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18th Science Night in Magdeburg

Science Night in Magdeburg - 14th June 2025
The next Science Night in Magdeburg is going to take place on 14 June 2025. We are looking forward to your visit in our institute. Molecules, proteins and viruses are building blocks for sustainable, energy-saving and efficient manufacturing processes. Learn more about the latest methods for generating and converting energy, pharmaceutical substances and vaccines, or fuels. Discover how AI and mathematical simulations can supplement or even replace experiments in the laboratory. [more]

Sustainable Private Law Talks

Discussing Freedom of Contract with Professor Dr Jan-Erik Schirmer
  • Date: Jun 5, 2025
  • Time: 05:00 PM - 06:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • Location: Online-Event
  • Host: MaxPlanckLaw
  • Region: Online
  • Topic: Discussion and debate formats, lectures
Tom Hick will present a proposal on how freedom of contract can be re-interpreted to form the bedrock of more sustainable contracting practices, hence more sustainable development. Professor Jan-Erik Schirmer, drawing on his extensive expertise on sustainable private law, will give his perspective on the proposal. Then, the discussion will be opened to take questions from the attendees to further delve into the topic. [more]

Public talk (in German) “10 years of gravitational-wave astronomy: insights and mysteries after more than 300 observations”

Public talk
Since 14 September 2015, we have been exploring a previously unknown part of the universe with the help of vibrations of space-time: gravitational waves. [more]

Science Day – family day on the Polymer Path

For the second year, we offer your family and friends a day to learn more about the science behind chain molecules. [more]

Potsdam Science Day 2025

Public Event
  • Date: May 10, 2025
  • Time: 01:00 PM - 07:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • Location: Potsdam Science Park
  • Region: Brandenburg
  • Topic: Open day
The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics participates in the Potsdam Science Day on 10 May 2025, 1pm - 7pm. Location: Potsdam Science Park [more]

Political economy

  • Date: Apr 25, 2025
  • Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Ioannis Kampourakis
  • Host: MaxPlanckLaw
  • Region: Online
  • Topic: Discussion and debate formats, lectures
Political economy as a research area in law is not a monolithic field; rather, it draws on a diverse range of insights from economics, political science, sociology, and beyond. When applied effectively, it can help legal scholars reveal how broader socio-economic forces shape legal institutions and processes, and, in turn, how law can serve as a vehicle for socio-economic transformation. At the same time, interdisciplinary engagement with political economy also presents challenges. In this session, Dr Ioannis Kampourakis will provide insights into the theoretical and methodological principles that guide research in this area. This session will be of particular value to researchers wishing to broaden their methodological toolkit and develop critical perspectives on the interplay between law and broader economic structures. [more]

National Security Law, Authoritarian Legacy, and Constitutional Courts

  • Date: Apr 23, 2025
  • Time: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Shih-An Wang
  • Host: MaxPlanckLaw
  • Region: Online
  • Topic: Discussion and debate formats, lectures
National security law is a common legal tool favoured by authoritarian regimes to maintain public order and preserve public interests. With its close tie to authoritarian governance, state institutions in post-authoritarian democracies—including constitutional courts—may hesitate to reform legacies of national security law owing to its politically controversial nature, even if the law poses a threat to human rights and democratic principles. Such hesitancy, however, is not the practice in democratic South Korea and Taiwan. In her research, Prof. Dr. Shih-An Wang adopts interdisciplinary methods to demonstrate that their constitutional courts have vigorously reviewed their respective state’s national security arrangements. This finding indicates the capacity of self-motivated courts in confronting legacies of authoritarianism, including those that pertain to national security. [more]

Consuming Modernism: Erich Mendelsohn, House Beautiful, and the Museum of Modern Art

Henriette Hertz Lecture
Histories of modern architecture ignore the degree to which as a fashion it was marketed to women, often by other women. Considering the role of House Beautiful in its reception in the U.S. begins to redress interpretations that also marginalize men, such as Erich Mendelsohn, who designed commercially successful businesses frequented by women. [more]

ESG Intermediaries and Corporate Sustainability Convergence

Responses to climate change and other environmental and social sustainability issues implicate two fundamental debates in corporate law. The first concerns the appropriate role and scope of regulation in shaping corporate purpose. The second, closely intertwined with the first, pertains to corporate convergence—namely, the extent to which corporate governance practices should or will align globally. Divergent approaches to sustainable finance regulation across jurisdictions highlight tensions between regulatory harmonization and persistent national differences. The broad, far-reaching, and sometimes controversial implications of sustainability issues for business can only be understood by addressing the corporate purpose and corporate convergence debates in relation to each other. [more]

