There is no such thing as "the" Max Planck Institute. In fact, the Max Planck Society operates a number of research institutions in Germany as well as abroad. These Max Planck Institutes are independent and autonomous in the selection and conduct of their research pursuits. To this end, they have their own, internally managed budgets, which can be supplemented by third party project funds. The quality of the research carried out at the institutes must meet the Max Planck Society's excellence criteria. To ensure that this is the case, the institutes' research activities undergo regular quality reviews.
The Max Planck Institutes carry out basic research in the life sciences, natural sciences and the social and human sciences. It is thus almost impossible to allocate an individual institute to one single research field: conversely, it can be the case that different Max Planck Institutes carry out research in the same subject.
Air pollution has been significantly underestimated as a health hazard. Calculations of the global health study Global Burden of Disease (GBD) indicated that the global mortality rate due to air pollution was around 4.5 million people a year. In a new study, we show that this number is much higher: 8.8 million per year. In Europe alone, nearly 800,000 people die prematurely every year as a result of air pollution.
At the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam we were able to show that growing bone tissue behaves like a viscous liquid on long time scales, thereby taking shapes with minimal surface area. This cell behavior determines the shape of the tissue when it grows on a scaffold. These findings could have far-reaching importance in terms of understanding healing processes and organ development but also for medical applications such as the development of implants.
2019Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-OrganizationS. Herminghaus*, L. J. Deutsch, C. Hoffrogge-Lee, M. Patscheke, M. Timme, A. Sorge, N. Molkenthin, N. Beyer, P. Marszal, D. Manik, F. Jung, C. Brügge, J. Simons, M. Schäfer, D. Gebauer, A. Hahn, C. Malzer, F. Maus, W. Frühling, J. Schlüter, V. Chifu, I. Gholami, T. Baig-Meininghaus
In order to reduce the volume of traffic on our roads, the number of passengers per vehicle must be increased. This can be achieved by ride-pooling and by strengthening scheduled services. Using statistical physics methods, we have developed a general description whose predictions we have been able to confirm through experiments (i.e. pilot projects). We have now brought this system close to market maturity. We are aiming at large scale commercial deployment in the near future, with the aim of increasing sustainable mobility in the countryside and the quality of life in cities.
In the age of electromobility, electrochemical energy converters such as fuel cells will play an increasingly important role in everyday life. On this point, diagnostic tools that can precisely determine the various fail states (flooding, drying out, catalyst degradation, poisoning, etc.) of these devices are becoming increasingly important. We report on a new experimental method for fuel cell diagnostics, based on frequency response analysis of concentration input and electrical output (current or cell potential), which can selectively distinguish between the different fail states.
Because of their unique combination of properties, intermetallic alloys based on iron aluminides are considered as being specifically sustainable. Following basic research of the underlying thermodynamics, different alloying concepts have been developed at MPIE. Resulting high-strength alloys are currently tested by industries for various applications, eg. as brake discs in wind power stations or tubes for biomass power plants. Currently, ideal combinations of alloy concepts, processing routes and properties of manufactured parts are investigated in close cooperation with industries.