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Benjamin List: “Wow, this could be something big”

“Wow, this could be something big”

Asymmetric organic catalysis? Nobel Laureate Benjamin List explains how he came up with this crazy idea and what it means for our future at the 2026 GDNÄ conference in Bremen.

Professor List, in December 2021 you were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Has your life changed since then?
Yes, it has – especially at the beginning. TV appearances weren’t part of my normal daily routine before. Nor were the many public lectures, whether at ‘Jugend forscht’, the Kulturhaus Heidelberg or in university lecture theatres. The first two or three years were very intense. In the meantime, I’ve been able to get my life back to normal and finally have enough time again for my large research group at the institute in Mülheim. It’s not as if, as a Nobel laureate, you stop doing research.

What are you currently working on?
I’d like to highlight two projects. Firstly, we’re trying to remove the greenhouse gas CO2 from the atmosphere by breaking it down into O2 and C using sunlight and catalysts. The oxygen O2 returns to the atmosphere without any issues; what remains is carbon. This could be used as a kind of solar coal for all sorts of processes in the chemical industry. Surplus coal could be buried, for example in tunnels along the Rhine and Ruhr. The whole thing could help solve humanity’s energy problem and would be climate-neutral at the same time. We’re still facing a few tricky problems, but hopefully they’ll be solved in ten years’ time. Our idea isn’t entirely far-fetched; after all, CO2 splitting is already taking place on Mars, albeit only in small quantities. 

And your second project?
We’re currently setting up a company that produces pure fragrances. At the molecular level, fragrances usually consist of two variants, known as enantiomers. They fit together like a picture and its mirror image, but have biologically different effects. The original might smell of mint, for example, and the mirror image of caraway – together they make a strange mixture. In industrial production, therefore, the aim is to produce pure fragrances containing only one of these molecular twins. To date, this has only been possible using complex processes. With the help of our patents, production can be simplified and made cheaper. I think we’ll be able to start this year. I am a basic researcher, but getting to know the industrial world is exciting.

 

© David Ausserhofer

At work: Benjamin List leads a team of around forty researchers from all over the world. Teamwork is a top priority in the List research group.

You were awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery of asymmetric organic catalysis. What makes this process so significant?
Catalysis as such is very, very important for our lives. Just one example: without the Haber-Bosch process, that classic example of catalysis, there would be no fertilisers. We wouldn’t then be eight billion people, but perhaps only four billion due to a lack of sufficient food. I consider catalysis to be humanity’s most important technology.  Overall, there have already been several Nobel Prizes for catalysis research, and almost all of them were for metallic catalysts. Unfortunately, these also have drawbacks: many of them are expensive, rare and, on top of that, toxic. In 1999, I experimented with a small molecule, the amino acid proline, and discovered that it not only acts as a catalyst but also specifically produces the desired enantiomer. When I published this in early 2000, it came as a huge surprise to the scientific community: an organic molecule found in the human body acts as a highly selective catalyst – incredible! 

You share the Nobel Prize with the Scottish-born US researcher David MacMillan, who arrived at similar results independently of you. Was the discovery in the air?
In hindsight, you could see it that way. David and I actually knew nothing about each other. We each made the crucial discoveries independently in 1999. When my very first proline experiment worked, I thought: Wow, this could be something big. Yet the idea itself wasn’t actually that new. Other chemists had tried it too. When the initial experimental results from the 1960s and 1970s weren’t really understood, interest in it waned. David MacMillan and I then tried a different approach and succeeded. Many chemists at the time rubbed their eyes in disbelief and asked: How could we have overlooked this?

@ David Ausserhofer

A scene in the laboratory of Benjamin List’s ‘Homogeneous Catalysis’ department at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Mülheim.

Is organocatalysis used in industry today?
Yes, in many fields, including the production of medicines. One example is darunavir for the treatment of HIV. The active ingredient, a so-called protease inhibitor, prevents the AIDS virus from multiplying in infected people. The World Health Organisation has included it on the list of essential medicines.

