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OUR SITES he 86 institutes and facilities of the Society T are distributed among 39 locations in , with five in other countries. They are assigned to three sections reflecting the research spectrum: the Chemistry, Physics and Technology Section, the and Section, and the Human Section. Some 24,000 people currently work and conduct research at the Max Planck SCHLESWIG- Society. These include approximately 7,000 researchers; the propor- HOLSTEIN Plön Rostock Greifswald tion of women is 32 percent. In addition, some 16,500 young research- MECKLENBURG WESTERN POMERANIA ers and guest join Max-Planck every year.

Bremen BRANDENBURG LOWER

Hanover Potsdam Münster SAXONY-ANHALT NORTH RHINE WESTPHALIA IMPRINT Mülheim Published by Bochum Göttingen Düsseldorf Max-Planck-Gesellschaft SAXONY zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. THURINGIA Bad Münstereifel HESSE Communications Department

Bad Nauheim Hofgartenstr. 8, D-80539 RHINELAND PALATINATE Mainz Tel.: +49 89 2108-1276

SAARLAND Kaiserslautern E-Mail: [email protected] Erlangen Saarbrücken Internet: www.mpg.de Design: mattweis, Munich Tübingen BADEN- Munich October 2020 WÜRTTEMBERG Freiburg Seewiesen INSIGHT Constance MUST IMAGES: S. 3: Entrance Adminstrative Headquarters: © Kai Weinsziehr, S. 4–5: Gra- PRECEDE vitational waves: © S. Ossokine, A. Buonanno / MPI für Gravitationsphysik, SITES ABROAD ­Simulating eXtreme Spacetime Project, D. Steinhauser / Airborne Hydro Map- APPLICATION BRAZIL LUXEMBOURG ping GmbH, S. 5: Prof. Dr. Svante Pääbo: © Frank Vinken; Algae Chlamydo­ Manaus Luxembourg monas reinhardtii: © Wolfgang Bettighofer 2010 / Creative Commons License

ITA LY THE NETHERLANDS V 3.0 (CC BY-NC-SA), S. 6–7: ASDEX research facility: © Volker Steger, MAX PLANCK Florence S. 8–9: Junior Research Group at the MPI for Astronomy: © ­Wolfram Scheible, Rome S. 10–11: Max Planck partner group in New Delhi: © epa, S. 13: Max Planck USA Jupiter, Florida Day in Munich, 2018: © Axel Griesch (top); Max Planck Day in Berlin A BRIEF PORTRAIT

“Insight must precede application” – the guiding ­principle of the (MPG) are words spoken by the that our organisation was named after. Excel- lent minds, a high degree of freedom and outstanding work conditions­ create the foundation for at the very highest level. And thus 20 Laure- ates are among the ranks of the Max Planck Society to date.

The Max Planck Society is an internationally recognized, autonomous organization with a ­longstanding tradition. In 1948, it succeeded the (KWG), which was established in 1911 and which num- bered renowned researchers among its ranks such as and , as well as Max Planck himself. A total of 15 KWG researchers were awarded a Nobel Prize, making Germany the leading scientific nation in the first half of the 20th century.

Nobel Prize From top left to bottom right: The period of National Socialism marked a turning point, ­Laureates 1954 Walter Bothe | 1963 | 1964 | however, and left the MPG with a problematic legacy. At 1967 | 1973 | 1984 Georges the end of the 1990s, the Society initiated a comprehen- Köhler | 1985 | 1986 | 1988 sive programme of research to reappraise the history | 1988 | 1988 Johann Deisen- of its predecessor organization under the Third Reich. hofer | 1991 | 1991 | 1995 Paul Many KWG scientists were involved in the Nazi system in Crutzen | 1995 Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard | 2005 Theodor various ways. Max Planck Society has assumed historical Hänsch | 2007 | 2014 | responsibility for these actions. 2020 | 2020

2 MAX PLANCK SOCIETY 3 Latest knowl- edge about the development of humankind – hidden in ancient DNA. Pioneering achievements

hifting boundaries, questioning what is known, explor- S ing the unknown: this is what drives us. Max Planck ­scientists have made significant contributions to the detection of gravitational waves (2015), to capturing the first image of a “black hole” (2019), to decoding the Nean- derthal genome (2010) and to discovering Denisova man (2011) and rewriting the early history of humankind. With the discovery of light-activated channels in the small freshwater algae Chlamydomonas, Max Planck research- ers revolutionized neurobiology (2002). The resulting opto- genetic methods today enable completely novel research approaches.

Basic research provides a pool of ideas which society can draw on and the skills to solve urgent problems. Thanks to federal and state funding, the Max Planck Society is able to promote “high risk” research even with a long-term per- spective.

The discovery of gravitational waves was an achievement Small algae based on per- – big effect: severance and the functions of international light-­activated cooperation. channels have laid the foundation for completely novel research approaches.