Towards more sustainable uses of rare earth elements - from an inorganic and biological perspective

Colloquia Series on Sustainable Metallurgy
Lanthanides (Ln) - the f-elements from Ce to Lu, along with La - are indispensable for modern life. These elements are at the heart of advancements in green energy technologies, energy-efficient lighting, and various industrial and medical applications. [more]

Cluster cosmology and mass calibration in KiDS-1000: methods for current and upcoming surveys

MPE High-Energy Clusters & Cosmology Group Seminar

Demystifying AI Interpretability

  • Date: Mar 28, 2025
  • Time: 03:00 PM - 04:15 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Federico Adolfi
  • Host: MaxPlanckLaw
  • Region: Online
  • Topic: Discussion and debate formats, lectures
This talk will attempt to demystify, for a non-technical audience, the current state of neural network explainability and interpretability, as well as trace the boundaries of what is in principle possible to achieve. We will first set up the necessary background to talk about interpretability methods with stakeholders in mind, define basic concepts, and explain differences such as inner interpretability versus explainability. Along the way, we will touch on issues of relevance to various stakeholders; for instance, the role of interpretability in attempting explanations of how large language models generate text, in revealing reasons for model biases, and in model distillation. [more]

OpenHouse | Spring 2025

  • Date: Mar 27, 2025
  • Time: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • Location: online
  • Host: MaxPlanckLaw
  • Region: Online
  • Topic: Discussion and debate formats, lectures
Are you a passionate early career researcher in law looking for academic opportunities in an intellectually stimulating, challenging, and supportive environment? Then join our Max Planck Law Open House — an online information session plus Q&A—on 27 March 2025 at 11:00 CET. Max Planck Law is the network of nine Max Planck Institutes focusing on legal research, all located in Germany. We cover areas from anthropology of law to tax law and are dedicated to the advancement of knowledge, with a particular focus on comparative, interdisciplinary and transnational approaches. [more]
Virtual Reality (VR) technology has begun to make waves within the field of criminology, with researchers and practitioners exploring its potential to deepen our understanding of criminal decision-making processes, to enhance behavioral interventions, and to offer novel opportu­ni­ties for offender rehabilitation. This work­­shop brings together researchers working with VR in criminology and related domains in different countries in Europe. The goal of the workshop is to share research findings, exchange ideas, and discuss future opportunities for the appli­ca­tion of VR to study crime and related behavioral phenomena. [more]

Career Perspectives with a PhD in Natural & Life Sciences – Dr. Lam-Ha Ly (IMPRS-CBSC alumna)

Looking for career options after your doctorate? And not sure what is “out there”? With this series, we would like to offer an opportunity for interactive and informal exchange about career-related topics. You will meet former PhD candidates who will share with you their experiences including ups and downs looking for a job. PhD holders from academia, industry, science communication, politics, public and health sectors, education and more will show you the broad range of potential careers after a doctorate and give you inspiration for future career choices. We will have plenty of time after each talk for questions, discussion and networking. [more]

PhD Career Day 2025 at MPI Magdeburg

Decentering Transnationality. The Impact of Latin American Artists in Post-War Europe

Workshop
From the early decades of the twentieth century, Europe – followed by North America after 1945 – became the nexus of migratory flows of artists, objects, ideas, and cultural agents, particularly from Latin America. Yet, while the presence of Latin American artists in the United Kingdom and France has been the subject of extensive and ongoing research projects, the same is not true for other European countries eschewing the powerful axis of Paris - London - New York. The 2-day workshop welcomes research contributions that decenter such canonization of the transnational to recover histories that involve other places of arrival and a new polycentric understanding. What was the impact of artists settling at the so-called margins of Europe? How did they contribute to an ongoing international dialogue crossing the European continent and a process of hybridization of local narratives? [more]

Bioplastik aus Reststoffen

Dr.-Ing. Stefanie Duvigneau, Vortragsreihe "Wissenschaft im Rathaus"
As part of the public lecture series “Science in the Town Hall”, Dr.-Ing. Stefanie Duvigneau will talk about her research on optimized and sustainable processes for the production of bioplastics on 24 February 2025. [more]

The icy origins of planetary systems

CAS Seminar

Cultures of Harm: Sexual Violence in Local and Global Contexts. A Dialogue with Mithu Sanyal and Joanna Bourke

Guest Lecture Series “Society: Status Quo and Normative Change”
This event will feature a short lecture by Professor Joanna Bourke, who will explore rape as a historical phenom­e­non, examining how its understanding has evolved over time and across different cultural and social enviro­nments. She will discuss how history can help us comprehend the roots of sexual violence today and reflect on broader societal constructions of will, consent, and agency. Her analysis critically examines the binary victim-perpetrator framework while addressing intersectional factors that shape experiences of sexual violence. [more]

