Newsroom – Category: Materials & Technology

The year 2024 saw Max Planck scientists publishing exceptional research across disciplines. We have selected twelve highlights to share more

Researchers analyze disinformation in social media and develop ways to promote facts and fair dialogue online more

more

In order to support people in therapy or in everyday life in the future, machines will have to be capable of feeling and gently touching their human counterparts. Katherine J. Kuchenbecker and her team at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart are currently developing the technology required for this objective and are already testing sensitive robots for initial applications. more

The discovery that small organic molecules are excellent catalysts makes Ben List, Director at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, one of the pioneers of a new research field in chemistry. A portrait of the director at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung and 2021 Nobel laureate in chemistry. more

Max Planck Director Robert Schlögl in an interview about green hydrogen and sustainable CO₂ recycling more

In an interview, computer scientist Manuel Cebrian explains why contact tracing of corona infected people needs technical support and why it can work even if not everyone installs a tracing app. more

How fast the development from assisted to fully automated vehicles will progress is uncertain. One crucial factor here is the reliability with which a vehicle can navigate in its surroundings and react to unforeseeable incidents. Our group at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems showed that methods for motion analysis based on deep neural networks – likely components in future autonomous vehicles – can be confused by small patterns designed to “attack” these networks. more

Severed nerve tracts are very difficult to treat. If at all, the damage so far can only be repaired through complex operations. At the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, we have developed materials that stimulate damaged nerves into growth. Results from initial tests on mice show that nerve tracts can regenerate this way. more

Dierk Raabe, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research in Düsseldorf, explains the opportunities that industrial companies already have today to achieve the goal of a sustainable metal industry. more