From the Editors
Designing the future of work with experimentation
If you ask me: It’s not the fruit basket and the snack box. It might be good coffee. After a time of pandemic-related loneliness in one’s own four walls, coming together with one’s colleagues is no longer something people take for granted. It’s very welcome. What lures you into the office? Can you make the decision yourself? While some had to hand their flexibility and individual responsibility back per executive order, others moved their workplace to the beach—and took their freedom and their laptops with them. Few areas of life undergo as much significant change and controversial debate as the world of work.
How do we see ourselves working in the future? What must the structures and places look like to inspire us, to make us feel comfortable? What are the conditions that spark creative ideas? We asked people about this for the May-June issue of the Journal. In conversation with Christine Kühnel, she tells us about the importance of culture at Reiner Lemoine Institute for their work towards the energy transition to be successful. System 180 knows that established processes and well-trodden paths are becoming obsolete and is reacting to a changing world of work with flexible and sustainable furniture and spatial design (p. 8). We are celebrating 10 years of the “thinker’s alcoves” in Adlershof. Lukas Kunath is one of 400 inhabitants of Adlershof’s Students Village and tells us about this “living organism”, which will celebrate its anniversary in summer (p. 10).
An entirely new world of work will open in Rudower Chaussee 28 in the summer, bringing together founders, entrepreneurs, young talent, and researchers through state-of-the-art technology and diverse event formats. In this issue’s cover story, the managing director of WISTA Management, Roland Sillmann, showcases “ST3AM” and its unique concept (p. 6).
We know Ghostbusters from the movies. But did you realise there are also meteorite hunters out there? As luck would have it, DLR researcher Jörn Helbert was among those who found fragments of the so-called Ribbeck Meteorite and is now sharing his research results with us (p. 12). A story like a thriller.
Sincerely,
Peggy Mory
Editor-in-chief
News in short
Photonics Days 2024 in Adlershof
The Photonics Days 2024 will take place on 9 and 10 October at WISTA Conventions and feature 21 sessions, over 100 international speakers, an exhibition, and participants from all over Germany and partners from Poland, the Netherlands, and Spain. This year’s thematic focus will include optical design and optical simulation, semiconductors and heterogeneous integration, BQQT, metrology on nano-optics, novel applications of modern lighting technologies, and photonics for safety and security. Members of the competence network for optical technologies OpTecBB e.V. will open their doors and the doors to the laboratories on 8 October. Photonics students can access the event free-of-charge.
Registration: https://photonic-days-berlin.com
Call for applications: Falling Walls Lab Berlin-Adlershof
Applications for participation in the Falling Walls Lab Berlin-Adlershof (FWL Berlin-Adlershof) 2024 can be submitted until 16 June 2024. At FWL Berlin-Adlershof, which takes place on 16 July at 2 pm, applicants have three minutes to present their future-driven and socially relevant research projects, ideas, and initiatives to the public at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). The winners of the global preliminary rounds will compete on 7 November in Berlin.
Long Night of the Sciences
On 22 June 2024, many companies, facilities and organisations based at the Technology Park Adlershof will open their doors for the Long Night of the Sciences, including Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and its particle accelerator BESSY II, various departments of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and—for the first time ever—the state laboratory Landeslabor Berlin-Brandenburg (LLBB).
Science slam “Battle den Horst”
Train your facial muscles by laughing at the fascinating and humorous presentations of the young researchers on stage at the “Battle den Horst” science slam, which will take place at Bunsen Hall, Volmerstraße 2, on 13 June at 6.30 pm. Educating as well as entertaining, the audience must decide whose presentation wins the evening. The event is hosted by WISTA Management GmbH.