Nocturnal forays through science

Long Night of Science 2024

^{Jena (Germany) | November 25, 2024}

Icy temperatures and sleet on November 22 were more of an invitation to sit out on the sofa at home on Friday evening. However, over 12,000 enthusiastic science fans braved the moody autumn weather and roamed through this year's "Long Night of Science" in Jena. 1,300 of them paid a visit to the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF on the Beutenberg Campus.

Those who ventured out into the night last Friday despite the adverse weather conditions were richly rewarded. All over Jena, research, science and technology institutions once again opened their doors until midnight to welcome curious science fans. Fraunhofer IOF also provided insights into the latest technologies and developments.

In a total of four themed worlds, guests were able to discover Fraunhofer research "made in Jena" up close. In the "Space Adventure" exhibition, there were exhibits to marvel at, some of whose identical twins have already embarked on their journey into space. For example, a reflector telescope for the JUICE space mission, which set off for Jupiter's moon Ganymede in 2023 to explore its composition. However, the researchers also provided exciting insights into a number of future projects: Fraunhofer IOF researchers have built highly sensitive vibration sensors for the Einstein Telescope, a next-generation gravitational wave detector. When the Einstein Telescope goes into operation in the 2030s, these sensors will help to measure gravitational waves - such as those produced by the collision of black holes - and thus significantly expand our knowledge of the universe.

In addition, visitors to this year's Long Night of Science were once again invited to take "quantum leaps into the future". In the quantum themed room, researchers showed how light particles can be used to communicate in a practically tap-proof manner in the future and how the latest quantum imaging methods will revolutionize the medicine of tomorrow. Guests were able to find out exactly what the legendary superposition of quantum particles is all about in a tricky game that was somewhat reminiscent of the classic mobile game Snake: The aim was to use an unpredictable control system and squeezed laser light to move to precise positions on a computer in order to achieve the highest possible score.   

In the "Light and Mobility" and "Seeing and Feeling in the Future" exhibitions, visitors continued to discover optical technology for robotics, safety technology and the traffic of the future. The clear crowd favorite among visitors of all ages was the robot dog SPOT, which - usually followed by a small crowd of people - roamed the institute all night long. Researchers at Fraunhofer IOF are using a combination of robot dog and special 3D sensors to make the latest 3D shape detection applications even more efficient in future.

As always, there was also a varied range of interactive activities for the youngest guests, which playfully introduced them to optical phenomena such as the diffraction of light or playing with colors at different wavelengths.

Scientific lectures instead of bedtime stories

As the visitors strolled through the various themed rooms at the Fraunhofer Institute in Albert-Einstein-Strasse, some of them may have wondered where scientists actually get their ideas for the latest developments. The answer is often that they are inspired by nature. Prof. Dr. Norbert Kaiser, for example, explained which phenomena from the animal and plant world in particular are used in research in his lecture "The secret of black eyes and the miracle of light", which took place opposite Fraunhofer IOF in the Abbe Center of Photonics.

In order to continue learning from nature, its protection is an important concern for Fraunhofer researchers. Through its participation in the CO2M mission, a satellite mission that will investigate the effects of man-made CO2 emissions on climate change from 2026, the institute is making an important contribution here. Dr. Falk Eilenberger shed light on this in his lecture "Nano-optics for climate research: How optics from Jena help us to understand our climate even better."

Finally, Rohan Kundu emphasized the potential of micro-optics for the automotive industry in a third presentation. He showed how micro-optics can make road traffic safer in the future through applications in headlights or dynamic flashing lights.

"Long Night of Science" at the project center in Erfurt

Two weeks earlier, on November 8, the state capital of Erfurt had already invited visitors to take a nocturnal stroll through research and science. The Fraunhofer Project Center, located at Urbicher Kreuz in Erfurt, also opened its doors here. Three Fraunhofer Institutes from Thuringia and Saxony - the Institute of Photonic Microsystems IPMS from Dresden, the Institute of Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI from Leipzig and the Fraunhofer IOF from Jena - combine their research through interdisciplinary work at the project center. Fraunhofer colleagues also offered insights into the broad range of Fraunhofer research in Central Germany with information stands, exhibits and scientific presentations, which were very popular with the public.

