Research News

The European Mechanics Society has elected Dr. Olga Shishkina, group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS), as a EUROMECH fellow in the field of fluid mechanics recognizing her seminal contributions in this field. Only three laureates from this field are selected across Europe every other year. The council selected Olga for her profound work on Rayleigh-Bénard convection, which is of fundamental importance in numerous fields, including oceanography, astrophysics and climate research. more

Göttingen computer scientist and brain researcher receives ERC Starting Grant of 1.5 million euros more

Since 2014, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) in Göttingen have been studying the behavior of tiny cloud droplets at the Schneefernerhaus Environmental Research Station (UFS). Their aim is to significantly improve the prediction of precipitation. The ‘Seesaw’ - a device equipped with the latest technology that records the drops three-dimensionally – was installed for this purpose. The results of the first measurements have now been published in the journal 'Review of Scientific Instruments' and promise a major step towards improving precipitation forecasting. more

The research group leader from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) has been selected to become a new member of the EMBO community of young researchers. David studies the physical principles of the organization of biological matter. Together with 25 other researchers, as of January 2022 he will join an international platform through which young investigators have access to a variety of networking opportunities and funding. more

Armita Nourmohammad, Max Planck Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) and Assistant Professor of Physics at the University of Washington received the Early Career Award from the American Physical Society (APS), Division of Biological Physics. The annual award recognizes outstanding and sustained contributions by an early-career researcher to biological physics. In choosing Armita Nourmohammad as the laureate, the committee honors her valuable contributions at the interface of statistical physics and biology. more

On November 17, 2021, the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony awarded the researcher of the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) in Göttingen the prestigious Lower Saxony Science Award in the category "Scientist in an early career phase". With this award, the state of Lower Saxony annually honors scientists, who distinguish themselves through particular professional excellence as well as through their commitment. The jury of the Scientific Commission of Lower Saxony was deeply impressed by the professional achievements of Viola Priesemann in the field of theoretical neuroscience, as well as by the flexibility to adapt her research activities to the Covid 19 pandemic at short notice. more

Mechanically coupled enzymes show an increase in their catalytic efficiency – this is the result from a study by the group of Ramin Golestanian and Jaime Agudo-Canalejo from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization. The researchers concluded that enzymes can benefit from cooperation and avoid the activation energy required for individual enzymes. This way, two enzymes can work hand-in-hand to achieve an overall faster turnover of a chemical reaction. The study was recently published in Physical Review Letters. more

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2021 was awarded to the German scientist Klaus Hasselmann, along with Syukuro Manabe (USA) Giorgio Parisi (Italy). Klaus Hasselmann developed a model showing the connection between weather and climate, e.g. relating precipitation to long-term effects such as ocean currents. more

The mechanism of molecular self-organization was assessed in a new model by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS). In their study, they simulated how environmental factors such as temperature influence the size of oil droplets in elastic matrices. The study will also help understanding droplet formation in biological cells, where biological molecules self-organize in condensates. The full paper was recently published in the renowned journal PNAS. more

How physical principles of active matter reveal defined patterns
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