Is more public funding needed for catalysis research?
Yes, that would be money well spent. At present, we are lagging behind in artificial intelligence, quantum and fusion technologies, far behind the US and China. Catalysis is not as popular, but it represents a major opportunity for Germany. We have a long tradition in this field and a great deal of expertise in the country. 

Let’s take a look back: how did you come to become a chemist?
It all began when I was eleven years old. Together with two friends, I had set up a small laboratory in a basement in Frankfurt; we bought the necessary chemicals from a local chemist. At that time, I wasn’t yet taking chemistry lessons. Later, I had a few gifted teachers who encouraged me. But by then my interest in the subject was already very strong, and no teacher could have steered me away from that path. 

The GDNÄ has its own youth organisation, the jGDNÄ. Is there anything you would advise young people interested in the natural sciences?
Follow your passion! Don’t let yourselves be swayed, even if your parents say: ‘I see you as a lawyer or a doctor.’ There are good career opportunities in the natural sciences, both in academia and in industry. The world has recognised how important research is. And it’s a stroke of luck if you’re interested in it. It gives me immense pleasure to be able to unlock a few of nature’s secrets and perhaps change the world in the process. 

On 19 September, you will be giving the public Nobel lecture on the topic of ‘Organocatalysis for our world’ at the GDNÄ meeting in Bremen. What prior knowledge is needed to follow your talk?
An interest in the subject should suffice. I try to speak as clearly as possible. 

What message do you want to convey to your audience?
Organocatalysis can be both basic research and application. Both are fascinating, and that is what I want to convey. And in doing so, I’d also like to promote the Max Planck Society a little. Its outstanding basic research is well known to many, but not everyone realises that it is also the most successful start-up organisation in this country. I have one more message: enthusiasm for what you do is important. Whether in research or in other areas of life. 

To conclude, may I ask you about a particular photo showing you standing on your hands with your legs crossed in the laboratory? How did that come about?
The photo was taken a few years before the Nobel Prize, during an interview with my fellow student Catarina Pietschmann, who works as a freelance journalist in Berlin. ‘You have to swim against the tide now and then,’ I’d said during the conversation, ‘maybe even stand on your head.’ That’s how the idea for the handstand in the lotus position came about. My wife was in the lab at the time; she held me up. I can’t manage a handstand on my own just yet. 

Do you practise yoga?
Yes, yoga is important to me for keeping my mind fresh. I’ve been doing it for many years, one to two hours a day and mostly without instruction. I’ve got the hang of it a bit now.

Michael Droescher © MIKA-fotografie | Berlin

@ Henning Kretschmer

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dr. h.c. Benjamin List is Director of the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research and a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.

About the person

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dr. h.c. Benjamin List is a chemist and one of the directors at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Mülheim an der Ruhr. There he heads the Department of Homogeneous Catalysis. He is also a professor of organic chemistry at the Universities of Cologne and Hokkaido.

Benjamin List was born on 11 January 1968 in Frankfurt am Main. As the child of a family of scientists and artists, he spent his childhood and youth with his mother and two brothers. He completed his degree in chemistry at the Free University of Berlin in 1993. In Frankfurt am Main, he was awarded his doctorate in 1997 with a thesis on the synthesis of a vitamin B12 semicorrin. In 1997, Ben List, as many people call him, moved to the USA to conduct research at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, until 2003. Back in Germany, he led a research group at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Mülheim an der Ruhr from 2003 to 2005. He has worked there since 2005 as Director and a Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society.

Benjamin List has received numerous honours, including Germany’s highest research award, the Leibniz Prize. In 2021, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, jointly with David MacMillan, who is the same age, for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis. In 2022, the Federal President awarded him the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany with Star.

Michael Droescher © MIKA-fotografie | Berlin

@ Frank Vinken/MPG

A handstand in the lab: Benjamin List only does things like this for photographers. The photo was taken a few years before he won the Nobel Prize; he managed the pose with his wife’s help.