4 MAX PLANCK SOCIETY 5 hat makes the Max Planck Society so attractive World-class W to scientists from all over the world? Firstly, it is the freedom to decide on the goals and paths of their own research; secondly, they have first-class technical science resources that can compete with any other top research institutions worldwide.

Great freedom also involves obligations: to deliver excel- lent results and use the resources entrusted to them with care. Every two years, the research performance of each Institute is reviewed by Scientific Advisory Boards made up of renowned international experts. More than 15,000 publications in scientific journals every year – many of them in highly regarded journals such as SCIENCE and – also testify to the outstanding work done at our Institutes. In the principal rankings such as and the index of Highly Cited Researchers, we have been among the top five worldwide for many years.

With the German federal administration and its federal states each providing half of the Society’s financial resources, the Max Planck Society received basic funding of some EUR 1.86 billion in 2019. In addition, project-spe- cific funding is provided by the German federal govern- ment, the German states and the and revenues are generated from patents and licenses, the sale and marketing of which is handled by Max Planck Innovation GmbH (MI).

Max Planck Innovation has been involved in major tech- Outstanding nological advancements such as Flash, which made equipment + ­magnetic resonance imaging clinically viable and earned brilliant minds = its inventor the European Inventor Award in 2018. Sutent, excellent perfor- the cancer drug licensed by MI to Pfizer, became a block- mance. buster, and one of MI‘s more than 150 spin-offs – Evotec – managed to get listed on the MDAX. Investments in basic research pay off in many ways.

6 MAX PLANCK SOCIETY 7 Every year several thousand young people from all over the world join us as PhDs and Postdocs. Promoting talent

n order to attract talented young doctoral ­researchers We support young female scientists in their career devel- I from all over the world to Germany, we have joined opment through funding and mentoring programmes forces with partner universities to found the International such as Fast Track and Minerva-Femme-Net. Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS). Here, early career In addition, the Excellence Program offers researchers enjoy excellent research opportunities; they exceptionally qualified women scientists a transparent receive close supervision and support through specially and attractive internal career path. With this program we designed programmes. offer them their own research group, excellent resources, and the prospect of advancing to become a Max Planck The Max Planck Schools and the Max Planck ­Graduate Director. Centers supplement these as a national network for ­graduate education. The Max Planck Schools are a joint The Max Planck Society also trains specialists in the initiative of the Max Planck Society, German universi- non-scientific field. The Society offers some 500 voca- ties and non-university research organizations. The pilot tional trainee positions every year. Trainees have a choice project includes the Max Planck Schools of Photonics, of of 40 different professions – in the areas of office admin- Cognition and Matter to Life. Bringing together excellence istration, electrical engineering and metalworking, as well within geographically distributed, topic-related interdisci- as in laboratories, in IT and animal husbandry. plinary networks, they are able to offer unique conditions for getting started in science. Family-conscious personnel policy is of great importance for us. In 2006, Max Planck was the first science organi- As a Max Planck Research Group Leader at a Max Planck zation to undergo the “Career and Family” audit and was Institute, a young researcher can lay the foundations for successful in gaining certification. We are permanently their future scientific career: for a period of five years committed to expanding and further developing our they have the opportunity to pursue their own research measures and programmes geared towards families and goals based on a limited but secure budget. The positions life phases. The most recent certification was in 2019. are highly coveted; they are advertised internationally and awarded on a competitive basis. This funding programme has proven successful for more than 50 years and has been adopted by many science organizations in Germany and abroad.

8 MAX PLANCK SOCIETY 9 International collaboration

he Max Planck Society is the international flag- T ship of German science: in addition to five Institutes abroad, we also run 20 Max Planck Centers in collabora- tion with partners such as Harvard and Princeton/USA, Science Po /France, University College London/UK, ETH Zurich/CHE, and the University of Tokyo/Japan.

There are now some 70 partner groups in Asia, Eastern Europe and South America – these act as bridgeheads for German science abroad. They are led by particularly tal- ented young foreign researchers who return to their coun- tries of origin after a research stay at a Max Planck Insti- tute and who we support in setting up a scientific working group. In recognition of expanding international cooper- ation and promoting young international researchers, the Max Planck Society was awarded the Spanish Prince of Asturias Award in 2013.

Our Institutes are networked worldwide through interna- tional cooperation and projects. They are involved in more than 2,500 projects with international partners – from the global climate measurement campaign to the Icarus project being implemented on the International Space Station ISS to observe animal movements from space, Exchange through operation of the particle accelerator LHC at the European brilliant minds – Nuclear Research Centre in Geneva, and projects with the international Latin American countries where concepts are being devel- partner groups. oped to strengthen human rights in those countries.

10 MAX PLANCK SOCIETY 11 Interactive science events give visitors the opportunity to participate. Public science

esearch at the highest level is one thing – making it R accessible to others is another. We offer information on a range of different channels – via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, on our ↘ own website and in the quarterly scientific magazine ↘ MaxPlanckResearch.

In order to enable anyone who is interested in finding information about the work carried out at our Insti- tutes, we regularly open our laboratories, libraries and workshops to the public with events such as the “Long Night of Science” and open days. The Institutes organ- ize science slams and science shows as well as guided tours, school talks and exhibitions.

