News Archive 2015
Prof. Detlef Löhe, frist Honorary YIN memberProf. Detlef Löhe is first Honorary YIN member

Young scientists have always been a priority to KIT vice president Detlef Löhe. As one of the main authors of the future concept for KIT as a research university in the Helmholtz Association, he also was a founding father for YIN. In regard of his retirement in 2016, YIN appointed Prof. Löhe as its first Honorary member.

Liquid PolystyreneGMM-Prize for research in microsystems engineering

YIN member Dr. Bastian Rapp introduces a new synthetic material in the journal Lab Chip for which he receives the GMM-Prize of the VDE/VDI-Society of Microelectronics, Microsystems and Precision Engineering. The innovative polymer is compatible with soft lithography and can also be used for biological applications.

Publication
Masing Memorial Award, German Society for Materials ScienceYIN speaker receives DGM Masing Memorial Award

The German Society for Materials Science (DGM) honored Dr. Christian Greiner for his excellent contributions to metallurgical research. Since 1956, the DGM bestows the award in remembrance of the former chairman Prof. Georg Masing to one of its younger members.

DGM awardees
Panel discussion with Minister Theresia BauerNov 25th panel discussion about junior researchers

At 7.30 pm YIN member Dr. Katrin Schulz and Jun.-Prof. Henning Meyerhenke will join Theresia Bauer from the BW ministry for Science, Research and Arts to discuss perspectives for young researchers. KIT-president Holger Hanselka and KIT-vice-president Alexander Wanner will also be part of the panel.

Microarray with dip pen lithography (source: Scientific Reports doi:10.1038/srep15342)Detecting rare circulating tumor cells in body fluids

Tumors emit single circulating cells that can start metastasis in other body tissues. Early detection is very challenging, as there is only one circulation tumor cell to a billion blood cells. A group of scientists, including YIN member Dr. Dr. Michael Hirtz, have now developed a new method to capture and extract single target cells from large background populations.

Scientific reports
Dr. Steven PetersOtto Kienzle coin 2015 is awarded to YIN member

Dr. Steven Peters receives the Otto Kienzle commemorative coin for his outstanding achievements in the field of manufacturing technology. Since 1970, the German Academic Society for Production Engineering annually awards young Ph.D. engineers in memory of Professor Otto Kienzle.

Profile
YIN Lecture SittiGreat start for YIN Lecture Series with Prof. Metin Sitti

The topic of mobile robotics successfully drew a large audience from different disciplines, generations and academic levels. Positive feedback from all sides showed that Prof. Metin Sitti, director of the Physical Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, transfered detailed expertise while still sketching the broad picture.

More
Kretschmann and Bauer at KITKretschmann and Bauer from BW ministry met YIN

Junior scientists were the main focus when Winfrid Kretschmann and Theresia Bauer, the first minister and the minister for science, research and art of Baden-Württemberg, visited the KIT. YIN-members presented the network and their scientific projects. Among others the TV-channel SWR reports.

SWR Landesschau
LookKITLookKIT YIN-Special: Young Top-Researchers

KIT Vice President and founding father of YIN, Prof. Detlef Löhe, explains the idea behind the Young Investigator Network. The YIN alumni - among them 18 professors - as well as the top-level research of current YIN members state its success. A few exemplary projects are presented in this issue.

LookKIT #03/2015
Compostable electronicsSWR TV visits YIN-member at the Innovation Lab

The young investigator group of Dr. Gerardo Hernandez- Sosa develops printed electronics made of compostable natural materials and adequate processes for industrial production. As opposed to conventional organic electronics, they consist of easily biodigradable substances that will actually rot similar to a banana peel.

SWR mediathek
3-D representation of snake pattern Snake pattern protects steel from friction

Milled in steel, scales reduce wear due to friction up to 40 Percent. Dr. Christian Greiner and his junior research group have copied this concept from nature that is from ball pythons and sandfish. It works for dry contact areas between mobile parts in electro-mechanical systems – but only if no grease is used.

Press info
Dr. Steffen Scholpp and Dr. Stefanie SpeidelRadio SWR2 Campus reports about YIN

Stirrups for young scientist – this is how SWR2 describes YIN. In an Interview Dr. Stefanie Speidel explains the advantages YIN offers to junior research group leaders. Dr. Steffen Scholpp emphasizes the importance of enquiring leader ship skills and the value transdisciplinary exchange.

SWR media library
Boris Neubert and Gerardo HernandezKIT-Videos: YIN members talk about their research

Who likes to learn more about woods growing naturally on screen or printed electronics fit to compost can now visit the KIT YouTube channel. In video portraits Jun.-Prof. Boris Neubert and BMBF group leader Dr. Gerardo Hernandez-Sosa present research on Visual Computing and Printed Electronics.

