Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL)

The picture shows Keren Bergman and the details of the talk.

Save the date for the next event in our Distinguished Lecturer Series #DLS! 📅 ✍️

👤 Keren Bergman, Columbia University
▶️ Scaling Energy-Efficient AI Systems Performance with Photonic Connectivity
🕒 March 6, at 11 am CET
📍 MPL, Staudtstraße 2, Erlangen
👉 Zoom: eu02web.zoom-x.de/j/6177506059...

The picture shows Joachim Spatz and the details of the talk.

Don’t miss this #talk of our Lectures on #Physics and #Medicine series #LPM! 📅 ✍️

👤 Prof. Joachim Spatz, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research
▶️ Matter to Life: Bottom-Up Assembly of Synthetic Cells
🕒 March 5 , 3 pm CET
📍 MPZPM, Kussmaulallee 2, Erlangen
👉 Zoom: eu02web.zoom-x.de/j/6422836409...

The picture shows 15 different colored circles. They are cross sections of hollow core fibres. Different color maps illustrate various properties of the electric field of the light wave, such as its strength, and the phase of the wave as it moves through the fiber.

TDSU “Fibre Fabrication and Glass Studio”

Hollow glass fibers can guide light faster than conventional ones, because most of the light travels through air rather than glass. Computer simulations here show how light is distributed across the fiber’s cross section.

👉 mpl.mpg.de/research-at-...

Gerd Leuchs on the left, together with Michele Dougherty (president of the Institute of Physics), Heike Riel (president-elect of the German Physical Society), and John Doyle (past president of the American Physical Society). All four of them smiling at the camera. In the background is the official banner of the ceremony and a screen with thanks to the partners.

Gerd Leuchs on the left together with Ahmadou Wagué, president of the African Physical Society, both smiling at the camera. In the background is the stage with the official banner of the ceremony as well as the lectern.

The International Year of #QuantumScience and Technology #IYQ2025 concluded with a ceremony, which MPL Emeritus Director Gerd Leuchs attended.

The global initiative marked 100 years since the foundations of #quantum mechanics were established.

👉
mpl.mpg.de/news/article...

Dr. Flore Kunst holding the certificate for the prize and smiling at the camera.

Congratulations to Dr. Flore Kunst, who has been awarded the 2026 Bernhard Heß Prize 🏆

It honors her contributions to the field of topological #physics – advancing our theoretical understanding of complex quantum matter.

👉 mpl.mpg.de/news/article...

#Topology #Science #Award #Research

Dr. Stephanie Möllmert in her lab, smiling and looking trough a microscope.

Dr. Stephanie Möllmert looking at the camera.

Meet Dr. stephmoellmert.bsky.social – Curiosity as common thread

She aims to connect #biophysics with questions that matter for women’s health. With her passion for STEM biophysics was logical: physical concepts & precise measurement methods applied to living systems.
👉 mpzpm.mpg.de/research/ste...

Dr. Viola Introini wearing a lab coat, sitting in her lab and smiling at the camera.

Congratulations to Dr. Viola Introini (@vascularinfection.bsky.social)👏

She receives the Hector #Research Career Development Award. It honors young researchers on their way to becoming professors. Her group at MPZPM investigates how #malaria affects the human body.

👉 mpzpm.mpg.de/news/news-de...

A girl smiling at the camera. There are details of this years' Girls'Day, like the logo, the date and the link to the website. There is also the slogan "Dein Tag, dein Weg! Klischeefreie Berufs- und Studienwahl für alle" (Your day, your way! Cliché-free career and study choices for everyone)

#Physics is exciting and full of future opportunities! We want to encourage girls to explore #science – whether in the lab, IT, or mechanics.

On April 3rd, girls from 5th grade onwards can discover #research at #MPL and #MPZPM during #GirlsDay.

👉 mpl.mpg.de/events/event...

Dr. Clara Wanjura, smiling at the camera.

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧 #𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

33% of MPLs scientists are women, like #research group leader Clara Wanjura. She encourages young people: “Don't be afraid to take a chance. If you ask ‘Should I really do this?’, my answer is ‘Yes, just give it a try.’”
👉 mpl.mpg.de/events/event...

The picture shows Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla and the details of the talk.

