My Science and Me Gallery
What fascinates scientists about their research? What motivates them? Science thrives because of the people who drive it forward. Our photo gallery offers a glimpse into research through the eyes of those who make it happen. Whether astrophysicists, biologists, or historians, they all share a deep passion for their fields. Evocative images, mostly taken by professional photographers, capture researchers in their natural work environments. The accompanying texts are primarily written by the researchers themselves.
By the way, the gallery is regularly updated, so be sure to check back often!
Edward Hurme
Watching a bat take off
Watching a bat take off
The natural world is a mystery that doesn’t divulge its secrets easily. Just ask anybody who has ever tried to really understand a wild animal—where it goes, and why, the many challenges it faces. In the last decades, we’ve found a powerful tool—tags—that remotely gather data from wild animals, much like your smart watch does when you wear it. But what are the costs for the individuals that carry them? We are deeply motivated to answer that question and to push the limits of technology to minimize that cost.
Here, you can see our team watching a bat take off in a purpose-built flight tent.
Edward Hurme, postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
Here, you can see our team watching a bat take off in a purpose-built flight tent.
Edward Hurme, postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
© Christian Ziegler
Rüdiger Berger, Hans-Jürgen Butt, Doris Vollmer
About the scientifically fascinating aspects of water
About the scientifically fascinating aspects of water
We are in our element here. Not only do we love water, we also find it absolutely fascinating from a scientific point of view: we investigate how droplets move on surfaces, what frictional forces act on them and how droplets become electrically charged. And this knowledge opens up surprising prospects for application: when printing or coating surfaces and even in 3D printing, the water droplet should remain in the same place until it has dried. However, a water-repellent surface is better for glasses, cameras and car windscreens. It is also important for solar cells that droplets roll off their surface quickly, taking as much dirt as possible with them, so that the electricity yield remains high. Possible applications in agriculture are also exciting: here, we hope that less pesticide would be needed if the droplets adhere better to the parts of the plant. Or in medicine: here, the speed of the droplets and their interaction with the surface could be used to determine how quickly active medical ingredients are released from a carrier in the body. However, our research may also lead to applications that are not obvious at first glance.
The experimental set-up here in the courtyard of our Max Planck Institute and other set-ups in our laboratories help us continue our research into the secrets of water and sometimes have a lot of fun in the process.
Rüdiger Berger, Hans-Jürgen Butt and Doris Vollmer, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
The experimental set-up here in the courtyard of our Max Planck Institute and other set-ups in our laboratories help us continue our research into the secrets of water and sometimes have a lot of fun in the process.
Rüdiger Berger, Hans-Jürgen Butt and Doris Vollmer, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
© Katrin Binner
Benjamin List
The view from a different perspective
The view from a different perspective
Of course, it's not like this every day in our laboratory. I usually do yoga at home, and of course I always wear my lab coat and safety goggles in the lab, even when I'm doing headstands. Joking aside, even though the shot is obviously posed, I really like the photo. It conveys the enthusiasm my entire team and I feel for science, and chemistry in particular. At the same time, this photo also shows a willingness to look at things from a different perspective – in my view an extremely important prerequisite for achieving success in basic research. What I also find flattering is that you can’t tell from the picture how long I can actually hold a handstand …
In 2021, Benjamin List MacMillan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with David W.C. for their work on the development of asymmetric organocatalysis. Both researchers discovered that small organic molecules can also carry out chemical reactions. Previously, science assumed that only enzymes and metals, often including toxic heavy metals or expensive and rare precious metals, could accelerate chemical reactions and steer them in a desired direction.
Benjamin List, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research
In 2021, Benjamin List MacMillan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with David W.C. for their work on the development of asymmetric organocatalysis. Both researchers discovered that small organic molecules can also carry out chemical reactions. Previously, science assumed that only enzymes and metals, often including toxic heavy metals or expensive and rare precious metals, could accelerate chemical reactions and steer them in a desired direction.
Benjamin List, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research
© Frank Vinken
Julian Kiefer
About a worm with no mouth, no gut and no bottom
About a worm with no mouth, no gut and no bottom
My research object – a rather small worm that lives in the sandy seabed – may not be as impressive as a whale, but it's not ordinary: it lives without a mouth, without a gut, and without a bottom. What's more, it does not have kidneys for the excretion of waste. Its name: Olavius algarvensis.
To find it, we search in the Mediterranean for shallow, sandy seabeds with permeable sediment. Seagrass meadows, such as those here at Elba, are a guide. They particularly like living here.
Olavius algarvensis lives in close symbiosis with several bacterial partners that are located under its cuticula. It could not survive without them: the worm cannot ingest food and has no digestive system. The bacteria provide it with everything it needs – they obtain energy from sulphur compounds in the sediment and use this to build up organic substances from carbon dioxide. At the same time, the bacteria also take over the disposal of its waste products.
This special form of symbiosis makes the worms a valuable model for researching adaptation between animals and microorganisms.
I am currently investigating how this symbiosis has developed spatially and evolutionarily in the Mediterranean region.
Julian Kiefer, scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
To find it, we search in the Mediterranean for shallow, sandy seabeds with permeable sediment. Seagrass meadows, such as those here at Elba, are a guide. They particularly like living here.
Olavius algarvensis lives in close symbiosis with several bacterial partners that are located under its cuticula. It could not survive without them: the worm cannot ingest food and has no digestive system. The bacteria provide it with everything it needs – they obtain energy from sulphur compounds in the sediment and use this to build up organic substances from carbon dioxide. At the same time, the bacteria also take over the disposal of its waste products.
This special form of symbiosis makes the worms a valuable model for researching adaptation between animals and microorganisms.
I am currently investigating how this symbiosis has developed spatially and evolutionarily in the Mediterranean region.
Julian Kiefer, scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
© Nicolas Schröder for the MPI for Marine Microbiology
Matthias Fischer
The hunt for giant viruses
The hunt for giant viruses
I knew that we had to be prepared for all kinds of weather when we embarked on our six-week expedition to sample various mountain lakes in the European Alps. Scorching sun, icy winds, and the notorious thunderstorms of a summer afternoon – all this was on the menu of possibilities. But a snowstorm in July? Admittedly, not the perfect start we had hoped for. But at least we did not have to worry about sample cooling. I watched with a mix of concern and admiration, as our team members Lauren Queiss, Jirka Petersen, and Joshua Mills braved the storm to take some final water measurements. The microorganisms themselves probably did not care too much about the cold spell; they are used to more extreme conditions in this nutrient-poor environment.
We came to the mountains to hunt for giant viruses – parasites that are almost the size of bacteria and have been unexplored in many aspects. A few years ago, we discovered giant viruses with unusual structural features here in Lake Gossenköllesee, in the Stubai Alps. Unlike previously described specimens, these viruses had tails and fibres. What are these structures made of and what function do they serve? Could they be special adaptations to mountain lakes?
What particularly fascinates me are the genetic interactions of giant viruses with their hosts and other microorganisms. Viruses often incorporate their own genes into foreign genetic material, thereby influencing the evolution of cellular life. Viruses and other parasites have played a key role in the development of humans, too.
Matthias Fischer, Research Group Leader at Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
We came to the mountains to hunt for giant viruses – parasites that are almost the size of bacteria and have been unexplored in many aspects. A few years ago, we discovered giant viruses with unusual structural features here in Lake Gossenköllesee, in the Stubai Alps. Unlike previously described specimens, these viruses had tails and fibres. What are these structures made of and what function do they serve? Could they be special adaptations to mountain lakes?
What particularly fascinates me are the genetic interactions of giant viruses with their hosts and other microorganisms. Viruses often incorporate their own genes into foreign genetic material, thereby influencing the evolution of cellular life. Viruses and other parasites have played a key role in the development of humans, too.
Matthias Fischer, Research Group Leader at Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
© Matthias Fischer
Viola Priesemann
Networks, nerve cells and SARS-CoV-2
Networks, nerve cells and SARS-CoV-2
With the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, our research suddenly became relevant to society: up to then, we had researched propagation processes in neuronal networks – i.e. in the brain – or in social networks. We are concerned with questions such as "How does the brain independently develop a model of the world?", and "How does it use mistakes to learn from them?". But also: "how does information and disinformation spread in social networks?" We do this with the help of statistical physics and data science, because mathematically speaking, nerve cells and humans are amazingly similar – if you think of them as active nodes in a network.
These methods are very widely applicable. They are also suitable for researching the spread of a virus. During the pandemic, we therefore used our knowledge of complex networks and non-linear dynamics to better understand the spread of the virus, with colleagues from virology and epidemiology, and thus contribute to pandemic management.
We do not know what challenges a coming crisis will bring, but our experience clearly shows: strong basic research is strong crisis prevention, if we also researchers in the future who can drop everything to work on the next crisis.
Viola Priesemann, Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization & Professor of Physics, Georg August University Göttingen
These methods are very widely applicable. They are also suitable for researching the spread of a virus. During the pandemic, we therefore used our knowledge of complex networks and non-linear dynamics to better understand the spread of the virus, with colleagues from virology and epidemiology, and thus contribute to pandemic management.
We do not know what challenges a coming crisis will bring, but our experience clearly shows: strong basic research is strong crisis prevention, if we also researchers in the future who can drop everything to work on the next crisis.
Viola Priesemann, Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization & Professor of Physics, Georg August University Göttingen
© Julia Steinigeweg
Rachel McDermott
The way for future nuclear fusion power plants
The way for future nuclear fusion power plants
The room I am sitting in becomes the hottest place in our solar system when we conduct experiments. I am in the vacuum chamber of ASDEX Upgrade, a Tokamak—a type of experimental fusion device—with which we investigate the fundamentals of plasma physics needed to pave the way for future nuclear fusion power plants. Here, we create plasma—a state of matter in which the atoms in a gas are ionized, creating a gas of free ions and electrons—which we can heat up to temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius. We confine this plasma with strong magnetic fields, keeping it away from the chamber walls.
Nuclear fusion, the process that powers our sun, involves the merging of atomic nuclei to form heavier nuclei, releasing vast amounts of energy. Fusion is much more efficient than current renewable energy sources or the burning of fossil fuels and does not result in the release of any green-house gases. Although both fusion and fission are nuclear technologies, fusion does not produce the long-lived radioactive waste associated with fission reactors, making it a promising alternative for clean energy. And that is why we want to bring it to Earth.
In ASDEX Upgrade, we study plasma physics under conditions similar to those expected in a future reactor. The insights we gain are essential for the planning and operation of ITER, the international experimental fusion reactor.
Incidentally, I rarely work inside the vacuum vessel itself. It is normally sealed and inaccessible. However, about once a year, we open it for maintenance and to calibrate our diagnostic instruments.
Rachel McDermott, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching
Nuclear fusion, the process that powers our sun, involves the merging of atomic nuclei to form heavier nuclei, releasing vast amounts of energy. Fusion is much more efficient than current renewable energy sources or the burning of fossil fuels and does not result in the release of any green-house gases. Although both fusion and fission are nuclear technologies, fusion does not produce the long-lived radioactive waste associated with fission reactors, making it a promising alternative for clean energy. And that is why we want to bring it to Earth.
In ASDEX Upgrade, we study plasma physics under conditions similar to those expected in a future reactor. The insights we gain are essential for the planning and operation of ITER, the international experimental fusion reactor.
Incidentally, I rarely work inside the vacuum vessel itself. It is normally sealed and inaccessible. However, about once a year, we open it for maintenance and to calibrate our diagnostic instruments.
Rachel McDermott, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching
© Frank Fleschner
Mehdi Moussaid
How does mass panic arise?
How does mass panic arise?
How do people move in a crowd? How do they make decisions, and how do they influence each other? Sometimes collective behaviour leads to remarkable results, such as the "wisdom of crowds", where a group can be more intelligent than any one of its members. In other cases, dangerous situations can arise, such as mass panic or the spread of misinformation.
What I particularly like about my research on human behaviour in large groups is the mixture of theory and reality. We use mathematical models, laboratory experiments and computer simulations, but we also go outside and observe people at festivals or in online communities, for example. And each time I discover unexpected patterns hidden in the noise of human behaviour.
What I found out: The jerky and fascinatingly synchronous change of direction of a school of fish is not so far removed from the behaviour of humans in large groups. The movement of a person's nearest neighbour provides very important impetus. One knows where to go, and the others follow. Decisive behaviour convinces others. Mass hysteria arises from imitation, and time pressure creates stress. If the density of people increases, panic quickly sets in. During the stampede in Mecca in 2006, there were sometimes nine people per square metre.
The simple number of people per square metre determines which scientific discipline provides the best explanations and forecasts about whether people still have the freedom to decide on their own behaviour. With six or seven people per square metre, the critical limit has been reached and exceeded. Then the laws of physics take effect: Laws of hydrodynamics, mechanics and fluid mechanics. Only when there are fewer than five people per square metre can cognition and rationality take control of human behaviour again.
Some colleagues from the past now advise transport planners and architects. The route in Mecca was redesigned according to their specifications, and a control centre monitors the flow rate and density of the pilgrims. Narrow passages have been removed, and bottlenecks where crowds used to accumulate have been eliminated. Today, the flow of people into mass events is reduced by opening and closing time slots or, seemingly paradoxically, by placing an obstacle in front of a narrow exit, causing the mass to divide and then slip out all the more easily.
Mehdi Moussaid, guest scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development
What I particularly like about my research on human behaviour in large groups is the mixture of theory and reality. We use mathematical models, laboratory experiments and computer simulations, but we also go outside and observe people at festivals or in online communities, for example. And each time I discover unexpected patterns hidden in the noise of human behaviour.
What I found out: The jerky and fascinatingly synchronous change of direction of a school of fish is not so far removed from the behaviour of humans in large groups. The movement of a person's nearest neighbour provides very important impetus. One knows where to go, and the others follow. Decisive behaviour convinces others. Mass hysteria arises from imitation, and time pressure creates stress. If the density of people increases, panic quickly sets in. During the stampede in Mecca in 2006, there were sometimes nine people per square metre.
The simple number of people per square metre determines which scientific discipline provides the best explanations and forecasts about whether people still have the freedom to decide on their own behaviour. With six or seven people per square metre, the critical limit has been reached and exceeded. Then the laws of physics take effect: Laws of hydrodynamics, mechanics and fluid mechanics. Only when there are fewer than five people per square metre can cognition and rationality take control of human behaviour again.