Meta-Reflexivity: Foundations of a didactics of science communication

Rado Seminar by Colin Cramer
Scientific research is a complex endeavour. At the same time, it is the task of scientists as part of the society to make central findings of research accessible to the general public. Current approaches tend towards a strong simplification and illustration of results. At the same time, however, it is important to communicate the prerequisites, genesis of knowledge and limitations of research to prevent an absolutist or relativist public understanding of science. Meta-reflexive principles are introduced and discussed in the talk that can contribute to promoting an adequate post-relativistic view of the achievements and societal relevance of research in democracy. [more]

Neuroscience of Fun

Munich Psychiatry Lecture Series | MPLS

Memories of Rome - Drawings as Souvenirs from around 1800

Research Exhibition curated by Johannes Röll
Ninety-seven drawings from the late 18th century were acquired by the Bibliotheca Hertziana over a hundred years ago, most likely as originals by the well-known artist Felice Giani. Most of them are faithful but sketchy copies of drawings by the Slovene Franz Caucig, who lived in Rome from 1780 to 1787. They were probably made for an English Grand Tourist and sold as souvenirs. [more]

Tapeworms as a proxy for studying hominin meat eating and food cooking behaviors

Human Palaeosystems in Focus Seminar Series
This talk will feature results from integrative functional (experimental heating of tapeworm cysts and RNA sequencing) and evolutionary genomics analyses to help test hypotheses concerning hominin meat eating behavior and potential tapeworm adaptation to withstand heat stresses associated with hominin food cooking behavior. [more]

From Export Orientation to Export Obsession: Germany’s Political Economy in the Twentieth Century

MPIfG Lecture
  • Date: Dec 4, 2024
  • Time: 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Jan-Otmar Hesse
  • Lehrstuhl für Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte, Universität Bayreuth
  • Sign up: info@mpifg.de
The talk will give an overview of Germany’s transformation to a “world export champion” (Exportweltmeister), a concept that first appeared in 1986. The talk will mark the most important turning points and highlight in particular the institutions and instruments that have been created over more than a century by an elite network of politicians and businesspeople in promotion of the German export drive. [more]

High temperature structural materials for extreme environments

Wall Forum

Synthetic Materials Chemistry for a Green Hydrogen Future and Beyond

CatLab Lectures 2024/25
The transition to a sustainable energy future relies on developing efficient and scalable methods for green hydrogen production, a fundamental factor for decarbonizing energy and chemical industries. Electrocatalysis plays a pivotal role by enabling efficient cathodic hydrogen evolution and anodic oxygen evolution reaction. [more]

Open Day at GEO600

Open Day
On Saturday, August 31, 2024, between 12:00 and 16:00 CEST the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) and the Institute for Gravitational Physics of Leibniz Universität Hannover invite you to visit the German-British gravitational-wave detector GEO600 near Sarstedt. [more]
The Max Planck Symposium is an intensive, two-day career conference serving as a platform to connect international Max Planck Alumni and Max Planck Early Career Researchers of all disciplines and Institutes. The topic of every symposium is suggested and realized by the participants themselves, who are then supported by high level experts and invited guests. We will be conducting an exclusively onsite symposium in 2024. All participants have the opportunity to participate in exciting onsite meeting formats. [more]
The development of the Max Planck Society since 1948 has unfolded against the background of the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. Environmental problems, internationalization and the demand for more co-determination and gender equality also have affected the MPG and its strategies. This new publication compiles the results of an eight-year project exploring these connections comprehensively based on a broad range of sources. [more]

Barcamp in Hamburg

  • Date: Nov 2, 2023
  • Time: 01:00 PM - 06:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • Location: Hamburg
As part of the anniversary year, we aim to unite researchers and students to engage in discussions about current topics such as navigating legal challenges. For this purpose, we have chosen the barcamp as a particularly interactive format that encourages participants to explore any topic they find personally interesting or important. [more]
The Nobel Prize is often dubbed the Oscar of science. In the Max Planck Society, 30 researchers have been honoured with the iconic award. To commemorate its anniversary, the MPG is showcasing a Digital Story and an exhibition delving into the significant scientific breakthroughs both in the present and the past. How has this research changed everyday life, industry and medicine since 1915 and shaped the modern world? The exhibition is currently touring six German cities this year, while the Digital Story can be accessed online at any time, offering continuous availability until further notice. [more]
The Max Planck Symposium is an intensive, two-day career conference serving as a platform to connect international Max Planck Alumni and Max Planck Early Career Researchers of all disciplines and Institutes. The topic of every symposium is suggested and realized by the participants themselves, who are then supported by high level experts and invited guests. Following three years of completely digital and one hybrid symposia, we had decided to conduct an exclusively onsite symposium in 2023. All participants had the opportunity to participate in exciting onsite meeting formats, such as a cultural running dinner, fireside chats and a live art performance. [more]

