The Week at TU Braunschweig │02.10.2020
Topics: Top personnel + super material + innovation awards + battery research + hospital building +
an asteroid as a gift
Editor: Elisabeth Hoffmann
► A Spirit of change
This was an eventful and moving week for us! Starting with last Friday. Professor Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla was bid farewell as president of our university in a festive event. That evening it was also announced that Vice President Professor Katja Koch was entrusted with the duties of the presidency until a new president is appointed. For her it is “a step that fits well”. We think so, too, and are very much looking forward to working with her. Prof. Kaysser-Pyzalla says goodbye with a video message.
► A Celestial Gift
At the same time we said goodbye to the digital summer semester with a great speech by AStA board member Marc Jäger. And since we are still in our anniversary year, there was another very special present: Prof. Karl-Heinz Glaßmeier managed to get an asteroid named after our university: “Carolowilhelmina”. How we would have loved to celebrate big and with as many of you as possible in the Audimax, but under the current circumstances this was only possible on a very small scale and under strict hygiene guidelines.
► Even more welcome and farewell
The professors Günter Bräuer, Karl-Heinz Glaßmeier, Norbert Käufer, Petra Mischnick, Christel Müller-Goymann, Ulrich Reimers, Renate Stauf and Gertrund Zwicknagl were bid farewell to their retirements during the ceremony. We will also miss Jörg Jaspers, the head of our division 3 – Facility Management, very much. Like Professor Kaysser-Pyzalla, he is moving to the German Aerospace Center. On the other hand, we are very much looking forward to working together with Professors Martin Eisemann (Computer Graphics), Mathias Hattermann (Didactics of Mathematics and Elementary Mathematics), Michael Hellwig (Food Chemistry), Tim Kacprowski (Medical Informatics), Julia Schöll (German Studies) and Stefanie Tschierlei (Physical and Theoretical Chemistry) and will successively introduce them in the magazine in the near future.
In all the hustle and bustle, at the beginning of the week we forgot to inform all employees by e-mail about the mandate of Professor Koch m.d.W.d.G.b. (it was on our website). We apologize for this.
► Molecular circuits on the “super material” graph
Today, microelectronic components are mostly manufactured using silicon semiconductors. A further miniaturization of such circuits is hoped for by circuits made of single molecules. An international research team has succeeded in applying molecular chains to graphene and controlling them electronically. Professor Christoph Karrasch from the Institute of Mathematical Physics was also involved.
► Two Lower Saxony Innovation Prizes for Antibody Research
The Corona Antibody Team of TU Braunschweig in cooperation with Yumab GmbH has received the Innovation Award of Lower Saxony in the category “Cooperation”. The prize in the category “Economy” was won by the start-up Abcalis, which also emerged from the Institute of Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics. Congratulations!
► Battery research: charge faster, last longer
In the “FastChargeLongLife” project, three institutes of the TU Braunschweig are working together to optimally adapt the fast charging capability of batteries over their useful life and to predict the operating limits of battery materials. “FastChargeLongLife” is part of the competence cluster “Battery utilization concepts” of the BMBF.
► Avoiding diseases with architecture
Infectious diseases not only occupy experts from medicine and biology, but also from architecture. The Institute of Construction Design, Industrial and Health Care Building deals with a wide range of topics related to sustainable hospital construction and infection prevention.
► Braunschweig infection research expands partnerships
Since September 2020, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the Leibniz Institute German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (DSMZ) have been official cooperation partners in the BRICS Systems Biology Centre. “The participation of the DSMZ (…) strengthens us in BRICS in exactly the right place and now allows complex joint research approaches,” BRICS spokesman Professor Dieter Jahn is pleased to say.
► Dr. Uwe Winkelhake becomes honorary professor at the TU Braunschweig
Since 2017, the lecture by the experienced digitization expert has been attracting an above-average number of students to the lecture hall. Now his commitment is being recognized by the TU Braunschweig: Dr.-Ing. Uwe Winkelhake was appointed Honorary Professor of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.
► Manfred Hirschvogel Prize for Dr. Hagen Watschke
In his dissertation, Dr. Hagen Watschke investigated methods for designing multi-material structures using 3D printing. This should enable new possibilities in component design to be exploited. He has now been awarded the Manfred Hirschvogel Prize 2020 for his research results. Since 2013, the prize has been awarded annually at all TU9 universitiesfor the best doctorate in mechanical engineering.
► Young and interdisciplinary
The Young Academy is looking for 10 new members. The Academy is looking for committed and excellent young scientists and artists with an interest in interdisciplinary work at the interfaces of science, art, society and politics.
► Fit for leadership
The FEMentoring program promotes the scientific career of young female scientists. Anyone wishing to receive support for their scientific career and in the academic selection process can register until October 31.
► Picture of the month
Our picture of the month October comes from the Institute of Semiconductor Technology and shows the map of an etched semiconductor crystal. For 40 hours, PhD student Klaas Strempel etched with hot potash lye on a semiconductor crystal made of gallium nitride.
► Favorites of the week over 27,758 kilometers
… this is the distance covered by our 153 favorite cyclists of our university during their three-week city cycling tour. This put us in 7th place, just behind the Braunschweig fire department. That is something! The champion of the TU Braunschweig team is Professor Sándor Fekete: He cycled an incredible 1,414 kilometers. Many thanks to everyone who took part!