Some colleagues from the past now advise transport planners and architects. The route in Mecca was redesigned according to their specifications, and a control centre monitors the flow rate and density of the pilgrims. Narrow passages have been removed, and bottlenecks where crowds used to accumulate have been eliminated. Today, the flow of people into mass events is reduced by opening and closing time slots or, seemingly paradoxically, by placing an obstacle in front of a narrow exit, causing the mass to divide and then slip out all the more easily.
Mehdi Moussaid, guest scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development
© David Ausserhofer
Caiyun Chen
Can we see the motion of electrons?
Can we see the motion of electrons?
Can we really "see" the motion of electrons? Previous technologies were inadequate: although scanning tunnelling microscopes can now display tiny structures that are only a billionth of a millimetre in size, they cannot follow ultra-fast electron dynamics. And while technologies from attosecond physics make it possible to track these dynamics precisely, they lack the necessary spatial resolution.
Our research group led by Manish Garg has achieved a significant breakthrough in this area, as we have succeeded in combining both techniques. In a newly built instrument, we can record the dynamics of electrons in molecules directly in real space and in real time. In this way, we can actually observe how electrons move on the atomic scale. This is not only a leap towards the fundamental limits of measurement, but also opens up exciting new possibilities: we can observe atoms forming new chemical compounds in real space and in real time. And there is also the possibility of controlling chemical reactions, designing new nano-electronic circuits or developing a better understanding of processes in superconductors.
For me, the real excitement lies not only in the technical achievement, but also in the new window of possibilities that opens up into the ultra-fast, complex world of electron dynamics.
Caiyun Chen, postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in the research group of Manish Garg
Our research group led by Manish Garg has achieved a significant breakthrough in this area, as we have succeeded in combining both techniques. In a newly built instrument, we can record the dynamics of electrons in molecules directly in real space and in real time. In this way, we can actually observe how electrons move on the atomic scale. This is not only a leap towards the fundamental limits of measurement, but also opens up exciting new possibilities: we can observe atoms forming new chemical compounds in real space and in real time. And there is also the possibility of controlling chemical reactions, designing new nano-electronic circuits or developing a better understanding of processes in superconductors.
For me, the real excitement lies not only in the technical achievement, but also in the new window of possibilities that opens up into the ultra-fast, complex world of electron dynamics.
Caiyun Chen, postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in the research group of Manish Garg
© Shaoxiang Sheng / MPI für Festkörperforschung
Ferdi Schüth
Awakening a fascination for science with spectacular experiments
Awakening a fascination for science with spectacular experiments
This photo shows me at work under very specific circumstances – and it is actually not work, I'm rather having great fun: every two years I organize a public "experimental show" with two colleagues, Wolfgang Schmidt and Andre Pommerin, at an open-air amphitheater close to the Institute, usually with an audience of over 2,000 - old and young. There we try to fascinate people for science, especially for chemistry, using spectacular experiments. The picture shows me pouring liquid methane, the main component of natural gas, in liquid form onto a smooth surface at minus 161.5 degrees Celsius. Some of the methane in the droplets vaporizes when it hits the ground and the methane drops "dance" back and forth on the gas cushion – like drops of water on a hot plate. I know from the feedback that all age groups really enjoy these events, and that they definitely have an effect on the choice of subjects kids focus on at school and for their later university studies."
Ferdi Schüth, Director at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung
Ferdi Schüth, Director at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung
© Frank Vinken
Gerhard Fecher
The largest lamp in the world
The largest lamp in the world
In this picture, I'm standing in front of my favourite measuring device, a photoelectron spectrometer. This steel monster uses ultraviolet light to emit electrons from the surface of the materials under investigation. Inside of the silver hemisphere, the energy and momentum of the electrons are measured. In this way, I can investigate various properties of the materials that my colleagues and me have previously calculated on the computer.
I don't know whether Goethe really needed "more light", but from time to time I need not only more light, but also the colours beyond the rainbow. That's when I go to Hamburg to carry out experiments at the PETRA III electron storage ring. With a circumference of more than two kilometres, this ring is the largest lamp in the world, so to speak. Its brilliant X-ray light allows me to look much deeper into the material samples than is possible in the laboratory. Once again, a slightly larger silver hemisphere helps me to determine the momentum of the emitted electrons.
Gerhard H. Fecher, Research Group Leader, here in the thin film laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids
I don't know whether Goethe really needed "more light", but from time to time I need not only more light, but also the colours beyond the rainbow. That's when I go to Hamburg to carry out experiments at the PETRA III electron storage ring. With a circumference of more than two kilometres, this ring is the largest lamp in the world, so to speak. Its brilliant X-ray light allows me to look much deeper into the material samples than is possible in the laboratory. Once again, a slightly larger silver hemisphere helps me to determine the momentum of the emitted electrons.
Gerhard H. Fecher, Research Group Leader, here in the thin film laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids
© Sven Doering
Martina Preiner
Research in semi-darkness - why?
Research in semi-darkness - why?
You might think that the reddish light was only switched on for effect – but in fact my research group often works in semi-darkness. My students frequently work with light-sensitive molecules. Molecules that we think played an important role in the emergence of life over four billion years ago. And as if the molecules were not already sensitive enough, they often cannot tolerate oxygen either. This is why the photo shows anaerobic chambers or gloveboxes, which enable us to work in a low-oxygen atmosphere. It can get pretty cramped in these chambers when we have different metal powders, buffer solutions and devices piled up in them. We often joke that we actually have to operate an entirely oxygen-free laboratory with space station-like airlocks. But in the end, the gloveboxes are probably a bit more comfortable than walking around the lab with a breathing apparatus all the time.
Incidentally, our molecules had it a little easier on early Earth – there was no oxygen in the atmosphere and there were also good places to avoid destructive light. For example, in the Earth's oceanic crust.
Martina Preiner, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology
Incidentally, our molecules had it a little easier on early Earth – there was no oxygen in the atmosphere and there were also good places to avoid destructive light. For example, in the Earth's oceanic crust.
Martina Preiner, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology
© Katrin Binner
Susanne Erdmann
Strange microorganisms living in extreme habitats
Strange microorganisms living in extreme habitats
I love archaea, and archaea in turn love extreme habitats. That's why this photo shows me at Lake Tyrrell, a natural salt lake in south-east Australia. For me, this is an Eldorado, because almost 90 per cent of the organisms living in it are archaea, i.e. primordial single-celled organisms, and many of them have not yet been researched. For most other organisms, the water would be deadly. Archaea, on the other hand, flourish in hostile biotopes. Some can withstand up to 113 degrees, for others even vinegar is too mild.
I first heard about these strange microorganisms during my training as a nurse. I thought they were really cool, especially because of their extreme habitats. That's why I began studying biology after my nursing training. During an internship in Copenhagen, I was able to work directly with archaea for the first time. Copenhagen is an expensive city, and I had to sleep in my car for four weeks because I couldn't find any affordable accommodation there. After a PhD in Copenhagen and several years as a postdoc in Australia, the Max Planck Society enabled me to continue my research in an independent research group.
I am now mainly interested in viruses that infect archaea. In extreme habitats, viruses are the only predatory elements that affect these microbial communities because there are hardly any organisms that can exist under such conditions.
Susanne Erdmann, former Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (Alumni)
I first heard about these strange microorganisms during my training as a nurse. I thought they were really cool, especially because of their extreme habitats. That's why I began studying biology after my nursing training. During an internship in Copenhagen, I was able to work directly with archaea for the first time. Copenhagen is an expensive city, and I had to sleep in my car for four weeks because I couldn't find any affordable accommodation there. After a PhD in Copenhagen and several years as a postdoc in Australia, the Max Planck Society enabled me to continue my research in an independent research group.
I am now mainly interested in viruses that infect archaea. In extreme habitats, viruses are the only predatory elements that affect these microbial communities because there are hardly any organisms that can exist under such conditions.
Susanne Erdmann, former Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (Alumni)
© private
Silke Britzen
Effelsberg - The second largest radio telescope in the world
Effelsberg - The second largest radio telescope in the world
My favourite telescope − the '100m dish', as we affectionately call it − is the second largest freely movable radio telescope in the world. It is located in the Eifel mountain range, near Bad Münstereifel-Effelsberg, and helps us to observe and better understand the radio sky and its fascinating phenomena.
I am particularly interested in supermassive black holes in the centres of distant galaxies. Our Milky Way also contains such a black hole, with four million solar masses. Black holes can’t be directly observed. The enormous gravity prevents information or light from escaping. The event horizon is the limit for us − we can’t see beyond it. However, it is possible to take a snapshot of the gas flowing around the black hole. This allows you to see a kind of shadow of the black hole. The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration achieved this for the first time in 2019 − it remains a sensational achievement to this day. As part of the collaboration, I was allowed to show the image to a film crew in the control room of the 100m dish for the first time on the day it was made public.
Since then I have been looking for something very special: a binary black hole. Let's see what else the 100m dish will tell us in the future.
Silke Britzen, Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
I am particularly interested in supermassive black holes in the centres of distant galaxies. Our Milky Way also contains such a black hole, with four million solar masses. Black holes can’t be directly observed. The enormous gravity prevents information or light from escaping. The event horizon is the limit for us − we can’t see beyond it. However, it is possible to take a snapshot of the gas flowing around the black hole. This allows you to see a kind of shadow of the black hole. The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration achieved this for the first time in 2019 − it remains a sensational achievement to this day. As part of the collaboration, I was allowed to show the image to a film crew in the control room of the 100m dish for the first time on the day it was made public.
Since then I have been looking for something very special: a binary black hole. Let's see what else the 100m dish will tell us in the future.
Silke Britzen, Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
© Christoph Seelbach
Holger Goerlitz
“Seeing” with the ears
“Seeing” with the ears
Admittedly, the photographer played a bit of a trick with this picture, because it's normally dark when I'm sitting at the edge of the forest with microphones, loudspeakers and a laptop waiting for bats. And it can take hours before you actually get one in front of the camera, which is why it was only added to the picture afterwards. As bats are active in the dark, they use a special ability to orientate themselves, find their food and communicate with each other: ultrasound! They call about ten times a second, as loud as a jackhammer, only we can't hear it. But our microphones can record the calls for us and make them audible. They are fitted on the left-hand stand. For each call, we can calculate where the bat is located in order to investigate how it reacts when we play the calls of other bats, the echoes of prey, or the sounds of predators from the loudspeaker on the right. Through our research, we are learning how bats "see with their ears" and how, together with many insects, they form highly complex ecological networks at night in the dark. Last but not least, we also want to better understand our own hearing by comparison.
Holger Goerlitz, former Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence (Alumni)
Holger Goerlitz, former Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence (Alumni)
© Axel Griesch
Catherine Rajamathi
On the road to energy transition
On the road to energy transition
Climate research can also look like this: this photo shows Catherine Rajamathi working at the X-ray photoelectron spectrometer. We use this device to analyse various catalyst materials with the aim of improving them. To do this, electrons are knocked out of the samples to be analysed using X-rays. The speed of the electrons is measured and recorded in the system's analyser.
However, this usually only works if the electrons move in a vacuum. At ambient pressure, they would be so strongly deflected by the air molecules that they would not even reach the analyser. But you can do something very special with the system in the photo: it makes it possible to introduce various gases at a pressure very close to ambient pressure and still analyse the electrons. This only works with a sophisticated pump system, which creates a vacuum at the analyser, but higher pressure on the sample. This allows us to determine how the introduced gases and the elements with their bonds on the surface of our catalyst samples behave. In this way, we are investigating various chemical reactions that are important steps on the way to the energy transition. We are working on optimizing the catalysts required for this.
Walid Hetaba, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, Mülheim an der Ruhr
However, this usually only works if the electrons move in a vacuum. At ambient pressure, they would be so strongly deflected by the air molecules that they would not even reach the analyser. But you can do something very special with the system in the photo: it makes it possible to introduce various gases at a pressure very close to ambient pressure and still analyse the electrons. This only works with a sophisticated pump system, which creates a vacuum at the analyser, but higher pressure on the sample. This allows us to determine how the introduced gases and the elements with their bonds on the surface of our catalyst samples behave. In this way, we are investigating various chemical reactions that are important steps on the way to the energy transition. We are working on optimizing the catalysts required for this.
Walid Hetaba, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, Mülheim an der Ruhr
© Thomas Hobirk
Markus Reichstein
The breathing of ecosystems
The breathing of ecosystems
This photo shows me on the roof of our Institute, between heaven and earth. Around me, cup anemometers rotate and precisely measure the wind. They are part of a larger system with which we record the "breathing of ecosystems" – the exchange of CO₂, water and energy between soil, vegetation, and atmosphere. Together with our international partners, we measure how weather and climate influence ecosystems and how climate extremes such as droughts or heatwaves change their sensitive balance at hundreds of locations worldwide. We use artificial intelligence to search for patterns and answers in this treasure trove of data: What does nature tell us about its limits – and about our common future? Can we use this amount of data not only to improve our understanding of climate extremes, but also to develop early warning systems to mitigate their impact on agriculture, forests, or water resources?
Markus Reichstein, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Markus Reichstein, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
© David Ausserhofer
Jeannette Bogh
How we “feed” robots with information
How we “feed” robots with information
This is me with Apollo, a humanoid robot. With its skilful hands, it can grip tools and manipulate objects. My research centres on how robots can master complex tasks together with humans. To do this, Apollo must learn to reach for an unknown object. So far, this has been challenging: for example, if it has learnt to grasp a hammer by the handle, Apollo does not know what to do if I hand it the hammer head first. This is why I simulate countless possible grasps on the computer. The foundation for this is a data base that I have fed with models of thousands of objects – from hammers to toy dolls.
As a computer scientist, I used to do a lot of programming and set up experiments myself. Unfortunately, I barely have time for this these days. But every time my students show me their results – when the robot successfully grasps an object or demonstrates a new skill – I still feel the same sense of satisfaction I felt when my own programs were running. It's fascinating to see how far we've come in robotics – and how much there is still to discover.
