MET molecule (Arghittu)

June 13, 2022

FIAS part of collaborative research centre on cell membranes

As part of the new collaborative research centre (CRC) 1507, Roberto Covino's group will contribute to understand the role of the cell membrane in regulating fundamental cellular programs. With modelling, calculations, and computer simulations, they want to elucidate the complex interactions between membrane proteins and lipids.

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vulcano Stromboli

May 30, 2022

Measuring volcanic activity

The FIAS Seismology and Artificial Intelligence group used the Italian volcano Stromboli in the Mediterranean Sea as an example to develop a powerful module for immediately detecting and creating more complete seismo-volcanic event catalogs. These catalogs not only enable the evaluation of volcanic hazard but also the in-depth investigation of possible precursors based on the historic instrumental data.

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Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy (ESO)

May 12, 2022

FIAS team contributed to black hole image

Interpretation of huge masses of data

Eight super telescopes, many international working groups, and elaborate computer calculations over years led to the first image of the black hole at the center of our Milky Way.

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ukranian flag

May 11, 2022

FIAS supports Ukrainian scientists

Seven scientists have found a temporary research position at Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS). Personal commitment and the support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Polytechnic Foundation of Frankfurt am Main ensure financial security, research opportunities, and a temporary home in Frankfurt for two professors, five (post)doctoral students and their families.

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Eckhard Elsen

May 3, 2022

Eckhard Elsen new director at FIAS

New governance structures at the Frankfurt research institute

Prof. Dr. Eckhard Elsen is the new Scientific Director of the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) as of May 1, 2022. He thus replaces the previous five-member board including the executive and an administrative director. The basis for this new structure is an amendment to the statutes. With a single executive director at the helm processes and decisions in the institute will be rendered more efficient and coordination simplified.

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ELEMENTS Annual Conference

April 29, 2022

ELEMENTS Annual Conference

Research Cluster ELEMENTS at FIAS

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CMMS Talks Gasper Tkacik

April 28, 2022

Opening event: "CMMS Talks"

Prof. Gašper Tkačik from Institute of Science and Technology Austria speaks about Information Processing in Biological Systems

On 28.04.2022 Prof. Dr. Gašper Tkačik from Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST) starts the new talks series "CMMS Talks" with his presentation about "Statistical analysis and optimality of biological systems". The talks series will take place on a regular basis during the semester times within the frame of the LOEWE Project "CMMS" at FIAS.

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Mice Kaschube Publication Generalisation auditive Cortex

March 7, 2022

How does the brain link sensory impressions?

A new study shows flexible processing of sensory stimuli in the cerebral cortex

The brain's ability to store and generalize information is incredibly complex and diverse. But what happens at the level of neuronal networks in the process? In a new study, scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University-Mainz (JGU) and the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) have found that activity patterns in the brain, especially the auditory cortex, are not as stable as previously thought. This instability is crucial for the linking of sensory impressions.

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ukranian flag

March 1, 2022

FIAS in solidarity with Ukraine

Ukraine has been subjected to a war of aggression by Russia. This action, for which Vladimir Putin is solely responsible, is a blatant violation of international law and in no way justified. Our thoughts are with the Ukrainian people - with the people who are being injured and are dying in these minutes as a result of the war of aggression. There are many civilian casualties, among them children.

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PUNCH4NFDI Research Areas
© PUNCH4NFDI

January 24, 2022

How to use computer resources more effectively within experiments

The PUNCH4NFDI consortium is funded for five years

Scientific experiments on the fundamental constituents of matter and their interactions generate an increasing amount of data that must be processed and analyzed. Scientists from particle, astroparticle, hadron and nuclear physics have therefore joined forces to form a consortium. Its goal is to organize the huge data sets from many experiments in a "sustainable" way so that all data become easily findable, readily accessible, linkable as well as reusable. The participation of FIAS in the consortium PUNCH4NFDI ( Particles, Universe, NuClei, and Hadrons for the NFDI) is funded within the framework of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) for an initial period of five years with a total of almost 280,000 €.

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Prof. Dr. Hannah Elfner (Petersen)

December 14, 2021

Hannah Elfner was named "Scientist of the Year" 2021

The theoretical physicist will be honored at Goethe University

The Alfons and Gertrud Kassel Foundation awards the "Scientist of the Year" prize every second year to a scientist who, in addition to outstanding scientific achievements, is also committed to the work of young scientists. This year, FIAS Fellow Prof. Dr. Hannah Elfner receives the award, which is endowed with 25,000 euros.