Further reading and listening

>> Public Nobel lecture by Benjamin List at the 134th General Assembly of the GDNÄ in Bremen (PDF)

>> Website of the ‘Homogeneous Catalysis’ working group att the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research

>> Interviews on Deutschlandfunk: Nobelpreisträger Ben List: Wie sich ein Gewinn anfühlt

>> Interviews on Deutschlandfunk: Der Konkurrenzkampf motiviert zu Höchstleistungen

>> Profile in the science magazine “Max Planck Forschung”, written by Benjamin List’s former colleague Catarina Pietschmann. In the article, she also describes how the List family survived the devastating 2004 tsunami in Thailand.

Sabine Oertelt-Prigione: “We can learn a great deal from differences”

“We can learn a great deal from differences”

Gender-sensitive medicine? Sabine Oertelt-Prigione explains why it is important for a healthier future at the conference in Bremen – and in this interview.

Professor Oertelt-Prigione, you teach gender-sensitive medicine at Bielefeld University. What exactly does this term mean?
It concerns the influence of gender on health and illness. In my research group in Bielefeld, for example, we investigate whether patients’ gender affects the choice of diagnostic procedures and therapies, and what role it plays in doctor-patient communication. To this end, we analyse international studies and conduct our own surveys. Other groups in gender-sensitive research carry out biomedical laboratory research. We focus more on the clinical and social science aspects of the field. 

Is gender-sensitive medicine the same as gender medicine, or are there differences?
Essentially, these are two different definitions for similar approaches. I myself prefer gender-sensitive medicine because I find it more precise in German. In medicine, we deal with biological and social sex, and their influence. With the term ‘gender medicine’, the focus seems to be more on gender, even though this aspect is researched far less in medicine than biological differences. 

It was not so long ago that scepticism towards gender-sensitive approaches in medicine prevailed. Today, the perception is more positive. Why is that?
One important reason is the improved data. In the 1990s, it was recognised that women are more likely to die from a heart attack because their symptoms do not match the male-dominated textbook description and are therefore frequently overlooked. This finding has since been confirmed by large, long-term studies. Cardiology paved the way for gender-sensitive medicine, but in recent years other fields such as oncology, neurology and infectious diseases have been catching up.

© AG Geschlechtersensible Medzin Bielefeld

This model for gender-sensitive solutions in medical practice was developed by students at Oertelt-Prigione.

Please illustrate this with an example.
Let’s take oncology: cancer drugs often cause more side effects in women. On the other hand, they are sometimes more effective than in men. Checkpoint inhibitors, however, which trigger the body’s own immune system to fight the tumour, often work better in men. 

So gender-sensitive medicine is about more than just women’s health?
Yes, quite clearly. We do not conduct research on women solely for women. In some diseases, men are at a disadvantage; consider osteoporosis or breast cancer, which affects around 700 men in this country every year. In these and other conditions, we are primarily interested in gender-specific differences and the underlying mechanisms. Next, we want to find the appropriate interventions and optimise care. The aim is to learn from these differences in order to improve medicine as a whole. 

What role do societal changes play in the shift in perception of your field of research?
Awareness of the differences between people, of diversity, has grown in recent years. The younger generation in particular is committed to this, and that also benefits us. Added to this has been a shift among funding organisations, which are increasingly recognising and financially supporting our research. 

At the start of the year, the Federal Ministries of Health and Research announced new funding programmes on women’s health. What do you hope to gain from these?
The Federal Ministry of Health’s programme has a total budget of ten million euros and focuses heavily on gynaecological issues such as endometriosis and the menopause.  These topics are fundamentally very important, but somewhat less attractive for my research, partly because the comparison between the sexes plays only a minor role. The Federal Ministry of Research’s programme is more interesting in that regard. The funding pot contains significantly more money for research into new contraceptives, women’s health, but also the gender data gap in clinical trials. The term indicates that many scientific findings are based on studies involving men. It is not uncommon for these findings to be simply applied to women without further scrutiny, which can have fatal consequences. For instance, women react differently to certain active ingredients than men, or they require different dosages. The gender data gap is a topic that particularly interests us in Bielefeld.  