Max Planck Day: Friday, 23 June 2023, Göttingen

On the occasion of its 75th anniversary, the Max Planck Society is offering a day of science presentations and displays at its founding site in Göttingen. You can explore the wonders of science and experience at first-hand the research of various Max Planck Institutes from Göttingen and all over Germany at the Science Market in front of the Old Town Hall. In the afternoon, find out about sustainability and environmental topics at the Max Planck Campus on the Faßberg. Or join us in the evening for the Science Slam in the Old Town Hall!Take the opportunity and discover basic research in all its diversity! [more]
The Max Planck Symposium is an intensive, two-day career conference serving as a platform to connect international Max Planck Alumni and Max Planck Early Career Researchers of all disciplines and Institutes. The topic of every symposium is suggested and realized by the participants themselves, who are then supported by high level experts and invited guests. Following two years of completely digital symposia, we'll attempt a hybrid symposium in 2022 with a limited 100 participation slots at the Harnack-House and unlimited participation slots online. The main programme with keynotes, focus talks, workshops and panels will take place from 2pm - 8pm, allowing the participation from all time zones. Additionally, all onsite participants will have the opportunity to participate in exciting onsite satellite events, such as an onboarding brunch with external guests, a cultural running dinner, and a Berlin rooftop mixer. [more]
Ian Hatton and his team including scientists from Spain, Australia, Israel and Canada were able to prove an assumption that biologists already made in the 1970s: humans have upset the natural balance of biomass in the oceans. [more]
As of today around 66% of the total German population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and in Israel about 65% whereas the worldwide rate stands by 38%. The global pandemic is not yet over and the vaccination campaign continues at full speed. But what will follow as the coronavirus still continues to mutate?” On November 11th 2021 at 6:30 p.m. the Max Planck Society and the Israeli Consulate General in Munich cordially invite you to discuss this question in regard to the topic of mRNA research and its important contribution in the fight against Covid-19 together with three pioneering experts. [more]
Eruptions and earthquakes have left their mark on the city of Naples. How have these disasters shaped the city’s art and architecture and the mindset of people living with natural threats? [more]

"Water, more expensive than gold"

The Max Planck Symposium is an intensive, two-day career conference serving as a platform to connect international Max Planck Alumni and Max Planck Early Career Researchers of all disciplines and Institutes. The topic of every symposium is suggested and realized by the participants themselves, who are then supported by high level experts and invited guests. [more]
The genome of the original tea plant could meanwhile be decoded. Does the information gained from it provide the possibility of cultivating particularly healthy tea plants or even varieties requiring less fertilizer than traditional plants? [more]
The Max Planck Society is a lead partner of the Gender Summit 2021. The online event will take place from 14-16.4.21, participation is free of charge [more]

Berlin Science Week 2020. Program by the Max Planck Society

Events in Berlin
The Berlin Science Week is an international festival that brings together the world’s most innovative scientific organisations to celebrate science, to connect and to engage the local and international science community with the public. The Max Planck Society will highlight people and research projects of four Max Planck Institutes as part of the program which this year becomes a global virtual showcase, with free digital access for everyone. [more]
The Max Planck Symposium is an intensive, three-day career conference serving as a platform to connect international Max Planck Alumni and Max Planck Early Career Researchers of all disciplines and Institutes. The topic of every symposium is suggested and realized by the participants themselves, who are then supported by high level experts and invited guests. [more]

How does the brain make decisions? Courses and curses of choices.