Jeannette Bohg, former Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (Alumni)
As a computer scientist, I used to do a lot of programming and set up experiments myself. Unfortunately, I barely have time for this these days. But every time my students show me their results – when the robot successfully grasps an object or demonstrates a new skill – I still feel the same sense of satisfaction I felt when my own programs were running. It's fascinating to see how far we've come in robotics – and how much there is still to discover.
Jeannette Bohg, former Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (Alumni)
© Wolfram Scheible
Jens Frahm
Observe movement inside the body in real time
Observe movement inside the body in real time
Jens Frahm and his team have developed a technology that allows magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images to be taken in real time. The technology called Flash2 is based on a sophisticated mathematical process for image reconstruction and allows up to 100 images to be recorded per second. This in turn allows movements inside the body to be observed in real time. Flash2 is a huge step forward for medical diagnostics, as joint and speech movements, swallowing processes and the beating heart can now be observed directly. Jens Frahm was honoured with the European Inventor Award in 2018 for the development of flash technology.
Behind Jens Frahm is a still image from a video that was recorded using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It shows the mouth and throat of a Berlin Philharmonic horn player."
Harald Rösch, Science Editor for the Max Planck Society, Administrative Headquarters
Behind Jens Frahm is a still image from a video that was recorded using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It shows the mouth and throat of a Berlin Philharmonic horn player."
Harald Rösch, Science Editor for the Max Planck Society, Administrative Headquarters
© Frank Vinken
Ferenc Krausz
The Nobel Prize “wave”
The Nobel Prize “wave”
"If the phone rings before 12 noon during the week of the Nobel Prize ceremony, you should consider that an advanced warning. This applies to both potential Nobel Prize candidate, and their press officers. On that sunny public holiday, the Day of German Unity, I was sitting with my son in the sand, trying to dig a tunnel through a substrate that was far too dry.
The call from Stockholm was to change this peaceful state abruptly. And for a long time afterwards. The media bombarded Ferenc Krausz incessantly in the first few weeks after the announcement. My boss did everything humanly possible to fulfil every request. However, it wasn’t possible to do it all. The media wave simply rolled over us all too fast and too high. This picture captures a sense of that. It shows Ferenc Krausz in one of his Attoworld Team’s laser laboratories. He is patiently being photographed by photographer Stephan Höck, shortly after being awarded the Nobel Prize. It was my job and that of some of my colleagues to coordinate the press enquiries, provide images and well-founded information about the – now Nobel Prize-winning – attosecond physics.
Ferenc Krausz was honoured together with Anne L'Huillier and Pierre Agostini for his pioneering work in this field. He was the first to succeed in generating flashes of light that last only attoseconds, i.e. billionths of a billionth of a second. This made it possible to visualize the movements of electrons in atoms and molecules for the first time."
Thorsten Naeser, Head of the Press Department of the Attoworld Team of Nobel Prize laureate Ferenc Krausz. www.attoworld.de | Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
The call from Stockholm was to change this peaceful state abruptly. And for a long time afterwards. The media bombarded Ferenc Krausz incessantly in the first few weeks after the announcement. My boss did everything humanly possible to fulfil every request. However, it wasn’t possible to do it all. The media wave simply rolled over us all too fast and too high. This picture captures a sense of that. It shows Ferenc Krausz in one of his Attoworld Team’s laser laboratories. He is patiently being photographed by photographer Stephan Höck, shortly after being awarded the Nobel Prize. It was my job and that of some of my colleagues to coordinate the press enquiries, provide images and well-founded information about the – now Nobel Prize-winning – attosecond physics.
Ferenc Krausz was honoured together with Anne L'Huillier and Pierre Agostini for his pioneering work in this field. He was the first to succeed in generating flashes of light that last only attoseconds, i.e. billionths of a billionth of a second. This made it possible to visualize the movements of electrons in atoms and molecules for the first time."
Thorsten Naeser, Head of the Press Department of the Attoworld Team of Nobel Prize laureate Ferenc Krausz. www.attoworld.de | Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
© Thorsten Naeser
Bruno Scocozza
A DJ in the lab?
A DJ in the lab?
Sometimes developing a microscope looks like DJing. I built this microscope to activate specific regions of a living cell.
This photo was part of the #mymachineandme social media campaign, 2018
Bruno Scocozza, former doctoral student, Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Physiologie
This photo was part of the #mymachineandme social media campaign, 2018
Bruno Scocozza, former doctoral student, Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Physiologie
© private
Thomas Klinger
The world's largest fusion research facility
The world's largest fusion research facility
Here I am standing on a scaffold that surrounds Wendelstein 7-X. The platform is located at a height of around 10 metres, which gives an idea of the dimensions of this 1,000-tonne device.
Wendelstein 7-X is the world's largest fusion research facility for investigating extremely hot and thin hydrogen gas, known as plasma. The aim is to provide humanity with a new, clean source of energy by fusion of hydrogen nuclei. To prevent the hot plasma from touching the walls, we have to enclose it in a complex magnetic field, generated by 70 superconducting magnetic field coils.
This device, known as a "stellarator", was built over almost 20 years, 15 of them under my leadership. The full completion of the plant was in 2022, but first research steps were already made starting 2015. The aim of our international team with 400 scientists and engineers is to increase the plasma temperature step-by-step. During recent measurement campaigns, we succeeded in briefly heating the ions in the plasma to around 35 million degrees Celsius. The final goal is to create long plasma pulses at high plasma temperatures. We are currently working on this.
Thomas Klinger, Head of the Stellarator Dynamics and Transport Department at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), Greifswald
Wendelstein 7-X is the world's largest fusion research facility for investigating extremely hot and thin hydrogen gas, known as plasma. The aim is to provide humanity with a new, clean source of energy by fusion of hydrogen nuclei. To prevent the hot plasma from touching the walls, we have to enclose it in a complex magnetic field, generated by 70 superconducting magnetic field coils.
This device, known as a "stellarator", was built over almost 20 years, 15 of them under my leadership. The full completion of the plant was in 2022, but first research steps were already made starting 2015. The aim of our international team with 400 scientists and engineers is to increase the plasma temperature step-by-step. During recent measurement campaigns, we succeeded in briefly heating the ions in the plasma to around 35 million degrees Celsius. The final goal is to create long plasma pulses at high plasma temperatures. We are currently working on this.
Thomas Klinger, Head of the Stellarator Dynamics and Transport Department at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), Greifswald
© Achim Multhaupt
Ilka Hermes
Following the function of the solar cell "live"
Following the function of the solar cell "live"
Solar cells made from new materials such as perovskite promise a significantly higher energy yield than conventional solar cells made from silicon. I once read that seven kilos of perovskite could generate as much electricity as 35 tonnes of silicon.
In order to better understand how solar cells made from perovskite convert solar energy into electricity, my aim was to take a look inside the cells. To do this, I broke the solar cells in half, smoothed the fractured surfaces with an ion polisher and then analysed them using scanning probe microscopy. This method can map the electronic properties of the individual material layers in the solar cell via the interaction of a very fine tip, known as probe, with the sample – and with a resolution in the nanometre range. We were therefore able to gain insights into the solar cells at nano level and then think about which layers we could improve further in order to generate even more electricity with perovskite solar cells in the future.
Following the function of the solar cell "live" in the scanning probe microscope was one of the most exciting experiences of my doctoral thesis. However, the road to this was often rocky: many solar cells broke during the polishing process, and finding the polished spot, which is only a few micrometres in size, under the scanning probe microscope was sometimes like looking for a needle in a haystack.
In the picture you can see me at the optical microscope of the ion polisher.
Ilka Hermes, former doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
In order to better understand how solar cells made from perovskite convert solar energy into electricity, my aim was to take a look inside the cells. To do this, I broke the solar cells in half, smoothed the fractured surfaces with an ion polisher and then analysed them using scanning probe microscopy. This method can map the electronic properties of the individual material layers in the solar cell via the interaction of a very fine tip, known as probe, with the sample – and with a resolution in the nanometre range. We were therefore able to gain insights into the solar cells at nano level and then think about which layers we could improve further in order to generate even more electricity with perovskite solar cells in the future.
Following the function of the solar cell "live" in the scanning probe microscope was one of the most exciting experiences of my doctoral thesis. However, the road to this was often rocky: many solar cells broke during the polishing process, and finding the polished spot, which is only a few micrometres in size, under the scanning probe microscope was sometimes like looking for a needle in a haystack.
In the picture you can see me at the optical microscope of the ion polisher.
Ilka Hermes, former doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
© Katrin Binner
Hanieh Fattahi
The millionth part of a billionth of a second
The millionth part of a billionth of a second
In 2020, right at the start of the pandemic, I began building my new research group at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light. It was a challenging time, partly because of the pandemic, but also because we had to start from scratch. During these first few months, I often spent time with my doctoral student in the lab, helping him develop our first "Femtosecond Fieldoscopy" setup. A femtosecond is the millionth part of a billionth of a second. The dimension can perhaps be visualized as follows: if one second corresponded to the distance from the earth to the sun, a femtosecond would be about 0.15 millimetres long.
We faced countless obstacles. I still remember one particular night when things weren't going as planned. I was sitting on top of the optical table, trying to repair a critical component. My doctoral researcher used this moment to take a photo of me. This photo came to symbolize those initial tough but formative months. The photographer Axel Griesch later even reproduced the picture. For me, it shows the reality of research: the struggle and perseverance behind the scenes.
With our femtosecond laser, the flashes of light are short enough to capture sharp images of moving molecules. If we one day manage to map the processes in nerve cells during signal transmission, this could be important for curing diseases such as Parkinson's.
Hanieh Fattahi, Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
We faced countless obstacles. I still remember one particular night when things weren't going as planned. I was sitting on top of the optical table, trying to repair a critical component. My doctoral researcher used this moment to take a photo of me. This photo came to symbolize those initial tough but formative months. The photographer Axel Griesch later even reproduced the picture. For me, it shows the reality of research: the struggle and perseverance behind the scenes.
With our femtosecond laser, the flashes of light are short enough to capture sharp images of moving molecules. If we one day manage to map the processes in nerve cells during signal transmission, this could be important for curing diseases such as Parkinson's.
Hanieh Fattahi, Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
© Axel Griesch
An Mo
What I cannot create, I do not understand
What I cannot create, I do not understand
This is a "robotic hopper" inspired by nature, which – just released from my hands – has made its first hop forwards. I'm fascinated to find out how animals and robots manage to move around on two legs.
I am a biomechanical engineer and work at the interface between biology, engineering and computer science. I describe movement sequences and measure forces and joint movements. To use this knowledge to teach robots to walk, we need to simplify it. This is because the actual movement sequences of animals, in which the skeleton, muscles, tendons and fasciae interact with each other, are too complex.
I particularly enjoy building and testing – not just robots, but also hypotheses. I test different mechanical designs with control software. There is a famous quote from Richard Feynman that deeply resonates with me: "What I cannot create, I do not understand."
I also like the fact that our research reduces the need for animal testing.
An Mo, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart
© Wolfram Scheible
Ute Frevert
What connects the feelings of Hillary Clinton with Frederick the Great?
What connects the feelings of Hillary Clinton with Frederick the Great?
I asked myself this question in 2012 when I was working on a book about the "emotional politics" of the 18th century Prussian king. Frederick, in his time, wanted to be the master of his subjects' hearts and thus secure his power. Today's statesmen and stateswomen are even more emotionally savvy. When Hillary Clinton was campaigning for the Democratic presidential candidacy in 2008 – and ultimately had to give way to Barack Obama – she had a reputation as a power-hungry, ice-cold and calculating politician. To appear more feminine, she shed a tear after the election defeat and appeared emotionally touched. That worked, at least for a short time…
As Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, I have spent many years studying the history of emotions and the changes that emotional norms undergo over time. Cold-heartedness, for example, can be a serious reproach – but it can also be viewed positively: as unbiased, objective or cool.
I am now an emeritus professor, but I continue to research and get involved, now as President of the Max Weber Foundation, with eleven humanities research institutes around the world.
Ute Frevert, former Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (Emeritus)
As Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, I have spent many years studying the history of emotions and the changes that emotional norms undergo over time. Cold-heartedness, for example, can be a serious reproach – but it can also be viewed positively: as unbiased, objective or cool.
I am now an emeritus professor, but I continue to research and get involved, now as President of the Max Weber Foundation, with eleven humanities research institutes around the world.
Ute Frevert, former Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (Emeritus)
© David Ausserhofer
Peter Drewelow
The glimpse into plasma heated to 20 million degrees
The glimpse into plasma heated to 20 million degrees
Me & 'my' 9 immersion tube observation systems inserted in our #Wendelstein7X #stellarator, which allow 25 cameras to observe our 20 million °C hot plasma in its magnetic cage. Some of those cameras tell me with infrared images where our plasma extends its legs and touches the wall of our vacuum vessel, while others count the particles flowing in from the cooler plasma edge. When working, these cameras have to suffer 2.5 Tesla magnetic field, ca. 500 W microwave radiation and a 45 °C working environment. However, they still diligently flood me with data building up a video pile of ca. 140 TB so far (about twice the amount of cat videos on Youtube in 2015).
This photo was part of the #mymachineandme social media campaign in 2018.
Peter Drewelow, former Postdoc at the Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik (Alumni)
This photo was part of the #mymachineandme social media campaign in 2018.
Peter Drewelow, former Postdoc at the Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik (Alumni)
© IPP, Marcin Jakubowski
Susanne Erdmann
Insights into the evolution of viruses
Insights into the evolution of viruses
There is no life without viruses. I am particularly interested in the viruses that infect archaea. Archaea are tiny single-celled organisms, just a thousandth of a millimetre in size and without a cell nucleus, which colonize extreme habitats such as salt lakes or hot springs.
When working with viruses, you only have one option to look at your object of desire: electron microscopy. The photo shows me at the transmission electron microscope at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen.
Through our research, we hope to gain insights into the evolution of viruses and understand how they influence the evolution of their hosts. Compared to viruses that infect eukaryotes − i.e. organisms with a cell nucleus − or bacteria, very little is known about archaeal viruses. Every one I have isolated so far had a surprise in store. It is astonishing that many archaeal viruses do not appear to harm their hosts and do not destroy their cells. We even suspect that viruses that infect eukaryotes and are frequently combatted as pathogens today had a positive effect on the development of their hosts in earlier times.