You say the problems have been recognised. How is biomedical research addressing them?
Over the last ten years, much has improved. The guidelines issued by funding bodies at both German and European level have been crucial. Today, funding applications must already specify how researchers intend to address the issue of gender. The gender of study participants must be documented, as must that of laboratory animals. Compared to the past, this is already a huge step forward.

@ Privat

The team led by Sabine Oertelt-Prigione (centre) in front of the OWL Faculty of Medicine at Bielefeld University. @ Private

Are young researchers being trained accordingly?
Gender-sensitive medicine is still scarcely embedded in compulsory teaching; we are awaiting the announced amendment to the Medical Licensing Regulations, which would incorporate the topic and thus make its integration into the curricula necessary. At least many German universities offer relevant optional modules and lecture series. There are now professorships at the Charité, in Magdeburg and here in Bielefeld. At these universities, gender-sensitive medicine is also part of the compulsory curriculum. 

Research is one thing, but do the findings actually make it into practice?
The guidelines issued by professional associations play a major role in this. We have examined many guidelines and found that most are not gender-sensitive. We will be publishing a study on this in the summer. We are also seeking to engage in dialogue with the professional associations. Obstacles here sometimes include a lack of awareness of the issue, but often also a lack of data needed to make guidelines gender-sensitive.  

How did you yourself come across the topic of gender-sensitive medicine?
That was a good twenty years ago during my time as a post-doc in the US. It was rather by chance that I came across the striking gender differences in autoimmune diseases there. I then continued my specialist training in internal medicine and completed a Master’s in Public Health. I actually wanted to become a tropical medicine specialist, but gender-sensitive medicine had really gripped me. I was able to deepen my knowledge at the Charité’s ‘Gender Research in Medicine’ unit, and as a professor in Bielefeld and Nijmegen, I have been able to contribute independently to this field of research for the past ten years.   

Do you already have any ideas for your talk at the GDNÄ conference?
I will provide an overview of the current state of research, but also offer practical suggestions for the doctors in the audience. Incidentally, it is not only human doctors who can benefit from the findings of gender-sensitive research; they are also relevant to veterinary medicine. I am very much looking forward to the exchange in Bremen. 

Michael Droescher © MIKA-fotografie | Berlin

@ Erasmus University Rotterdam

Sabine Oertelt-Prigione giving a talk in Rotterdam.

About the person

Prof. Dr. Sabine Oertelt-Prigione is an internist, holds a Master of Public Health and is a systemic organisational consultant. In 2021, she accepted the appointment to the newly created Chair of Gender-Sensitive Medicine in the Department of Clinical and Theoretical Medicine at Bielefeld University.

 At the same time, she continues to hold the Chair of Gender in Primary and Transmural Care at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, a post she took up in 2017. From 2009 to 2014, Oertelt-Prigione worked as a research fellow at the Charité. In 2015 and 2016, she trained as a systemic organisational consultant at the Artop Institute of Humboldt University in Berlin and qualified as a professor in internal medicine at Charité in 2016.

Sabine Oertelt-Prigione was born in Nuremberg in 1978. She attended the German School in Milan and studied medicine at the University of Milan. As a post-doctoral researcher, she conducted research at the University of California, Davis; she completed her public health studies at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The physician was a member of the EU Commission’s expert groups on ‘Gendered Innovations’ and ‘Gender and COVID-19’. She is a member of the Medical Committee of the German Science Council and the German Medical Association’s Drug Commission.

Further information:

>> Lecture by Prof. Dr. Sabine Oertelt-Prigione on Sunday, 20 September 2026: “The Significance of Gender in Biomedical Research”

>> Personal website at Bielefeld University

>> 134. GDNÄ Conference in Bremen

Kai Brüggemann: “There is considerable interest in the GDNÄ”

“There is considerable interest in the GDNÄ”

He is a company director, president of the Industry Club and managing director of the 134th Conference: Kai Brüggemann on Bremen as a business location and why his company plans to start manufacturing in India in the future.

