Events

How can the immune system be tamed? Why is a “leap of faith” sometimes worthwhile in chemistry? And which quantum effects continue to surprise us in large systems? At the public lecture evening “Nobel Prizes 2025 – Explained Simply”, three professors and three doctoral researchers from CAU will unpack this year’s outstanding scientific achievements – clearly, accessibly, and straight from current research.

The compact event format makes the evening especially approachable: concise introductions from early-career researchers meet in-depth perspectives from experienced scientists. The format thus offers a rare opportunity to learn first-hand about Nobel Prize research and its significance for our society.

At a glance
18:00–18:15: Welcome & Introduction
18:20–18:50: Regulatory T cells: Taming the Beast Within (Medicine)
19:00–19:30: Daring to Leave Gaps: Insights into This Year’s Nobel Prize Research Findings (Chemistry)
19:30–20:00: Quantum Effects in Large Systems? (Physics)

The event is organised by the Kiel student groups JungChemikerForum (JCF Kiel), junge Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (jDPG), and Junior-GBM (Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology).

The event is partner of Science Comes to Town.

Speaker: Helen Gorges (Functional Morphology and Biomechanics Research Group, Kiel University)

In the plant kingdom, there are many different ways in which plants disperse their seeds. The squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium) does so in a particularly “explosive” manner — a process for which the fruit prepares itself during ripening. In addition to the plant’s specific growth direction, the internal structure of the fruit plays a crucial role, and even the seeds themselves can contribute to their own dispersal. This lecture will explore the structure of the plant and fruit and reveal the “explosion” mechanism that ensures successful seed distribution.

No registration required. Admission is free.

This event is a partner of Science Comes to Town.

In nature, 92 chemical elements occur. By the Bronze Age at the latest, humans had begun to combine these elements artificially in order to create new materials with a wide range of properties. And there is still an overwhelming number of new materials with unknown characteristics waiting to be discovered. Recently, in addition to the established material groups of metals, ceramics and organic polymers, it has become possible to produce so-called hybrid materials. They combine features of the traditional classes of materials, blur the boundaries between them, and possess astonishing properties. As if in a science-fiction film, it is now possible to create transparent metals or opaque air.

Prof. Dr Rainer Adelung has held the Chair of Functional Nanomaterials at the Institute of Materials Science at Kiel University since 2010, where he conducts both basic research and applied research for industry. His work includes, among other fields, medical technology, sensor systems and nanoelectronics. As early as 2023, Prof. Adelung was awarded the prize of the German Materials Society for his groundbreaking research. In January 2025 he received the City of Kiel’s Innovation Award.

In his lecture, “The Magic of Modern Materials”, Prof. Adelung takes the audience on a journey through the world of these exotic materials and presents a wide variety of examples, such as “black air that can carry water” (aerographite) or cotton-soft porcelain that withstands temperatures of over 1000 °C without damage. He explains how these materials are used for novel batteries and for 3D printing.

You can find further lecture dates here.
The event is a partner of Science Comes to Town.

In the current discussion on the security of industrial supply with raw materials, the focus is on reliable sources. The 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea opens up, among other things, the possibility of mining the seabed (deep-sea mining) in international and national maritime zones. As a supplement to land-based mining, the option of marine mining has now emerged in the form of manganese nodules, massive sulphides and polymetallic crusts, with their high contents of copper, cobalt, nickel, manganese, other metals and rare earth elements.

Deep-sea mining is controversial for environmental reasons and requires the highest safety standards. At the same time, it offers interesting new technologies and opportunities for cooperation. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Jamaica has so far granted 30 licences for the exploration and sampling of deposits, including two to Germany. The ISA is currently preparing the “Mining Code” for commercial mining, which will set out the regulations for permitting, safety, environmental protection and taxation.

The more vigorously the new green industries for the energy and transport transition, as well as for the decarbonisation of the entire economy, are pursued, the greater the demand for raw materials. A single marine mining unit could largely replace Germany’s imports of cobalt, manganese and nickel. In the race to minimise interventions in nature, a responsible marine mining technology has the potential to make a contribution and accelerate the energy transition. This requires openness to technology; otherwise, the only alternative is the intensification of land-based mining, with all its negative consequences. Recycling will help a little.