While I rarely make it to the lab any more, I like to take the time to regularly sit down at the electron microscope to analyse the unique structures of archaeal viruses. It helps to restore my energy and gives me fresh motivation.
Susanne Erdmann, former Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (Alumni)
When working with viruses, you only have one option to look at your object of desire: electron microscopy. The photo shows me at the transmission electron microscope at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen.
Through our research, we hope to gain insights into the evolution of viruses and understand how they influence the evolution of their hosts. Compared to viruses that infect eukaryotes − i.e. organisms with a cell nucleus − or bacteria, very little is known about archaeal viruses. Every one I have isolated so far had a surprise in store. It is astonishing that many archaeal viruses do not appear to harm their hosts and do not destroy their cells. We even suspect that viruses that infect eukaryotes and are frequently combatted as pathogens today had a positive effect on the development of their hosts in earlier times.
While I rarely make it to the lab any more, I like to take the time to regularly sit down at the electron microscope to analyse the unique structures of archaeal viruses. It helps to restore my energy and gives me fresh motivation.
Susanne Erdmann, former Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (Alumni)
© Achim Multhaupt
Miranda Bradshaw
Simulating the vacuum of the universe
Simulating the vacuum of the universe
Me inside the vacuum chamber at MPE's PANTER x-ray test facility. I am a scientist working on testing x-ray optics for space telescopes. The optics are placed inside this vacuum chamber, which mimics the vacuum of space, and tested to ensure they meet the performance requirements of the mission.
This photo was part of the #mymachineandme social media campaign, 2018
This photo was part of the #mymachineandme social media campaign, 2018
© private
Lisa Trost
Listening to the song of zebra finches
Listening to the song of zebra finches
We are studying the song of zebra finches and how they learn it.
In zebra finches, only the males sing. A finch has about three months to practice its song. Then his school days are over and he sings what he has learnt so far for the rest of his life.
The birds wear tiny transmitters that record the individual songs and the neuronal activity of the song centres in the brain, and transmit them to a complex recording system located outside the aviary. The technology we have developed enables us to record 12 animals simultaneously with a single antenna. We can keep our birds very close to nature in large groups and even larger aviaries to ensure that they display their natural behaviour. In this way, my team and I have already been able to unravel some of the secrets of the neuronal control of learnt song and innate calls in songbirds.
The photo shows me installing the antenna in the aviary.
Lisa Trost, researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence
In zebra finches, only the males sing. A finch has about three months to practice its song. Then his school days are over and he sings what he has learnt so far for the rest of his life.
The birds wear tiny transmitters that record the individual songs and the neuronal activity of the song centres in the brain, and transmit them to a complex recording system located outside the aviary. The technology we have developed enables us to record 12 animals simultaneously with a single antenna. We can keep our birds very close to nature in large groups and even larger aviaries to ensure that they display their natural behaviour. In this way, my team and I have already been able to unravel some of the secrets of the neuronal control of learnt song and innate calls in songbirds.
The photo shows me installing the antenna in the aviary.
Lisa Trost, researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence
© Axel Griesch
Hanieh Fattahi
Detecting greenhouse gases with light pulses
Detecting greenhouse gases with light pulses
In 2024, I developed an optical oscillator with the help of my research group. The light pulses it generates can be used to detect greenhouse gases such as methane. Our aim is to help identify the sources from which these gases enter the atmosphere and how they are distributed within it. Knowing this could help to more precisely determine the effects of these gases on the climate.
Hanieh Fattahi, Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
Hanieh Fattahi, Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
© Axel Griesch
Kerstin Göpfrich
What constitutes life?
What constitutes life?
My research is about the really big questions: What constitutes life? How could it have come about? In our search for answers, we recreate the properties of a cell by managing, as far as possible, without the building blocks of nature. This novel, artificial cell is said to have all the characteristics of life, in particular the ability to divide and evolve. After all, true to the motto of physicist Richard Feynman, you only fully understand something if you can create it yourself. We make the components using a method of folding genetic material referred to as RNA origami.
Terms such as "artificial organisms" often give rise to fears. However, synthetic biology is not about creating monsters in the manner of Dr Frankenstein. We are primarily interested in cells. For example, artificial cells could one day be programmed to fulfil medical tasks in the human body. That is why I have already patented some of our findings.
The photo shows me shortly after my arrival as the new Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg. That was a few years ago now. In the meantime, I have accepted a professorship at the University of Heidelberg.
I am incredibly grateful to the Institute and the Max Planck Society for the great support I have received along the way, but also for the familiar and friendly environment that I have grown very fond of.
Kerstin Göpfrich, former Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research (Alumni)
Terms such as "artificial organisms" often give rise to fears. However, synthetic biology is not about creating monsters in the manner of Dr Frankenstein. We are primarily interested in cells. For example, artificial cells could one day be programmed to fulfil medical tasks in the human body. That is why I have already patented some of our findings.
The photo shows me shortly after my arrival as the new Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg. That was a few years ago now. In the meantime, I have accepted a professorship at the University of Heidelberg.
I am incredibly grateful to the Institute and the Max Planck Society for the great support I have received along the way, but also for the familiar and friendly environment that I have grown very fond of.
Kerstin Göpfrich, former Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research (Alumni)
© Katrin Binner
Elena Redaelli
The view of regions where new stars are forming
The view of regions where new stars are forming
In this photo, I am at one of my favorite places on Earth — the IRAM radio facility, located at 3.000 meters in the Spanish Sierra Nevada, just above Granada. Behind me is the IRAM telescope, featuring its impressive 30-meter dish, which stands idle, quietly awaiting the start of a new observing shift.
My research focuses on studying the physical and chemical properties of regions in the Milky Way where new stars are forming or are expected to form in the future. The main diagnostic tool I use is the radiative emission coming from molecules embedded in the star-forming medium. Since these regions are very cold, the molecules emit only low-energy radiation, with typical frequencies ranging from GHz to THz (radio or microwave wavelengths). This underscores the necessity for large radio telescopes located at very high altitude to capture this weak molecular emission from our Galaxy and beyond.
This photo was part of the #mymachineandme social media campaign, 2018
It shows Elena Redaelli at IRAM, one of the world's most sensitive radio telescopes in the Sierra Nevada in Spain
Dr. Elena Redaelli, former Postdoc am Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik (Alumni)
My research focuses on studying the physical and chemical properties of regions in the Milky Way where new stars are forming or are expected to form in the future. The main diagnostic tool I use is the radiative emission coming from molecules embedded in the star-forming medium. Since these regions are very cold, the molecules emit only low-energy radiation, with typical frequencies ranging from GHz to THz (radio or microwave wavelengths). This underscores the necessity for large radio telescopes located at very high altitude to capture this weak molecular emission from our Galaxy and beyond.
This photo was part of the #mymachineandme social media campaign, 2018
It shows Elena Redaelli at IRAM, one of the world's most sensitive radio telescopes in the Sierra Nevada in Spain
Dr. Elena Redaelli, former Postdoc am Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik (Alumni)
© private
Silvia Spezzano
Research under space conditions at minus 268 degrees Celsius
Research under space conditions at minus 268 degrees Celsius
My experiments deal with the fundamental question that concerns many astrochemists: What are the chemical conditions at the dawn of planet formation and, finally, what are our astrochemical origins? The Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics operates the laboratories of the Centre of Astronomical Studies (CAS) to clarify these questions. Their special equipment allows them to conduct a globally unique variety of experiments. We can simulate the conditions that prevail in interstellar clouds.
Part of a vacuum chamber can be seen on the left. We are investigating how ions and molecules interact with each other in star-forming regions under space conditions at a maximum of minus 268 degrees Celsius. I am particularly fascinated by the fact that a large number of organic molecules – including amino and fatty acids – have been discovered in the universe. These are all ingredients of life – and they are already present in the clouds from which stars and planets are born.
We use spectroscopy to detect and characterize the molecules. Using this technique, we can detect the fingerprints of several different molecules. In my research, I combine laboratory experiments with astronomical observations and theoretical work.
Silvia Spezzano, Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
Part of a vacuum chamber can be seen on the left. We are investigating how ions and molecules interact with each other in star-forming regions under space conditions at a maximum of minus 268 degrees Celsius. I am particularly fascinated by the fact that a large number of organic molecules – including amino and fatty acids – have been discovered in the universe. These are all ingredients of life – and they are already present in the clouds from which stars and planets are born.
We use spectroscopy to detect and characterize the molecules. Using this technique, we can detect the fingerprints of several different molecules. In my research, I combine laboratory experiments with astronomical observations and theoretical work.
Silvia Spezzano, Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
© Fabian Vogl
Aparna Bisht
How can we measure vibrations of space and time?
How can we measure vibrations of space and time?
Cleanroom overalls? On. Laser safety goggles? Check. Day to day work on the gravitational-wave detector GEO600 requires the utmost care, and this begins with getting dressed for the trip to the central laboratory. In order to measure space-time ripples with high precision, contamination must be excluded as far as possible.
Gravitational waves originate from major cosmic events in which black holes or neutron stars collide. This creates vibrations of space and time, which travel through the universe at the speed of light. When the gravitational waves arrive on Earth billions of years later, they stretch and squeeze laser light in kilometre-long detector systems by a fraction of the diameter of an atomic nucleus. An international network of five such instruments has been regularly detecting gravitational-wave events since 2015, enabling an entirely new type of astronomy.
The German-British gravitational-wave detector GEO600 south of Hanover is operated by the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) and Leibniz University Hannover together with international partners. The facility is the technology development centre for international gravitational wave research. Technologies developed and tested in the GEO project are now used in all the world's large gravitational wave detectors, making them even more sensitive to the weak signals from the depths of the universe.
Benjamin Knispel, Press Officer at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), Hanover
Gravitational waves originate from major cosmic events in which black holes or neutron stars collide. This creates vibrations of space and time, which travel through the universe at the speed of light. When the gravitational waves arrive on Earth billions of years later, they stretch and squeeze laser light in kilometre-long detector systems by a fraction of the diameter of an atomic nucleus. An international network of five such instruments has been regularly detecting gravitational-wave events since 2015, enabling an entirely new type of astronomy.
The German-British gravitational-wave detector GEO600 south of Hanover is operated by the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) and Leibniz University Hannover together with international partners. The facility is the technology development centre for international gravitational wave research. Technologies developed and tested in the GEO project are now used in all the world's large gravitational wave detectors, making them even more sensitive to the weak signals from the depths of the universe.
Benjamin Knispel, Press Officer at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), Hanover
© Frank Vinken
Tina Lüdecke
The moment when millions of years of history emerge from the ground
The moment when millions of years of history emerge from the ground
We spend days on end in the sand – it’s hot, our backs ache, our knees too – and yet I love this work. As a geochemist, I dig for fossils millions of years old in Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park. Progress is slow, measured in millimeters. Often, it’s just a tiny sliver of bone we uncover. But now and then, something larger emerges very slowly – a tooth, a lower jaw – and with each careful brushstroke, it becomes clear: this find is something special. In that moment, all the effort fades away. That's precisely what fascinates me: the patience, the teamwork, and the thrill of watching ancient history emerge from the sediment. And then I hold a piece of this history in my hand – which later, in the lab, reveals to me how these animals once lived and what they ate.
In another project in southeast Africa, we’re researching how our early ancestors lived and what made up their diet. For example, our analyses of tooth enamel show that early hominins such as Australopithecus consumed little or no meat around 3.5 million years ago. This finding may help answer a long-debated question: did meat consumption truley shaped the evolution of modern humans?
Tina Lüdecke, Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
© Tina Lüdecke / Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie
Ka Fai Mak
Ultra-short laser pulses for medical applications
Ultra-short laser pulses for medical applications
During my studies, it fascinated me to learn that light is an oscillating electromagnetic field – that there is a fundamental connection between the seemingly distinct phenomena of hair being raised by an electrically-charged balloon; the snapping together of little magnets; and the bright beam of light emitted from a laser pointer.
I have spent over a decade researching ultrashort laser pulses in the femtosecond range. I am now working on a project in which the electric field underlying these pulses is measured and amplified directly. Using a technique called "electro-optical scanning", the peaks and troughs of the oscillating electric field can be traced.
The exciting thing is that we can use this technology to detect tiny but unusual changes in the molecular composition of human blood. This can provide indications of diseases. An ultrashort laser pulse excites these molecules to vibrate so that they emit light and can thus be detected. Together with our clinical partners, we want to use the technology to recognize diseases at an earlier stage, at which time they would be easier to treat.
Ka Fai Mak, former researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (Alumni)
I have spent over a decade researching ultrashort laser pulses in the femtosecond range. I am now working on a project in which the electric field underlying these pulses is measured and amplified directly. Using a technique called "electro-optical scanning", the peaks and troughs of the oscillating electric field can be traced.
The exciting thing is that we can use this technology to detect tiny but unusual changes in the molecular composition of human blood. This can provide indications of diseases. An ultrashort laser pulse excites these molecules to vibrate so that they emit light and can thus be detected. Together with our clinical partners, we want to use the technology to recognize diseases at an earlier stage, at which time they would be easier to treat.
Ka Fai Mak, former researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (Alumni)
© Thorsten Naeser
Alexander Badr-Spröwitz
Walking robots inspired by flightless bird
Walking robots inspired by flightless bird
"Animals have fascinated me since I was a child. Their variety of form, movement and behaviour seemed limitless. During my studies, I chose to pursue engineering. But as a postdoc, I conducted research on guinea fowl and emus at a veterinary school. There we often worked together with biomechanists and neuroscientists. I am very grateful for that, because together we can further develop the mechanics and control of bipedal robots.
My team and I are currently designing walking robots inspired by flightless birds. They are able to manage with less energy than earlier robots, as animals move particularly efficiently and nature is a great exemplar. I am particularly proud of the diversity of our results: robotic legs for animals of different sizes, neuro-controllers, and bio-inspired sensors. We can now explain the movement patterns of flightless birds and even large dinosaurs. And interestingly, we are also discovering the limits of biological "blueprints". In the future, walking robots could, for example, be used on construction sites, in agriculture or on space missions.
The complexity of nature still impresses me today."
