Summer School

Friday, 01 August: Sweet dreams - The exciting history of anaesthesia
10.00am, O Building, Room 0.10 - Prof. Dr. Matthias Bollinger

Many treatment methods that we take for granted today are actually not that old. For example, anesthesia, which has only been around for 179 years. Since then, the discovery of painlessness has largely taken the horror out of surgery and made most operations possible in the first place. Today, anesthetists ensure that patients sleep well and safely during surgery. The lecture tells the story of the first anesthesia and explains why no child has to be afraid of operations today.

Tuesday, 5 August: Science in film and television
10.00am, O Building, Room 0.10 - Prof. Dr. Magnus Schmidt

From Dr. Jekyll's elixir to Doc Brown's DeLorean and Tony Stark's arc reactor - science and scientists are everywhere, even in Hollywood films and series! But how much do they have in common with real scientists? Join Prof. Dr. Magnus Schmidt for a humorous reality check of this image - feel free to bring your own popcorn!

Wednesday, 6 August: Fire brigade in disaster control - What does the fire department do?
9.30 - 10.30am, O Building, Room 0.10 - Prof. Dr. Marion Meinert

Fire brigade - that's more than just blue lights and sirens! But what exactly does the fire department actually do when there is a fire, when the water rises or when storms uproot trees? In this presentation, we will take a look behind the scenes of the fire department and find out what tasks they perform in fire and disaster protection. Which vehicles and equipment are used and how does it all work? You will also learn how to behave correctly in an emergency and why a simple emergency call can be so important. An exciting morning for anyone who wants to get a taste of the fire department!

Wednesday, 6 August: My disaster - designing a comic or poster
11.00am - 12.30pm, O Building, Room 0.10 - Prof. Dr. Marion Meinert
Disasters are a serious topic - but what do they look like in your imagination? This creative workshop is all about you! Whether it's a blackout, flood or major fire - design your own comic or poster about a disaster situation. Maybe you've heard about it or experienced it yourself? Together, we'll think about what dangers there are, how you can protect yourself and how heroes and heroines could appear in your story. There are no limits to your imagination!

Wednesday, 6 August: Buildings on fire - structural fire protection and hidden risks
4.00 - 5.30pm, O Building, Room 0.10 - Prof. Dr. Marion Meinert

A fire breaks out faster than you think - a short circuit, a forgotten candle, a technical defect. But how safe are our buildings really? In this lecture, we will shed light on the basics of structural and organizational fire protection. What risks are hidden in modern buildings? What does it mean for fire protection when energy storage and solar systems are installed? And how dangerous can façade fires really be?

Using real-life examples - from minor incidents to major disasters - we show how to recognize risks, prepare and act correctly in an emergency. For anyone who wants to find out more about fire protection in their own home or workplace.

Thursday, 7 August: Disasters that shaped us - from floods to blackouts
9.00 - 10.30am, O Building, Room 0.10 - Prof. Dr. Marion Meinert

Disasters have always shaped people's lives - from major historical events to current challenges. In this lecture, we will take you on a journey through time: We will take a look at the disasters that have affected Germany - from devastating floods and storm surges to power outages that have paralyzed entire regions.

What can we learn from these events? How has disaster prevention developed? And what can we expect in the future? Together we will take a look at history - and how it can help us to be better prepared.

Thursday, 7 August: Disaster prevention - protection against blackouts, floods & co
11.00am - 12.30pm, O Building, Room 0.10 - Prof. Dr. Marion Meinert

A strong storm, heavy rain, a technical defect - and suddenly the power is out or the cellar is flooded. Disasters are often closer than we think. But how can I protect myself and my home? This presentation will show you what measures can help you prepare for various disaster scenarios: from blackouts and floods to winter storms.

We will discuss how you can secure your home, what precautions make sense and what an emergency plan for the family should look like. There will also be lots of practical tips - for more security and a good feeling when things get dicey.

Monday, 8 September: AI - How computers think
4.00pm, O Building - Prof. Dr. Eduard Heindl

Using the talking computer as we experience it with ChatGPT, Deepseek and many other systems, Prof. Dr. Eduard Heindl will explain to you what happens in the "brain" of a computer, how it understands language and generates answers - with easy-to-understand images without a lot of theory.

Thursday, 31 July : Programming workshop “Flappy Birds”
8.45am - 12.30pm, H Building, Room 1.0x - Prof. Dr. Edgar Seemann

In this workshop, you will learn the basics of programming in a fun way by developing your own game "Flappy Bird"! Step by step you will learn how to animate characters, create obstacles and collect points. We use a simple programming language (Python and Scratch) so that everyone - even those with no previous knowledge - can join in. At the end, everyone can take their own little game home with them. The target group is children aged 12-16. Younger participants are also welcome if they are particularly interested.

