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OUR SITES he 86 institutes and research facilities of the Max Planck Society T are distributed among 39 locations in Germany, with five in other countries. They are assigned to three sections reflecting the research spectrum: the Chemistry, Physics and Technology Section, the Biology and Medicine Section, and the Human Sciences 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 scientists join MaxPlanck every year. Hamburg Bremen BRANDENBURG LOWER SAXONY Berlin Hanover Potsdam Magdeburg Münster SAXONY-ANHALT NORTH RHINE WESTPHALIA IMPRINT Dortmund Mülheim Halle Published by Bochum Göttingen Leipzig Düsseldorf MaxPlanckGesellschaft SAXONY Cologne zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. Jena Dresden Bonn Marburg THURINGIA Bad Münstereifel HESSE Communications Department Bad Nauheim Hofgartenstr. 8, D80539 Munich RHINELAND PALATINATE Frankfurt Mainz Tel.: +49 89 21081276 SAARLAND Kaiserslautern EMail: [email protected] Erlangen Saarbrücken Internet: www.mpg.de Heidelberg BAVARIA Stuttgart Design: mattweis, Munich Tübingen Garching BADEN- Munich October 2020 WÜRTTEMBERG Martinsried 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 BYNCSA), S. 6–7: ASDEX research facility: © Volker Steger, MAX PLANCK Florence Nijmegen 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 Max Planck Society (MPG) are words spoken by the physicist that our organisation was named after. Excel- lent minds, a high degree of freedom and outstanding work conditions create the foundation for basic research at the very highest level. And thus 20 Nobel Prize Laure- ates are among the ranks of the Max Planck Society to date. The Max Planck Society is an internationally recognized, autonomous science organization with a longstanding tradition. In 1948, it succeeded the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (KWG), which was established in 1911 and which num- bered renowned researchers among its ranks such as Albert Einstein and Otto Hahn, 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 Karl Ziegler | 1964 Feodor Lynen | however, and left the MPG with a problematic legacy. At 1967 Manfred Eigen | 1973 Konrad Lorenz | 1984 Georges the end of the 1990s, the Society initiated a comprehen- Köhler | 1985 Klaus von Klitzing | 1986 Ernst Ruska | 1988 sive programme of research to reappraise the history Robert Huber | 1988 Hartmut Michel | 1988 Johann Deisen- of its predecessor organization under the Third Reich. hofer | 1991 Erwin Neher | 1991 Bert Sakmann | 1995 Paul Many KWG scientists were involved in the Nazi system in Crutzen | 1995 Christiane NüssleinVolhard | 2005 Theodor various ways. Max Planck Society has assumed historical Hänsch | 2007 Gerhard Ertl | 2014 Stefan Hell | responsibility for these actions. 2020 Emmanuelle Charpentier | 2020 Reinhard Genzel 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 lightactivated 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 longterm 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 firstclass 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 NATURE – also testify to the outstanding work done at our Institutes. In the principal rankings such as Nature Index 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, projectspe- cific funding is provided by the German federal govern- ment, the German states and the European Union 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 spinoffs – 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 Minerva Fast Track and MinervaFemmeNet. Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS). Here, early career In addition, the Lise Meitner 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- nonscientific field. The Society offers some 500 voca- ties and nonuniversity 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, topicrelated interdisci- as in laboratories, in IT and animal husbandry. plinary networks, they are able to offer unique conditions for getting started in science. Familyconscious 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