From left to right: Cemal Goenen, An Mo, Bernadett Kiss, Alexander Badri-Spröwitz
Alexander Badri-Spröwitz, researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart
My team and I are currently designing walking robots inspired by flightless birds. They are able to manage with less energy than earlier robots, as animals move particularly efficiently and nature is a great exemplar. I am particularly proud of the diversity of our results: robotic legs for animals of different sizes, neuro-controllers, and bio-inspired sensors. We can now explain the movement patterns of flightless birds and even large dinosaurs. And interestingly, we are also discovering the limits of biological "blueprints". In the future, walking robots could, for example, be used on construction sites, in agriculture or on space missions.
The complexity of nature still impresses me today."
From left to right: Cemal Goenen, An Mo, Bernadett Kiss, Alexander Badri-Spröwitz
Alexander Badri-Spröwitz, researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart
© Wolfram Scheible
Abdullah Bolek
Keeping an eye on melting permafrost
Keeping an eye on melting permafrost
Summer in the Arctic can be quite challenging, due to the swarms of mosquitoes and high temperatures. This is why, in the hope of more favourable conditions for fieldwork, I initially travelled to Abisko, a research station in the subarctic region of northernmost Sweden, in September 2023. Here we analyse the thawing process of permafrost soil. When frozen, it stores large quantities of carbon. If it thaws, microorganisms can decompose the organic soil substances and greenhouse gases are released. Depending on the water saturation in the soil, methane can be formed as well as carbon dioxide, which can enter the atmosphere via various transport routes and then contribute to the acceleration of global warming.
This photo shows me with our drone. It is equipped with instruments for measuring carbon dioxide and methane concentrations, as well as wind speed, air temperature, air pressure and humidity. We use this drone to investigate which flight strategies are best suited to determining the carbon dioxide and methane exchange over a mire. This knowledge is crucial for understanding the biogeochemical processes that influence such ecosystems and for developing strategies to predict future Arctic climate change."
Abdullah Bolek, postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
This photo shows me with our drone. It is equipped with instruments for measuring carbon dioxide and methane concentrations, as well as wind speed, air temperature, air pressure and humidity. We use this drone to investigate which flight strategies are best suited to determining the carbon dioxide and methane exchange over a mire. This knowledge is crucial for understanding the biogeochemical processes that influence such ecosystems and for developing strategies to predict future Arctic climate change."
Abdullah Bolek, postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
© Fabio Cian
Barbara Wankerl
Physics in the garden
Physics in the garden
Physics means laboratories packed with instruments and complicated formulae. But physics also means: enjoying discussions, exchanging ideas and learning from others. Best of all, of course, with a cup of coffee in your hand.
Our photo shows researchers gathering under shady trees on a hot summer's day, having moved their discussion outdoors.
Barbara Wankerl, Press and Public Relations Officer at the Max Planck Institute for Physics
Our photo shows researchers gathering under shady trees on a hot summer's day, having moved their discussion outdoors.
Barbara Wankerl, Press and Public Relations Officer at the Max Planck Institute for Physics
© Barbara Wankerl
Birgit Kolboske
Challenging gendered science histories at the Max Planck Society
Challenging gendered science histories at the Max Planck Society
In the context of the research programme on the History of the Max Planck Society (GMPG), I focused on the history of women and gender in the Max-Planck-Society (MPG). In doing so I investigated two fields in particular: the area to which very few women had access for a long time – science, and the area in which most of them worked most of the time – in the office, especially the “ante-room“ (Vorzimmer). In the history of science, there is ample evidence that men traditionally led research labs, while their female colleagues were considered as “assistants“. Prevailing hierarchic structures defined a social order strongly geared to gender and status, not necessarily to merits. Of particular importance in this context is the associated hierarchization of scientific disciplines, such as a supposedly male biochemistry overriding an alleged female physiology —what I call epistemic hierarchies. Likewise women working as secretaries were often academics themselves, thus being highly (over)qualified. Keeping women scientists and female science managers at bay, allowed not only to keep their salaries low. Rescuing these unrecognised women scientists from oblivion as well as shining a light on the unrewarded work conducted in the offices was a major endeavour of mine.
Facilitated was this gendered hierarchy by the iconic Harnack Principle. To prove that this structural principle of the person-centred research organization acted for way too long as a striking and effective tool to exclude women scientists from the illustrious circle of Scientific Members, I immersed myself into the archive, soaring literally through kilometres of files, thus uncovering impressive evidence, which I have published in my book Hierarchies: The Max Planck Society in Gender Trouble (2024).
I encourage the MPG to continue the cultural change it began in the mid-1990s. The best minds sit on shoulders regardless of gender, age, ethnics or physical limitations.
Birgit Kolboske, Research Scholar at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
Facilitated was this gendered hierarchy by the iconic Harnack Principle. To prove that this structural principle of the person-centred research organization acted for way too long as a striking and effective tool to exclude women scientists from the illustrious circle of Scientific Members, I immersed myself into the archive, soaring literally through kilometres of files, thus uncovering impressive evidence, which I have published in my book Hierarchies: The Max Planck Society in Gender Trouble (2024).
I encourage the MPG to continue the cultural change it began in the mid-1990s. The best minds sit on shoulders regardless of gender, age, ethnics or physical limitations.
Birgit Kolboske, Research Scholar at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
© Gesine Born
Stuart Parkin
New materials for memory and computing applications
New materials for memory and computing applications
This is technical equipment that everyone would like to have, but hardly anyone has. The photo shows Stuart Parkin in our 165-square-metre experimenting hall, a laboratory that is one of a kind worldwide. It is dedicated to researching and producing novel materials with exotic properties that are needed for breakthroughs in storage and computer technology. Inside all the laboratory equipment there is an ultra-high vacuum that corresponds to the vacuum conditions in space. We need this to ensure that samples remain free of impurities, as only under these conditions can we vapour-deposit different materials in thin layers and then test them. It is not very easy to work at this low level of contamination, as every material releases particles. But thanks to the use of large pumps, our thin films are virtually pure and crystalline.
However, some of the materials we have discovered are so sensitive to oxygen or impurities in the ambient air that their almost magical properties disappear immediately when they are removed from the system for analysis. But we have also developed a customised solution for this.
In science you always have to face new challenges, as it is constantly evolving. It's like a never-ending escape room – very challenging, but still so much fun!
Pierre-Jean Zermatten, Chief Operation Officer at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics
In science you always have to face new challenges, as it is constantly evolving. It's like a never-ending escape room – very challenging, but still so much fun!
Pierre-Jean Zermatten, Chief Operation Officer at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics
© Max-Planck-Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik
Susan Trumbore
How climate change is altering what we once knew about cycles of matter
How climate change is altering what we once knew about cycles of matter
What fascinates me most is the question of how living nature influences the major global cycles of matter. Plants and soils are crucial for the carbon cycle and thus also for the climate.
As a Director of the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, I try to go out into the field with my team as often as possible. The photo shows me using a hand drill to extract a wood sample from a tree trunk. We analyse these samples in our laboratory, where we use the radiocarbon method to determine the age of the tree's carbon stocks. Our goal here is to get to the bottom of important questions: How long is carbon dioxide stored in the plant after it has absorbed it from the atmosphere via photosynthesis? How much does the plant "exhale" directly? How much less carbon dioxide is absorbed when the forest is plagued by heat and drought, as we have seen so often in recent summers? To what extent does this accelerate climate change?
Nature is highly complex; there are feedback and adaptation mechanisms. We are only just beginning to understand the important processes in detail. At the same time, we are observing how climate and land use changes are altering much of what we previously thought we knew about cycles of matter.
Susan Trumbore, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
As a Director of the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, I try to go out into the field with my team as often as possible. The photo shows me using a hand drill to extract a wood sample from a tree trunk. We analyse these samples in our laboratory, where we use the radiocarbon method to determine the age of the tree's carbon stocks. Our goal here is to get to the bottom of important questions: How long is carbon dioxide stored in the plant after it has absorbed it from the atmosphere via photosynthesis? How much does the plant "exhale" directly? How much less carbon dioxide is absorbed when the forest is plagued by heat and drought, as we have seen so often in recent summers? To what extent does this accelerate climate change?
Nature is highly complex; there are feedback and adaptation mechanisms. We are only just beginning to understand the important processes in detail. At the same time, we are observing how climate and land use changes are altering much of what we previously thought we knew about cycles of matter.
Susan Trumbore, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
© Sven Döring
Alexis Block
How does it feel to hug a robot?
How does it feel to hug a robot?
This is HuggieBot and me, a novel robot I developed during my doctorate at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. Our hug is interactive: we react to each other’s “intra-hug gestures,” and the hug feels really good! Previous hugs with HuggieBot had ranged from awkward to pleasant, but were relatively static. The moment this photo shows is a turning point: It was the first truly dynamic hug, where the robot responded to me in real time, and the interaction felt surprisingly natural.
I have always been fascinated by how something as seemingly simple as a hug can be so incredibly complex. A good hug requires subtle coordination. The robot must adjust to someone’s height, posture, and preferences. It must interpret unspoken cues about how long to hold on, and recognize intra-hug gestures like rubbing, patting or squeezing. Designing a robot to navigate these nuances felt like programming caring into a system that doesn’t feel it, but can still communicate it.
HuggieBot uses visual perception to adapt to a person’s height and approach. It is also soft and warm. It features an inflatable torso that uses haptic sensing to detect the start and end of an embrace, as well as any intra-hug gestures. Once it detects a gesture, HuggieBot responds using a probabilistic behavior algorithm shaped by real user feedback. From HuggieBot 1.0 to 4.0, we developed design guidelines for an enjoyable robotic hugging experience.
I am especially fascinated by how people react to the hug. In my final study, we compared robotic hugs to hugs from friendly human strangers after a stressful event. Our physiological and behavioral data suggested that hugging a robot can offer similar emotional benefits. What drives me is the hope that a robot might someday provide comfort in moments when a human is not available.
Alexis E. Block, Guest Scientist at Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University
I have always been fascinated by how something as seemingly simple as a hug can be so incredibly complex. A good hug requires subtle coordination. The robot must adjust to someone’s height, posture, and preferences. It must interpret unspoken cues about how long to hold on, and recognize intra-hug gestures like rubbing, patting or squeezing. Designing a robot to navigate these nuances felt like programming caring into a system that doesn’t feel it, but can still communicate it.
HuggieBot uses visual perception to adapt to a person’s height and approach. It is also soft and warm. It features an inflatable torso that uses haptic sensing to detect the start and end of an embrace, as well as any intra-hug gestures. Once it detects a gesture, HuggieBot responds using a probabilistic behavior algorithm shaped by real user feedback. From HuggieBot 1.0 to 4.0, we developed design guidelines for an enjoyable robotic hugging experience.
I am especially fascinated by how people react to the hug. In my final study, we compared robotic hugs to hugs from friendly human strangers after a stressful event. Our physiological and behavioral data suggested that hugging a robot can offer similar emotional benefits. What drives me is the hope that a robot might someday provide comfort in moments when a human is not available.
Alexis E. Block, Guest Scientist at Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University
© Alexis Block
Emily Grout
How do coatis manage not to get lost in the woods?
How do coatis manage not to get lost in the woods?
In the tropical forests of Panama, I am researching the social behaviour of wild white-nosed coatis. Female coatis in particular are very social. They live with their young in groups, while the males travel alone. When I follow them in the forest, they have the ability to suddenly vanish into thin air before my eyes. Sometimes I wish I was as small as them and could follow them just as quickly through the dense vegetation.
Forests like these are dynamic, complex and full of life – perfect for asking questions about animal behaviour and how groups stay together in an ever-changing environment. I am particularly curious about how the coatis in a group use calls to communicate where they are going – an important insight into the evolution of communication in social species.
In order to study the social behaviour of these animals, we equip the group members with tiny audio recorders on GPS collars so that we can track their movements and calls simultaneously. Based on this data, we found that coati groups often separate and reunite, and use specialized calls to keep their group together in dense undergrowth.
Emily Grout, postdoc at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Konstanz
Forests like these are dynamic, complex and full of life – perfect for asking questions about animal behaviour and how groups stay together in an ever-changing environment. I am particularly curious about how the coatis in a group use calls to communicate where they are going – an important insight into the evolution of communication in social species.
In order to study the social behaviour of these animals, we equip the group members with tiny audio recorders on GPS collars so that we can track their movements and calls simultaneously. Based on this data, we found that coati groups often separate and reunite, and use specialized calls to keep their group together in dense undergrowth.
Emily Grout, postdoc at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Konstanz
© Christian Ziegler
Ute Frevert
Gender roles in the time of Monet
Gender roles in the time of Monet
When I stood in front of the painting "The Luncheon" (1868-1869) by Claude Monet, I was initially very surprised by how great its presence was in the large exhibition space. It depicts an idyllic family scene in France in the 1860s, with gender relations clearly shown: in the centre of the picture is a set table at which a mother is sitting with her toddler. The third chair is still empty, but it's clear who will soon be sitting there: the folded newspaper next to the plate points to the "père de famille" – the man of the house and father of the family. Even when he is absent, he is present. You can imagine him sitting down shortly after, unfolding the newspaper and starting to read – and thus letting the world enter into the family's life. Meanwhile, the wife and mother is busy with her offspring.
In Monet's time, women had not yet won the battle to be subjects in their own right. For the painter, they are either wives, maids or models.
The text is an excerpt from a talk given by Ulrike Frevert at the Städel Museum as part of the series "Guest Commentary. Science Meets Art". In this lecture series, experts from the Max Planck Society, from life sciences, natural sciences and humanities, offer individual perspectives on the works of the Städel Museum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtYoGTuyv0k
Ute Frevert, former Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (Emeritus)
In Monet's time, women had not yet won the battle to be subjects in their own right. For the painter, they are either wives, maids or models.
The text is an excerpt from a talk given by Ulrike Frevert at the Städel Museum as part of the series "Guest Commentary. Science Meets Art". In this lecture series, experts from the Max Planck Society, from life sciences, natural sciences and humanities, offer individual perspectives on the works of the Städel Museum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtYoGTuyv0k
Ute Frevert, former Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (Emeritus)
© Städel Museum
Jasmin Kappert & Germaine Arend
Working at ultrafast speeds on the tiniest scales
Working at ultrafast speeds on the tiniest scales
At first glance, our lab setup might look incredibly complex — but it allows us to capture the tiniest changes that occur within femtoseconds. In our world that’s how fast things move: The ratio of one femtosecond to a single minute is roughly the same as a minute to the age of the universe!
