Center of Excellence in Photonics celebrates "Day of Light"

Jena (Germany) | June 12, 2023

On June 9, the Center of Excellence in Photonics, consisting mainly of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF and the Institute for Applied Physics (IAP) of the University of Jena, invited employees, friends and partners to celebrate photonics research "made in Jena". In addition to presentations and networking opportunities, visitors had the chance to catch exclusive glimpses behind some otherwise closed laboratory doors and to visit the new research building of Fraunhofer IOF.

The science location Jena is one of the "big players" in photonic research. With their pioneering work, the Fraunhofer IOF and the IAP of the University of Jena in particular have repeatedly contributed to pushing back the boundaries of what is technically feasible at the tradition-rich optics location of Jena: Just recently, a team from the Fraunhofer IOF received an award for the development of a novel satellite technology. In the future, it will help to significantly reduce the consumption of water in agriculture in times of climate change and increasing periods of drought.

Shortly before, a space mission had been launched to explore Jupiter and its moons, in which Fraunhofer researchers from Jena also played an important role. Colleagues at the IAP, meanwhile, were delighted about the continuation of the Collaborative Research Center on Light-Matter Interactions, for which the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) had approved new funding a few days earlier.

In short, there was plenty to celebrate when employees, friends and external partners of the Center of Excellence came together on June 9 to celebrate the "Day of Light". Parallel to the event, the alumni network meeting of the Center also took place. With lectures on fiber technology for high-power lasers, held by Dr. Thomas Schreiber (Fraunhofer IOF), or on nanomicroscopy in extreme ultraviolet by Dr. Jan Rothardt (IAP & Helmholtz Institute Jena), the event offered space for personal development and networking as well as for professional exchange. A guest lecture by Dr. Christoph Braig from the Institut für angewandte Photonik e.V. (Institute for Applied Photonics) in Berlin complemented this offer: He spoke about "Diffractive Wavefront Correction for Spectroscopy in the Extreme Ultraviolet and Soft X-Ray Range".

In addition, visitors to the "Day of Light" were able to catch an exclusive glimpse behind otherwise closed laboratory doors. The guided tours of the construction site of the third extension building of the Fraunhofer IOF on the Beutenberg Campus continued to be particularly popular among the participants. The building, which is currently under construction, is scheduled for completion in 2024 and will then offer more than 2,000 square meters of additional space for photonic research from the heart of Jena, the city of light.