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Stefanie Mühle, Sylvia Adscheid, Dr. Malte Tewes, Dr. Sonja Felder and Josephine Benna offered hands-on astronomy workshops at the “STEM Day 2025”  of the University.

The text below was translated from the original article (in German): https://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/de/aktuelles/unsere-news/2025-02-05-mint-tag

Getting more girls interested in studying mathematics and science: that is the aim of STEM Day at the University of Bonn. Numerous departments – from computer science, mathematics and physics to chemistry, geodesy, astronomy, meteorology and geophysics – offered schoolgirls a day-long opportunity to get to know their subjects and ask questions about studying.

Female students are still underrepresented in some STEM subjects (abbreviation for: mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, technology). The University of Bonn wants to counteract this and convince as many talented schoolgirls as possible to study in this field.

This year, girls and young women once again had the opportunity to get a taste of various mathematical and scientific degree courses. Under the title “STEM Day for schoolgirls”, a total of 101 schoolgirls from grades 10 to 13 took part in workshops during the all-day program, in which they experienced research and experiments up close. Lecturers and students talked to them about what drives them and gave them an impression of what studying in their respective subject might be like. The pupils also had the opportunity to exchange ideas with like-minded people and make contacts. At the end of the event, the students received a certificate of participation.

About the “Schnupper University” and the “MINT Day”

For 24 years, the University of Bonn has been organizing a taster university for schoolgirls under the title “Perspektive Math.-Nat!”. To mark its 25th anniversary, the concept of the event is being revised and is thus experiencing a creative break. In order to give interested schoolgirls an insight into the STEM subjects and to show them exciting study and career paths, individual departments at the University of Bonn have jointly decided to offer a “STEM day for schoolgirls”.

Title Image: MINT-TAG für Schülerinnen: Eine Schülerin betrachtet die Darstellung der Erde als Geoid.
© Maximilian Waidhas | Universität Bonn

KONTAKT

Dr. Felix Boes 
Akademischer Rat
Institut für Informatik 4
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
E-Mail: 
Telefon: +49 228 73 60555

Mit schwerem Herzen trauern wir um unseren Freund und Weggefährten Karl Menten,
der am 30.12.2024 plötzlich und unerwartet verstarb. 
Grosse Dankbarkeit erfuellt uns beim Gedanken an die lange Suche
nach Wahrheit in der gemeinsamen Beobachtung der Natur. 
Wir werden ihm immer ein ehrendes Andenken bewahren.

With heavy hearts we mourn the loss of our friend and companion Karl Menten,
who died suddenly and unexpectedly on December 30, 2024. 
We are filled with great gratitude when we think about the long search
for truth in the common observation of nature. 
We will always honor his memory.

As the year draws to a close, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all colleagues and friends who contribute to advancing our understanding of the habitats of massive stars across cosmic time. Your dedication and collaboration continue to illuminate the path forward in our shared scientific journey.

May this holiday season bring you moments of reflection and inspiration, and may the New Year provide new opportunities for discovery and progress.

The magazin CompositesWorld reports about the completion and structures of the FYST telescope by Airborne, featuring an off-axis Crossed-Dragone design, consisting of a parabolic primary mirror and a large concave secondary mirror, both with a diameter of roughly 6 meters. This creates a high-throughput, wide field-of-view telescope capable of mapping the sky rapidly and efficiently: https://www.compositesworld.com/news/airborne-completes-final-delivery-of-cfrp-mirror-structures-for-fred-young-submillimeter-telescope

photo: Jana Bauch (UzK)
video: Adam Polczyk, Niklas Carl (UzK)

Jülich Supercomputing Centre offers a training programme of about 25 HPC-relevant courses per year. The courses comprise lectures and hands-on training on programming languages, usage of HPC systems, parallel environments, MPI, hybrid programming, GPU programming, deep learning, and – in the near future – quantum computing.

https://sfb1601.astro.uni-koeln.de/events/trainings/

The New Parent-Child Room is open!

To create a family friendly environment the Physics Department at the University of Cologne has set up a parent-child room supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The room offers a back-up option for combining work and child care in case of urgency, e. g. gaps in child care or in exceptional circumstances.

The University of Cologne has obtained a new Collaborative Research Center (CRC) from the German Research Foundation (DFG). In addition, two existing CRCs have been extended. The new CRC 1601 is entitled “The Cosmic Evolution of the Habitats of Massive Stars”. The CRC will be funded for four years. The spokesperson of the new Collaborative Research Center is astronomy professor Dr. Stefanie Walch-Gassner from the Institute of Astrophysics at the University of Cologne. The researchers are investigating the cosmic evolution of the habitats of massive stars – the gaseous environments in which these stars are born and with which they interact. Due to their short lifetimes and high energy output, massive stars have significantly influenced the evolution of galaxies since the beginning of the universe.   

Within the CRC 1601, researchers are investigating the physical processes that determine the habitats of massive stars in different galactic environments. The new CRC combines four pillars: laboratory astrophysics, instrument development, observations, and theoretical modeling and simulations. The CRC partners have a strong profile as leading players in large international projects and have extensive experience in building and operating their own telescopes and developing state-of-the-art instruments in the infrared, submillimeter, and radio wave ranges. New developments, in particular the launch of the FYST/CCAT telescope in 2024, in which the Universities of Cologne and Bonn have a 25 percent stake, will be optimally supported by CRC 1601.

“We are extremely pleased about the new establishment of CRC 1601. The funding enables us to pursue an integrative approach. By combining the four pillars, we will be able to close major gaps in our understanding,” said Professor Dr. Walch-Gassner. “High-resolution studies of the habitats of massive stars will be combined with studies that look at the entire system ‘galaxy.’ This, and the inclusion of novel studies of the early universe and the associated extreme and highly variable conditions that prevail in young galaxies, will enable us to understand and quantify the cosmic evolution of the habitats of massive stars.”

Jan Voelkel
+49 221 470 2356
j.voelkel @verw.uni-koeln.de