One key component of our “film camera” is the optical table, packed with countless mirrors, lenses, and other components. The green laser shown in the photo is first used to align all these parts with extreme precision. Only then do we bring in the large pulsed laser. It is so powerful that it could even set paper on fire if you're not careful. Its beam is directed into our two-and-a-half metre high, ultra-fast transmission electron microscope — the heart of our lab — which cannot be seen in the photo. There we use the photoelectric effect to generate short electron pulses. These electron pulses work together with laser light pulses to function like a high-speed camera, allowing us to make ultrafast dynamics in our samples visible.
A conventional electron microscope can reveal individual atoms or even strands of human DNA — but our working group prefers to develop new measurement techniques in the nanometre range, like this ultrafast camera that can detect incredibly small changes. The two of us are also researching the fundamental properties of electrons and light. We want to see how the properties of free electrons are transferred to photons and vice versa, with the aim of building a bridge between electron microscopy and quantum technology.
Jasmin Kappert (left), doctoral researcher and Germaine Arend, postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Department of Ultrafast Dynamics
One key component of our “film camera” is the optical table, packed with countless mirrors, lenses, and other components. The green laser shown in the photo is first used to align all these parts with extreme precision. Only then do we bring in the large pulsed laser. It is so powerful that it could even set paper on fire if you're not careful. Its beam is directed into our two-and-a-half metre high, ultra-fast transmission electron microscope — the heart of our lab — which cannot be seen in the photo. There we use the photoelectric effect to generate short electron pulses. These electron pulses work together with laser light pulses to function like a high-speed camera, allowing us to make ultrafast dynamics in our samples visible.
A conventional electron microscope can reveal individual atoms or even strands of human DNA — but our working group prefers to develop new measurement techniques in the nanometre range, like this ultrafast camera that can detect incredibly small changes. The two of us are also researching the fundamental properties of electrons and light. We want to see how the properties of free electrons are transferred to photons and vice versa, with the aim of building a bridge between electron microscopy and quantum technology.
Jasmin Kappert (left), doctoral researcher and Germaine Arend, postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Department of Ultrafast Dynamics
© Irene Böttcher-Gajewski
Ute Frevert
Gender roles in the time of Rosemarie Trockel
Gender roles in the time of Rosemarie Trockel
Rosemarie Trockel's work "Who will be in in '99" dates from 1988, a time when two women's movements – the old one dating from around 1900 and the new feminism of the 1970s – had left their mark.
The work confidently draws attention to itself with its size. However, its material is not canvas, but wool. Knitting and any kind of handicraft involving textiles has a clearly feminine connotation; it couldn't be more feminine. The fact that Rosemarie Trockel adopts this cliché and plays with it is an unheard-of risk. But also a provocation: "Hey, look, I'm a woman. I want to be 'in' in '99 – if I'm not already – and yet I dare to identify with something as feminine as textile handicrafts." It's wonderfully cheeky and self-confident.
The text is an excerpt from a talk given by Ulrike Frevert at the Städel Museum as part of the series "Guest Commentary. Science Meets Art". In this lecture series, experts from the Max Planck Society, from life sciences, natural sciences and humanities, offer individual perspectives on the works of the Städel Museum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtYoGTuyv0k
Ute Frevert, former Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (Emeritus)
The work confidently draws attention to itself with its size. However, its material is not canvas, but wool. Knitting and any kind of handicraft involving textiles has a clearly feminine connotation; it couldn't be more feminine. The fact that Rosemarie Trockel adopts this cliché and plays with it is an unheard-of risk. But also a provocation: "Hey, look, I'm a woman. I want to be 'in' in '99 – if I'm not already – and yet I dare to identify with something as feminine as textile handicrafts." It's wonderfully cheeky and self-confident.
The text is an excerpt from a talk given by Ulrike Frevert at the Städel Museum as part of the series "Guest Commentary. Science Meets Art". In this lecture series, experts from the Max Planck Society, from life sciences, natural sciences and humanities, offer individual perspectives on the works of the Städel Museum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtYoGTuyv0k
Ute Frevert, former Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (Emeritus)
© Städel Museum
Armin von Bogdandy
The ambivalence of Public Law
The ambivalence of Public Law
Public law is first and foremost the law that organizes the authority to govern, for better or for worse.
The painting Horde by Daniel Richter expresses the ambivalence of public law. It is about the police protection of the meeting of the then G8 in Heiligendamm in 2007. You see police officers, but it is clear that what they are doing is highly problematic. The ambivalence lies in the fact that, on the one hand, the state's monopoly on the use of force is a great achievement of civilization: physical force may only be exercised by state organs. But this monopoly, like all monopolies, is highly dangerous and this danger is expressed most succinctly in the picture. What is being protected in Heiligendamm is a global economic order whose destructiveness was proven just two months later: the global economic crisis began on 2 August 2007.
The euro crisis, the rise of the AfD, the first and second Trump administrations, and many other phenomena can be explained by the shortcomings of the global economic order, which was still being protected by these police officers in 2007.
The text is an excerpt from a lecture by Armin von Bogdandy, which he gave at the Städel Museum as part of the series "Gastkommentar. Wissenschaft trifft Kunst" in February 2025. In this lecture series, experts from the Max Planck Society from the life sciences, natural sciences and humanities offer individual perspectives on the works of the Städel Museum.
Armin von Bogdandy, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Public Law and International Law
The painting Horde by Daniel Richter expresses the ambivalence of public law. It is about the police protection of the meeting of the then G8 in Heiligendamm in 2007. You see police officers, but it is clear that what they are doing is highly problematic. The ambivalence lies in the fact that, on the one hand, the state's monopoly on the use of force is a great achievement of civilization: physical force may only be exercised by state organs. But this monopoly, like all monopolies, is highly dangerous and this danger is expressed most succinctly in the picture. What is being protected in Heiligendamm is a global economic order whose destructiveness was proven just two months later: the global economic crisis began on 2 August 2007.
The euro crisis, the rise of the AfD, the first and second Trump administrations, and many other phenomena can be explained by the shortcomings of the global economic order, which was still being protected by these police officers in 2007.
The text is an excerpt from a lecture by Armin von Bogdandy, which he gave at the Städel Museum as part of the series "Gastkommentar. Wissenschaft trifft Kunst" in February 2025. In this lecture series, experts from the Max Planck Society from the life sciences, natural sciences and humanities offer individual perspectives on the works of the Städel Museum.
Armin von Bogdandy, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Public Law and International Law
© Städel Museum
Meritxell Huch
How does tissue regenerate?
How does tissue regenerate?
My research is dedicated to one of the most fundamental questions in biology: how do mature human cells organize themselves to build and repair tissue when development is already complete? In other words: why does a skin injury produce skin again – and not liver tissue, for example – even though all cells in the body carry the same genetic information?
To investigate this question, we have developed multicellular organoids that mimic the complex cell interactions in human organs such as the liver and pancreas. These models allow us to observe in real time how cells cooperate to form tissue. This gives us valuable insights into the mechanisms of tissue regeneration under normal and pathological conditions. Our aim is not only to understand these processes, but also to specifically recreate them – as a basis for progress in stem cell research and regenerative medicine.
Terms such as "organoids" may sound abstract, but ultimately they are 3D mini-tissues or mini-organs in a shell. They arise from the curiosity to understand the fundamental principles of life – and from the desire to discover new ways to repair damaged organs. And they help us to understand these principles in human tissues.
The insights we draw from our work are never down to just a single individual. I am deeply grateful to my dedicated team and the supporting institutions. They enable me to pursue my passion for biomedical research every day.
Meritxell Huch, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
To investigate this question, we have developed multicellular organoids that mimic the complex cell interactions in human organs such as the liver and pancreas. These models allow us to observe in real time how cells cooperate to form tissue. This gives us valuable insights into the mechanisms of tissue regeneration under normal and pathological conditions. Our aim is not only to understand these processes, but also to specifically recreate them – as a basis for progress in stem cell research and regenerative medicine.
Terms such as "organoids" may sound abstract, but ultimately they are 3D mini-tissues or mini-organs in a shell. They arise from the curiosity to understand the fundamental principles of life – and from the desire to discover new ways to repair damaged organs. And they help us to understand these principles in human tissues.
The insights we draw from our work are never down to just a single individual. I am deeply grateful to my dedicated team and the supporting institutions. They enable me to pursue my passion for biomedical research every day.
Meritxell Huch, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
© Sven Döring
Holger Goerlitz
Nocturnal behavioural research to preserve the diversity of nature
Nocturnal behavioural research to preserve the diversity of nature
This is what nocturnal behavioural research with bats in front of a cave in Bulgaria can look like: using the light from our head torches, we carefully remove bats from a fine net that we have set up in front of their cave before dusk. The animals fly this route every night and know it well. They are therefore more likely to be travelling "on autopilot", not listening too closely, and we have the best chance of catching them. And yet many of the animals recognize the thin threads with their echolocation and evade the net at the last moment.
Preserving biodiversity is one of the most pressing problems of our time. That's why it's important to me to understand animals and their environment, and to minimize negative human influences on them. To this end, I had the pleasure of leading and working with the great team of the Acoustic and Functional Ecology Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence in Seewiesen.
At the cave, we document which species we catch, how many individuals per species, and how healthy they are. We tag some of the animals with a transmitter, or take some of them to our flight room for a few days to study their behaviour. Our aim is to understand how we humans influence animals, for example, by our artificial lights and increasing noise. This knowledge helps us to protect animals and their biodiversity. Ultimately, also our food and health depend on the diversity of nature.
Holger Goerlitz, former Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence (Alumni)
Preserving biodiversity is one of the most pressing problems of our time. That's why it's important to me to understand animals and their environment, and to minimize negative human influences on them. To this end, I had the pleasure of leading and working with the great team of the Acoustic and Functional Ecology Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence in Seewiesen.
At the cave, we document which species we catch, how many individuals per species, and how healthy they are. We tag some of the animals with a transmitter, or take some of them to our flight room for a few days to study their behaviour. Our aim is to understand how we humans influence animals, for example, by our artificial lights and increasing noise. This knowledge helps us to protect animals and their biodiversity. Ultimately, also our food and health depend on the diversity of nature.
Holger Goerlitz, former Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence (Alumni)
© Axel Griesch
Carina Schlammer, Eveline Linhardt, Miriam Modjesch
Climbing and working at a height of 45 metres
Climbing and working at a height of 45 metres
The telescopes at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma measure the light that supernovae or black holes emit as gamma radiation. And for that, they need us: We are part of the electronics and mechanics team at the Max Planck Institute for Physics, and we wire the cameras and also the electric motors that move the mirrors at the observatory. We have to connect a total of 16 boxes with 198 mirrors. The telescopes we climb are 45 metres high, and their mirror surface has a diameter of 23 metres. We are a well-coordinated team – and are constantly fascinated by the sight of these reflective giants in this volcanic landscape.
Carina Schlammer, Eveline Linhardt, Miriam Modjesch, electronics production and electronics development at the Max Planck Institute for Physics
Carina Schlammer, Eveline Linhardt, Miriam Modjesch, electronics production and electronics development at the Max Planck Institute for Physics
© Toni Dettlaff for the MPI for Physics
humanet3
How can we develop the digital public space?
How can we develop the digital public space?
Everybody who discusses the social and political problems of our time on social media platforms is subject to rules set unilaterally and without any democratic legitimacy by a few Big Tech companies in the USA. As humanet3 group, we are conducting research on the development towards a public space - or rather many spaces - that enable equal participation of different groups and are committed towards the common good, not merely profit interests. Our question is: What could such a “human-centered” digital public space look like?
We discuss this question from very different perspectives: legal theory, European law, competition law and the social sciences. Thereby, we examine what is happening technically and socially in the digital public space, how the law reacts to these developments or even proactively shapes the digital environment. To this end, we analyze the current landscape, identify problem areas, uncover regulatory gaps, assess concentrations (and absences) of power, and explore possible solutions. Proposals that stand for more diversity are particularly promising – such as alternative platforms whose technical and organizational structure prevents the concentration of power, for example through decentralization.
While the photo has become quite aesthetically appealing, the hierarchical positioning in the stairway (fortunately) doesn't reflect our everyday work – we discuss current research from our respective disciplines on power, commercialization and democratic structures in the digital public space on an equal footing.
Fom left to right: Erik Tuchtfeld, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law; Anna Sophie Tiedeke, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law; Chaewon Yun, Human-Machine Center, Max Planck Institute for Human Development; Germán Oscar Johannsen, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition
We discuss this question from very different perspectives: legal theory, European law, competition law and the social sciences. Thereby, we examine what is happening technically and socially in the digital public space, how the law reacts to these developments or even proactively shapes the digital environment. To this end, we analyze the current landscape, identify problem areas, uncover regulatory gaps, assess concentrations (and absences) of power, and explore possible solutions. Proposals that stand for more diversity are particularly promising – such as alternative platforms whose technical and organizational structure prevents the concentration of power, for example through decentralization.
While the photo has become quite aesthetically appealing, the hierarchical positioning in the stairway (fortunately) doesn't reflect our everyday work – we discuss current research from our respective disciplines on power, commercialization and democratic structures in the digital public space on an equal footing.
Fom left to right: Erik Tuchtfeld, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law; Anna Sophie Tiedeke, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law; Chaewon Yun, Human-Machine Center, Max Planck Institute for Human Development; Germán Oscar Johannsen, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition
© Christian Demarco
Nora Zannoni
ATTO - the highest tower ever built for research purposes
ATTO - the highest tower ever built for research purposes
The field site I liked the most is undoubtedly the ATTO (Amazonian Tall Tower Observatory) site in the Brazilian Amazonian forest. Ten years ago, a 325m-tall tower - the tallest tower ever built for scientific observations in the world - was erected at the site for conducting atmospheric and climate research. Equipped with sensors, probes and pumps, all climate-relevant chemical and physical processes can be recorded here at different heights, thus continuously improving our understanding for protecting the climate.
What makes ATTO so special is not only that it is located in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, the largest forest area on our planet. Also that it is located far away from any anthropogenic influence, like its counterpart ZOTTO in the Siberian taiga. This means that at ATTO we can investigate processes in the atmosphere in almost pristine conditions.
