A number of people at the University of Bremen will be keeping their fingers crossed when the finals of the nation-wide youth science competition “Jugend forscht” get under way on May 26, 2016. For several months now, members of the University have been supporting three young winners of the regional competition held in Bremen with their know-how and technical facilities. In the category Materials Science, Arta Safari from the high school Alten Gymnasium has been practicing with highly complex computer simulations. And his fellow high-school students, Henrik Feuersänger and Tobias Henke, have spent over a year studying the growth characteristics of slime fungi at the University’s Institute of Biophysics. “This learning experience will stand us in good stead for the rest of our lives”, says the 16-year-old full of enthusiasm. And the University researchers are really impressed by what the three youths can do.
Fascinated by quantum simulations
Since he was just 14 years old, Arta Safari has been permitted to attend the international research group “Hybrid Materials Interfaces” led by material scientist Professor Lucio Colombi Ciacchi. He just can’t get enough of quantum simulations. “I work with a model system that enables me to do computer simulations on the behavior of molecules”, he explains. The 16-year-old seems to thrive on highly complex formula calculations. “When he started attending our group at the young age of fourteen, he could already work at the level of a Bachelor student”, says his mentor Dr. Susan Köppen, clearly impressed, and he has absolutely no problem presenting to the group in English. Arta is very grateful that the University gave him this opportunity at such a young age. “We wouldn’t normally admit such a young pupil for fear they could be overstrained”, says Susan Köppen. But Arta Safari is different: At the tender age of 14 he was already admitted to the University as a guest auditor and was attending lectures in theoretical chemistry. Susan Köppen was quick on the uptake: “We simply must give him a chance” and offered him a work experience. He subsequently developed his own project for “Jugend forscht”.
Not possible to carry out experiments at home
Artas fellow high-school students, Henrik Feuersänger and Tobias Henke, are “old hats” at competing in “Jugend forscht”: In 2015 they were winners on the regional level and qualified for the nation-wide finals. Then they also received support from Professor Hans-Günther Döbereiner and his research team at the Institute of Biophysics. “Our experiment series on slime fungi have become so complex that we can no longer work at home”, says Henrik. “We’re very happy that the University has made things possible for us!” The two receive intensive expert support from Döbereiner‘s doctoral student and winner of the Bremen Study Prize, John Lee, who is also researching slime fungi. “His work is very close to our topic, which is just great”, says Tobias. Professor Döbereiner is most impressed by what he has seen of the two high-school students and their work discipline. “They visited the institute to carry out experiments many times over a period of several months”, he says – and in the core period they came every day.
By train to Paderborn
All three will travel together to the finals by train. They are not rivals, though: Arta is competing in a different area than Tobias and Henrik. Their chances of winning? “Difficult to say”, says Tobias, “there will be some really tough competition”. He knows that from last year’s finals. After all, only the very best from all over Germany reach the finals. And even if they don’t make first place, the three agree: “We won’t stop here!” Research holds such a fascination for all three of them.
For more information on this topic, please contact:
University of Bremen
Faculty of Production Engineering – Mechanical Engineering & Process Engineering
Hybrid Materials Interfaces Group
Dr. Susan Köppen
Phone: +49 421 218 64572
email: koeppenprotect me ?!hmi.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
Faculty of Physics/Electrical Engineering
Institute of Biophysics
Prof.Dr. Hans-Günther Döbereiner
Phone: +49 421 218 62305
email: hgdprotect me ?!biophysik.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