Dr Brüggemann, you have taken on the role of Executive Director for Economic Affairs for the next GDNÄ conference in Bremen in 2026. What appeals to you about this role?
I am impressed by the magnificent history of the Society of German Naturalists and Physicians. It has existed for more than two hundred years and brings together the crème de la crème of the scientific world. What I also like is the interdisciplinary focus and the motto of this year’s conference: ‘Knowledge creates benefits, utilising science’. Science and business should be brought together – that is something Germany urgently needs right now.  

What responsibilities does your GDNÄ role entail?
I would like to raise the profile of this wonderful society a little. Many have never heard of it and are thrilled when they learn about its history and current activities. I noticed this again when I announced the GDNÄ meeting at the Bremen Industry Club. There was great interest and I’m sure quite a few members will be there in the autumn. We could perhaps deepen engagement by holding an information event beforehand, to which the GDNÄ could contribute with a lecture by a renowned scientist on a topical subject. Experience shows that such events attract many members.

@ Industrie-Club Bremen

With the Industry 4.0 Future Workshop, the Industrie-Club Bremen is organising an ideas competition in which young people from Bremen’s universities present their ideas in three-minute pitches. A cash prize will be awarded for the best pitch. All participants will benefit from feedback from experienced entrepreneurs and executives based in Bremen.

You have been President of the Bremen Industry Club since 2019. Could you please give us a brief introduction to it?
We bring together people who are active in Bremen’s business community: entrepreneurs, managers, as well as commercial lawyers and other service providers. We organise events, many of which sell out quickly. Popular formats include training courses such as ‘AI for Executives’, lectures by experts from politics and academia, and the ‘ICB on tour’ series, which takes us to members’ companies. As representatives of the manufacturing sector in Bremen and the surrounding area, we occasionally comment cautiously on political issues.

How is the Bremen economy faring in these turbulent political times?
As a strongly export-oriented, globally networked economy, it is suffering from US tariffs and supply chain disruptions resulting from armed conflicts. This affects practically all key sectors: automotive, aerospace, ports and logistics, and Bremen’s long-established food industry – just think of the coffee roasters. Fundamentally, however, we have a stable economic base here with hidden champions in the SME sector, an increasingly digital focus and interesting start-ups.

You are the managing director of Deharde GmbH, a supplier to the aerospace industry in the Bremen region. How is your company faring?
We plan to expand our existing partnership with a company in India’s Silicon Valley, in Bangalore, and to explore further opportunities for collaboration. In Germany, we can no longer produce high-tech components for customers like Airbus cost-effectively and are suffering from a shortage of skilled workers. That’s not an issue in India. Some of the country’s universities have reached world-class standards and are training large numbers of outstanding engineers. In Germany, by contrast, interest in STEM subjects has been declining for years – that’s going to cause us problems.

You’ve worked in Austria, Switzerland and various places in Germany, but have always kept your home base in Bremen. How did that come about?
It has to do with the family. My wife and children have always said: ‘You can work wherever you want, we’re staying here.’

@ Deharde GmbH

Accompanied by a team from the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), DLR Director General and current GDNÄ President Prof. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla visited the supplier Deharde GmbH in Varel (the photograph was taken in 2024).

In September, many GDNÄ members will be coming to the meeting in Bremen. What can visitors look forward to?
A city where business and science work well together. A world-class scientific landscape with three renowned universities and the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence, the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology and several Fraunhofer Institutes. We are also proud of our free-fall tower for experiments in weightlessness at the Centre for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity at the University of Bremen – the only one of its kind in Europe. Speaking of the university: anyone who still has the image of a red ‘cadet factory’ with questionable scientific standing in mind will be surprised. Our university was first designated a ‘University of Excellence’ in 2012 and is currently reapplying for the title. The science city of Bremen has so many attractions and we look forward to showing them to the GDNÄ.

Michael Droescher © MIKA-fotografie | Berlin

© Privat

Dr Kai Brüggemann, President of the Bremen Industry Club and Economic Director of the 134th Conference of the GDNÄ.