At the time ATTO was built, I was just ending my PhD in atmospheric chemistry about the emission and atmospheric reactivity of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the Mediterranean forests, and I knew about ATTO, where atmospheric measurements had just started. The largest source of VOC emitted into our atmosphere is the Amazon rainforest, this is the best place where to study VOC and this is exactly where I wanted to continue my research work.
This photo pictures me during a typical - not rainy - working day at ATTO. Here, I am investigating the air chemical composition on the tall tower, at 80 meter above the jungle, installing fresh sorbent tubes for air sampling during the dry season. We use the samples and data to understand how the biosphere interacts with the atmosphere.
Oh, and needless to say, every day of research here is rewarded with a magnificent view, right?
ATTO is a research infrastructure led by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and for Biogeochemistry in Germany and the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA) in Brazil.
Nora Zannoni, former PostDoc at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (Alumni)
What makes ATTO so special is not only that it is located in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, the largest forest area on our planet. Also that it is located far away from any anthropogenic influence, like its counterpart ZOTTO in the Siberian taiga. This means that at ATTO we can investigate processes in the atmosphere in almost pristine conditions.
At the time ATTO was built, I was just ending my PhD in atmospheric chemistry about the emission and atmospheric reactivity of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the Mediterranean forests, and I knew about ATTO, where atmospheric measurements had just started. The largest source of VOC emitted into our atmosphere is the Amazon rainforest, this is the best place where to study VOC and this is exactly where I wanted to continue my research work.
This photo pictures me during a typical - not rainy - working day at ATTO. Here, I am investigating the air chemical composition on the tall tower, at 80 meter above the jungle, installing fresh sorbent tubes for air sampling during the dry season. We use the samples and data to understand how the biosphere interacts with the atmosphere.
Oh, and needless to say, every day of research here is rewarded with a magnificent view, right?
ATTO is a research infrastructure led by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and for Biogeochemistry in Germany and the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA) in Brazil.
Nora Zannoni, former PostDoc at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (Alumni)
© Fabio Cian, Ubiquitous Anomaly
Melina Schuh
The causes of infertility
The causes of infertility
I always find it fascinating to look through a microscope because it allows me to explore structures and processes that I could never see with the naked eye. For me personally, a microscope opens up access to the tiny world of oocytes.
The focus of my research is meiosis: It is a crucial step in the development of oocytes, during which the number of chromosomes is halved to compensate for the doubling of chromosomes that occurs when a paternal and maternal nucleus fuse at fertilisation. Without this compensation, the number of chromosomes would double with each generation. I am fascinated by how complex and at the same time error-prone this natural process is in humans – in frogs, mice and most other animals, meiosis is much less faulty. And although nature has also developed impressive mechanisms to control meiosis in humans, errors still frequently occur. Understanding them is an important part of our work. Only if we really understand these processes can we uncover the causes of infertility and miscarriages.
Naturally, knowing which developmental steps need to take place correctly and be synchronised before the birth of a child was also something that concerned me personally. Before the birth of my first child, I could hardly imagine that everything could actually work so smoothly. Over time, however, I have learnt to trust this process – and I am very grateful to have four healthy children today.
Melina Schuh, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences
The focus of my research is meiosis: It is a crucial step in the development of oocytes, during which the number of chromosomes is halved to compensate for the doubling of chromosomes that occurs when a paternal and maternal nucleus fuse at fertilisation. Without this compensation, the number of chromosomes would double with each generation. I am fascinated by how complex and at the same time error-prone this natural process is in humans – in frogs, mice and most other animals, meiosis is much less faulty. And although nature has also developed impressive mechanisms to control meiosis in humans, errors still frequently occur. Understanding them is an important part of our work. Only if we really understand these processes can we uncover the causes of infertility and miscarriages.
Naturally, knowing which developmental steps need to take place correctly and be synchronised before the birth of a child was also something that concerned me personally. Before the birth of my first child, I could hardly imagine that everything could actually work so smoothly. Over time, however, I have learnt to trust this process – and I am very grateful to have four healthy children today.
Melina Schuh, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences
© Frank Vinken
Neha Sapkal
The fly on the treadmill
The fly on the treadmill
This setup is where biomechanics meets science fiction. What looks like a wall of surveillance footage is actually a synchronised 3D imaging system that captures every flick, twitch and twist of a fruit fly’s legs in remarkable detail. Using high-speed cameras and precise calibration, I can track all six legs across every joint and plane of movement – almost like giving the fly a full-body motion scan. The fly walks on a tiny treadmill, unaware that each step is being transformed into rich kinematic data. It’s a total paparazzi moment – every angle covered, every movement documented, down to the tiniest joint rotation.
But the real power of this setup lies in how it enables us to link neural activity with behaviour. By activating specific neurons with light and recording how the fly’s movements update in real time, we can observe exactly how neural circuits shape motor output. It’s a bit like building a digital twin of locomotion – and yes, it’s every bit as cool as it sounds!
Neha Sapkal, PhD Student at the IMPRS for Synapses and Circuits
But the real power of this setup lies in how it enables us to link neural activity with behaviour. By activating specific neurons with light and recording how the fly’s movements update in real time, we can observe exactly how neural circuits shape motor output. It’s a bit like building a digital twin of locomotion – and yes, it’s every bit as cool as it sounds!
Neha Sapkal, PhD Student at the IMPRS for Synapses and Circuits
© Kevin Albertini
Xia Wang
The quantum twist in chiral catalysis
The quantum twist in chiral catalysis
Chirality, often called “handedness”, describes objects that cannot be superimposed on their mirror images, like left and right hands. Life is built on chirality: our cells depend on molecules with the correct handedness to function properly. Despite its fundamental importance, the true origin of chirality in nature remains a major scientific mystery.
This photo was taken in front of the fume hood where we conduct chiral catalysis to synthesize chiral molecules. The gesture I’m making not only represents molecule handedness but also reflect our vision for developing future chiral catalysts, including artificially engineered structures like twisted layered materials – for instance for hydrogen production.
Traditionally, chemists have relied on structurally chiral catalysts to produce chiral molecules, which are used as pharmaceuticals for instance. But in our research, we go a step further. We use topological materials as catalysts. In topological materials the atomic structure interacts with the electrons in a quantum mechanical way, that can be exploited for catalysis – not only for the formation of chiral molecules. For the properties of topological materials do not only depend on their chemical composition, but also on distinct structural features. One example is the handedness of their structure. We wonder if the underlying quantum mechanical principals of topological catalysis can explain the origin of chirality, which is vital not only for life in our world.
Xia Wang, Research Group Leader at Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids.
This photo was taken in front of the fume hood where we conduct chiral catalysis to synthesize chiral molecules. The gesture I’m making not only represents molecule handedness but also reflect our vision for developing future chiral catalysts, including artificially engineered structures like twisted layered materials – for instance for hydrogen production.
Traditionally, chemists have relied on structurally chiral catalysts to produce chiral molecules, which are used as pharmaceuticals for instance. But in our research, we go a step further. We use topological materials as catalysts. In topological materials the atomic structure interacts with the electrons in a quantum mechanical way, that can be exploited for catalysis – not only for the formation of chiral molecules. For the properties of topological materials do not only depend on their chemical composition, but also on distinct structural features. One example is the handedness of their structure. We wonder if the underlying quantum mechanical principals of topological catalysis can explain the origin of chirality, which is vital not only for life in our world.
Xia Wang, Research Group Leader at Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids.
© Sven Doering
Irene Zammuto
Building hope that one day fusion energy will power our world
Building hope that one day fusion energy will power our world
I am a nuclear engineer and my workplace is located at the heart of the ASDEX Upgrade fusion reactor. With this facility, we are researching the fundamentals for a future nuclear fusion power plant that will generate energy in a similar way to the sun.
After each experimental campaign lasting several months, I enter the shiny metallic chamber: the vacuum vessel in which the plasma is ignited and heated to 150 million degrees Celsius. There, I check every bolt, every cooling channel, and every polished surface. Each piece carries months of calculations and and, if necessary, last-minute adjustments by my team during late shifts.
This is the moment I love most: seeing how our work has withstood the enormous heat and force load from the plasma. Then we prepare for the next plasma pulse. How can this be achieved? By installing newly designed components, testing innovative materials, and enhancing the flexibility of the machine.
In our last major project, for example, we worked for two years to equip ASDEX Upgrade with new magnetic coils inside the vacuum vessel. Now, we can use them to shape plasmas in a targeted way and to create special magnetic configurations that help spread the heat more evenly on the walls, reducing the load on the materials and allowing us to explore completely new plasma scenarios.
But we're not just assembling components here. We're actually building hope: that one day, fusion energy will power our world as effortlessly as the sun lights up the sky.
Irene Zammuto, engineer at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching
After each experimental campaign lasting several months, I enter the shiny metallic chamber: the vacuum vessel in which the plasma is ignited and heated to 150 million degrees Celsius. There, I check every bolt, every cooling channel, and every polished surface. Each piece carries months of calculations and and, if necessary, last-minute adjustments by my team during late shifts.
This is the moment I love most: seeing how our work has withstood the enormous heat and force load from the plasma. Then we prepare for the next plasma pulse. How can this be achieved? By installing newly designed components, testing innovative materials, and enhancing the flexibility of the machine.
In our last major project, for example, we worked for two years to equip ASDEX Upgrade with new magnetic coils inside the vacuum vessel. Now, we can use them to shape plasmas in a targeted way and to create special magnetic configurations that help spread the heat more evenly on the walls, reducing the load on the materials and allowing us to explore completely new plasma scenarios.
But we're not just assembling components here. We're actually building hope: that one day, fusion energy will power our world as effortlessly as the sun lights up the sky.
Irene Zammuto, engineer at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching
© Jan Hosan
Davide Ferri
One of the oldest research centers for art history in the world
One of the oldest research centers for art history in the world
Many people don't know that the Max Planck Society brings together over 80 Max Planck Institutes from a range of different disciplines. And only a few know that two of these Institutes also conduct research into art. The Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence is not just a Max Planck Institute. In fact, it is one of the oldest research centres for art history in the world.
At the heart of the Institute is the library, which together with the Photothek formed the basis for its establishment in 1897. Around 350,000 volumes are housed here occupying over 10 kilometres of shelf space. Today, it is one of the most renowned art history libraries in the world and is used extensively by an international readership.
The researchers analyse art and architecture in a broad global and interdisciplinary context. A key objective is to connect historical research with current debates and challenges such as ecology, heritage, urbanization, migration and diversity.
Davide Ferri, Head of Research Coordination & PR at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz (Max Planck Institute)
At the heart of the Institute is the library, which together with the Photothek formed the basis for its establishment in 1897. Around 350,000 volumes are housed here occupying over 10 kilometres of shelf space. Today, it is one of the most renowned art history libraries in the world and is used extensively by an international readership.
The researchers analyse art and architecture in a broad global and interdisciplinary context. A key objective is to connect historical research with current debates and challenges such as ecology, heritage, urbanization, migration and diversity.
Davide Ferri, Head of Research Coordination & PR at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz (Max Planck Institute)
© Nardis-D’Avino
Claudia Felser
Technical progress through new materials
Technical progress through new materials
Materials are nature’s building blocks—like Lego—allowing us to construct new compounds from atoms with remarkable and unique properties. I’m especially intrigued by quantum phenomena that arise from the topological and chiral characteristics of these materials, which hold great promise for future technologies such as catalysis and quantum computing.
At the same time, I am deeply committed to mentoring young talent and enhancing the visibility of women in science.
Claudia Felser, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids
At the same time, I am deeply committed to mentoring young talent and enhancing the visibility of women in science.
Claudia Felser, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids
© Sven Doering
Elisabeth Binder
The psychologically sensitive phase of growing up
The psychologically sensitive phase of growing up
My research centres around the question of how genes affect the development of a psychiatric disorder and what role environmental factors such as stress play in this development. This research begins before birth. In cerebral organoids – three-dimensional models of early brain structures derived from human cells – we can simulate stress during pregnancy and could prove that the brain is susceptible to external influences such as stress at this early stage.
Next, we observe children in studies over long periods of time. If they experience maltreatment in their early years of life, this can leave epigenetic marks. This increased the risk of them developing a psychiatric disorder later in life. I think of this when I look at the painting "Two Seated Children" by Hans von Marées. This sensitive phase of growing up can have a positive or negative impact on the rest of a person's life.
Our aim is to find biomarkers that allow us to better categorise mental illnesses based on these biological characteristics and, consequently, to help us target therapies more effectively.
This text is an excerpt from a lecture given by Elisabeth Binder at the Städel Museum as part of the series "Guest Commentary. Science Meets Art". In this lecture series, experts from the Max Planck Society who work in life sciences, natural sciences and humanities offer individual perspectives on the works of the Städel Museum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXhHbHl8mkc
Elisabeth Binder, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry
Next, we observe children in studies over long periods of time. If they experience maltreatment in their early years of life, this can leave epigenetic marks. This increased the risk of them developing a psychiatric disorder later in life. I think of this when I look at the painting "Two Seated Children" by Hans von Marées. This sensitive phase of growing up can have a positive or negative impact on the rest of a person's life.
Our aim is to find biomarkers that allow us to better categorise mental illnesses based on these biological characteristics and, consequently, to help us target therapies more effectively.
This text is an excerpt from a lecture given by Elisabeth Binder at the Städel Museum as part of the series "Guest Commentary. Science Meets Art". In this lecture series, experts from the Max Planck Society who work in life sciences, natural sciences and humanities offer individual perspectives on the works of the Städel Museum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXhHbHl8mkc
Elisabeth Binder, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry
© Städel Museum
Jonathan Williams
Here we stand in awe
Here we stand in awe
Perched 325m above the magnificent green carpet of Amazon rainforest, we stand in awe. It extends to the horizon in all directions. On reaching the top of the ATTO tower, the tallest structure in South America, we are rewarded with this; one of the greatest viewpoints on the planet.
As dawn breaks, the ancient process of photosynthesis begins below us. The giant Amazonian ecosystem starts to breathe in carbon dioxide, and oxygen out. It also sends a complex cocktail of other chemicals skyward, and my group measures the composition of the rainforest’s breath at three heights on the tower.
