The Max Planck Institute for Physics (MPP) is a
physics institute in
Munich,
Germany that specializes in
high energy physics
Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) and ...
and
astroparticle physics
Astroparticle physics, also called particle astrophysics, is a branch of particle physics that studies elementary particles of astronomical origin and their relation to astrophysics and cosmology. It is a relatively new field of research emerging ...
. It is part of the
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft and is also known as the
Werner Heisenberg
Werner Karl Heisenberg () (5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist and one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics. He published his work in 1925 in a Über quantentheoretische Umdeutung kinematis ...
Institute, after its first director in its current location.
The founding of the institute traces back to 1914, as an idea from
Fritz Haber,
Walther Nernst,
Max Planck,
Emil Warburg
Emil Gabriel Warburg (; 9 March 1846 – 28 July 1931) was a German physicist who during his career was professor of physics at the Universities of Strassburg, Freiburg and Berlin. He was president of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft 1899 ...
,
Heinrich Rubens
Heinrich Rubens (30 March 1865, Wiesbaden, Nassau, Germany – 17 July 1922, Berlin, Germany) was a German physicist. He is known for his measurements of the energy of black-body radiation which led Max Planck to the discovery of his radiatio ...
. On October 1, 1917, the institute was officially founded in Berlin as ''
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Physik'' (KWIP, Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics) with
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
as the first head director.
[Geschichte]
" (in German). Max Planck Institute for Physics. Abbreviated version in English:
." Retrieved 2015-08-30. In October 1922,
Max von Laue succeeded Einstein as managing director. Einstein gave up his position as a director of the institute in April 1933.
[ The Institute took part in the German nuclear weapon project from 1939 to 1942.][
In June 1942, ]Werner Heisenberg
Werner Karl Heisenberg () (5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist and one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics. He published his work in 1925 in a Über quantentheoretische Umdeutung kinematis ...
took over as managing director.[ A year after the end of fighting in Europe in World War II, the institute was moved to Göttingen and renamed the Max Planck Institute for Physics, with Heisenberg continuing as managing director. In 1946, ]Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Weizsäcker (; 28 June 1912 – 28 April 2007) was a German physicist and philosopher. He was the longest-living member of the team which performed nuclear research in Germany during the Second World War, under W ...
and Karl Wirtz
Karl Eugen Julius Wirtz (24 April 1910 – 12 February 1994) was a German nuclear physicist, born in Cologne. He was arrested by the allied British and American Armed Forces and incarcerated at Farm Hall for six months in 1945 under Operation ...
joined the faculty as the directors for theoretical and experimental physics, respectively.
In 1955 the institute made the decision to move to Munich, and soon after began construction of its current building, designed by Sep Ruf. The institute moved into its current location on September 1, 1958, and took on the new name the Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics, still with Heisenberg as the managing director. In 1991, the institute was split into the Max Planck Institute for Physics, the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics.
Structure
There are three departments with multiple research groups:
* Structure of matter
**Innovative calculation methods in particle physics (Giulia Zanderighi
Giulia Zanderighi is an Italian-born theoretical physicist born in 1974. She is the first woman director at the Max Planck Institute for Physics.
Education
Giulia Zanderighi received her undergraduate degree from the University of Milan in 199 ...
)
**Quantum field theory and scattering amplitudes (Johannes Henn)
**String theory (Dieter Lüst
Dieter Lüst (born 21 September 1956 in Chicago) is a German physicist, full professor for mathematical physics at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich since 2004 and a director of the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Munich. His research ...
)
** ATLAS detector ( Siegfried Bethke)
**Belle II experiment
The BelleII experiment is a particle physics experiment designed to study the properties of B mesons (heavy particles containing a beauty quark) and other particles. BelleII is the successor to the Belle experiment, and commissioned at the Super ...
