Max Planck Institutes (MPIs)

The Max Planck Society is Germany's most successful research organization. Since its establishment in 1948, no fewer than 18 Nobel laureates have emerged from the ranks of its scientists, putting it on a par with the best and most prestigious research institutions worldwide. The more than 15,000 publications each year in internationally renowned scientific journals are proof of the outstanding research work conducted at Max Planck Institutes – and many of those articles are among the most-cited publications in the relevant field.

Max Planck Institutes are independent and autonomous in the selection and conduct of their research pursuits. Each institutes carries out basic research in the life sciences, natural sciences and the social and human sciences. A full list of all Max Planck Institutes can be found here.

Student Story|Alex Nesser, BioE '21

Alex Nesser, BioE '21

Host: Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology

Location: Berlin

The Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology is a research institute located in the heart of Berlin on the Charité medical campus. Currently, research is being done in molecular genetics, immunology, cell biology, epidemiology, clinical research and protein chemistry. The institute is currently directed by Emmanuelle Charpentier, whose lab I interned in this past summer. Her lab includes a wide range of topics such as Crispr, Toxin-Antitoxin Systems, and Bacterial and Vesicular Interactions with Host Innate Immunity, which is what I focused my project on.

During my internship, I characterized the innate immune response elicited due to the interaction of Streptococcus pyogenes membrane vesicles obtained from clinical isolates and through animal passages with human monocytes as well as epithelial cells. I challenged monocytes and epithelial cells with a variety of membrane vesicle conditions and assessed the response induced through techniques including live-imaging microscopy, Western Blot, ELISA, Proteome Profiler, and SDS-page. Additionally, I established a dual system assay to resemble human infection barriers with monocytes and keratinocytes, investigated the entry mechanisms of membrane vesicles, described the membrane vesicle activation of TLR and inflammasome signaling pathways, assessed the induction of monocyte chemotaxis in response to membrane vesicles, and calculated the effect of epithelial wound healing due to membrane vesicles.

From this experience, I got a taste for not only living independently, but doing so in a foreign country. Being responsible for myself as well as my project in the lab, I have found that I feel more confident both as a young researcher and as an individual. I realized that everyone, both in the lab and in the world, has had a different and interesting life experience than you and there is always something you can learn from them. I hope to apply the knowledge that I have acquired from abroad, both lab techniques and life lessons, to my educational experience at MIT.

Student Story|Kevin Tang, Physics '19

Kevin Tang, Physics '19

Kevin exploring the stellarator in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Host: Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics
Location: Griefswald

While the MPI for Plasma Physics Garching branch hosts the ASDEX Upgrade, a fusion device of the tokamak design, the MPI Greifswald research center contains the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X), a stellarator. This is where I spent my MISTI Germany summer internship. Extensive research has been conducted on tokamaks, but stellarators are relatively exotic in the fusion field due to their complex geometries and difficult construction.

I worked on multiple projects relating to two different diagnostics meant for W7-X. The first diagnostic, the Phantom, is a visual spectrum fast-camera currently in operation used to examine turbulent or coherent fluctuations in the intrinsic emission coming from the plasma edge and divertor regions at frame rates up to 391,000 frames per second. The second diagnostic, being the Gas-Puff Imaging (GPI) system, is in design to be implemented during operation phase 2, which couples the fast-camera system with a gas-puff to examine line emission from the plasma edge.8

My work consisted of aggregating all information of the two diagnostics into an informational wiki, simulating the GPI optical setup using Zemax software, determining the viable ports for the GPI, installing the Phantom system inside the W7-X Torus Hall, and aligning and calibrating its view for the run.

From running virtual optics simulations to handling all of the sensitive equipment on the bench and inside the Torus Hall, this research experience has given me an all-around taste of working at an experimental fusion reactor.