About the person

Dr Kai Brüggemann studied industrial engineering and obtained his doctorate in mechanical engineering. Before taking up his current position as Chairman of the Management Board at Deharde GmbH in Varel, he served as a member of the Executive Board at DB Fernverkehr AG in Frankfurt am Main and as Managing Director of ÖBB Technische Services in Vienna. Prior to that, he spent a total of almost twenty years in senior positions at Airbus in Bremen and Hamburg, interrupted by a two-year stint at the Swiss company RUAG Aerospace. Kai Brüggemann has been a board member of the Industrie-Club Bremen since 2012 and its president since 2019. He will hold the GDNÄ post of Managing Director for Economic Affairs until the 134th meeting of the Natural History Society from 17–20 September 2026.

Michael Droescher © MIKA-fotografie | Berlin

@ Industrie-Club Bremen

Every second Friday in November, the Industrie-Club Bremen invites its members and guests to the traditional Roland Dinner at the Old Town Hall. Here is a glimpse of the banquet hall, with club president Kai Bremen at the lectern.
Further information:

>> Industrie-Club Bremen

>> Deharde GmbH

>> 134. GDNÄ Conference in Bremen

Welcome to Potsdam

Potsdam

Dear members and friends of the GDNÄ,

Welcome to the 133rd Assembly of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians from 12 to 15 September in Potsdam. Science characterises our lives today and science will continue to have a strong influence on our lives in the future. In Potsdam, the focus will therefore be on "Science for our lives of tomorrow".

Since 1822, our society has been bringing together scientists and those interested in science for interdisciplinary dialogue. The GDNÄ promotes this dialogue between the public and the natural and life sciences, medicine and technology. In times when fake news and populist movements are calling science into question, it is particularly important to allow scientists to have their say.

Direct access to science is particularly important and helpful for young people. Since 2004, we have therefore been inviting students to visit our collections and engage in dialogue with the speakers. Thanks to the generous support of the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation, the AKB Foundation, the Bayer Foundation and the Family Business Foundation, we are once again able to invite 150 young people. Some of them will be on stage during the sessions this time.

Dealing with the topics at the centre of our conference requires an understanding of the insights of the natural and life sciences and enthusiasm for medicine and technology. We hope that the opportunities and new possibilities of science will be utilised for the well-being of people in the future. We say this with hope and confidence at a time when Russia's unspeakable war of aggression against Ukraine has been going on for more than two years and Israel is fighting in Gaza against Hamas, which has murderously invaded Israel. Both wars bring endless suffering to many people.

In the 202 years since our society was founded, science has helped to improve people's lives in many areas, be it medicine, nutrition, mobility or communication. But science also allows us to understand what mankind has done to planet Earth, the animal and plant world. It shows us what we can do to shape a better future, in the spirit of "responsible" science. We also want to talk about this in Potsdam. We look forward to seeing you.

Heribert Hofer, Präsident der GDNÄ

Heribert Hofer, President of the GDNÄ

Campus Griebnitzsee der Universität Potsdam © K. Fritze

© MIKA-fotografie | Berlin

Prof Dr Heribert Hofer, President of the GDNÄ and Director of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin.

Current program change

The Leopoldina lecture by Professor Liane Benning “The Great Melting” on Saturday, September 14, has unfortunately been canceled. Instead, GDNÄ Vice-President Professor Martin Lohse, Leopoldina member and pharmacologist, will speak about drugs of the future and the impressive power of placebos. All interested parties are cordially invited to the public lecture from 5:30 to 7 pm.

Registration

GDNÄ President Hofer and his team have put together a rich scientific program. Registration for the entire conference or for individual days is easily possible on site at the conference box office.

