News archive

Learn more about nanoanalytics methods and tools at the Münster Nanofabrication Facility (MNF) in our upcoming workshop at the SoN. Discover new creative solutions and ideas for your research and discuss your needs with instrument experts. Join us on the 16th of May from 1-5pm.
MNF website

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

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

Join us at the official opening ceremony for our brand new cryoEM center at the SoN! There will be a tour, official inauguration ceremony, keynote lecture and social event. Invited speakers will highlight recent advances in single-particle cryoEM and electron tomography and their application to fundamental biological questions.
More information and registration

The funding of 2.5 million euros is intended to enable the realization of an outstanding research project. Together with his team, Frank Glorius wants to develop methods of so-called energy transfer (EnT) photocatalysis with which new, pharmacologically relevant three-dimensional molecular structures can be produced - and this particularly efficiently and under mild reaction conditions that are not or hardly accompanied by undesired side reactions.
WWU news

No doubt about it: the new high-performance cryogenic electron microscope (cryo-EM) really is something special... Until just a few years ago, it was inconceivable that minute components of cells could be displayed to this degree of precision – down to individual atoms. “For me too,” says Christos Gatsogiannis, “although I’ve been working in this field for a long time now, this degree of detail is astonishing.”
WWU news

Physicists discover unexpected connection between active particles and quantum-mechanical systems. In collaboration with Prof. Eyal Heifetz from the Tel Aviv University in Israel, physicists Dr. Michael te Vrugt, Tobias Frohoff-Hülsmann, Prof. Uwe Thiele and Prof. Raphael Wittkowski have developed a new model (“active model I+”) for the dynamics of systems consisting of many active particles. The study is published “Nature Communications”.
WWU news

Join us at the SoN for a new monthly nanofabrication meeting. Have questions about issues with fabricating your samples in our MNF cleanrooms? Please join us on Friday the 3rd of March at 10:30am in the SoN seminar room.
Münster Nanofabrication Facility

Melissa Pernice won second prize in an international photography competition for her picture of cleanroom engineer, Riya Gupta, in the Münster Nanofabrication Facility, located in the Center for Soft Nanoscience. Moodle, an open-source e-learning platform, selected the picture for demonstrating how student scientists complete online training for their work in the cleanrooms.
Moodle competition
Münster Nanofabrication Facility

Paul Möllers, a PhD student at the Center for Soft Nanoscience, examines chiral copper oxide films with a thickness of just a few nanometres which had previously been electrochemically deposited in a chiral form onto thin gold substrates by researchers from Pittsburgh.
WWU news

The 1^st international Northwestern University - University of Münster- (NU-WWU) Symposium on Smart Materials is being held from August 31^st -  September 1^st 2022 in the Center for Soft Nanoscience.
SFB 1459 Events

CRC 1459 is hosting its first-ever Münster Symposium on Intelligent Matter on Wednesday the 22^nd of June 2022 in the Center for Soft Nanoscience (SoN). Renowned scientists will present their latest developments in the field of adaptive and intelligent matter.
SFB 1459 Events

Seraphine Wegner is delighted that she can contribute her experience to the CRC and that she can learn new things as a result of the interdisciplinary collaboration. Hence, her team is called “Light-controlled Systems”, and their focus is on the photoswitchability of cells and materials. What this means is that the researchers use light as a stimulus to activate various processes and proteins.
WWU news

The German Research Foundation and State of NRW granted Münster University 7.5 million euros for a cryo-electron microscope. The special structural equipment at the SoN, which was inaugurated in 2018, was a prerequisite for the acquisition of the microscope. For example, the floor in the laboratory where the cryogenic electron microscope will be located is almost perfectly vibration-damped.
WWU news

The Münster Nanofabrication Facility, a high-tech nanofabrication facility located in the SoN and Centech, is hosting the first annual MNF Day on April 28th. Join us to learn about our latest research and cutting-edge technologies.
MNF Day website

Johannes Voß and Prof. Raphael Wittkowski from the Institute of Theoretical Physics and the Center for Soft Nanoscience have found answers to central questions which had previously stood in the way of applying acoustic propulsion. The results have been published in the journal “ACS Nano.”
WWU news