Student Story|Craig Thorburn, Brain and Cog/Linguistics '19

Craig Thorburn, Brain and Cog/Linguistics '19

Craig outside the Frankfurt offices

Host: Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
Location: Frankfurt

I worked on a study looking at the size of the auditory cortex in bilingual speakers. The hypothesis of this study suggests that this section of the brain which deals with sounds will be smaller in speakers of two languages with very similar sounds and larger if there is little overlap in the sounds of the languages. The problem with this is there is no one single quantitative way in which to compare the sounds of different languages. This was my main task during my internship. I used different software to study the distribution of sounds and features across languages. I studied several corpora – many of which totaled more than 100,000 words - writing code to analyze the frequency and positions of the sounds of the language.

One of the main skills I improved over the summer was my coding ability. I improved my python skills and learned how to use MATLAB. I did not realize how much coding is used in this field of scientific research, so it was very interesting to experience this.

I enjoyed the more relaxed work environment, which was slightly different to what I had expected going into the internship. My hours were flexible and everyone sat down to eat lunch together every day, which I really enjoyed and was different to what I had experienced before. It was great to meet so many brilliant and wonderful people!

The working environment was very collaborative with lots of researchers working together on various projects and asking input from other people at the institute. I enjoyed being a part of journal club, discussing recent interesting papers and project proposals.

Student Story|Tomohiro Soejima, Chem/Phys '17

Tomohiro Soejima, Chem/Phys '17

Host: Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research

Location: Stuttgart

The Max-Planck Institute for Solid State Research is located in the suburbs of Stuttgart. Its focus ranges from fundamental condensed matter physics to solid state chemistry with an eye on practical applications. It is perhaps best known for its Nobel-prize-winning director, Klaus von Klitzing. The Takagi department explores fundamental physics by synthesizing various transition metal oxides. My project was to investigate so-called quantum spin liquid behavior in iridates. This required me to carry out synthesis of iridates and also to characterize their behavior. Since I was doing chemistry-physics double major at MIT, I was well prepared to perform these two seemingly disparate components of the same research project. I was also lucky to have great mentors, who taught me new experimental skills. The picture shows me holding a sealed quartz tube used to perform synthesis in vacuum.

The Takagi department was in a unique place in terms of the work culture. The group is quite international, with Japanese members comprising a major part of the group. This let me experience an interesting hybrid of Japanese work culture and German work culture. It is also worth pointing out that the Takagi department has a large number of technicians who help with measurements and maintenance. This creates a clearer division of labor between students and technicians than in the U.S., where students are expected to perform a broader range of work.

This internship gave me a great opportunity to explore a new world, in terms of both science and life. On one hand, I got to experience a new scientific environment, which helped me figure out what I was truly interested in. It was a hugely important step in my career. On the other hand, it was nice to be away from my home – Japan – and my second home – the states – to experience a different environment. During my stay there, I was able to see German society’s strengths and weaknesses and how they are different from that of America. I also learnt how welcoming Germany is to international scientists. I hope to be back to Germany in some capacity in the future, be it for a short stay for a conference or a longer stay to conduct research.

Student Story|Jessica Varner, MArch '19

Jessica Varner, MArch '19

"Visiting the Alte Galerie with a coworker"

Host: Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

Location: Berlin

Founded in 1994, the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) in Berlin is one of the more than 80 research Institutes administered by the Max Planck Society in the sciences and humanities. Since its inception, the Institute has approached the fundamental questions of the history of knowledge from the Neolithic era to the present day. Researchers at the Institute pursue an historical epistemology in their study of how new categories of thought, proof, and experience have emerged in interactions between the sciences and the ambient.

Living and working in Berlin was challenging and rewarding. The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science was international, so most of the meetings and work were conducted in English. The archival work outside of the Institute was in all German, so switching back and forth from different languages all the time was more exhausting than expected. But with the help of MISTI and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, I have completed my first dissertation chapter and I am now well on my way to completing my doctoral work in the history of architecture, chemicals, and corporations. Furthermore, after submission of the initial research, I was selected to present the chapter at a conference in May in Montreal.