The exhaled trace compounds fulfil many roles in the forest. By reacting with ozone and OH radicals in the air, they protect the plant´s surfaces from oxidizing damage. Some substances come from flowers and help lure insects like beetles, bees and butterflies to pollinate. Others are scents that insects or plants use to communicate with each other. An invisible photochemical battle takes place between the breath of the rainforest and the highly reactive components of the atmosphere like ozone and OH radicals. This influences the global concentrations of greenhouse gases such as methane and thus affects the global climate.
Jonathan Williams, research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
As dawn breaks, the ancient process of photosynthesis begins below us. The giant Amazonian ecosystem starts to breathe in carbon dioxide, and oxygen out. It also sends a complex cocktail of other chemicals skyward, and my group measures the composition of the rainforest’s breath at three heights on the tower.
The exhaled trace compounds fulfil many roles in the forest. By reacting with ozone and OH radicals in the air, they protect the plant´s surfaces from oxidizing damage. Some substances come from flowers and help lure insects like beetles, bees and butterflies to pollinate. Others are scents that insects or plants use to communicate with each other. An invisible photochemical battle takes place between the breath of the rainforest and the highly reactive components of the atmosphere like ozone and OH radicals. This influences the global concentrations of greenhouse gases such as methane and thus affects the global climate.
Jonathan Williams, research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
© Achim Edtbauer / MPI for Chemistry
Veronika Rohr-Bender
A particularly exciting bird species: ruffs
A particularly exciting bird species: ruffs
I am passionate about ruffs, a species of bird from the Palearctic. They are particularly exciting because the males take very different paths to reproduce. Type no. 1 are “independents”: They have magnificent, colourful feather collars, are larger than the others, defend their territories and are bursting with testosterone. Type no. 2 are the so-called "satellites": They have white feather collars, are smaller, are not aggressive and co-operate in the mating arena with one of the independents. Then there is type no. 3, the so-called "faeder": They are even smaller and look like females because, like females, they have no feather collars. They sneak copulations. All three types differ not only in appearance, size, behaviour and hormonal balance, but also in their genes. A "super gene" determines which reproductive strategy an animal pursues.
Many of the differences that you see in adult animals are already starting to emerge in the chicks, and I get to witness it live: After the females have laid their eggs in our aviaries, we collect them and hatch them in the incubator. Then we raise them by hand. This works well because the species is precocial and the chicks are very independent right from the start. We just have to make sure that they learn what to eat. We then monitor weight and size in order to draw up growth curves. The chicks then begin to fly at around 16 to 24 days of age. At that age, we do the "fledging test" with them every day, which you can see in the photo. If the chick only hops into the water, it cannot fly. As soon as it flies completely over the water basin, it counts as fledged. The development of the ability to fly is crucial, as the animals can only escape predators in the wild when they can fly.
In my doctoral thesis, I am investigating the different genetic variants in young ruffs and how this determines their behaviour in order to understand their role in evolution.
Veronika Rohr-Bender, doctoral researcher at the MPI for Biological Intelligence, Seewiesen
Many of the differences that you see in adult animals are already starting to emerge in the chicks, and I get to witness it live: After the females have laid their eggs in our aviaries, we collect them and hatch them in the incubator. Then we raise them by hand. This works well because the species is precocial and the chicks are very independent right from the start. We just have to make sure that they learn what to eat. We then monitor weight and size in order to draw up growth curves. The chicks then begin to fly at around 16 to 24 days of age. At that age, we do the "fledging test" with them every day, which you can see in the photo. If the chick only hops into the water, it cannot fly. As soon as it flies completely over the water basin, it counts as fledged. The development of the ability to fly is crucial, as the animals can only escape predators in the wild when they can fly.
In my doctoral thesis, I am investigating the different genetic variants in young ruffs and how this determines their behaviour in order to understand their role in evolution.
Veronika Rohr-Bender, doctoral researcher at the MPI for Biological Intelligence, Seewiesen
© Axel Griesch
Charlett Wenig, Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten, Michaela Eder
Tree bark as a sustainable resource
Tree bark as a sustainable resource
What if a material considered a low-value byproduct—tree bark—could be used for sustainable clothing and architecture instead?
Smooth, soft, and cool to the touch, it looks and feels like leather, but it is something entirely different: tree bark. We set out to explore whether it could serve as a versatile material instead of being discarded as waste.
Every year, the timber industry generates over 60 million tons of tree bark worldwide, usually destined for mulch. Can it be reimagined as a resource for sustainable fashion, design, and architecture? We think it can — and it should. Tree bark’s potential is versatile but remains untapped.
Our research suggests it could be used for eco-friendly exhibition pavilions that require flexible and strong materials or, once softened in a bath of water and glycerin, be repurposed into clothing — opening new possibilities for sustainable fashion.
We are Charlett Wenig, Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten, and Michaela Eder. We combine design and materials science, focusing on the dominant pine species in Berlin-Brandenburg. Our vision is to study how tree bark can be repurposed as a sustainable, recyclable material within a closed-loop system.
Charlett Wenig (PostDoc), Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten (doctoral student) and Michaela Eder (Research Group Leader Adaptive Fibrous Materials), Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces
Smooth, soft, and cool to the touch, it looks and feels like leather, but it is something entirely different: tree bark. We set out to explore whether it could serve as a versatile material instead of being discarded as waste.
Every year, the timber industry generates over 60 million tons of tree bark worldwide, usually destined for mulch. Can it be reimagined as a resource for sustainable fashion, design, and architecture? We think it can — and it should. Tree bark’s potential is versatile but remains untapped.
Our research suggests it could be used for eco-friendly exhibition pavilions that require flexible and strong materials or, once softened in a bath of water and glycerin, be repurposed into clothing — opening new possibilities for sustainable fashion.
We are Charlett Wenig, Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten, and Michaela Eder. We combine design and materials science, focusing on the dominant pine species in Berlin-Brandenburg. Our vision is to study how tree bark can be repurposed as a sustainable, recyclable material within a closed-loop system.
Charlett Wenig (PostDoc), Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten (doctoral student) and Michaela Eder (Research Group Leader Adaptive Fibrous Materials), Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces
© Arne Sattler
Stefan Richter
Quantum keys to a tap-proof future
Quantum keys to a tap-proof future
Quantum technology is set to make future communications more secure: Data is transmitted in such a way that it cannot be manipulated, and the connection is tap-proof. Any access by third parties – for example, by future decryption algorithms – can thus be prevented. Such connections would also be resistant to attacks by powerful future quantum computers.
To accomplish this, we take advantage of the quantum properties of a laser beam. We modulate this laser beam only very slightly at the noise threshold, i.e. in the quantum range. It is then possible for two communication partners to agree on a secret key to encrypt their messages to each other in a tap-proof manner. This is how it works in detail: Light pulses fly through the air from a transmitter to a receiving station. From there, they can be fed into a fibre optic connection, for example, and forwarded. Once they reach the receiver, a quantum key is generated from these light pulses. Our experiments to date have achieved key transmission rates in the kilobit per second range in daylight. In autumn 2025, a quantum state will be directly entangled from a flying aircraft with an ion trap on the ground for the first time – a visionary step on the journey to secure quantum communication over long distances. The future of quantum research is and will remain exciting.
Our research is part of QuNET, an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, in which the Max Planck Society, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the DLR and the FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg are involved. Research progress is publicly demonstrated in a series of "key experiments" in cities such as Bonn, Jena and Berlin. The photo shows me with our receiver module during the connection of optical fibre cables in Jena.
Stefan Richter, guest scientist in Christoph Marquardt's research group at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
To accomplish this, we take advantage of the quantum properties of a laser beam. We modulate this laser beam only very slightly at the noise threshold, i.e. in the quantum range. It is then possible for two communication partners to agree on a secret key to encrypt their messages to each other in a tap-proof manner. This is how it works in detail: Light pulses fly through the air from a transmitter to a receiving station. From there, they can be fed into a fibre optic connection, for example, and forwarded. Once they reach the receiver, a quantum key is generated from these light pulses. Our experiments to date have achieved key transmission rates in the kilobit per second range in daylight. In autumn 2025, a quantum state will be directly entangled from a flying aircraft with an ion trap on the ground for the first time – a visionary step on the journey to secure quantum communication over long distances. The future of quantum research is and will remain exciting.
Our research is part of QuNET, an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, in which the Max Planck Society, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the DLR and the FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg are involved. Research progress is publicly demonstrated in a series of "key experiments" in cities such as Bonn, Jena and Berlin. The photo shows me with our receiver module during the connection of optical fibre cables in Jena.
Stefan Richter, guest scientist in Christoph Marquardt's research group at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
© Fraunhofer IOF
Dierk Raabe
How can we produce metals in a more sustainable way?
How can we produce metals in a more sustainable way?
Today, the metal industry accounts for more than one third of all industrial greenhouse gas emissions, which is a major challenge we are determined to tackle by making metal production more sustainable.
I am developing new processes that use hydrogen and hydrogen plasma instead of carbon to extract metals from raw materials. I am also working on recovering so-called "dirty alloys" from impure metallic scrap, which can reduce greenhouse gases and pollutants by up to 95%. Additionally, we even use toxic industrial waste as a source for new metals. Together, these approaches are key to creating a sustainable, fossil-free and, at the same time, competitive economy, with the potential to cut global CO₂ emissions by up to 10%. Many critical metals can only be obtained through recycling, above all because industrial waste often contains higher metal concentrations than natural ores, or because global trade is restricted.
At our institute’s laboratories, we can use hydrogen to produce metal in a sustainable way and observe the process down to the atomic scale. Using atom probe tomography, we determine the material composition atom by atom, and with transmission electron microscopes, we study the electronic structure of the ores.
The production of iron has remained unchanged for nearly 6,000 years. But today, we are facing a truly enormous transformation.
Dierk Raabe, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials
I am developing new processes that use hydrogen and hydrogen plasma instead of carbon to extract metals from raw materials. I am also working on recovering so-called "dirty alloys" from impure metallic scrap, which can reduce greenhouse gases and pollutants by up to 95%. Additionally, we even use toxic industrial waste as a source for new metals. Together, these approaches are key to creating a sustainable, fossil-free and, at the same time, competitive economy, with the potential to cut global CO₂ emissions by up to 10%. Many critical metals can only be obtained through recycling, above all because industrial waste often contains higher metal concentrations than natural ores, or because global trade is restricted.
At our institute’s laboratories, we can use hydrogen to produce metal in a sustainable way and observe the process down to the atomic scale. Using atom probe tomography, we determine the material composition atom by atom, and with transmission electron microscopes, we study the electronic structure of the ores.
The production of iron has remained unchanged for nearly 6,000 years. But today, we are facing a truly enormous transformation.
Dierk Raabe, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials
© Frank Vinken
Iyad Rahwan
Should a car kill two pedestrians to save a child?
Should a car kill two pedestrians to save a child?
In 2016, my lab created the Moral Machine, a Website that confronted visitors with ethical dilemmas faced by future self-driving cars, such as: should the car swerve and kill two pedestrians to save one child? Our results, based on 40 million decisions from people worldwide, revealed cross-cultural differences in moral intuitions. But they also revealed that most people try to save as many lives as possible with their decisions. And that they give preference to saving younger people.
More recently, my lab explored what happens when we can delegate more tasks to AI agents. We showed that this can increase unethical behavior, such as tax evasion.
My research agenda, which I call 'science fiction science', anticipates the impact of technology on humans by turning science fiction scenarios into behavioral experiments.
One of my earliest childhood memories growing up in Aleppo, Syria, was watching a Japanese animated television series about Grendizer, a giant robot piloted by a human to defend Earth. Decades later, I find myself still fascinated by how humans can ethically pilot the immense power of Artificial Intelligence that we are building today.
Iyad Rahwan, Director at Max Planck Institute for Human Development
More recently, my lab explored what happens when we can delegate more tasks to AI agents. We showed that this can increase unethical behavior, such as tax evasion.
My research agenda, which I call 'science fiction science', anticipates the impact of technology on humans by turning science fiction scenarios into behavioral experiments.
One of my earliest childhood memories growing up in Aleppo, Syria, was watching a Japanese animated television series about Grendizer, a giant robot piloted by a human to defend Earth. Decades later, I find myself still fascinated by how humans can ethically pilot the immense power of Artificial Intelligence that we are building today.
Iyad Rahwan, Director at Max Planck Institute for Human Development
© Arne Sattler
Carmen Banuls
Calculation tricks for the quantum world
Calculation tricks for the quantum world
Quantum particles that interact with each other can assume very interesting states: in some materials, for example, electrons can combine to form Cooper pairs and then conduct electricity without resistance. Such collective properties of quantum systems are also suitable for performing complex calculations more efficiently with a future quantum computer.
However, it is difficult to describe the behavior of these quantum particles mathematically in order to better understand them and, if necessary, optimize them for practical applications. The difficulty lies in the fact that the interesting properties of collective effects involve a large number of particles. Although there are methods, known as numerical simulations, that can be used to describe the behavior of quantum particles, the computational effort required for many particles is extremely high.
We develop powerful numerical algorithms, so-called tensor network methods. Tensors can be used to efficiently represent processes involving many particles on the basis of vectors. Our approach allows us to describe the collective properties of the systems more efficiently mathematically using their quantum properties. In addition, this enables us to investigate properties of quantum systems that are not accessible with other methods.
Our work often begins, as can be seen in the picture, by sketching and discussing new ideas on the whiteboard before implementing and testing them.
Carmen Banuls, Research Group Leader at Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
However, it is difficult to describe the behavior of these quantum particles mathematically in order to better understand them and, if necessary, optimize them for practical applications. The difficulty lies in the fact that the interesting properties of collective effects involve a large number of particles. Although there are methods, known as numerical simulations, that can be used to describe the behavior of quantum particles, the computational effort required for many particles is extremely high.
We develop powerful numerical algorithms, so-called tensor network methods. Tensors can be used to efficiently represent processes involving many particles on the basis of vectors. Our approach allows us to describe the collective properties of the systems more efficiently mathematically using their quantum properties. In addition, this enables us to investigate properties of quantum systems that are not accessible with other methods.
Our work often begins, as can be seen in the picture, by sketching and discussing new ideas on the whiteboard before implementing and testing them.
Carmen Banuls, Research Group Leader at Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
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