>> Programme (PDF)

>> Photo journal

Photo Journal

Impressions from Potsdam

An illustrated diary of the GDNÄ meeting from 12-15 September 2024.
more >>

Newly elected

Ferdi Schüth

Max Planck Director is now part of the GDNÄ Executive Committee.
mehr >>

Honoured

Eva-Maria Neher

Alexander von Humboldt Medal for her great services to the GDNÄ.
more >>

Young GDNÄ

Anne Marie Bobes

The 18-year-old builds wind turbines for street lamps.
more >>

Media response

Interest aroused

The GDNÄ conference in Potsdam meets with a positive response.
more >>

Potsdam 2024

An initial assessment

Four days of fascinating presentations and discussions.
more >>

Livestream

Be there in real time

Click here for the broadcast of the GDNÄ meeting in Potsdam.
more >>

Young GDNÄ

Paul Scholand

He is 18, a GDNÄ student scholarship holder, and has big plans.
mehr >>

Opening ceremony

The Lord Mayor of the Brandenburg state capital Potsdam, Mike Schubert, and the President of the University of Potsdam, Professor Oliver Günther, Ph.D., will welcome the guests at the beginning of the conference. The greetings from the Ministry of Science, Research and Culture of the State of Brandenburg will be conveyed by Steffen Weber, Head of the Science and Research Department. The meeting will be opened by GDNÄ President Professor Heribert Hofer and Professor Alexander Böker, GDNÄ Managing Director of Economics.

Livestream

If you are unable to travel to Potsdam, you can participate in the meeting via livestream. From September 12, you can access the free livestream via this page.

Campus Griebnitzsee der Universität Potsdam © K. Fritze

© K. Fritze

The 133rd GDNÄ Assembly will take place in the main building of the Griebnitzsee campus of the University of Potsdam.

Several interviews on this website provide insights into the preparations for the conference and information on individual presentations:

>> Prof. Dr. Heribert Hofer: “In Potsdam, we present the young GDNÄ”

>> Professor Alexander Böker: „Professor Alexander Böker: “The Student Programme is unique and convincing"

>> Prof. Dr. Barbara Höhle: “The University of Potsdam is looking forward to the GDNÄ”

>> Prof Dr Liane G. Benning: "How algae are fuelling climate change"

>> Prof Dr Thomas Mettenleiter "Nothing could scare me after that"

Please note: The event will be filmed/photographed. It is therefore possible that participants may be recognisable on the film and photo material that is produced. The film material will be used in accordance with the objectives and purpose of the GDNÄ and placed for the purpose of event-related public relations for non-commercial use and for an unlimited duration in all dedicated online media as well as on all video platforms used by the GDNÄ on the Internet with all sharing functionalities provided by the video hosting provider.

GDNÄ Meeting 2024: Young people and established science in personal dialogue

GDNÄ Conference 2024: Young people and established science in personal exchange

More than five hundred participants, including one hundred and fifty school and university students, high-level lectures on current topics in chemistry, biology, computer science, physics, engineering and medicine, plus a lively interdisciplinary, personal exchange – this is how the 2024 conference of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians (GDNÄ) in Potsdam was assessed.

From 12 to 15 September 2024, the Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians met for its 133rd assembly at the Griebnitzsee Campus of the University of Potsdam. Many who could not be there in person participated via livestream. The conference focused on the topic "Science for Our Tomorrow's Life". The student programme with pupils from the region and university students has been a fixed part of the GDNÄ conferences for years. The establishment of the Young GDNÄ during the conference in Potsdam increases the importance of young people in the 202-year-old research society. At the 133rd meeting, the young people discussed with renowned scientists, including Nobel Prize winner Ben Feringa. 

"I think it's great how we young people are given a platform here. And that we are allowed to participate in the conference free of charge and with great appreciation – in the lecture hall, in panel discussions and in conversations on the side," says Anne Marie Bobes. The 18-year-old high school graduate and future mechanical engineering student won the GDNÄ Science Slam "Science in 5 Minutes". 

Paul Mühlenhoff, the pedagogical director of the GDNÄ student programme, says: "This year, we had a particularly strong sense of cohesion and an enormous amount of enthusiasm in the group. The Young GDNÄ prepared intensively for all the lectures and was more integrated into the programme than ever. Chapeau!" 

GDNÄ President Professor Heribert Hofer says: "The young people, our Young GDNÄ, find excellent science and interdisciplinary work and direct dialogue with the lecturers at our events. That is what makes the GDNÄ conferences so special. And anyone who missed the livestream this time can soon watch all the lectures as videos on our homepage." 

