A century for science

The MPI-DS celebrates its 100th anniversary on July 16th

A century for science The MPI-DS celebrates its 100th anniversary on July 16th

• The Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) was opened on 16.07.1925 as the “Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Fluid Dynamics” under the direction of Ludwig Prandtl
• Over the decades, the scientific focus was expanded from flow research to self-organizing physical processes and complex networks, and the institute was renamed in 2004
• The official ceremony took place on July 16, 1925, exactly 100 years after the opening of the institute, with 350 invited guests in the auditorium of the University of Göttingen

One hundred years ago, the institute invited guests in the auditorium on Wilhelmsplatz to celebrate the opening of the institute. A century later, Eberhard Bodenschatz, managing director of the MPI-DS, welcomed over 300 guests back to the same venue. Among them was Falko Mohrs, Minister for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony. “We are proud to have you here as a Max Planck Institute,” said Mohrs in his speech. Patrick Cramer, President of the Max Planck Society, which is based in Munich, also emphasized that “the heart of the Max Planck Society beats in Göttingen.”

Other speakers included Axel Schölmerich, President of the University of Göttingen, and Petra Broistedt, Mayor of Göttingen. Both emphasized the close ties between MPI-DS and the university and city, which distinguish Göttingen as a center of science. Howard Stone, Professor of Fluid Dynamics at Princeton University, USA, and Cristina Marchetti, Professor of Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA, provided scientific contributions. The ceremony was accompanied by music from Flooot, a band originally from Göttingen that now lives throughout Germany but returned home for the occasion.

In their speeches, the two MPI-DS directors, Eberhard Bodenschatz and Ramin Golestanian, explained the history of the institute as well as the tasks and challenges that lie ahead. In his opening speech, Bodenschatz welcomed the guests: "Today we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of our institute, which is now known as the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization. In 1925, the then president Harnack spoke the following words, which I have translated into the 21st century: 'We are searching with great care for excellent researchers. Once we have found them, we will direct streams of goodwill towards them, provide them with as much money and research funds as possible, and then leave it up to them to do what they thinks is right.’ The success story – with five Nobel Prizes for Max Planck researchers in Göttingen alone – shows that this so-called Harnack principle, which the Max Planck Society has continued to uphold ever since, leads to extraordinary scientific results. I am proud of the many people who have worked at our institute over the years and made it what it is today: a place of science, research, and education."

Throughout its history, the MPI-DS has repeatedly turned its attention to new topics and questions. In the recent past, research has expanded from fluid dynamics to the modeling of complex networks and active matter. This was reflected in the renaming of the institute in 2004. “Dynamics and Self-Organization is today as much an important topic of fundamental research with societal impact as it has ever been,” says Ramin Golestanian, Director at MPI-DS, describing the future direction of the institute. “We look forward to building on the 100-year tradition of scientific excellence at our institute in our future research, as we know that everything flows,” concludes Golestanian.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to all our collaboration partners and employees for 100 years of joint research! This new video about our institute also provides an insight into the research carried out at the MPI-DS.