Long Night of Sciences 2022: This is our program!

Fascinating Science | Opening Event (German language only)
5 p.m. – 6 p.m. | Location: Beutenberg Campus, Abbe Center Beutenberg (Casino), Hans-Knöll-Straße 1

This year, some of the institutes at the Jeaner Beutenberg Campus are celebrating the 25th or 30th anniversary of their existence - a good reason to focus on the research landscape at the Beutenberg! With around 3,500 employees from more than 80 nations, research is conducted here in nine institutes, two start-up centers and a biotechnology-oriented company around the motto "Life Science meets Physics" and the development of new products is driven forward. On the occasion of the "Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften" in Jena, all guests have the opportunity to enter into an exciting dialogue with the scientists.

The musical supporting program of the opening ceremony of "Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften" will be arranged by the Klezmer band Antjes Weltempfänger. The Lord Mayor of the City of Jena, Dr. Thomas Nitzsche welcomes the guests. The opening speech of the chairman of the Beutenberg-Campus Jena e.V., Prof. Dr. Peter Zipfel, with reference to the history and the important anniversaries forms the frame of this opening event. An experimental show by Dr. Falk Eilenberger (Fraunhofer IOF/FSU-IAP) will get the guests in the mood for the fascinating and varied evening program throughout the city.

Adventure of Space | Exhibition
6 p.m. – 12 a.m. | Location: Beutenberg Campus, Fraunhofer IOF, Albert-Einstein-Str. 7, Foyer

How can we look across the universe back to the Big Bang? In our exhibition "Adventure of Space" we introduce you to technologies that reach for the stars.

Far above our heads in the depths of space they fly: telescopes and high-performance optics developed by researchers from Jena. From there, they observe our planet, for example, to make the consequences of climate change visible. Or they look up to 13 billion years into the past and provide answers to big questions such as, "Where did we come from?" In this exhibition, you will learn, among other things, what contribution researchers from Jena have made to the James Webb telescope, mankind's largest and most powerful space observatory to date, and which optical technologies will be used in future space missions.

Tap-proof communication with light | Exhibition
6 p.m. – 12 a.m. | Location: Beutenberg Campus, Fraunhofer IOF, Albert-Einstein-Str. 7, Fresnel Room

Is it possible to send digital data securely with "enchanted" light particles? You bet it is! Researchers at Fraunhofer IOF are developing state-of-the-art systems to better protect our data using so-called quantum communication.

There are many things you can do with light particles, the quanta. They can be magically altered so that two particles always know exactly what the other is doing, even when they are very far apart. This effect of entanglement is being used by researchers at Fraunhofer IOF to build a secure data network based on the world of light particles. In the near future, this will be used to secure sensitive communication between authorities or government institutions. In the future, however, we will also be able to use it to encrypt our online banking and perhaps even private communication, e.g. via Messenger. 

Recognize and Understand | Exhibition
6 p.m. – 12 a.m. | Location: Beutenberg Campus, Fraunhofer IOF, Albert-Einstein-Str. 7, Otto-Schott-Room

I see what you don't see - about the difficulty of machines to interact with transparent objects and the solution of the problem.

What do robots and birds have in common? They both have difficulty recognizing transparent objects. Because they have their pitfalls: other objects can be reflected on them, they can dazzle, or they can be absolutely transparent.  Researchers at the Fraunhofer IOF had an idea of how to enable robots to "see" glass. In our experience world "Recognize and understand" we show you the technology that will enable robots and machines to recognize and interact with transparent objects in the future. Furthermore, you will see an ultra-compact multispectral camera that makes the invisible visible to the human eye. This camera can be used to determine the degree of ripeness of fruit or, in the future, to observe when a plant needs water.

World of Health | Exhibition
6 p.m. – 12 a.m. | Location: Beutenberg Campus, Fraunhofer IOF, Albert-Einstein-Str. 7, Carl-Zeiss-Saal

Doctor 3D and the lab assistant in your pocket. We present amazing technologies dedicated to physical well-being and human health.

For example, how can 3D sensors help improve the chances of curing cancer? How do you pack an entire research lab onto a tiny chip? And how will we be able to tell in the future that a person is unwell even before we can examine them? You can find out all about this in our health world of experience.

Light and Mobility | Exhibition
6 p.m. – 12 a.m. | Location: Beutenberg Campus, Fraunhofer IOF, Albert-Einstein-Str. 7, Carl-Zeiss-Saal

From the labs to the road: Our exhibition "Light and Mobility" presents technologies that will make the car of the future not only more elegant, but also more functional and safer.

A modern camera system from Fraunhofer IOF will help prevent serious accidents in the future. It is built in such a way that it can capture safety-relevant information in the vehicle interior. But Fraunhofer researchers are also illuminating the environment around the vehicle. Tiny projectors project information onto the road and headlights made up of thousands of tiny microlenses ensure the road is perfectly illuminated at night. Another exhibit shows how high-speed 3D sensors can be used in crash tests to gather important information about the vehicle's behavior in an accident.