Don’t miss out on this #talk part of our Lectures on #Physics and #Medicine series (#LPM)! 📅 ✍️

👤 Professor Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla, @helmholtzmunich.bsky.social
▶️ Molecular mechanisms of cellular plasticity and epigenetic reprogramming
🕒 February 5 at 3 pm CET
📍 MPZPM, Kussmaulallee 2, Erlangen

The confocal fluorescence image shows the transition zone from the fallopian tube to the uterus of a mouse in a cross section. The image presents a cross-section of the fallopian tube, revealing its internal architecture with cell nuclei (blue), actin-rich structures which trace the epithelium and musculature (red), and nucleic acids in secretory and epithelial cells (green).

#𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 @stephmoellmert.bsky.social “𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 #𝐌𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲”

In the fallopian tube, coordinated contractions & fluid flow guide the embryo into the uterus. The image shows the transition zone from the fallopian tube to the uterus.
👉 mpzpm.mpg.de/research/ste...

#science #reproduction

Optical ring resonator with a diameter of 200 μm on a SiC substrate.

To make #QuantumTechnology applicable scientists from MPL & Fraunhofer IISB conduct #research in the field of #siliconCarbide with the project #ALP4SiC. Due to its unique physical properties, #SiC is an ideal platform for #photonics, electronics & #quantum applications.

👉 mpl.mpg.de/news/article...

Dr. Viola Introini in her laboratory at MPZPM, smiling at the camera.

Early Career Scientist Prize by the International Union of Pure and Applied #Physics (IUPAP) for Viola Introini (@vascularinfection.bsky.social)!
🏆 Application of physical methods to unravel the mechanisms of #malaria parasite–host interactions.

👉 mpzpm.mpg.de/news/news-de...

#science #research

Five people of UTN visiting a laboratory at MPL.

MPL managing director Prof. Florian Marquardt greeting the guests and giving an overview about MPL and the research conducted here.

MPL director Prof. Vahid Sandoghdar talking to three guests from UTN.

The founding president of the UTN, Prof. Michael Huth, showing something on his phone to MPL's managing director Prof. Marquardt and MPL's head of Administration and Infrastructure, Dr. Dorothe Burggraf.

The Technische Universität Nürnberg (UTN) visits MPL to increase the international visibility of the regional #science hub.

The guests gained insights into the basic #research conducted at MPL, particularly in the field of #AI in #quantum #physics & #nanooptics.

👉 mpl.mpg.de/news/article...

📸 MPL

Tumor cell in the maze of the lung vasculature in a mouse.

A #research team investigated how the mechanical properties of tumor cells influence their metastatic pathway.
🔑 🔍: Viscosity – rather than elasticity – determines how tumor cells invade surrounding tissue.

👉 mpzpm.mpg.de/news/news-de...
📸 V. Gensbittel, J. Goetz

#science #biophysics #metastasis

The black Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light surrounded by a snowy road and landscape.

Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (and white 😉)

The black MPL building has put on its winter coat as all colors merge into white. ❄️

📸 Benjamin Klier

Seowon and Jonathan are working together on an optical table.

Seowon is holding a glass sample up in the air and looking at it.

Jonathan is writing at the white board while smiling at the camera.

Meet Seowon Choi & Jonathan Will who worked together on non-Hermitian edge modes.

Seowons previous work as embedded programmer for optical systems sparked her interest in #optics.
Jonathan is driven by curiosity to understand the unknown.

👉 mpl.mpg.de/research-at-...

#photonics #science #research

In frog brains (orange-blue), developing axons from the eye (yellow-white) follow a specific path to reach their final destination. Along the way, they make a characteristic turn. This turning is mediated by both chemical and mechanical signals. The exact nature of this chemo-mechanical coupling is what the researchers in this study aimed to understand.

During #brain development, axons grow along precise pathways. Scientists have now discovered that tissue stiffness & chemical signalling interact with each other.

👉 mpzpm.mpg.de/news/news-de...

@fau.de @embl.org @franzelab.bsky.social

#research #neuroscience

The picture shows Professor Tomohisa Toda who is a research group leader at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin.

The picture shows a group of 23 people including Professor Tomohisa Toda (third person from the right) who are part of a research collaboration project of the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin and the Universitätsklinikum Erlangen.

The German Research Foundation @dfg.de funds brain development #research at MPZPM & Uniklinikum Erlangen that aims to investigate how nerve cells preserve a specific set of gene expressions via epigenetic regulation.

👉 mpzpm.mpg.de/news/news-de...

The image shows the fractured edge of a damaged borosilicate glass sample.

#𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗵 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗵𝗶 “𝗙𝗲𝗺𝘁𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆” 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗞𝘂𝗻𝘀𝘁 “𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗮”

A borosilicate glass sample contains arrays of adjacent optical waveguides. When a #laser beam is directed into one waveguide, the light couples into neighboring ones.

