Color-Meets-Flavor Outreach

Color met flavor in a delicious fusion of science and taste at the first-ever Dortmund Science Night on September 27th. Members of the Bonn, Siegen, and Dortmund groups handed out ice cream inspired by the laws of particle physics. Each quark was represented by a different ice cream flavor, allowing visitors to enjoy physically allowed combinations of quarks.

More than 500 attendees eagerly lined up to sample the different flavors while learning about particle physics. Among the guests were Ina Brandes, Minister of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, Thomas Westphal, Lord Mayor of Dortmund, and Prof. Dr. Manfred Bayer, President of TU Dortmund University. The event was a great success and proved that sparking curiosity about the building blocks of the universe can be as simple and enjoyable as a scoop of ice cream.

During the winter semester 2024/25, Prof. Dr. Alexander Lenz will give a lecture directed towards everyone interested in physics. The lecture will cover different formalisms of classical mechanics, starting from the Newtonian axioms, as well as an introduction to quantum mechanics at a level somewhere between a popular science talk and a theoretical lecture in a Bachelor degree programme. The first lecture will take place on 20th November 2024.

More details can be found here.

On the occasion of the 70th birthday of CERN, the University of Siegen has invited students of upper secondary schools and their teachers to attend a theme day revolving around the institute and its research highlights. Besides games and expert talks by Prof. Dr. Alexander Lenz and CERN scientists, the celebrations included a poster and short-video contest for groups of up to four students with an excursion to CERN to win among other prizes. The amazing three winning contributions can be watched here.

Also in Bonn a programme was offered to celebrate 70 years of CERN. The programme spanned from particle physics shows and science slams to a symposium on CERN with birthday cake supply. More information can be found in this article published by the University of Bonn.

Have you ever wondered about what distinguishes a Qubit in quantum computing from a bit in your computer? In Siegen, that and other physics topics are frequently explained using acrobatics, as presented for example in the videos below.

Explaining Bits, Single QuBits and Entanglement with acrobatics

In Quantum Computing Nothing Else Matters - but entanglement

Marvel super heroes entertaining pupils and being beaten by the laws of physics

The project that combines research in physics and performing arts like music and acrobatics in the Apollo theatre in Siegen goes into second round. In this installment, Dr. Heike Riel (Head of Quantum Computing Europe at IBM) will give a talk on quantum computing.

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To celebrate 50 years of experimental physics with the charm quark, the Dortmund group is organizing a series of events that will culminate at the end of November with the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the J/ψ meson (consisting of two charm quarks). On social media, the last 50 years of research on the charm quark will be reviewed week by week, starting with 1974 and ending with the 50th anniversary of the publication of the J/ψ discovery papers.

Up-to-date information on upcoming events, as well as the opportunity to join in the celebrations, can be found on the group's Instagram and X(formerly Twitter) channel, @dortmund_lhcb.

Physics students of the University of Siegen visited the Jülich Super Computing Centre (JSC) on 26th June 2023 as part of the new lecture "Introduction to lattice gauge field theories" offered by Dr. Oliver Witzel. The excursion comprised tours of current super and quantum computers, the clean room of the Helmholtz Nano Facility, and the Cooler Synchroton (COSY).

More information can be found in the article published by the University of Siegen.

In the master classes, students experience how the physics of the smallest particles is explored. The focus is on analyzing data from the large-scale experiments. In this way, the young people can carry out their own hands-on activities, gain specialist insights and learn about the importance of basic research.

Our pilot project for bringing together fundamental research in physics with performing arts like music and acrobatics was visited by 500 people in the Apollo theatre in Siegen.

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The "Rent a Prof" programme offers lectures to schools, where topics of current physics research are presented. With that we provide a glimpse into science as well as in the academic and research environment at universities. In particular in primary schools and in the early years of secondary school interest for these activities turns out to be balanced among different genders. We started these events in Siegen and plan to extend them to Bonn, Jülich and Dortmund.

Rent a Prof Siegen Homepage

Prof. Alex Lenz at primary school class 4a

Public lectures about a wide range of physics reasearch fields.

The lecture series "Between Bread Rolls and Borussia" offers weekly presentations on diverse physics topics for the general public, specifically targeting adults, children, and teenagers. Delivered by experts from the TU Dortmund environment, the lectures take place every Saturday at 10:30 AM in Lecture Hall II. A special show commemorating the 20th anniversary is planned for January 27, 2024, at the Dortmunder U. For those who can't attend in person, a live stream is provided. Additionally, there's an online quiz for students, with special certificates awarded to the participants.

CERN has recently unveiled its latest LHCb exhibition, offering visitors an immersive experience into the world of particle physics. The display showcases parts of the actual LHCb experiment and features an engaging virtual tour enhanced by state-of-the-art audio-visuals. Guests can delve into the intricate designs and groundbreaking engineering behind the LHCb experiment through interactive touch screens and detailed graphics.

Everyone, regardless of their knowledge in science, is invited to a virtual tour of the LHCb cavern and the surface assembly hall. Questions are welcome! Registration is required to receive event information.

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