16 ’20 Briefe ausBerlin Alumni Newsletter of the KRUPP INTERNSHIP PROGRAM FOR STANFORD STUDENTS IN GERMANY © Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH Günter Wicker. Berlin tech startups face COVID challenges by Kelly Ford My Personal Trip to Panama My Year as a Watchdog by Dante Zhu by Justus-Casimir Braun Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung Grußwort der Krupp-Stiftung von Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ursula Gather Dieses Jahr ist aufgrund der Corona-Pandemie ein be- Gesprächen zeigt sich immer wieder,wie wichtig das Pro- sonderes, auch für das Krupp Internship Programm für gramm für jeden einzelnen, aber auch für eine gute Studierende der Stanford Universität. Zum ersten Mal Beziehung zwischen jungen Amerikanern und Deutsch- seit Bestehen des Programms – und das sind bereits 38 land ist. Jahre – fiel der alljährliche Besuch der Stipendiatinnen Der „Alumni Newsletter“ informiert seit 15 Jahren ak- und Stipendiaten in der Villa Hügel in Essen aufgrund tuelle und ehemalige Stipendiaten des „Krupp Intern- der Pandemie aus. Auch konnte in diesem Jahr nur eine ship Program“, für neue Stipendiaten werden nützliche kleine Zahl von Stipendiaten ein Praktikum in einem und in diesem Jahr ganz neue Erfahrungen eines Unternehmen in Deutschland absolvieren. Angesichts Remote-Praktikums weitergegeben, und Ehemalige der besonderen Bedingungen in diesem Jahr bin ich sehr können schöne Erinnerungen auffrischen. In einer Zeit dankbar, dass dennoch das Programm nicht vollständig der sozialen Distanz kommt dem Newsletter eine be- ausgesetzt wurde, sondern fünf Praktikanten und sonders verbindende Aufgabe zu. Ich freue mich, auch Praktikantinnen die Möglichkeit hatten, berufliche und in diesem Jahr alle Alumni des Krupp Internship Pro- kulturelle Erfahrungen in einem deutschen Unterneh- gram herzlich grüßen zu können und wünsche Ihnen, men zu sammeln. dass Sie gesund und wohlbehalten durch diese Zeit Ich wünsche mir sehr, dass der persönliche Austausch kommen. mit den Stipendiatinnen und Stipendiaten im nächsten Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ursula Gather, Vorsitzende des Kuratoriums Jahr in Essen wieder möglich sein wird. Denn in diesen der Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung Tschüss, Tegel! © Arne Müseler / arne-mueseler.com / CC-BY-SA-3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons. An estimated 99% of our students have landed at the The photo on the cover years of construction, first images of the “Otto Lilienthal” airport Berlin-Tegel to travel from shows a view of the new including a delay of nine airport’s interior design (#8/2012). there to Dahlem. It has been closed for good as of No- airport, Berlin Bran- years and a cost growth denburg (BER), named from 2B€to 6B€. The For masochists, there is vember 8th. Since 2019, the facility has been protect- after Willy Brandt architecture, reminiscent the “BER Bausimulator” ed as a historical monument, due to it’s novel planning (1913–1992), former of Mies van der Rohe’s (STEAM), a simulation and construction by gmp Architects from 1969 to 1975 head of SPD and pre- National Gallery in Pots- game which you can use to damer Straße, also stems recreate the airport. The (there were some modifications especially after 9/11). sident of the Socialist In- ternational, former Go- from gmp Architects, but further the construction verning Mayor of Berlin in 2012 they were process progresses, the and, from 1969 to 1974, incorrectly replaced as more defects you find to the fourth chancellor of general planners which repair before the opening the Federal Republic. In resulted in further con- in 2037, and the more 1971, he received the struction delays. This was your costs increase. Nobel Peace Prize for for also the year when Amy However, you are only his policy of détente Egerter (Architectural allowed to delay the during the Cold War. Design ’14), Krupp Intern airport opening three The airport was opened on at Arcadis Deutschland times. October 31st after 14 GmbH, provided us the © JOVIS Verlag The Beuth Hochschule für Technik Berlin/ University of airport combined simplicity, unity and diversity, struc- Applied Sciences will move into Terminal A as the cen- tural order (hexa- and trigones), and distinctiveness to ter of the Berlin TXL science and research campus. In achieve functionality in an aesthetic form. TXL was addition to research and industry projects, there is con- planned for 2.5 million passengers per year, and before struction planned on the 200 ha site for 10,000 resi- the pandemic it could handle 25 million. dential buildings of industrial timber. The non-listed An insider farewell tour of the airport with one of the Terminal C will be used temporarily as a vaccination architects, Meinhard Gerkan, was produced by the Lan- center. desdenkmalamt Berlin: “Bye, bye Flughafen Tegel – When it was completed, Tegel was considered the Hallo Denkmal!” most modern airport in the world. It was the “airport For nostalgics, Peter Ortner’s