Friday, 01 August: Off to the island of research! How scientific texts are created
10.30am - 12.00 noon, H Building, Room 1.0x - Katharina Hertfelder

Researchers are constantly exploring distant islands, aren't they? Researchers are constantly discovering new things, but not all of them regularly travel to remote islands to do so. However, they all end up on the island of research. Do you want to know what they do there? Would you like to find out more about what researchers do to prepare their new findings for publication? Do you want to find out how scientific texts are created? Then join us on a 90-minute voyage of discovery across the island of research, where you will get to know all the important stages that a research text has to go through in the writing process.

Monday, 04 August: Birthdays, goats & math tricks: surprise guaranteed!
2.00pm, H Building, H Building, Room 1.0x - Prof. Dr. Holger Conzelmann

Have you ever wondered why, in a class with only 20-30 children, it is not so rare for two of them to have a birthday on the same day? Or whether it is worth changing your choice in the “three-door problem” in a winning show (often referred to as the goat problem)? In this exciting lecture, we delve into the world of probabilities! With fun examples, small experiments and simple explanations, we show why math is often surprising - and sometimes quite different from what we think!

Tuesday, 26 August: Superpowers in science and electrical adventures
10.00am, H Building, Room 1.0x - Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kirchner and Prof. Dr. Christian Krause

Mechanics at your fingertips - Mechanics is a branch of science that surrounds us every day. It describes the forces and motion sequences that occur. Even electric current ultimately follows the laws of mechanics. Many phenomena influence our lives every day and can sometimes be illustrated by simple but impressive and vivid experiments. We want to carry out some of them together with you and experience this exciting area of science.

Fun experiments with electricity - We encounter electricity in countless places in technology: It makes the lamp light up and the eBike go. But there are also electric currents in nature - just think of the lightning in a thunderstorm. But there are many other facets to electric currents - you can experience and try out some of the funniest and most spectacular effects for yourself at this event.

Friday, 5 September: The microbe of the year 2025 “Club bacterium”
Corynebacterium glutamicum - world market leader on a ton scale
3.00pm, H Building, Room 1.0x - Prof. Dr. Markus Egert

Corynebacterium glutamicum - a “club bacterium” - is the microbe of the year 2025. This bacterium produces amino acids that would fill a freight train across Germany. Corynebacterium glutamicum is considered a hidden champion among bacteria, an unknown world market leader: the bacterium supplies 3.5 million tons of the flavouring agent sodium glutamate alone every year, as well as many other amino acids and proteins for food and animal feed production. Prof. Dr. Markus Egert introduces you to the “Microbe of the Year” in person.

Tuesday, 2 September: Of people and their devices
4.00pm, A Building, Room 3.01, Prof. Dr. Mike Fornefett

Since the beginning of human history, we have been surrounded by devices - and have created them ourselves. With technical curiosity, powers of observation and creativity, humans have developed tools, instruments and machines to shape their environment, solve problems and open up new possibilities. In this lecture, we will take a look at the astonishing variety of devices that have been created over the course of time - from the first simple tools to highly developed technical systems. How do devices work, what are the principles behind them and how have their design and areas of use changed over the centuries? Whether simple everyday objects such as cutlery, household appliances such as washing machines or vacuum cleaners, construction and transportation equipment, medical devices or communication and sports technology - we look at devices as solutions for very specific challenges in life. And we show examples of how individual devices in their technical forms and developments bear impressive witness to human engineering. Less obvious devices - such as religious instruments or those for leisure activities - also find their place in this examination. They show: Technology is not only practical, but also deeply culturally interwoven with our existence. Join us on a journey of discovery through the history, present and future of our technical companions - the devices that support, challenge and help shape us every day.

Tuesday, 9 September: From 1001 nights to 1001 brilliant ideas - How the Orient shapes our lives
4.00pm, A Building, Room 3.01, Dr. Jawad Slieh

When we think of scientists or inventors, names like Galileo, Newton or Edison often come to mind. But did you know that many of the technologies and discoveries that shape our everyday lives originated in the Orient? From medical discoveries and revolutionary mathematical concepts to brilliant inventions in architecture, astronomy and technology: over the centuries, the Orient has preserved, developed and passed on knowledge to the Western world. You will go on a fascinating journey through the history of these achievements and learn about inventions from the Orient that are still with us today, have changed the world and are deeply rooted in our lives.  Together let's immerse ourselves in a world full of ingenuity, innovation and cultural exchange!