Laser Girl on Mars and Virtual Photonics Escape Room

Two Jena research institutions have been awarded by the German Research Foundation and the Research in Germany initiative for their innovative projects in the field of international research marketing. The "Community Prize" is awarded to the Leibniz Institute for Photonic Technologies e.V. and the Max Planck School of Photonics. Both institutions are closely linked to Friedrich Schiller University Jena in terms of personnel and structure.

The Leibniz Institute for Photonic Technologies has won the prize for the sequel to the Lasergirl comic series. This time, Lasergirl is to travel to Mars to search for extraterrestrial life there. Behind the story is the European Mars mission ExoMars, which starts in September and uses a Raman laser spectrometer researched by Leibniz-IPHT. Last year, the comic "Lasergirl - Jagd auf den KillerkeimExternal link" (Lasergirl - Hunt for the Killer Germ) had already been published, explaining a new way to fight life-threatening infections.

The Max Planck School of Photonics wants to set up a "virtual photonics escape room" on the theme of "The Hunt for Dr. Dark". As in a real escape room, the players are "locked" in a room and have to solve puzzles related to photonics together in order to be able to leave the room again. This gamification approach is intended to attract young international doctoral candidates to Germany's cutting-edge photonics research. The Max Planck School of PhotonicsExternal link was opened in 2019 and represents an innovative form of graduate funding across different locations.

An online vote was held to decide on the awarding of the prizes. More than 300 people working in the field of international research marketing took part in the voting on the submitted project outlines. A total of six prizes were awarded nationwide. The winners each receive 20,000 euros to implement their ideas.