16.06.2010
Soft condensed matter: from molecular forces to new materials

A new international graduate college at the University of Freiburg is dedicating its energies to "soft matter" - a growing field of science which is of interest to chemists, physicists and engineers alike. Soft condensed matter refers to condensed substances which only partially fulfil the defining characteristics of one of the states of matter "solid" or "liquid" and which have certain extraordinary capabilities, including their ability to react to external stimuli such as exposure to light.

The programme run by the graduate college in Freiburg includes 21 doctoral theses in the material research field. The doctorates will deal with the synergies existing between the controlling factors and their influence on material properties. The idea is to undertake research into these synergies to the extent that they are controllable. All work will be supervised bilaterally by one German and one French scientist.

The graduate college "Soft condensed matter: from molecular forces to new materials" is one of the twelve new colleges currently being set up by the German Research Foundation to promote up and coming researchers. The cooperation partner of the new college in Freiburg is the Université de Strasbourg. Colleagues from Basel and Mulhouse are also taking part. The objective is to promote the training of young researchers in the material research field. The speaker of the graduate college - which expects funding of around five million euros - is Professor Günter Reiter, who holds the chair of experimental polymer physics at the University of Freiburg.