What exactly is life? Can life-like processes, functions and objects be simulated and replicated in the laboratory? These are the fundamental questions that this innovative educational program will address.
The Max Planck School "Matter to Life" is organized as a supra-regional research and education network involving, among others, several Max Planck Institutes, the Universities of Heidelberg and Göttingen, the Technical University of Munich and the Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials.
First-class scientists from different disciplines and with overlapping research interests supervise and teach the students. Laura De Laporte, Andreas Herrmann and Andrij Pich are involved in the program as fellows on behalf of the DWI. Together with their colleague Franzsika Schönebeck (RWTH Aachen University), they teach the block "Macromolecular Structures and Functions" and contribute with their respective expertise:
- Franziska Schönebeck: Principles of Organic Chemistry and Stereochemistry.
- Andrij Pich: Synthetic Macromolecules - Structure and Chemistry
- Laura De Laporte: Synthetic macromolecules - characterization and properties
- Andreas Herrmann: Biomacromolecules
They also offer research rotations in their laboratories and thesis projects.
Interested students can find more information about the program and the application process on the School's website.