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Biological Physics Retreat

The annual retreat is a key component of the Elite Graduate Program “Biological Physics”. Students, teachers, and guests meet to discuss exciting science in a relaxed atmosphere. The recent meeting in October 2018 at Thurnau castle provided fascinating insights into topics ranging from theoretical physics to biophysics and molecular biology.

Interdisciplinary Exchange

The conference center at Thurnau castle provided an atmospheric setting for stimulating discussions of current research at the interface of biology and physics from October 22nd to 24th, 2018.

Guest speaker Prof. Dr. Stefan Jakobs (University of Göttingen and Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry) opened the meeting with a keynote lecture. He gave exciting insights into the principles of super-resolution microscopy and its application to high-resolution imaging of cell organelles. A second guest contribution was a talk by Ann-Katrin Unger (Carl Zeiss, Oberkochen). She presented not only the latest techniques and developments in electron microscopy, but also shared her experiences with career opportunities outside the university.

The central component of the meeting, however, were 15 lectures given by the students who presented and discussed their own research. Here, the added value of the interdisciplinary "Biological Physics program" was particularly evident when physicists contributed ideas to projects of biologists and vice versa.

The smooth running of the scientific program was ensured at all times by the student chairs. The biggest challenge was to find a pub for a social gathering with Franconian beer in the cozy town of Thurnau on a Monday evening - but even this hurdle was successfully taken.

Text: Elite Graduate Program "Biological Physics"