
The mouse, the poet, and the dance
The Clemens Brentano Collection provides intimate insights into the life and world of one of the greatest German Romantic poets. Along with hundreds of examples of lively correspondence, there are drafts of poems and household plans, outlines for dramas and drawings. The collection, which was acquired by Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in 1950, is housed in the Mainz City Library.

The riddle of the icy droplets
In order to understand atmospheric processes, it is necessary to discover how ice nuclei form within clouds. This is the task of the INUIT research group, to which Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) is contributing. A team in the laboratory of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics is working with small drops, a wind tunnel like no other in the world, and a special cold chamber that will help find answers to these fundamental questions.

Saving a desert palace in the green Jordan valley
The caliph's palace Khirbat al-Minya is an important testimony to early Islamic culture in Israel. However, the site has been falling into disrepair ever since German archaeologists uncovered it in the 1930s. Dr. Hans-Peter Kuhnen, Head Academic Director at the Department of Ancient Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), has taken a first step to wards stopping the decay.

The essence of all things
The largest object is a peach stone lying next to cereal grains, tiny grape pips, and the seeds of wild herbs. At first glance, the Archaeobotanical Reference Collection of the Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology division at the Department of Ancient Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) seems anything but impressive. But as Dr. Margarethe König begins to tell of the stories and history that form its background, it is becoming more and more interesting.

A small publisher with a varied program
Angelika Schulz-Parthu is the owner of the quite unique and very successful Leinpfad Verlag publishing house. Among her extensive publishing program are cookbooks, city guidebooks, crime novels set in the region, and much, much more. She discovered the world of literature in the 1970s while at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). The former German Studies student is still well aware of how much she owes to her time here.

Summer vacation with top researchers
The International Summer School (ISS) organized by the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz offers students from around the world an opportunity to participate in an exceptional program. Every year IMB selects a small group of budding scientists from hundreds of applicants and, next to lectures, directly involves them in current research projects for a period of six weeks. The Mainz University Medical Center and the Faculty of Biology of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) also participate in this project which contributes towards enhancing Mainz's reputation as an international science hub.

Tracking the climate by airplane
Professor Peter Hoor and his Airborne Measurements and Transport Processes work group at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) are studying the processes that occur in the tropopause. The events that take place in this boundary layer between the stratosphere and the troposphere are still puzzling scientists but have significant effects on the climate of our planet.

A joint Master’s program at four European universities
Want to study in Lithuania and Germany and then also in Sweden or Estonia? The international Master's degree program Sociolinguistics and Multilingualism – or 'SoMu' for short – makes it possible. Universities in all four countries are working together to provide insight into the multifaceted linguistic landscape, society, and history of the Baltic region. Professor Anneli Sarhimaa of the Northern European and Baltic Languages and Cultures research and teaching unit at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has helped create this unique degree program.

Alumnus memories meet the new School of Music
Chris Bremus is a successful film composer. One important step to this career was his education at the School of Music of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). Years later, the 37-year-old has returned to the campus to talk about his time at university, about movies, commercials, and about how lucky he has been.

Integration in practice and in theory
He never actually intended to go to university. After graduating from high school, Necati Benli preferred to join the Hesse State Police. However, in a roundabout way, this brought him eventually to Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). The president of police, Benli's superior, needed someone with specialist insight into Islam and its practices and wanted to use theory in order to underpin police procedure. And so he made Benli an unusual proposal.