The project creates the basis for long-term collaboration between Münster and Twente in the field of integrated quantum photonics. At the same time, the project also represents an important preparation for joint Dutch, German and European follow-up projects.
WWU news

Using cryo-EM, and in collaboration with researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Dortmund and at Jacobs University Bremen, the team of Münster researchers succeeded in explaining the first structure of a latrotoxin.
WWU news

Physicists Michael te Vrugt and Prof. Raphael Wittkowski from the Institute of Theoretical Physics and the Center for Soft Nanoscience (SoN) have, together with physicist Dr. Sabine Hossenfelder from the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS), developed a new model.
WWU news

Previously a junior professor, Carsten Schuck has been appointed as a W3 professor for Experimental Physics.
CRC1459 news

After several complications and delays due to Corona, we were pleased to finally host Columbian scientists through the DAAD study visit program.
Linkedin blog

Physicist Dr. Eileen Otte opens up new opportunities with one of the 25 coveted and highly competitive PRIME fellowships from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
Full article

Scientists at the University of Münster have recently developed a new type of nanocontainer that is constructed entirely from biological components.
CiM News

Scientists have presented a new approach in the journal Nature Chemistry, showing that stable and yet very well-ordered molecular single layers can be produced on silicon surfaces - by self-assembly.
WWU News

Can we make matter intelligent? This is a question being studied by an interdisciplinary team in Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1459 “Intelligent matter: From responsive to adaptive nanosystems.”
WWU News
Collaborative Research Centre 1459

Focusing on the interface between materials research and organic synthesis as well as catalysis and biological applications, the Research Training Group will receive funding of around five million euros for an initial period of four and a half years. The spokespersons of the program are Prof. Armido Studer and Prof. Shigehiro Yamaguchi (Nagoya University).
WWU News

Visiting from the University of São Paulo, Professor de Camargo is collaborating on upconversion of nanoparticles and quantum dots projects at the SoN. She brings with her a wealth of experience in structural-functional characterization of solid-state materials and interdisciplinary, collaborative research.
Full interview

With funding of more than 1.2 million euros from the German Research Foundation, PD Dr. Kehr conducts research on advanced multifunctional nanobiomaterials for local drug delivery and cell/biomaterial interactions.
Full article

“We have shown that not only carbon can be used to create fascinating structures. The various contributions made from different angles – by chemists and physicists... all required a high degree of creativity. This enabled us to explore a new path in bond formation reactions in surface chemistry,” explains  Melanie Wittler, a PhD student in Chemistry.
WWU News

Chemist Prof Frank Glorius is coordinating the project "Use and Development of Machine Learning for Molecular Applications - Molecular Machine Learning." The focus of the project is on molecular problems such as the prediction of chemical reactions or the development of new algorithms for the modeling of molecular properties.
WWU News

"The motif of using light energy to build more complex, chemical structures is also found in nature," explains Frank Glorius. "Just as plants use light in photosynthesis to synthesize sugar molecules from the simple building blocks carbon dioxide and water, we use light-mediated energy transfer to produce complex, three-dimensional target molecules from flat basic structures."
WWU News

Dr. Andisheh Motealleh describes how cell-biomaterial interactions are used in medicine and explains why one of the things her research does is influence the well-being of cancer patients.
WWU video series on junior researchers

The laboratories of Prof. Dr. Carsten Grashoff and Prof. Dr. Ralf Jungmann at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (Munich) have developed a novel approach that allows the visualization and quantification of molecular processes even in highly crowded subcellular structures.
WWU News

A new research alliance headed by Dr. Wolfram Pernice is developing fast, energy-efficient optical hardware alternatives. The alliance will receive almost six million euros from the European Commission, as part of the FET Proactive (Horizon 2020) funding line.
WWU News

“In contrast to traditional electronics, which usually work in the low GHz range, optical modulation speeds can be achieved up to the 50 to 100 GHz range,” explains lead author Johannes Feldmann. This means that the process permits data rates and computing densities, i.e. operations per area of processor, never previously attained.
WWU News

“Dynamical density functional theory (DDFT) and related methods have been developed and applied by a number of researchers in a variety of contexts,” says lead author Michael te Vrugt. “We investigated which approaches there are and how they are connected – and for this purpose we needed to do a lot of work acting as historians and detectives."
WWU News

