News and Events

Jörg Stülke
University of Göttingen more

Karen Alim
Technical University of Munich more

Kai Sundmacher
Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Magdeburg & University of Magdeburg more

Lecture topic: "Overriding the Central Dogma: Engineering a Synthetic Model Cell"

Kerstin Göpfrich
Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg & Heidelberg University

During the application phase, we offer several info sessions. Get to know the Max Planck School Matter to Life and the programs we offer. This also includes an extensive Q & A - it is your opportunity to ask away! more

From molecular marvels like DNA origami to the future of gene therapy with CRISPR, the MtL Fall Days 2023 in Munich were packed with insights and discussions. And with a blend of esteemed faculty talks, enlightening student presentations, and Oktoberfest celebrations, the event was a great mix of fun and learning. Read the full recap! more

Lecture topic: "Emergence of directional reversals and torsional forces in cytoskeletal motor systems"

Stefan Diez
Technical University of Dresden

Read the interview with Philipp Baur, one of our first MPS MtL PhD students! You will get an insight into his experiences doing research within the MPS MtL, his academic path and his current activities, leading up to his thesis. more

On May 11 and 12, we had the pleasure of having a two days joint event in Göttingen, bringing together some of the students of the MPSP (Max Planck School of Photonics) and MPS MtL. This event was a fantastic opportunity for our schools to meet, share knowledge, and explore each other's science labs. more

Lecture topic: "Why does it have to be so complicated? Reconstructing bacterial cell division."

Petra Schwille
MPI of Biochemistry, Munich & Technical University of Munich

Our MtL Spring Days 2023 were two days of science, thought-provoking lectures and discussions around the topics of “Science in Matter to Life” and “Sustainability in Matter to Life” - this time in a multi-hub event format at the University of Göttingen and at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS).

Read our recap to learn more!  more

On 2 February 2023, the joint degree contract for the study program Matter to Life was signed by the President of the University of Göttingen, Prof. Metin Tolan, and the Rector of Heidelberg University, Prof. Bernhard Eitel. Read the full article to learn how future MtL students will benefit from the joint degree!

Picture ©University of Göttingen/ Peter Heller more

Lecture topic: "Cell migration on single cell microarrays - matching mechanisms to statistics"

Joachim Rädler 
LMU Munich

"My experience as a Matter to Life URO candidate was truly one of the most enriching, memorable, and overall fun experiences of my life" says Khanh Tran about her internship in the lab of MtL Fellow Michael Boutros in the summer of 2022. Read the full interview to learn more about her experience! more

On Tuesday, December 19^th, you can ask our PhD student Aysecan Ünal any questions about our program.
Join the ASK ME ANYTHING on our Instagram channel! 

Copyright picture: Heidelberg University more

Look forward to an exciting triple feature with our MtL guest Peter Baur on December 15! He will give us some fascinating insights into his research on diffusion processes through plant membranes, tell us what we can learn from the Amazon, and finally discuss with us the pros and cons of working in industry and academia.

Join us for this great event on December 15 at 4:30pm - register now at Zoom! more

At the end of September, we spent the MtL Fall Days in Aachen, hosted by our local partner institution DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials.
These have been the first MtL Days in person and many students and Fellows met for the very first time! more

Ashutosh Chilkoti who is leading the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University will share insights from his latest work!
Please note that there will be small change in his talk. The new title is: “Functional Biomolecular Condensates from Synthetic Intrinsically Disordered Proteins”.

Join the talk by our special guest on November 23 at 3 pm CET on Zoom - Register now!

Irene Pellini is an undergraduate student of Physics at L'Università di Torino, Italy and completed her MtL-URO internship in the lab of MtL Fellow Joachim Spatz in the summer of 2022. Enjoy reading her interview! 
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Do you want to learn more about the MPS MtL? Watch the recording on YouTube for an overview about the school and our programs!

All three Max Planck Schools got together at the fourth annual Max Planck Schools Day on 5 September. Learn more here! more

We spent a productive week at Ringberg Castle at lake Tegernsee. But not only did we learn a lot, we also had a ton of fun! Read our recap here: more

The Max Planck Schools call on forward-thinking scientists in the interdisciplinary research fields "Cognition", "Matter to Life" and "Photonics" to apply for the positions as Max Planck Schools Fellows. Apply now and become a Fellow of the Max Planck Schools. more

In our new virtual format, our MtL Fellows will highlight one method or technique used within our broad research network. You will get an overview of the method or technique itself, as well as learn how it is applied in the different MtL research areas. In a subsequent discussion round, different aspects, opportunities and limitations will be discussed! Your questions and contributions are welcome!  Join us for our first session on May 11^th at 3 pm!

Presentations and Panel Discussion chaired by Katharina Landfester from MPI for Polymer Research (Mainz), joined by Sarah Köster from University of Göttingen and Joachim Rädler from LMU Munich.

Our annual Spring Days took place from 13 to 14 April. We spent two days learning about the research within our network and discussing Matter to Life. Read our recap here! more

We are happy to welcome two new members to our MtL Faculty: Stefan Diez from TU Dresden and Wolfram-Hubertus Zimmermann from University of Göttingen! Visit our Faculty page to learn more about their research interests. more

Anne Pawsey, the teaching and e-learning coordinator of the Max Planck School Matter to Life, reports on how important it is to collaborate with the e-learning team of the Max Planck Schools and the wider community to meet the challenges for learning and teaching that were thrown up by the pandemic. Read the full article to learn more.

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Adrián Gutiérrez Cruz is a Bachelor student in nanotechnology and chemistry at Universidad de las Américas Puebla in San Andrés Cholula, Mexico. He did his MtL URO research internship in the lab of Karin Jacobs at Saarland University in summer 2021.
Check out the interview about his experience with the URO program. more

New Fellows have been appointed and eleven scientists from various universities and research institutions will join the MtL faculty in October! We are looking forward to exploring answers to the questions in the interdisciplinary research field of MtL together and are more than excited to see what results the future will bring. more