(Hans-Günther Moser)
**Gravitational theory (Angnis Schmidt-May)
*New technologies
** AWAKE – Plasma Wakefield Acceleration (Patric Muggli)
** ILC and CLIC: Linear Colliders (Frank Simon)
*Astroparticle physics
**Particle physics and cosmology ( Georgi Dvali)
**Theoretical astroparticle physics (Georg G. Raffelt)
** CRESST experiment (Federica Petricca)
** GERDA and LEGEND: the nature of the neutrino ( Allen Caldwell)
**KATRIN
Katrin is a feminine given name. It is a German and Swedish contracted form of Katherine. Katrin may refer to:
Sports
* Katrin Apel (born 1973), German biathlete
* Katrin Beinroth (born 1981), German judoka
* Katrin Borchert (born 1969), German ...
and TRISTAN
Tristan ( Latin/Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; cy, Trystan), also known as Tristram or Tristain and similar names, is the hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. In the legend, he is tasked with escorting the Irish princess Iseult to wed ...
: Neutrinos and dark matter (Susanne Mertens)
**MADMAX experiment: searching for axion dark matter (Béla Majorovits)
**MAGIC
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrel ...
and CTA: Gamma ray telescopes (Masahiro Teshima)
Current and former directors
The current directorial board of the institute is
* Siegfried Bethke
* Allen Caldwell
* Giorgi Dvali
Georgi (Gia) Dvali ( Georgian: გიორგი (გია) დვალი; born May 30, 1964) is a Georgian theoretical physicist and science communicator in Georgia. He is a professor of theoretical physics at the Ludwig Maximilian Univers ...
* Johannes Henn
* Dieter Lüst
Dieter Lüst (born 21 September 1956 in Chicago) is a German physicist, full professor for mathematical physics at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich since 2004 and a director of the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Munich. His research ...
(current managing director)
* Masahiro Teshima
* Giulia Zanderighi
Giulia Zanderighi is an Italian-born theoretical physicist born in 1974. She is the first woman director at the Max Planck Institute for Physics.
Education
Giulia Zanderighi received her undergraduate degree from the University of Milan in 199 ...
Former directors of the institute include:
* Ludwig Biermann
Ludwig Franz Benedikt Biermann (March 13, 1907 in Hamm – January 12, 1986 in München) was a German astronomer, obtaining his Ph.D. from Göttingen University in 1932.
He made important contributions to astrophysics and plasma physics, di ...
* Heinz Billing
* Gerd Buschhorn
* Peter Debye
* Hans-Peter Dürr
Hans-Peter Dürr (7 October 1929 – 18 May 2014) was a German physicist. He worked on nuclear and quantum physics, elementary particles and gravitation, epistemology, and philosophy, and he advocated responsible scientific and energy policies ...
* Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
* Gerhard von Gierke
* Fritz Haber
* Werner Heisenberg
Werner Karl Heisenberg () (5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist and one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics. He published his work in 1925 in a Über quantentheoretische Umdeutung kinematis ...
* Leon Van Hove
* Max von Laue
* Walther Nernst
* Max Planck
* Heinrich Rubens
Heinrich Rubens (30 March 1865, Wiesbaden, Nassau, Germany – 17 July 1922, Berlin, Germany) was a German physicist. He is known for his measurements of the energy of black-body radiation which led Max Planck to the discovery of his radiatio ...
* Norbert Schmitz
* Leo Stodolsky
* Emil Warburg
Emil Gabriel Warburg (; 9 March 1846 – 28 July 1931) was a German physicist who during his career was professor of physics at the Universities of Strassburg, Freiburg and Berlin. He was president of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft 1899 ...
* Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Weizsäcker (; 28 June 1912 – 28 April 2007) was a German physicist and philosopher. He was the longest-living member of the team which performed nuclear research in Germany during the Second World War, under W ...
* Karl Wirtz
Karl Eugen Julius Wirtz (24 April 1910 – 12 February 1994) was a German nuclear physicist, born in Cologne. He was arrested by the allied British and American Armed Forces and incarcerated at Farm Hall for six months in 1945 under Operation ...
References
External links
Homepage of the Max Planck Institute for Physics
Education in Munich
Physics
Physics institutes
1917 establishments in Germany
{{physics-org-stub