"Our programme combines interdisciplinary fundamental research and innovative applications. At the Center of Soft Nanoscience, the University of Münster has an excellent infrastructure to realize this programme. This CRC will further enhance the excellence and visibility of the core profile area of nanoscience at the University of Münster," says Bart Jan Ravoo.
WWU News

Researchers at the University of Münster have now succeeded for the first time in fully integrating nanodiamonds into nanophotonic circuits and at the same time addressing several of these nanodiamonds optically.
WWU News

Physicists Michael te Vrugt, Jens Bickmann and Prof. Raphael Wittkowski from the Institute of Theoretical Physics and the Center for Soft Nanoscience at the University of Münster have developed a new model showing the spread of infectious diseases.
WWU News

"One of our first priorities will be to establish a cutting-edge cryoEM facility at the Center for Soft Nanoscience. We are excited about the numerous future opportunities for collaborative research and confident that the new infrastructure will set the stage for the development of novel biotechnological and therapeutic approaches."
Full details

Johannes Striebel received the "Best Thesis Award 2020" from the Institut für Bioprozess- und Analysenmesstechnik e. V.  for his Masters thesis "Harnessing Macrophages for Cancer Immunotherapy - Adhesion Arrays for Selective Macrophage Capture and Differentiation via Surface Structures." The prize is for 1250 Euros.
YouTube Awards Ceremony [de]
Research Group Riehemann

"At the beginning of the Corona Pandemic we were not allowed to work in our laboratories. During that time I analysed data, wrote my doctoral thesis and read lots of publications at home. We held our weekly research group meeting online, making it possible to stay in touch with our professor and colleagues."
Full interview

With his work in the field of radical chemistry, Armino Studer has made a significant contribution to the renaissance of the chemistry of free radicals in organic synthesis and polymer chemistry.
WWU News

"For me chemistry and life are all about stability, everything tries to gain the ground state. I am highly motivated to understand and find practical solutions that can contribute towards helping us in the future."
Full interview

"Essentially, I take materials and discover not only their chemical composition, but the way those chemical species are distributed in three dimensions."
Full interview

"Right now, we are testing a new and very promising material with several applications in quantum optics, trying to find the best fabrication process to achieve low-loss and high-performance devices. It is an ongoing and very exciting project!"
Full interview

"I am currently leading an Emmy Noether Group that will start full swing in the SoN in June 2020. Our group specializes in functional soft matter nanostructures made from polymers and colloids..."
Full interview

“The various research groups in the SoN and beyond now have entirely new possibilities,” says Prof. Wolfram Pernice, who in the coming years will be testing the VELION system with his team in order to develop it further.
WWU News
Münster Nanofabrication Facility

“I work on the generation of functional nanobiomaterials, local drug delivery, and 3D bioprinting for biomedical engineering applications such as drug delivery systems, direct injectable biomaterial and tissue engineering."
Full interview

Our young and ambitious scientific team in the Münster Nanofabrication Facility (MNF) at the SoN is looking for strong support to facilitate top-level research. We are seeking self-motivated individuals with creative ideas and the drive to push our instruments to their limits:
Process engineer- Nanofabrication
Process engineer- Nanoanalytics

Hussaini Majiya is a guest scientist at the Center for Soft Nanoscience (SoN), where he is collaborating with Dr. Anzehla Galstyan. They are investigating possible solutions for keeping produce fresh in Sub-Saharan Africa and have generated some exciting results.
WWU News

Researchers at the SoN and Jülich demonstrate for the first time energy quantization in nanowires made of high-temperature superconductors- where the temperature is brought to the level below which quantum mechanical effects predominate. The results are published in the journal "Nature Communications."
WWU News

A part-time position as a Technical Assistant (BTA/CTA) is open at the Center for Soft Nanoscience beginning the first of March (or later). The position is for a project researching cell functions by structuring Nanocomposite-Hydrogels with 3D bioprinting. For full details see:
[Position filled]
Research Group Kehr

SoN Director, Professor Bart Jan Ravoo, was recognized for his excellent teaching with the "Goldener Brendel" award for the best 2019 summer semester course- his chemistry master's course on "Polymers and nanostructures."
Fachschaft Chemi (Chemistry Student Body) News [de]

