FORENSIC PHYSICSWhen fatal stabbing becomes a scientific experiment
In 2017, Stefan Axmann came to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the Mainz University Medical Center to establish a forensic physics department. It attracted a lot of attention from the media at the time, which was keen to report on the new facility, the first of its kind in Germany. The physicist himself likes to talk about his enthusiasm for his work and explains how he ended up in Mainz.
GUTENBERG ALUMNIA long winter in Antarctica
Physicist Dr. Benjamin Eberhardt from Mainz is living and conducting research at the South Pole for an entire year. Together with his colleague Dr. Kathrin Mallot, he is overseeing the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The observatory is operated by an international consortium in which Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) is a major participant.
AFRICAN LINGUISTICSPilot project on linguistic integration and strategies of language acquisition
The Department of Anthropology and African Studies of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Institute of African Studies of Goethe University Frankfurt initiated the joint pilot project "Africans in the Rhine-Main region" in early 2019. It is dedicated to the currently much-debated sociopolitical issue of linguistic integration. The Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) Initiative Funding for Research finances this partnership undertaking.
NUCLEAR PHYSICSNew professor in accelerator physics
In September 2018, Professor Atoosa Meseck was appointed Professor of Accelerator Physics – Collective Effects and Nonlinear Beam Dynamics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). The professorship was instituted in cooperation with the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB), where Meseck is researching into novel concepts for particle accelerators. One particular class of components, known as undulators, feature prominently in her work.
ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT PROFESSORSHIPHighest endowed German research award brings world-class biologist to Mainz University
He is a world-leading cell biologist and chromosome researcher and recipient of an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship, the most highly-endowed research award in Germany: Professor Peter Baumann. In 2017, Baumann left the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Kansas City in the USA and moved to Germany to work at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), where he supports the strategic realignment and expansion of the life sciences disciplines.
SPINTRONICS"We need to get out of our comfort zone"
Professor Jairo Sinova came from Texas A&M University to Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in 2014 to take up an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship. He is one of the world's leading researchers in the field of spintronics and has already set-up the Spin Phenomena Interdisciplinary Center (SPICE) and the Interdisciplinary Spintronics Research (INSPIRE Group) at Mainz University.
CULTURAL STUDIESNew degree course focusing on the translation of indigenous languages
In cooperation with the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) is planning to launch a specialized degree course in translation and interpreting of Mexican indigenous languages. Professor Martina Schrader-Kniffki of the JGU Faculty of Translation Studies, Linguistics, and Cultural Studies (FTSK) in Germersheim is in charge of the project, which is currently entering a decisive phase.
ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICSTracking the climate using MESSy
Professor Holger Tost wants to find out what is going on in the atmosphere and uses computer simulations to investigate the processes influencing our climate and weather. He was appointed to the Carl Zeiss Foundation Endowed Professorship on Environmental Modeling in the Climate System at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in 2016.
ISRAEL PROFESSORSHIP"We talk about one another rather than with each other"
The first holder of the Israel Professorship at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) takes up his work. Yossi David comes from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and is joining the Department of Communication at Mainz University. He will be a guest professor for three years with the goal of stimulating German-Israeli exchange in the field of Communication Studies.
ANTHROPOLOGY AND AFRICAN STUDIESSouth African exchange student researches underground hip hop
Sikelelwa Anita Mashiyi is the first exchange student to come from the University of the Western Cape to Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). A Master's degree student, she is currently undertaking research in JGU's African Music Archives (AMA) on the underground hip hop of South African townships. With the Department of Anthropology and African Studies planning to intensify its partnership with three African universities and to establish a network for research and teaching, further visits might follow.