Import-dependent Germany consumes around 6–8% of global mining output. Overall, Germany’s interests in deep-sea mining are threefold:
– securing the supply of raw materials,
– enforcing environmental protection,
– offering new technologies.

The event is a partner of Science Comes to Town.

• Oppression in the early Federal Republic and emancipation after 1968
• “Women were the best thing about the GDR”
• Oppression of women and fascination in the “Third Reich”

Global energy demand continues to rise – despite climate change. For decades, scientists have dreamed of harnessing the Sun’s energy source – the fusion of light atomic nuclei – to generate clean and reliable electricity on Earth. So far, the path towards achieving this has been rocky and the outcome uncertain.

Professor Dominik Kraus from the Department of Physics at the University of Rostock, one of Germany’s leading experts on dense plasmas, will provide an overview of the current state and future prospects of nuclear fusion. In particular, the alternative concept of laser fusion (inertial confinement fusion) has attracted considerable attention in recent years and even alerted German policymakers: fusion is now one of the six key themes of the Federal Republic’s high-tech agenda, and Schleswig-Holstein is among the federal states seeking to contribute. Kraus will also shed light on private initiatives in this field.

His lecture explores the opportunities and limitations of nuclear fusion: Can it truly solve all our energy problems, or will it remain a dream of the future?

About Fact or Fake

The lecture series “Science and Alternative Facts” has for many years provided a platform for fact-based debate on socially relevant issues. After each lecture, there is space for discussion. All contributions are recorded and published online.

Date: Thursday, 15 January 2025
Time: 18:30–20:30
Venue: Christian-Albrechts-Platz 2, Audimax, Lecture Hall C
Online: Participation via Zoom possible: https://www.faktoderfake.org/online-zugang/

Further dates in the lecture series:

27 November 2025:
Dr Marcel Dirsus
“How Dictators Fall”

4 December 2025:
Professor Anders Levermann
“The Folding of the World – How Do We Preserve Our Liberal Democratic Rule of Law in the Climate Crisis and the Growth Dilemma?”

29 January 2026:
Dr Martyna B. Linartas
“Tax the Rich – Democracy Only Works Fairly”

The event is partner of Science Comes to Town.

The lecture series focuses on ancient Greek and Roman sanctuaries. It examines how space is not simply given, but comes into being through the interplay of landscape, built structures, and human actions. Rather than viewing buildings, people, and rituals separately, it places the interaction between architecture and social life at centre stage. In doing so, it looks beyond the temples themselves and the sacrificial rites—which usually form the core of scholarly interest. Instead, it deliberately highlights lesser-known structures, the living and working areas of cult personnel, and the role of everyday operations and economic activities. Scholars from archaeology, Egyptology, history, and philology thus reveal alternative spaces within the respective sanctuaries.

30 October 2025
All Under Control? Where Temple Guards Hold Sway…
Prof Dr Ulrike Egelhaaf-Gaiser (Göttingen)

11 December 2025
“Manhattan in the Desert”: The Greco-Roman Settlements of Tuna el-Gebel/Hermopolis Magna
Dr Mélanie Flossmann-Schütze (Munich)

15 January 2026
Beyond the Temple: New Insights into the Temenos and Territory of the Ephesian Artemision
Dr Lilli Zabrana (Vienna)

22 January 2026
Hidden Routes: Behind the Scenes of the Asklepieion of Pergamon
PD Dr Asja Müller (Kiel)

29 January 2026
Between Cult and Control: Everyday Life in Sanctuaries of Hellenistic and Imperial Greece and Asia Minor
Prof Dr Kaja Harter-Uibopuu (Hamburg)

5 February 2026
Sanctuaries in the Economic Landscape: Small Sacred Sites in the Palmyrene as Places of Economic Negotiation
Dr Katharina Rieger (Graz)

12 February 2026
Sacrum et Mercatura: Mater Magna Between Religion and Economy in Ancient Rome
Dr Asuman Lätzer-Lasar (Marburg)

Organised by: Institute of Classical Studies
This lecture series is a partner of Science Comes to Town.