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Expansion of the Universe
© NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

December 3, 2021

The uneven universe

Researchers study cosmic expansion using methods from many-body physics / Article published in “Physical Review Letters”

It is almost always assumed in cosmological calculations that there is a even distribution of matter in the universe. This is because the calculations would be much too complicated if the position of every single star were to be included. In reality, the universe is not uniform: in some places there are stars and planets, in others there is just a void. Physicists Michael te Vrugt and Prof. Raphael Wittkowski from the Institute of Theoretical Physics and the Center for Soft Nanoscience (SoN) at the University of Münster have, together with physicist Dr. Sabine Hossenfelder from the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS), developed a new model for this problem. Their starting point was the Mori-Zwanzig formalism, a method for describing systems consisting of a large number of particles with a small number of measurands. The results of the study have now been published in the journal “Physical Review Letters”.

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ISR  Institute of Seismological Research Gandhinagar

November 17, 2021

New research collaboration on artificial intelligence in geophysics

Cooperation agreement signed with The Institute of Seismological Research Gandhinagar

Earthquakes regularly cause devastating destruction in many regions around the world. Even though analysis and measurement methods have steadily evolved over the past decades, reliable prediction is still not possible. The occurrence of earthquakes within the stable interiors of tectonic plates is still an enigma. Gujarat, in northwest India, is one such region that witnessed two devastating earthquakes in a span of 200 years. FIAS and the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) in Gandhinagar have now agreed on long-term research cooperation using novel artificial intelligence methods to understand the earthquake occurrence in the region.

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Cooperation Agreement FIAS GU

November 12, 2021

Joining Forces in the Theoretical Natural Sciences

Goethe University and Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies agree on closer collaboration in new cooperation agreement

Starting next year, Goethe University and the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) will intensify and expand joint research projects and the exchange of scientific knowledge. A new cooperation agreement has laid the legal foundations for this. The contract was signed yesterday, on November 11th.

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Cover: Die unwiderstehliche Anziehung der Schwerkraft
© Luciano Rezzolla/C.H.Beck

November 5, 2021

The irresistible attraction of gravity

A new book by FIAS Senior Fellow Luciano Rezzolla.

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 is published in German by C. H. Beck, the English version by Cambridge University Press is available since March 2023.

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ProLoewe Wissenschaftsrallye
© ProLOEWE/SaschaMannel

August 2, 2021

The ProLOEWE science rally provides exclusive insights into LOEWE basic research

The big summer holiday quiz starts on August 02.

Discovering new things in nature, making models, solving puzzles, or making estimates - all this is waiting for for children and teens aged 10 and up and their families during the 21 stages of the ProLOEWE science rally. It starts on August 2 at ProLOEWE.de. FIAS and the LOEWE focus CMMS are also taking part in the event.

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Volker Mosbrugger

July 12, 2021

Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Volker Mosbrugger is a new member of the Board of Trustees

Volker Mosbrugger, the current president of the Polytechnic Society and former director of the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung (until December 2020), will support the work of the Foundation Board with immediate effect. The Foundation Board oversees the work of the Board of Directors and appoints its members. It decides on the FIAS budget and advises the Board on all matters of strategic importance. In recent years, for example, it has made a significant contribution to the successful restructuring of the research areas at FIAS and provided support in this process.

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Magarete Puschmann bw

June 14, 2021

We grieve for Margarete Puschmann

Our longtime supporter and friend has passed away at the age of 100.

Magarete Puschmann was an indispensable member of the FIAS family for over 15. years. In addition to her generous donations, she participated in FIAS social activities, scientific lectures, award ceremonies, and summer parties, despite her advanced age, until the beginning of the pandemic. She has now passed away in Bad Homburg on the morning of June 8, 2021.

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© C. Otto, GSI

May 31, 2021

Hesse's Silicon Valley: power wasters with a future

Volker Lindenstruth as a guest in the hr-iNFO podcast

How can we meet the increasing demand for computer power and data centers in the Rhine-Main region while at the same time respecting nature and climate protection goals? On May 27, hr-iNFO devoted itself to this question. As one of the experts consulted, FIAS Chairman Prof. Dr. Volker Lindenstruth explained his concept of GREEN-IT and how it can be used to enormously reduce the power consumption of data centers.

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Frankfurt hat Hirn Teaser

March 15, 2021

"Frankfurt hat Hirn"

New website shows exciting facts about neuroscience and the city of Frankfurt

How does our brain work? Several international institutions in Frankfurt are trying to find answers to this question: The Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, the Ernst Strüngmann Institute and the Goethe University Frankfurt have been researching the brain - in some cases for decades - while the non-profit Hertie Foundation has been funding neuroscience research since the early 1970s.

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