The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science is a magical place with an endless supply of books and non-stop opportunities to learn from colleagues over coffee or lunch. In returning back to MIT, I know that Berlin and the German context will work its way into my research path and will continue to be an active place in my work for the duration of my academic career.

Student Story|Jeanette Brown, Physics '17

Jeanette Brown, Physics '17

Jeannette working with a colleague in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Host: Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics
Location: Greifswald

A stellarator is type of fusion reactor, and the Greifswald location has recently built and begun experimentation with the Wendelstein 7-X. The goal is to explore the possibility of this particular reactor configuration as a blueprint for a powerplant-scale reactor.

My task was to figure out why a set of diagnostics equipment, neutral-gas manometers, failed during the last experimental campaign with the reactor online. The manometers are essentially pressure gauges, telling us what is the quality of the vacuum in the region where they are stationed. Two of the five manometers suffered catastrophic failures, and it was my job to figure out my this happened and whether it can be prevented in the future.

All MIT physics students are expected to take a hands-on experimental lab course and this class gave me the tools I needed to make this internship a success. I already knew how to analyze data, present my ideas to others, write scientific reports, and most importantly, how to acclimate myself to a new lab and project quickly.

I have learned that in order to be happy, I need to pursue meaningful work. Fusion is an underappreciated field in physics that will hopefully save our world from climate change and the impending energy crisis. I don’t want to sit idly by anymore. Even Chancellor Angela Merkel came to Greifswald and had the honor of turning on the reactor to create its first plasma.

Student Story|Frances Lenahan, DMSE '16

Frances Lenahan, DMSE '16

Franny during a weekend barbeque in Bavaria

Host: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
Location: Erlangen/Nuremberg

The Russell Division is named after Phillip Russell, who first proposed the photonic crystal fiber (PCF). This is the group’s specialty and they regularly conduct experiments in low threshold nonlinear gas-laser devices, photonic band-gaps, optical tweezers, supercontinuum lasers, and more. The purpose of my project was to design and fabricate a device which encapsulates and protects the nano-spike/hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (HC-PCF) coupling system developed previously by my direct supervisor. This device could then be used to perform gas experiments without requiring a vacuum system, as the gas can simply be pumped into or out of the HC-PCF.

The nanospike/HC-PCF coupling system had previously shown transmission values around 88% and is lens-free, reflection-free, self-stabilizing, and self aligning. Unfortunately, it is a delicate system which can only be created under laboratory conditions. By encapsulating this system into a more robust and portable device, a wider range of experiments are made possible. I fabricated the device using multiple capillaries held together either through splicing or high-vacuum glue. I also tapered and HF-etched the nanospikes used in the experiments.

I will be spending the next two years here in Erlangen, Germany obtaining a Master’s degree in optical technologies. I am considering continuing my summer work here at MPI but may also move to a new lab once the semester starts. In this city alone there is MPI, Siemens, a Fraunhofer Institute and Hemholtz Society. The opportunities are endless and my journey has only just begun.

Student Story|Sam Moore, Physics '16

Sam Moore, Physics '16

Sam near the Hamburg port and Elbe river

Host: Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter
Location: Hamburg

I worked in the Quantum Condensed Matter Dynamics group at MPI in Hamburg. The primary interest is to understand how materials respond to strong laser fields. In my project, I shone infrared light on carbon nanotubes (tiny rolled-up graphene sheets). The infrared light then causes the nanotubes to vibrate strongly. Using ultrafast technology, we were able to create a “movie” of the nanotubes’ response on 1-quadrillionth-of-a-second timescales.

As in any good research experience, I learned a lot with the project. Collaboration was crucial. My colleagues were constantly learning from each other and sharing the group’s resources. We also collaborated with people outside of our group, such as invited speakers for talks. The essential aspect of science enabled me to meet physicists from relevant graduate schools and allowed me a foot in the door.

The greater DESY facility is home to huge facilities for understanding the ultrafast optical properties of materials. International research groups from particle physics to biology come to DESY to use the facilities. The immense resources and generous funding from the German government means that I will be tempted to return for a postdoctoral position!

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