FIAS has been able to recruit the neuroinformatician Prof. Dr. Gordon Pipa as a new Fellow. The Chair of Neuroinformatics and Director of the Institute of Cognitive Science at the University of Osnabrück focuses on information processing in the brain. In doing so, he uses methods ranging from mathematical description and computer-based methods to machine learning and artificial intelligence.

In his new book, Luciano Rezzolla takes us on a voyage of discovery to black holes. In doing so, he manages to reach readers of all knowledge levels and to draw a fascinating arc from the basic principles of gravity to the modern research results of relativistic astrophysics. The popular science book was published in German by C. H. Beck; the English version by Cambridge University Press is available since March 2023.

A mathematically inspired extension of Einstein's general theory of relativity provides new insights into space and time. In their recent publications, David Vasak et al. of Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) describe how the torsion of spacetime can explain the dark energy of standard cosmology.

We welcome two new PIs, each with a postdoc, to the CMMS team: Dr. Cornelia Pokalyuk and Prof. Dr. Gemma Roig.

The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Bogolyubov Institute of Theoretical Physics has awarded an honorary doctorate to Prof. Horst Stöcker.

Charles Wilmot defended his doctoral thesis on behavioural learning in robotics (Jochen Triesch’s group) on December 2nd 2022.

With a wonderful lecture on the physics of snowflakes, Franziska Matthäus enchanted her audience at the public Christmas Lecture at FIAS - entirely in rhymes.

A few drops of blood could be enough to predict the course of influenza infection. This is suggested by a study conducted by the team of Esteban Hernandez-Vargas at FIAS, together with immunologists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and the University Hospital Magdeburg.

Pavel Kisel from Ivan Kisel's research group defended his thesis on Nov 3rd. In his doctorate, he studied "strange particles".

Theoretical physicist first woman and youngest member of FIAS Faculty

Neutron stars are extremely dense inside: They reach masses comparable to twice that of the sun - having a size equivalent to the city of Frankfurt (10-14 km radius). Therefore, these compact objects serve as unique laboratories for studying the properties of dense matter. A research group at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) now deployed deep learning techniques to add further constraints on the stars’ interiors.

A significantly improved model for earlier earthquake detection is described in two recent publications of Nishtha Srivastava’s group at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS). Their model detects earthquakes more reliably and faster than previous studies, which can simplify advance warnings, especially in less developed regions of the world.

Franziska Matthäus' group is happy to have won three poster prizes at the European Conference on Mathematical and Theoretical Biology, https://ecmtb2022.org/. This large conference in the research field, with 750 participants, awarded 13 poster prizes. Three of these went to the FIAS group: Zoë Lange for the Best Poster in Developmental Biology, Gustavo Hernandez-Mejia for the Best Poster in Epidemiology, and Marc Pereyra received the Lewis Wolpert Prize for Best Poster. "I'm super-proud of all three of them," says Matthäus.

A team led by Sebastian Thallmair at FIAS investigates the interactions of proteins and lipids (fats) in membranes by means of simulations. In the barrel-shaped Tubby protein, they identified a previously unknown binding site that could help to understand various diseases.

How abstract knowledge is stored in the brain is being studied by psychologists and computer scientists in the new DFG research group ARENA. The findings should contribute to making artificially intelligent (AI) systems more efficient and flexible.

A protein (CD30) sitting on Hodgkin's lymphoma tumour cells is an important diagnostic marker for this cancer. But CD30 is also found on rare activated immune cells. Therefore, a team led by Martin-Leo Hansmann from the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) and Ralf Küppers (Universitätsklinik Essen), with support from the Wilhelm Sander Foundation, investigated whether CD30 cells in inflammatory reactions are precursors of Hodgkin's lymphoma tumour cells and how these CD30-positive cells differ. The results suggest that the inflammatory reactions are not cancer precursors and that the two types of CD30 cells differ significantly in the relationships they maintain with other cells in the tissue.

The Philipp Schwartz Initiative for Researchers at Risk is supporting the FIAS visiting scientist Dr. Roman Poberezhnyuk with an 18-month scholarship beginning 1 August 2022.

Bastian Eppler from Matthias Kaschube's FIAS research group defended his thesis on 19 July and celebrated with the team afterwards. In his doctorate, he studied the mechanisms of how the brain stores information stably over long periods of time and at the same time integrates important new information quickly.

The Walter-Greiner-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der physikalischen Grundlagenforschung (for the support of foundational research in physics, WGG) awarded two Laureatus professorships for outstanding achievements in research and teaching. As a part of the 24th academic summer ceremony of the physics department at Goethe-University, the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) and the WGG several physicists were honoured. Prof. Dr. Luciano Rezzolla received the prestigious Carl Wilhelm Fueck Laureate Professorship for his work in the field of theoretical astrophysics. For many years he has conducted research as a Senior Fellow at FIAS and has been a part of the board of directors.

The city of Frankfurt honoured Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Volker Mosbrugger with the prestigious Goethe Plaque 2022, which is awarded annually to personalities of cultural life.