With the four-page BIO-, GEO- and TECHMAX booklets for upper secondary schools, we also support teachers in their efforts to integrate current research topics into the school curriculum. The MAX booklets are supplemented with a wide range of images, videos and podcasts on the media portal ↘ max-wissen.de (only in German). Both entertaining and informative: At some Max Planck Institutes, school pupils also have ­science shows. the opportunity to take a pupil internship or gain their first experimental experience by participating in the Pupils’ Lab.

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BAD MÜNSTEREIFEL CONSTANCE GÖTTINGEN KAISERSLAUTERN MÜNSTER SITES ABROAD Effelsberg Radio MPI of Animal Behavior MPI for Biophysical Chemistry MPI for Software Systems MPI for Molecular Biomedicine (branch of the MPI for Radio As- MPI for Dynamics and Self-­ (also see Saarbrücken) tronomy, Bonn) DORTMUND Organization PLÖN MANAUS, BRAZIL MPI of Molecular MPI for Experimental Medicine LEIPZIG MPI of Evolutionary Biology Branch of the MPI for Chemistry, BAD NAUHEIM MPI for Solar System Research MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology Mainz MPI for Heart and Lung Research DRESDEN MPI for the Study of Religious and MPI for Human Cognitive and POTSDAM MPI for Chemical Physics of Solids Ethnic Diversity Brain Sciences MPI of Colloids and Interfaces FLORENCE, ITALY BERLIN MPI of Molecular Cell Biology and MPI for Mathematics in the MPI for Gravitational Physics Kunsthistorisches Institut Fritz Haber Institute of the Genetics GREIFSWALD ­Sciences (also see ) in Florenz – MPI Max Planck Society MPI for the Physics of Complex Sub -institute of the MPI for Plasma MPI of Molecular Plant Physiology MPI for the History of Science Systems Physics, Garching MAGDEBURG ROME, ITALY MPI for Human Development MPI for Dynamics of Complex ROSTOCK Bibliotheca Hertziana – MPI for Infection Biology DÜSSELDORF HALLE (SAALE) Technical Systems MPI for Demographic Research MPI for Art History MPI for Molecular Genetics MPI für Eisenforschung GmbH MPI for Microstructure Physics Max Planck Unit for the Science of MPI for Social Anthropology MAINZ SAARBRÜCKEN LUXEMBOURG, Pathogens ERLANGEN MPI for Chemistry MPI for Informatics LUXEMBOURG MPI for the Science of Light HAMBURG (also see Manaus, Brazil) MPI for Software Systems MPI Luxembourg for International, BOCHUM MPI for Comparative and MPI for Research (also see Kaiserslautern)­ European and Regulatory Proce- MPI for Cyber Security and Privacy FRANKFURT AM MAIN ­International Private Law dural Law (in development) MPI of MPI for Meteorology MARBURG SEEWIESEN MPI for Brain Research MPI for the Structure and Dynamics MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology MPI for Ornithology NIJMEGEN, BONN MPI for Empirical Aesthetics of Matter THE ­NETHERLANDS MPI for Mathematics MPI for European Legal History MARTINSRIED STUTTGART MPI for Psycholinguistics MPI for Radio Astronomy Max Planck Research Unit HANOVER MPI of MPI for Intelligent Systems ­(also see Bad Münstereifel) for ­Neurogenetics Sub -institute of the MPI for MPI of Neurobiology (also see Tübingen) JUPITER, FLORIDA / USA MPI for Research on Collective Ernst Strüngmann Institute ­Gravitational Physics, Potsdam MPI for Solid State Research Max Planck Florida Institute Goods MÜLHEIM AN DER RUHR for Neuroscience caesar research center FREIBURG HEIDELBERG MPI for Chemical Energy TÜBINGEN MPI for Immunobiology and MPI for Astronomy ­Conversion MPI for Biological Cybernetics ­Epigenetics MPI for Comparative Public Law MPI für Kohlenforschung MPI for Developmental Biology MPI for Marine Microbiology MPI for the Study of Crime, Security and International Law ­(independent foundation) MPI for Intelligent Systems Institute / Research Unit and Law MPI for Medical Research (also see Stuttgart) MUNICH Subinstitute / Branch COLOGNE MPI for Nuclear Physics Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of Other Research Institution MPI for Biology of Ageing GARCHING MPI for Innovation and Competition the Max Planck Society Associated MPI for Metabolism Research MPI for Astrophysics JENA MPI for Physics Biology & Medicine Section MPI for Plant Breeding Research MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics MPI for Biogeochemistry MPI of Psychiatry Chemistry, Physics & MPI for the Study of Societies MPI for Plasma Physics MPI for Chemical Ecology MPI for Social Law and Social ­Technology Section (also see Greifswald) MPI for the Science of Human Policy Human Sciences Section MPI of Quantum Optics History MPI for Tax Law and Public Finance

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