👉 mpl.mpg.de

The image shows cultured cortical neurons from rats. By labeling the tissue with fluorescent probes key cellular components become visible. Microtubules, the structural framework of the cell, are marked in green whereas the energy producing organelles mitochondria are red. The neurons nucleus are visible in blue.

MPL wishes you a peaceful holiday & a good start into 2026!

#Research Group @stephmoellmert.bsky.social
“Reproductive Mechano #biology”

MPZPM researchers investigate how abnormal conditions affect mechanical & structural properties of neural cells & tissues.

👉 mpzpm.mpg.de/research/ste...
📸 MPL

David Albrecht at work.

David Albrecht looking through a microscope.

David Albrecht smiling at the camera.

Meet Dr. David Albrecht – Fascination with the invisible

He is passionate about #science at the interface of #biology and #physics. He explores viruses and develops advanced #microscopy methods at #MPL to visualize the smallest details of life at the nanoscale.

👉 mpl.mpg.de/divisions/sa...

📸 MPL

The picture shows Michael Sixt and the details of the talk.

Next talk of our Lectures on Physics and Medicine! 📅 ✍️

👤 Michael Sixt, istaresearch.bsky.social
▶️ Principles of leukocyte locomotion and navigation
🕒 Thursday, December 11 at 4 pm CET
📍 Seminar Room, MPZPM
👉 Zoom access: eu02web.zoom-x.de/j/6147202321...
Meeting-ID: 614 7202 3219
Kenncode: 894926

A member of the support association is looking into a microscope in a laboratory setting-

Prof. Florian Marquardt, Managing Director of MPL and Chairman of the Association's Board, standing on a desk in a seminar room, opened the evening with an overview of the research conducted by the MPL and the MPZPM.

Prof. Kristian Franze, standing in front of a wall pointing at a presentation, showed new findings on the role physical factors play in the development and regeneration of the nervous system.

Guests of the event talking to a scientist in a laboratory.

The MPL Support Association “Verein der Freunde und Ehemaligen des Max-Planck-Instituts für die Physik des Lichts e.V.” hosted its second public event.

📧 The association brings scientists and science enthusiasts together – and welcomes new members: friends@mpl.mpg.de.

More: bit.ly/MPL-Support-...

Light-responsive hydrogel microstructures embedded within a collagen network. The microstructure in the foreground is illuminated with a green laser, causing it to contract. The contraction remodels the collagen network and exerts forces on the surrounding cells.

#MPL scientists developed a lab-on-a-chip system. It enables precise pressure forces to be applied to cellular microenvironments. This could be applied in med. diagnostics for mechanical disorders in living tissues.
👉 mpl.mpg.de/news/article...

📸 Vicente Salas-Quiroz

#science #research #biophysics

The 9th International BioBrillouin conference is a wrap!!🤩🙌
Thank you to all the participants for the great contributions and all our sponsors for making this a great gathering!
Stay tuned for infos on 2026!
@mpi-scienceoflight.bsky.social

This picture shows the “mode overlap”, a parameter of considerable significance for the quantum optical process of “spontaneous parametric down-conversion”, through which three entangled infrared photons can be generated from a single green photon.

#Research Group Nicolas Joly “Microstructured Optical Fibres”

#Quantum entangled states play a critical role in quantum #physics and #technology. #MPL researchers try to generate 3 entangled infrared photons from 1 green photon with ultrathin optical fibers.
👉 mpl.mpg.de/research-at-...
📸C. Brunner

The picture shows Dr. Clara Wanjura.

Congrats to our group leader Dr. Clara Wanjura for receiving the Gustav Hertz Prize from the DPG (dpgphysik.bsky.social)! 👏

She is awarded the prize for her contributions to two highly relevant #research areas: #neuromorphic systems and non-Hermitian #topology.

👉 mpl.mpg.de/news/article...

The picture shows Silvia Vignolini and the details of the talk.

Next event in our Distinguished Lecturer Series #DLS! 📅 ✍️

👤 Silvia Vignolini (vignolinilab.bsky.social), MPI of Colloids and Interfaces (mpici.bsky.social)
▶️ Light management in living organisms and bio-hybrids
🕒 Thursday, November 27, at 2 pm CET
📍 Leuchs-Russell Auditorium, #MPL, Erlangen

A #research team, including scientists at #MPZPM, discovered that the mechanical properties of the developing brain influence both synapse formation and the emergence of electrical signals.

👉 bit.ly/MPZPM-News-N...

📷© Eva Kreysing