At the speed of light towards the future - Discover 30 years of research at Fraunhofer IOF | Exhibition
6 p.m. – 12 a.m. | Location: City center, Fraunhofer IOF (location Eulenhaus), Schillerstraße 1

We bring light into the darkness - in the truest sense of the word! Because Fraunhofer IOF uses light as a tool and has been developing high-tech at the traditional optics location Jena for 30 years now. Come with us on a journey through time to the beginnings!

Do you also have an LED lamp at home? In all likelihood, you have more than one. And that means you already have a revolutionary innovation from Fraunhofer IOF in your home. After all, Jena researchers played a major role in the invention of the commercially available LED lamp, which can now be found in almost every household. And it is just one example of numerous technological masterpieces that scientists have produced here.

Since 1992, the institute has been researching light-based technologies that make our lives safer, more efficient and more sustainable. Whether for use in medicine, for more powerful microchips, autonomous driving, in wave space research or in the fight against climate change - optical and photonic research are the key to many challenges of the future.

For this reason, innovations from the Jena institute have already been honored three times with the "Deutsche Zukunftspreis" (engl: German Future Prize), the German President's award for outstanding innovation - more than any other Fraunhofer research institute. In addition to the LED lamp, high-performance lasers for industry and a new manufacturing process for even smaller and more powerful computer chips were also honored.

This success story began right in the middle of Jena's inner start: at Schillerstraße 1, the so-called "Eulenhaus" (engl.: Owl House). There we invite you to discover the history of our institute at an exhibition, but also to learn more about the three German Future Prizes that migrated to Jena in the past years.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall? Exploring distant galaxies and planets with mirror optics | Lecture (German Language)
6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. | Location: Abbe Center of Photonics, Albert-Einstein-Straße 6, Auditorium

Whether instruments for improved climate research on Earth or system solutions for the exploration of the Big Bang, high-precision mirrors always form the basis for state-of-the-art optical systems. Scientists of Fraunhofer IOF will present how high-precision optics are developed and used for satellite-based remote sensing, planetary missions and Earth observation.

The most famous and currently largest space telescope is the James Webb Telescope (JWST) for the exploration of stars and the search for extraterrestrial planets. On December 25, 2021, the JWST was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Spaceport on its journey to the outer point of our solar system. On board are six metal mirrors from Fraunhofer IOF, which are integrated in the MIRI instrument. Other mirror optics from the IOF are on their way to Mercury "MERTIS on mission Bepi Colombo, launched 2018", flying to Jupiter and its moon Ganymede "GALA telescope on mission JUICE, launch date 2023" or observing the Earth from space "satellite mission EnMAP, launched 2022". For the production of metal optics, a unique technology line with diamond machining, correction processes, polishing techniques and coating processes has been developed and sustainably established at the IOF. The lecture explains the fabrication of metal mirrors, the integration and the structure of the optical systems. Spectacular images of distant galaxies from the depths of space and high-resolution images of the Earth will be shown. For more than 20 years, Jena and especially the Fraunhofer IOF have been leading the way with their outstanding know-how for the development of optical instruments.

You can please get free already, was yesterday | Lecture (German Language)
7 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. – 8:45 p.m. | Location: Abbe Center of Photonics, Albert-Einstein-Straße 6, Auditorium

Scientists of Fraunhofer IOF present technical basics of multimodal real-time 3D sensor systems and fields of application in medical diagnosis and therapy.

Optical sensors allow the non-contact examination of patients, exclusively with the help of light. Fraunhofer IOF develops sensors that enable the three-dimensional measurement of persons or individual body parts in real time. Thus, movements and changes in shape can be recorded, tracked and analyzed live. Multimodal sensors not only see people in the visible light spectrum, but also observe additional spectral channels from the short-wave ultraviolet to the infrared thermal image. From this, for example, vital parameters such as pulse or body temperature can be derived without contact.

In the lecture, the technical basics of multimodal 3D sensor technology will be explained and a number of medical applications will be presented in which multimodal 3D sensor systems of Fraunhofer IOF are used for diagnosis or therapy:

• fast detection of vital parameters in the entrance area of system-relevant facilities
• monitoring of patient position during radiation therapies against cancer
• analysis of respiratory movements on the upper body
• Examination of facial paralysis (facial paresis)
• 3D motion analysis in rehabilitation to improve mobility
• Promotion of activity by combining 3D sensor technology and music

Some of the systems presented can be viewed and tried out next door at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF.

Lichtwerkstatt Jena - Your do-it-yourself workshop
7:30 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. | Location: Abbe Center of Photonics, Albert-Einstein-Straße 6, Auditorium

How science fiction becomes reality - The way to health scanners in medicine
8:45 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. | Location: Abbe Center of Photonics, Albert-Einstein-Straße 6, Auditorium