Long night of sciences 2022

Nightly forays through science

^{Jena (Germany) | November 28, 2022}

Wandering through otherwise closed laboratories at night and discovering science that sometimes seems almost magical: This was possible again on November 25 at the "Long Night of Sciences" in Jena. The Center of Excellence in Photonics also opened its doors and welcomed numerous science fans.

The night has a special magic. This is especially true for nights when the veil of everyday life is lifted - as happened last Friday. While everything outside was shrouded in darkness, the curtain, that covers many scientific secretes, was once again pulled back in many Jena laboratories and research institutions on the occasion of the "Long Night of Sciences" (LNdW): More than 400 offerings scattered throughout the city of light attracted science fans young and old to discover what sophisticated ideas and technologies lie behind things that sometimes seem quite ordinary to us and sometimes downright magical.

A total of 10,000 guests wandered through the long November night, which invited visitors to an exclusive look behind the scenes of science and research. The Center of Excellence in Photonics, consisting of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF and the Institute for Applied Physics at Friedrich Schiller University, was also pleased with the lively demand, with over 2,000 visits.

Quanta and their Twins: Opening on the Beutenberg Campus

The Science Night was opened at the Abbe Center on the Beutenberg Campus. The Beutenberg is home to nine research institutes and two technology centers, which in turn serve 50 companies. A fitting place, then, to start the night's enthusiasm for science and research together. And indeed, the visitors did not have to wait long to dive deep into highly scientific material: Dr. Falk Eilenberger, researcher at the Fraunhofer IOF as well as at the IAP, took this year's awarding of the Nobel Prize for Physics to three quantum researchers as an opportunity to introduce the guests to the fascinating world of quanta. 

For this purpose, he performed a so-called "Bell test" on stage. In this test, pairs of entangled particles (e. g. photons) are generated and sent to different locations. The "particles" Eilenberger used for demonstration purposes were, in this case, the audience present. Each guest was given a personal quantum twin - namely a character from the popular cartoon series "The Simpsons". Many smiles compensated for the fact that even despite Eilenberger's lively and entertaining presentation, some quantum secrets remain secret for the time being. Nevertheless, this experimental insight into the fascinating and at times almost magical world of quanta revealed their gigantic application potential for a safer, healthier and more comfortable life for mankind in the future.

How researchers from Jena in particular are working to improve our lives with the help of quanta, but also with all kinds of other know-how from the fields of optics and photonics, could be experienced by visitors directly next door in our institutes: There, employees presented a wide range of technologies from the fields of space research, health, light and mobility, as well as sensor technology and robotics in various experience worlds. 

Great science for little optics fans

But it was not only in its main building that the Fraunhofer IOF welcomed bright guests: the institute began in 1992 - exactly 30 years ago - in the so-called "Owl House" in Jena's city center. For capacity reasons, it moved to a new building on the Beutenberg Campus in 2002. For two years now, the building has once again been populated by employees of the institute. In the next few years, more colleagues are to follow and move from the Beutenberg, where a new research building is being constructed in parallel for the Fraunhofer IOF, which continues to grow, to the branch office at Schillerstraße 1. 

Accordingly, the institute invited visitors to discover science from three decades of optics and photonics research "made by Fraunhofer" in the Owl House as well. The exhibition there focused on the three German Future Prizes awarded to researchers from Jena in 2003, 2007 and 2021. The games and craft activities for young scientists, which helped to explain the complex technology behind the award-winning innovations in a way that was suitable for children, were particularly popular (more information on the award-winning developments).

At the IAP, the laser marker was once again a permanent favorite in the truest sense of the word. But stations that invited visitors to get active themselves were also in high demand. For example, the smart table tennis racket, developed by IAP alumni Simon Stützer and Toni Eichelkraut, could be tested. There was also a great deal of interest in the light workshop and all kinds of amazement at the possibilities of microstructure technology, which can make spaceships fly with great public appeal. Interested visitors also got to talk to the developers of the peak power laser and the former IAP scientist Dr. Tino Eidam, who was not only able to explain the technology behind it at the AFS GmbH booth, but also had fun "adjusting the sand laser".

This diverse offering was rounded off by informative and practical presentations from both institutes.