Prof. Kalt succeeds Vice President LöheProfessor Kraft succeeds Vice President Löhe

With great majority, the KIT-senate has elected Prof. Oliver Kraft Vice President for Research and, thus, confirms the vote of the Supervisory Board. Kraft succeeds Vice President Detlef Löhe, who retires by the end of this year. Since 2002, Kraft has been a member of the collegial management of the Institute for Applied Materials at KIT.

Press information
Humboldt am KITHumboldt and YIN – a win-win-constellation

As Humboldt hosts, YIN members can get excellent researchers from abroad to join their teams or apply themselves to the Foundation. YIN in turn provides young group leaders from abroad with an international peer community and tailored continuing education.

Offers and experiences
Nepal after earthquakeField Mission: Vulnerability of Displacement in Nepal

Public emergency shelter or self-made constructions close to home – where do displaced people go and why? KIT-Scientists around YIN-member Bijan Khazai traveled to Nepal where over 1.9 Million people have been forced by earthquakes to leave their homes and are now faced with the upcoming monsoon.

Report
CrowdCrowds analyze images as well as a few experts

For computers to recognize anatomical variances during clinical surgery, large amounts of annotated images are needed. Crowdsourcing has proven to be a highly accurate measure to build up a databank accordingly at low cost in an extremely short period of time. Dr. Stefanie Speidel was among the responsible scientists.

Publication
Peptodarray (KIT, Patrick Langer)LookKIT: YIN-member about Vaccine Development

Detecting the sites where antibodies bind to pathogens is essential to develop a vaccine. Felix Löffler explains how  arrays with a different protein fragment or peptide being located on each field can be used to dicipher the immune systems reaction to the pathogen.

KIT Magazine LookKIT
NanoröhrenNew Sorting Method for Double-walled Nanotubes

Sorting double-walled carbon nanotubes according to their outer wall electronic type - for that Katherine Moore from the junior research group of Benjamin Flavel has developed an easy method. To this the scientific journals ACS Nano und Advanced Materials publish articles.

More
Dr. Pavel Levkin in ActionMaier-Leibnitz-Prize for new YIN-Alumni

The most important prize for junior researchers in Germany goes among others to Pavel Levkin. With the Heinz Maier-Leibniz-Prize the DFG honors his outstanding scientific contributions, which he mostly achieved during his time as an active YIN member. Congratulations!

Press release
Steuerung der Zelldifferenzierung: Lange, blau markierte Zellfortsätze tragen an ihrer Spitze den rot eingefärbten Botenstoff Wnt. Kontaktstellen färben sich gelb. (Aufnahme: Eliana Stanganello und Steffen Scholpp) YIN-recipe for success: Transdisciplinarity

Life Science meets Simulation and Nature Communications reports. Congratulation to Steffen Scholpp and Alexander Schug! They profited from the Young Investigator Network and together they achieved more.

Presse release
Student mit Laptop in VorlesungSpiegel Online reports on KIT-Lecture Translator

Google’s Translator is clearly inferior to the KIT-Lecture Translator, states YIN-member Sebastian Stüker towards Spiegel Online. The KIT product is self-learning, improves with every assignment and even adapts to the lecturer’s style of speech.

Spiegel article
Atomistische Simulation einer geschmierten amorphen Kohlenwasserstoffschicht (Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkstoffmechanik IWM)Prognosing Wear due to Friction

Whether automotive transmissions or kitchen mixers – in many technical systems there are surfaces of mobile parts that grate against each other. The Emmy-Noether Group of Lars Pastewka now analyses what happens on a molecular level. KIT and the Fraunhofer IWM report.

Lars Pastewka, Kathrin Valerius, Michael HirtzThree new faces, three new topics for YIN

Wear of materials, neutrino mass and dip-pennanolithography – these are the research focuses of the new members. YIN welcomes Lars Pastewka, Katrin Valerius, and Michael Hirtz among the independent junior research leaders at KIT.

NachwuchsgruppenleiterFuture of Junior Researchers in Focus

DFG announces news funding for junior researchers, the Federal Minister of Education and Research plan to rework the law on temporary contracts in the German scientific system – is the voice of junior researchers finally heard?

More13.03.2015
Modell einer Phantomleber (Quelle: KIT)Live at the OR: Virtuel view into the inner abdomen

Soft organ tissue might get deformed during computer assisted operations. With a new physics-based shape matching approach, the research group of Dr. Stefanie Speidel adapts virtual organ models to such deformations.

Press release