illustrated book “The of short distances,” with only 30 m between the cab Essence of Berlin-Tegel. Taking Stock of an Airport’s stand and the gate – a world record – and without the Architecture” (Berlin: JOVIS 2020) shows the airport coercion of consumption. The Hamburg office of Mein- design from the perspective of travelers and demon- hard von Gerkan, Volkwin Marg and Klaus Nickels was strates the “humanity” at its essence, as reviewer Pe- able to realize its design principles in an ideal way; the ter Richter pointed out (SZ, 5.6.2020, 11). Neu in Berlin (I) The replica of the City Palace is almost finished. The Humboldt Forum is gradually opening with exhibitions on the Humboldt brothers, Berlin’s connection to the world, and the interaction and crisis of natural and social systems. In the summer of 2021, the new subway station, Museumsinsel, will open on the Schlossplatz, extending the U5 line to connect the Hauptbahnhof to Hönow. Other new stations on the U5 line are Unter den Linden and Rotes Rathaus. Links: https://www.humboldtforum.org https://www.humboldt-labor.de https://berliner-schloss.de https://www.projekt-u5.de What’s (not) New in Berlin by Karen Kramer What is unfortunately not new in Berlin, nor anywhere ly ubiquitous testing, raises our hope that studying else, is “Corona” – that is the catch-all term Germans abroad, in Berlin and around the world, will soon again use to reference not only the virus of that name but also become a reality for Stanford students. As Wolf de- the havoc it has wrought on our health, our families, our scribes further down, the pandemic forced us to reduce the Krupp Internship Program to only five students, two of whom were able to work on site because travel was not necessary: In one case the internship placement predated the pandemic, and in the other Berlin happens to be the student’s primary residence. The remaining three worked remotely from the US. We are extremely grateful to the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation for supporting remote interns, despite the fact that collab- orating remotely is a less immersive overall experience than working on- location in Germany. But as all five of the 2020 Krupp cohort had pre- viously studied at Stanford in Berlin, had sunk roots in this culture and had the requisite language skills, building on that experience remote- Villa Hügel with the Program, the yearly Below: The Villa’s new ly proved to be a remarkably effective way to outsmart Baldeney Lake. Fellowship Meeting in weather-resistant the pandemic. Their essays in this year’s Briefe attest to For the first time in the Essen had to be garden gate. the fact that their internships proved to be not only pro- history of the Krupp cancelled. ductive and efficient, but rewarding also in the sense of communities, our institutions, and our economy. As you are aware, Stanford, along with most universities world- wide, instituted a myriad of mitigating measures to in- hibit the spread of the pandemic and has curtailed in- person activities since the end of winter quarter. For the past eight months, most instruction has been remote and most undergraduates have resided pretty much anywhere but the Stanford campus (though exceptions have been made for students for whom study at home is not an option, including foreign students whose time zones preclude participation in live online courses conducted in Pacific Standard Time). The Bing Overseas Studies Programs have followed suit and will remain closed at least through spring quarter 2021. But After infestation by the 2006, our hedges died. the prospect that effec- box tree moth They were replaced by tive, deliverable vaccines (cydalima perspectalis: selected flowers. We Buchsbaumzünsler), are looking forward to will soon be available, in which is observed in their full blooming next tandem with increasing- Germany only since spring. 4 personal interaction and team collaboration even with partners half a world away. Although in Germany, too, the pandemic has taken a heavy toll, its management has been relatively successful by international comparison as a result of many factors. These include a closely networked and coor- dinated system of clinics and hospitals, uni- versal health care, and a robust, pre-exist- ing system of “short work” subsidies to en- terprises designed to abate severe economic consequences of unforeseen developments. The BOSP programs have enjoyed the un- wavering support of the university through- out. To be sure, the Villa is entirely vacated except for essential on-site work; the Berlin German language Nations in October During their H.G. lecturer Jochen 1813), l-r: Kyle Field Trip on Eu- Wohlfeil with Feliciano, Troy ropean Expansion to winter quarter Lawrence, Cyprus, winter students in front of Josephine Flohr. quarter students the Völker- Visits to Leipzig with faculty and schlachtdenkmal are a fixed part of staff visited the in Leipzig the German Ministry of Foreign (Monument to the courses.Duisburg Affairs of the Battle of the area.