From microstructures to space technology – Freiburg's Fraunhofer Institute showcases exciting research on Girls' Day

The five Freiburg Fraunhofer Institutes offer insights into their research work on Girls' Day, as here at Fraunhofer EMI. © Fraunhofer EMI

The Fraunhofer Society, the world's leading organization for applied research, operates five institutes in Freiburg with a total of around 2,500 employees. Freiburg is thus the largest Fraunhofer site in Germany – even larger than Berlin and Dresden. On Girls' Day on April 27, the five institutes offer girls insights into diverse research fields – from chemistry to mechanical engineering, from microstructures to space technology, from earthquake safety to clean energy.

Golden Microstructures or Preferably Diamond?

Students from grade 8 onwards are invited to get to know the work at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF during Girls' Future Day and to familiarize themselves with various technical and scientific careers. Through exciting hands-on activities, the girls gain insight into applied research and have the opportunity to exchange ideas with colleagues from science and technology about training and career paths. Examples include golden microstructures in cleanrooms and the production of diamond coatings, providing the girls with interesting insights into the institute's research areas.

https://www.iaf.fraunhofer.de/de/veranstaltungen/girlsday.html

Research for Clean Energy

At the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, girls can experience research for the energy transition firsthand. Experienced female physicists, technicians, or engineers from Fraunhofer ISE support the students as they gain their first practical experiences in laboratories. The girls learn the basics of soldering by building a solar lamp, examine micro materials under the microscope, cut and write with lasers, or build their own small solar module. They discover how optical coatings in color films or sunglasses utilize or block sunlight and how battery cells are created.

https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/de/veranstaltungen/girls-day.html

Research for Durable and Safe Materials

Breaking and damaging: How to prevent one and when to want the other? At the Fraunhofer Institute for Materials Mechanics IWM, young researchers can experience firsthand what is behind the materials we use daily. Whether during crash tests or under the scanning electron microscope, we look at how various materials behave under different conditions and what effects material changes have. From the workshop to the glass bending hall, students can get a broad picture of the diversity that makes up a research institute and exchange questions about science and technology with the staff.

https://www.iwm.fraunhofer.de/de/karriere/schuelerinnen-schueler.html#2

Safety with a Dynamic Approach

Whether crash tests with cars, space debris traveling at 40,000 kilometers per hour threatening spacecraft and satellites, or disaster-proof buildings – the Fraunhofer Institute for Short-Term Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut, EMI, researches exciting and important topics of everyday life and the future. Female scientists, students, and trainees will present their career paths and work at the institute, and in a practical part, the students will get hands-on experience.

https://www.emi.fraunhofer.de/de/aktuelles/veranstaltungen/girls-day-2023.html

Research for Greater Efficiency

The Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM in Freiburg is working to increase the efficiency of industrial processes with innovative technologies. The institute researches and develops measurement methods and systems. On Girls' Day, girls can polish glass edges to a fine shine, build a microchip in a cleanroom, construct a miniature amusement ride, wire a data network, perform chemistry magic, or demonstrate dexterity by assembling and playing with hot wire. They also learn what an insect looks like under an electron microscope, how 3D design works, and what a 3D-CT can do.

https://www.ipm.fraunhofer.de/de/Messe_Veranstaltungen/girlsday.html