Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces celebrates its anniversary
30 years of cutting-edge research
On 9 June, the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPICI) celebrated its 30th anniversary. After greetings from politicians and scientists, the guests looked back on the past three decades, during which the MPICI has developed into one of the world's leading basic research institutions with a staff of around 300.
Research Minister Dr Manja Schüle: "Learning from nature means learning for a sustainable future - this has been the maxim of the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces for 30 years. At the interface between physics, chemistry and biology, the institute has been extraordinarily successful in researching resource-saving, recyclable and regenerative technologies and therapies. For example, to save trees in our World Heritage Parks, to produce inexpensive energy storage systems or to use sugar molecules as the basis for medicines. The MPICI has chosen "Research for a Sustainable Future" as the guiding theme for its anniversary. In doing so, the Institute underlines its extraordinary scientific track record and emphasises its immensely important role in shaping our future. I'd like to thank everyone at MPICI for their groundbreaking work - here's to the next 30 successful years! Congratulations!"
The MPICI was the first institute to move to the MPI research campus in Golm in 1999. Bernd Rubelt, Councillor for Urban Development, Construction, Economy and Environment of the City of Potsdam, commented: "When we look back on the 30 years of the Institute, we can say: The MPICI has not only contributed to the outstanding development of the Science Park, but also to the profile of the capital city of Potsdam as a unique science location. The MPICI can look back on a success story that will continue.
The Institute's scientists are addressing the major societal challenges of this century. A more sustainable use of material resources requires new chemical and materials science solutions, which the MPIKG as an innovative research institution aims to create. The research will explore ideas for a circular economy modelled on nature, in which materials are reused and recycled, self-heal or adapt to environmental conditions. Within the four research departments, the Institute has the right people, the necessary expertise and state-of-the-art equipment:
Department of Biomaterials: The pioneering work of Prof. Peter Fratzl's department consists of systematic research into the relationship between the structure and properties of biological materials such as bone, wood and mussel shells. The aim is to learn from nature in order to make materials and their use better and more sustainable. Materials science knowledge of bone is also needed in medicine to improve fracture healing or treat osteoporosis. Department of Biomolecular Systems: The core competence of Prof. Peter H. Seeberger's department lies in the production of complex sugar molecules using synthesis automation. This process is used, for example, to research vaccine candidates against multi-resistant (hospital) pathogens and agents against other threats to human health. Department of Colloid Chemistry: Prof. Markus Antonietti's department uses green chemistry to construct easily accessible and sustainable molecular building blocks for larger entities and materials. These include state-of-the-art energy storage devices, low-cost and sustainable catalysts that enable 'artificial photosynthesis' and, thanks to green chemistry, 'artificial humic substances' that will improve our soils in the future. Department of Sustainable and Bio-inspired Materials: Prof. Silvia Vignolini's department focuses on how natural materials are assembled into complex architectures in living organisms and how these architectures determine their response. By understanding the design principles found in nature, it is possible to produce a new class of truly sustainable functional materials using only natural resources and environmental conditions.
The Max Planck Institute from 1993 to today
On 1 October 1993, the institute was founded by the Max Planck Society as one of the first in the new German states. After reunification, the Science Council evaluated the institutes of the former Academy of Sciences of the GDR. The MPIKG was formed from the Institute of Physical Chemistry and the Institute of Organic Chemistry in Berlin-Adlershof and the Institute of Polymer Chemistry in Teltow. The three founding directors, Prof. Markus Antonietti, Prof. Reinhard Lipowsky and Prof. Helmuth Möhwald, took over the collegial leadership of the institute. Before moving to the newly built institute building in Golm in 1999, their research groups worked at the Adlershof and Teltow sites.
In 2003, the Department of Biomaterials began its work under the leadership of physicist Prof. Peter Fratzl. Since 2009, biochemist Prof. Peter H. Seeberger has headed the newly established Department of Biomolecular Systems. With the retirement of the founding directors Helmuth Möhwald (2014) and Reinhard Lipowsky (2022), the departments "Interfaces" and "Theory" were closed. Since January 2023, the new department "Sustainable and Bio-inspired Materials" of Prof. Silvia Vignolini has been in place. The Institute will also undergo some personnel changes over the next five years, as two other directors will retire during this period.