The Max Planck Forum in Cooperation with the Consulate General of the State of Israel for Southern Germany
The brain is still a mysterious organ. One of its most important functions is making decisions – but how does it do this? And what happens when decision-making goes wrong? The Max Planck Forum in cooperation with the Israeli Consulate General will address both these questions in April, integrating perspectives from neuroscience, psychology and neurology. [more]
Just over 95% of our universe comes in the shrouded form of dark energy and matter that we can neither explain nor directly detect. In the 19th Einstein Lecture Catherine Heymans will talk about new ideas how to explore the dark side of the Universe. Her online course 'AstroTech' has attracted over 40,000 students worldwide, and she is a regular contributor to Radio shows, Art, Music and Science Festivals. [more]

"Sustainability, Climate, and what Diversity has got to do with it"

Max Planck Symposium : Veranstaltungen Berlin
The Max Planck Symposium is an intensive, two-day career conference serving as a platform to connect international Max Planck Alumni and Max Planck Early Career Researchers of all disciplines and Institutes. The topic of every symposium is suggested and realized by the participants themselves, who are then supported by high level experts and invited guests. [more]

Aging and the gift of longevity - How to meet the challenges of getting older

The Max Planck Forum in Cooperation with the Consulate General of the State of Israel for Southern Germany
In this very first joint Max Planck Forum, organized with the Consulate General of the State of Israel, the key topic ist aging. As people in Germany and Israel are increasingly getting older, several social and cultural changes are to be expected. [more]
The discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology is considered one of the most important biotechnology breakthroughs of our times. [more]
Following up on the successful 2nd Max Planck Symposium in 2017 focusing on "Sustainability and Social Engagement", the Harnack-Haus will once more be transformed into a "home away from home" in the course of 3rd edition with the title "Advances in Digitalization" -- with interdisciplinary talks, panel discussions and workshops. [more]
Stress is a normal part of everyday life. But reactions to stressful situations differ greatly between individuals and cultures. Scientists know that chronic stress can make people ill in the long term and that a close relationship exists between stress and mental illnesses. [more]
There is hardly any other subject that so preoccupies cosmology as the question of the physical composition of dark matter and dark energy. Are they driving forces in the evolution of the universe or yesterday’s theory? [more]

Wearable haptics for VR and AR

Max Planck Intelligent Systems Colloquium, Stuttgart
Following up on the successful 1st Max Planck Symposium in 2016, the Harnack-Haus will once more be transformed into a "home away from home" where our early career researchers and alumns will meet to build and strengthen the international Max Planck community. [more]
Outstanding scientists illustrate at our symposium in Martinsried on 13th and 14th March 2017 how far research has come in the past 100 years. We are looking forward to lectures by the following speakers: Richard Axel • Cori Bargmann • Karl Deisseroth • Tom Island • Reinhard Jahn • May-Brittmoser • Huda Zoghbi [more]
Few discoveries have attracted more attention in the area of molecular biology over the last three years than the CRISPR-Cas9 system, also known as the ‘molecular scissors’. Emmanuelle Charpentier will present the background to her discovery and discuss current possibilities for its application. [more]
STATE Festival is one of the latest, most creative Events in Berlin which connects science and arts. In 2016 it brings to you the latest developments, works and actors from the intersection of current emotions research and artificial intelligence. The Max Planck Society supports the Festival in 2016 with talks by Tom Fritz (MPI of Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences) and Daphne Rozenblatt (MPI for Human Development). [more]
For the first time in the history of the Max Planck Society, the Max Planck Symposium for Alumni and Early Career Researchers brought together its alumni and active early career researchers of all disciplines, sections and institutes, to meet and develop a lasting partnership way beyond their Max Planck time. [more]
The European Commission announced its decision to further investigate whether the recent reforms of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal and Public Service Broadcasters are consistent with the rule of law, a common value of the EU. At the same time the Council of Europe´s Venice Commission investigates the reforms at the request of the Foreign Minister of Poland. Are the new mechanism and the evaluation by an expert body fit to protect European constitutional values? [more]
For the first time, scientists have observed ripples in the fabric of space-time, so-called gravitational waves, arriving at the earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe. The discovery confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein’s 1915 general theory of relativity and opens new possibilities for gaining a better understanding of the universe. [more]

A Century of Einstein’s Relativity - From the Big Bang to Black Holes and “Interstellar”

Events in Berlin
This very special Einstein Lecture presented by Freie Universität Berlin und Max Planck Society is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Einstein presenting his general theory of relativity. [more]
The science of light is the basis for key technologies, which have already produced a whole host of applications. One of the most commercially promising areas of photonics research is the communications sector. Laser-equipped satellites are a highly promising candidate for global quantum communication, which could bring about a revolution in IT security. What are the prospects of this new technology? [more]

10 years of the Kyoto Protocol

10 years of the Kyoto Protocol
2 degrees Celsius? What is still achievable in climate protection? Book launch and discussion in Berlin. The Kyoto Protocol, one of the most important climate protection treaties, came into effect in 2005. However, its goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions as the main cause of increased global warming continues to pose a challenge for international politics. In industrialised countries, CO2 emissions are still rising. The question of what can be demanded of developing and emerging economies is, as yet, unsettled. [more]
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