about the Max Planck Society’s research directions. Later in the year, a series of Barcamps will be held in Hamburg, Magdeburg and Tübingen.
Social media activities
In collaboration with the illustrator Niels Schröder, the MPG’s social media team will post 20 stories in pictures, videos and reels on the Society’s Instagram channel from February 26, visualizing the Max Planck Society’s historical milestones in an interesting and an engaging manner. Using the hashtag #MaxPlanckandMe, the Max Planck community on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram is invited to go on a historical discovery tour at their institute, send their birthday greetings, or recreate iconic images at their MPIs.
Interview with actor and author Steffen Schroeder on his family ties to Max Planck and his novel “Planck oder Als das Licht seine Leichtigkeit verlor” (Planck or When the light lost its lightness)
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The director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig is honoured for his pioneering work in the field of palaeogenetics, of which he is considered the founder
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At its meeting on 23 June 2022 in Berlin, the Max Planck Society’s Senate appointed Patrick Cramer as new President-elect of the Max Planck Society for the term of office from 2023 to 2029
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More than 100 Nobel Laureates from various disciplines are calling for peace in the face of the war in Ukraine emanating from Russian soil. They have signed a declaration initiated by the Max Planck Society and supported by the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings.
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Benjamin List, Director at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung is honoured with the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on asymmetric catalysis. He shares the award with David MacMillan from Princeton University.
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Klaus Hasselmann, founding Director of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, receives the Nobel Prize in Physics 2021 together with Syukuro Manabe (USA) and Giorgio Parisi (Italy)
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The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Prof. Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, Scientific and Managing Director of the newly established Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens in Berlin for her groundbreaking work on the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology. She shares the prize with Jennifer Doudna from the University of California, Berkeley, USA.
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