Because of the potential significant impact his collaboration with Helmut Zacharias’s group will have on future research in the area of chiral and helical molecules, the Meitner-Humboldt Research Prize is financing Ron Naaman’s cooperation with SoN researchers for the next five years.
WWU News

According to the annual citation ranking from U.S. company Clarivate Analytics, Prof. Armido Studer, Prof. Frank Glorius (both Chemistry) and three other University of Münster scientists are among the world's most cited researchers.
WWU News

Harald Fuchs, co-founder of the Center for Soft Nanoscience (SoN), has been honoured with the highest award given by the Chinese government to foreign experts.
WWU News

Researchers at Münster University develop an easy-to-produce interface between quantum emitters and nanophotonic networks.
WWU News

We are pleased to announce the new state-of-the art molecular surface patterning system installed in the Münster Nanofabrication Facility (MNF) at the Center for Soft Nanoscience (SoN).

SoN researchers combine nano-optics and organic chemistry to measure complex light landscapes in the tight focus of a laser beam / Study published in “Nature Communications.”
WWU News

Prof. Frank Glorius, an organic chemist at the University of Münster, has been awarded the Gay-Lussac Humboldt Prize for his outstanding research and his close links to France in his work.
WWU News

Researchers were able to demonstrate that an optical neurosynaptic network is able to “learn” information and use this as a basis for computing and recognizing patterns – just as a brain can.
WWU News

Visit the Münster Symposium on Cooperative Effects in Chemistry on May 17th, 2019. Exciting plenary lectures are invited to contribute results in an extensive poster session or receive one of the MS_CEC Young Researcher Awards for an outstanding scientific paper.
MSCEC 2019 Website

Researchers at the University of Münster are currently working on developing a so-called quantum cryptographic process – a process that uses quantum information in the form of light particles to transmit data in encrypted form.
WWU News

Prof. Armido Studer has been selected to serve on the Editioral Board of the journal Angewandte Chemie. The Editorial Board is selected by the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh; German Chemical Society), who owns the journal, on recommendation from the current Editorial Board and Editorial Team.
Angewandte Chemie

There is, and it's located in the Research Park near the Max-Planck Institute at the Center for Soft Nanoscience. One section of the numerous high-end labs, designed in collaboration with architecture firm Rainer Kresing, is located in the hill in front of the building. Here interfering vibrations and radiation are kept outside. Münster Urban [de]

From March 18-22 the Institute for Material Physics is hosting the next Sino-German Symposium at the Center for Soft Nanoscience. The symposium will contribute significantly to the development and utilization of many large-scale scientific facilities in China which are powerful tools to probe disordered systems. In addition to the scientific exchange, the proposed workshop will also benefit young scientists from both China and Germany. 2019 Sino-German Symposium Flyer

Physicist Dr. Raphael Wittkowski and chemist Dr. Manuel van Gemmeren are among the 12 newly selected members of the state-wide North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts. WWU News [de]

The Organic Chemistry Institute at the University of Münster is holding a symposium in English on the topic of Photochemistry on Monday the 14th of January. WWU News [de]

Researchers at the 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. WWU News

Professor Björn Braunschweig and his team research how foam functions and how it can be controlled. The team, which is located in both the Institute of Physical Chemistry on Correnstrasse and at the Center for Soft Nanoscience (SoN) on Busso-Peus-Strasse, has highly specialized laboratories and extensive expertise on analyzing the interfaces between foam bubbles. For example, the researchers use a largely self-made optical laser spectrometer with which they can analyse the composition and orientation of molecular interfaces. WWU News [de]

The new "Center for Soft Nanoscience" (SoN) on Busso-Peuss-Straße in Münster is modern, bright and functional. "The SoN will be a high-tech location for Nano research," predicts physics professor Helmut Zacharias, one of the SoN co-directors. Fourteen groups from chemistry, physics, biology and biomedicine will be working in the same location. "For the first time we have four different disciplines in nanoscience working under one roof – a truly unique building," adds his colleague [and co-director], chemistry professor Bart Jan Ravoo. "Through our work together we will have a new impetus." WWU News [de]