© WWU / Peter Leßmann

Four disciplines united under a single roof

Researchers at the Center for Soft Nanoscience (SoN) prepare synthetic materials based on biological models such as addressable nanocontainers or materials that switch their function in response to an external trigger. Besides these fundamental investigations, the high-precision tools required to make and analyze these nanomaterials are developed at the SoN.

 

© Mojca Opresnik/FEZA

Best Ph.D. prize for Christian Schröder

Christian Schröder was awarded the Federation of European Zeolite Associations (FEZA) Ph.D. prize for his work on the structural surface properties of zeolites. He developed a simple model to predict hydrogen bonds of Brønsted acid sites, which can now be clearly identified, among other protic species, with solid-state NMR spectroscopy. This is a significant contribution for understanding the acid properties of these important catalysts.
FEZA website

© n.able

Molecular Printer Workshop

Join us at our upcoming MNF Molecular Printer Workshop, on July 27th from 9 am-3 pm in the SoN. During the workshop, n.able GmbH will give a general introduction to the machine, discuss potential applications and conduct in-person, hands-on training. We encourage you to bring along your own chip substrates and molecules for test printing.
Registration

© WWU - MünsterView

Two Münster-Twente Collaboration Grants at SoN

The Universities of Münster and Twente again awarded Collaboration Grants, with four teams convincing the jury with their concepts. Two projects each received 80,000 euros, which are financed fifty-fifty by the University of Münster and the University of Twente for a duration of twelve months.
WWU news

© Adapted from Höglsperger F. et al., Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39032-0; licensed under CC BY licence.

Research team shows how a cell’s form can be reversed

A team of researchers led by Prof. Bart Jan Ravoo from the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the University of Münster, and by Prof. Timo Betz from the Third Institute of Physics – Biophysics at the University of Göttingen, are now the first to describe how living cells can have their shape reversed through targeting the cell membrane by means of light.
WWU news

© CRC1459

2nd Münster Symposium on Intelligent Matter

Renowned scientists will present their latest developments in the field of adaptive and intelligent matter. Please join us for discussions on the latest developments in the field, poster presentations, the MüSIM young researcher award 2023, networking, and much more!
MüSIM23

© WWU - MünsterView

When interdisciplinary collaboration begins with the architecture

“The architecture of the building is spacious, open and transparent,” says Dr. Michael Seppi, who is responsible for the building at SoN. "Everything is suffused with light and, apart from the labs, there are not many thick, solid walls. This structure makes it easier for people to come together and it promotes communication in our everyday work...”
WWU news

© Münster University - Peter Leßmann

Stay curious, and carry on asking, when others switch off

He is 27 years old and, as things stand, will soon have his second PhD – in Philosophy. He already has one PhD, in Physics. His Physics dissertation, which he completed in 2022 under the supervision of Prof. Raphael Wittkowski at the Institute of Theoretical Physics, was the best in his year – as was his master’s thesis before that. It almost goes without saying that te Vrugt, who was born in Stadtlohn and attended the Gymnasium (grammar school) in nearby Ahaus, had the best Abitur result of his year.
WWU news

© Münster University - Peter Leßmann

Where the borders between disciplines become blurred

The area where physics and chemistry meet lies somewhere in the realm of the minute – in the nano range: where molecules react with one another and the laws of quantum mechanics hold sway. One of the pioneers working in that area between chemistry and physics is Prof. Harald Fuchs, who heads the Nano- and Interfacial Physics working group at the University of Münster and is the Scientific Director at CeNTech.
WWU news