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Public lecture „Licht aus Dunkler Materie “
We are pleased to invite you to the public lecture “Licht aus Dunkler Materie " (in German).
Elisa Pueschel will present exciting new results and perspectives in the search for the mysterious Dark Matter, and show how her ‘Dark100’ project is breaking new ground with innovative approaches to uncovering this elusive form of matter.
When 30.4.25 at 20:00
Where Planetarium Bochum
For registration and further information, please have a look at the Planetarium’s homepage.

Picture:
A possible sky map if Dark Matter indirectly produces radiation through rare interactions.
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High school student interns at EP2
From 9th to 11th April, two high school students were guests at the Chair of Experimental Plasma Physics. They experimented with the sputter coater, gained insight into current plasma research at the Ruhr-Universität and observed scientists at work.
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The student's project week during the fall vacations
The project week at the Ruhr University Bochum took place again this autumn break. Students could choose from three workshops. In the workshop 'From Plasma to Gold Layer', they learned exciting facts about the properties and diverse applications of plasmas. The students used the sputter coater to create thin layers of gold and examined the coatings. They investigated the best way to deposit the layers and presented their research in a poster session. The project week also provided an opportunity to learn about the working environment of scientists and current research projects and to get a taste of university life.
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Luminous plasmas were ignited at MINTsight.BOchum
On 18th February the MINTsight.BOchum, a study orientation day took place. High school students attended a lecture, were guided through laboratories, and could participate in exciting workshops. In our plasma workshop, students gained hands-on experience with these fascinating gases and gained insight into studying electrical engineering and physics, as well as plasma research at the Ruhr University Bochum.
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Unconcious Bias
On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, members of the SFB 1316 participated in a workshop on the topic of Unconscious Bias led by Dr. Juliane Handschuh. The workshop's objective was to understand the impact of prejudices in scientific research and general work environments and learn to recognize unconscious biases in oneself and in the workplace. After Dr. Handschuh gave an introductory talk on the topic, the group was divided into groups of Early Career Researchers (ECRs) and Principal Investigators (PIs) to encourage an open exchange. In preparation for the workshop, participants had been encouraged to anonymously submit personal incidents where they experienced a bias. The group exercises were used as case studies and foundation for discussion. Together, strategies to recognize and adequately approach unconscious biases were developed as a directly affected person and as a bystander. At the end of the workshop, both groups joined again for a final discussion. The workshop provided valuable insights into the complex topic of unconscious biases and has provided the members of the SFB with practical tools to foster a more inclusive research environment.
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Welcome to our new PI Chris Riseley!
We are excited to announce that Dr. Christopher Riseley has been appointed as a new PI at our CRC.
Chris is a Junior Professor of Radio Astronomy at the Astronomical Institute of Ruhr-University Bochum (AIRUB). His research focuses on using radio telescopes worldwide to study clusters of galaxies. He aims to answer key scientific questions related to diffuse radio sources in galaxy clusters, including canonical relics, haloes, and mini-haloes. Chris is also exploring the unique sources discovered by the precursor instruments for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).
Specializing in long-wavelength radio astronomy, Chris works extensively with data from the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR), the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), and the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa.
In the coming years Chris will use these instruments to explore galaxy groups, understanding the interplay between galaxies and their environments. Within the CRC, Chris will apply his radio astronomy expertise to studying the rich physics of dwarf galaxies and nearby galaxies in these environments, answering questions related to dark matter, Cosmic Rays, galaxy evolution, and feedback mechanisms.

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Welcome to the new PI Felix Riehn
We are happy to announce that Dr. Felix Riehn (TU Dortmund, AG Albrecht ) has joined the CRC 1491 as a new PI!
Felix studies interactions of particles at the highest energies. He mostly focuses on building theoretical models and studying extensive air showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory.
Extensive air showers are formed when ultra-high energy cosmic rays that originate somewhere outside the solar system, interact with the nuclei in the Earth's atmosphere. As it turns out, none of the models we have for particle interactions are able to describe accurately what we observe in extensive air showers. This is part of the reason why we do not know exactly where the cosmic rays were originally accelerated.
In his research within the CRC, he wants to combine cosmic ray data on particle interactions from the Auger observatory with the observations of accelerator experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider to improve our understanding of particle interactions.
