Public interest in the natural sciences is high – which has became obvious once more when the Universitäts-Gesellschaft Hamburg visited Campus Bahrenfeld.
Some of the guests had registered in the morning of the event only, so that all the seats were taken in the seminar room of the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL). Right before the program started, many of the almost 70 participants joined the informal introduction to the building and thus demonstrated their deep interest. Dr. Ralf Koehn, CFEL’s scientific coordinator, had planned ten minutes for his talk, but the members of the Universitäts-Gesellschaft highly appreciated the special architecture and were keen to learn about the details: the construction period, the costs, which architects had planned the building, and how the interdisciplinary concept plus linking of institutions does work out.
CUI spokesman Prof. Horst Weller, the evening’s main speaker, picked up the theme in his lecture on “Atome in Aktion”. He explained how the diverse institutions co-operate within CUI and illustrated what is technically possible in photon- and nanoscience. Finally he combined fundamental research with practical applications in high technology and medicine. The presentation fully convinced the audience around Dipl.-Ing. Walter Conrads, who thanked Prof. Weller in the name of the board of the Universitäts-Gesellschaft for the insights into cutting-edge research.
Dr. Carolin Hahn explained the X-ray radiation source PETRA III by a model. Credit: CUI, Adler
After the presentation, the guests had the chance to visit the labs. Dr. Dominik Oberthür introduced the bio labs of Prof. Henry Chapman and Prof. Arwen Pearson. Dr. Carolin Hahn, personal assistant to the chairman of the DESY board of directors, Prof. Helmut Dosch, who was in the audience as well, gave a tour through PETRA III.
The evening ended with snacks and wine and further opportunities to hear more from the scientists about research on Campus Bahrenfeld. It is an important aim of the Universitäts-Gesellschaft to promote the dialogue between science, industry, and society. In view of this aim, they organize events covering current and relevant topics, in order to connect people and interests, thus building up a special network. In addition, the Universitäts-Gesellschaft grants two scientific awards, supports the mentoring project UNICA, fosters international encounters within the Friendship Society, and is involved in the Deutschlandstipendium. Further information including a membership: www.uni-gesellschaft-hh.de