The 134th assembly will take place in Bremen in September 2026.

Professorin Eva-Maria Neher © Universität Göttingen/Peter Heller

© MIKA-fotografie | Berlin

GDNÄ President Professor Heribert Hofer at the opening of the conference at the University of Potsdam.

Further informations:

>> Photo journal: Daily impressions from the GDNÄ Conference 2024

„Science in 5 minutes“: Four questions for Anne Marie Bobes

Four questions for Anne Marie Bobes

Anne Marie Bobes from the Markgraf-Albrecht-Gymnasium in Osterburg in northern Saxony-Anhalt won the “Science in 5 Minutes” competition with her “Wind2Light” presentation. The 18-year-old recently graduated from high school and will begin studying mechanical engineering at the University of Dresden in October.

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Ms. Bobes, please present your project briefly and in as general terms as possible.
I am developing small wind turbines to provide a self-sufficient power supply for street lamps. In summer, this can also be achieved with solar panels, but on dark winter days it becomes difficult to ensure a reliable power supply. My rotors almost always produce enough electricity for the lanterns, even the low wind speeds generated by passing cars are enough. Over the last five years, I have developed small plastic rotors that are 50 centimeters high and 25 centimeters wide, which can be manufactured efficiently, quietly and inexpensively. They produce around five percentage points more electricity than conventional systems and enough to operate street lamps or charging stations for e-bikes.

How did you go about it?
First of all, I took a closer look at turbines that were already on the market, built some of them and tested them in a wind tunnel. I set up test stands in the cellar of our house and in the school cellar. My investigations showed that existing helix systems are not efficient enough for my purposes due to the enormous vortices they create. I then spent hours calculating, developing algorithms and running simulations on the computer – until my hard drive burned out. Fortunately, I was able to quickly buy a new one and design rotors, which I then produced using a 3D printer. I created various models and tested their effectiveness in a range of different basements, as well as at the Technical University of Magdeburg. I applied for a patent for my invention two years ago.

Professorin Eva-Maria Neher © Universität Göttingen/Peter Heller

© GDNÄ

The winners of the GDNÄ “Science in 5 minutes” competition with their certificates (from left): Sebastian Paschen and Moritz Roloff (3rd prize), GDNÄ President Professor Heribert Hofer, Anne Marie Bobes (1st place), Felix Gross (2nd place).

You were only 16 years old at the time. Who helped you?
At the very beginning, it was my grandfather, in whose carpentry workshop I was allowed to build all kinds of things as a child. At school, I received a lot of support from my biology teacher Michael Müller. He gave me my first ideas and made sure that I was able to develop the idea at school. He also gave me a lot of support with the patent application. The association of friends of my school covered the application costs. The Jugend forscht competition, in which I took part for the first time when I was 13, was very important to me. With Jugend forscht, I have already been to London, Los Angeles and Thessaloniki, where I was allowed to take part in international competitions with my turbines and repeatedly came in at the top. I used the prize money to finance the next steps in the project. My first publication will soon appear in the magazine Junge Wissenschaft.

What are your plans now?
In a few weeks I will begin studying and I'm really looking forward to it. I hope that I can test my wind turbines in the field in Dresden and get closer to series production. Extensive tests are absolutely essential to ensure safety and efficiency. I've already received an offer for large-scale production, but I turned it down because the preconditions haven't been met yet. At the same time, I want to advance new ideas. For example, I want to find out why birds fly into wind turbines so often. I am increasingly interested in biophysical questions. Professionally, I could imagine a future in aerospace. That's why it's great that I was offered an internship at the German Aerospace Center during the GDNÄ assembly in Potsdam. I am very happy to accept the offer.

Professorin Eva-Maria Neher © Universität Göttingen/Peter Heller

© Anne Marie Bobes

Anne Marie Bobes from the Markgraf-Albrecht-Gymnasium in Osterburg in northern Saxony-Anhalt won the “Science in 5 Minutes” competition with her “Wind2Light” presentation.