"Zwischen Brötchen und Borussia" celebrates its 20th anniversary
Freshly appointed as a physics professor in Dortmund, the current TU Rector Manfred Bayer established the public event series "Zwischen Brötchen und Borussia" together with his then colleague Prof. Metin Tolan twenty years ago. Since then, four times a semester, researchers have given generally understandable lectures on topics related to physics on Saturday mornings - at a time when around 400 guests regularly come to the TU Dortmund campus: between breakfast and home games.
Prof. Bayer opened the anniversary celebration and welcomed Ina Brandes, Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, as guest of honor. The Rector calculated that a total of 70,000 guests have attended the physicists' lectures over the last two decades. This makes "Zwischen Brötchen und Borussia" the most successful event series of its kind in Germany. Over the years, it has covered topics such as the physics of soccer, highlighted effects in science fiction films, explained the current state of research into mobile phone radiation and presented models on the spread of the coronavirus. As a personal highlight, Prof. Bayer recalled a lecture on the "Ice Cube" project, in which the university is researching neutrinos at the South Pole. There was once a live link to the Antarctic research station, where a BVB flag was even temporarily added to the official flags at the pole in 2005.
Minister Ina Brandes (photo right) also welcomed the guests and thanked all those who inspire young people in particular for science, as is achieved through the presentations at "Zwischen Brötchen und Borussia". For years, participating schoolchildren have also been able to complete a quiz here, through which they can receive a school diploma and the opportunity to visit laboratories.
The Physikanten: a show with a bang
After the welcoming words, Marcus Weber, who founded the "Physikanten & Co." in 2000 after studying at the former University of Dortmund, opened his science show in the Dortmunder U cinema. He presented experiments that he had already presented in the television program "Wer weiß denn sowas?" (ARD), on which he is a regular guest. Weber invited the audience to take part in the experiments and playfully explained how the physical processes work. He wowed the diverse audience with an imploding barrel and vortex rings made of smoke and soap bubbles, among other things.
Physics meets art at the Hochschuletage in the Dortmunder U
After the science show, guests had the opportunity to visit the exhibition "2ˣ - Physics and Art between Time and Space" at the Hochschuletage. The photographs and multimedia installations on display are based on a collaboration between the Seminar for Art and Art Science and Experimental Physics 2 at TU Dortmund University. The young artists have explored physical phenomena and made them the starting point for their works. One of these works by Malin Emming even made it into the 2024 annual calendar of the German Research Foundation: her digital collages show a series of compressed photos of a trip to France, creating an overall picture that is compressed, as it were, and lends visual expression to the interconnectedness of space and time. The exhibition, which features works by a total of eleven artists, is open until March 3.
Please note:
The show was streamed live on YouTube and can currently still be viewed there afterwards: To the video