Submissions for the "Hats off!" photo competition 2020

Dissertation: Plasmonic Microstructured Optical Fibres – an efficient platform towards biosensing

Description

My wonderful colleagues from Leibniz IPHT / Fibre Photonics have surpassed themselves in hat fabrication! The hat has the basic shape of my speciality fibre – thematically splitting the PhD story into three channels of life.

During my doctorate, I worked on attaching gold nanoparticles inside hollow channels of an optical fibre to make a hybrid sensing device. These nanoparticles could be further modified with DNA strands to allow disease detection – highly relevant for our current pandemic time! The hat is lovingly worked down to the last detail including a light inside the fibre structure representing guided light in the core.

A great PhD requires results. On the experimental side of life, my colleagues have implemented a modernist deconstructed view of my work. This takes the form of an elaborately enlarged macroscopic game, modelling nanoparticles as fuzzy yellow spheres which can be thrown and stuck onto the fibre hat-walls by Velcro, along with fuzzy-Velcro DNA strands which can be “functionalised” to the nanoparticles.

In order to run a successful experiment the structures should be launched from a distance and stick uniformly to the fibre, and to each other – at times this experience models well the impression of life in the lab with tiny structures.

The next channel of life presents the magical dreamscape of the PhD mind. An origami wonderland abounds with unicorns, flowers, sky and land creatures meticulously fashioned out of my publications. A fox (my favourite animal and office spirit guide) decorates the roof and presides over the scene. The landscape is strewn with candy symbolising my sweet tooth and the temptations hoping to distract the PhD student from writing.

A doctorate always consists of wild stories and good times. The third channel of my hat showcases photos and scenes from various doctoral shenanigans including: dragonboating, networking, and Weihnachtsmarkt events. A previous St. Patrick’s day photo demonstrates how I always end up with a talk on this date, in this instance my defence!

Along the base of the hat, a path is marked with the publications and achievements acquired during the PhD project. A large DNA helix forms the hat tassel.

For me this is the most glorious of hats and suitable for everyday use. The various sections are thoughtfully designed to represent all of the elements of doctoral life: the reality, the dreamscape, and the bond shared between PhD students.

Dissertation: Tripartite relationships: The chemical ecology of tree-herbivore-pathogen interactions

Description

This really nice hat that my colleges created brings together almost all parts of my PhD time: the lab, the field, the writing, business trips and private motivations. Here comes some details:

• 'my' organisms:

a) leaves (3D-printed) and a tree symbolize the best plant in the world (black poplar) and what I did with it - wrapping it in bags to collect its volatiles, measuring its photosynthetic output in little chambers or offering leaf discs to hungry caterpillars

b) yellow rust fungus spores, which I used to infect the trees, are placed in the center in a giant home-made knitting version

c) lepidopteran insects in any stage of their life: as moth (with my face on the head), as pupa (front edge) and as caterpillars, especially impressive is the huge gypsy moth caterpillar as biologically perfect replica, hanging down at the side and enjoying the feeding experiment in the Petri-dish

• various lab-equipment: volatile collection glas filter, spray flask to apply fungal spores, camera for taking pictures to measure leaf area but also for photo shootings with my beloved caterpillars, pipette, ...
• whiskey (a real bottle actually!) that sometimes helped to push creativity in the writing process ;)
• miniature dance shows symbolizing my dance community that filled motivation gaps and kept me going all the time (metaphorically and literally)
• the brim (which is fittingly a flower pot) shows pictures and flags from places I've visited (private and business trips)
• a nice technical gimmick: the hat glows (LED-stripes are placed underneath the base), which reminded me of a project I was involved in, where we tested different light sources on plant growth

Thanks to my colleges for that great hat!

Dissertation: Tintenstrahldruck wellenlängenselektiver optischer Detektoren zur Integration in mikrofluidische Lab-on-a-Chip Systeme

Description

Auf dem Hut ist ein typischer Tagesablauf während der Experimentierphase meiner Arbeit dargestellt. Der Tag beginnt mit einem frisch gepressten Rote-Beete-Saft aus dem Entsafter (links). Diesen musste ich direkt während der Hutübergabe aus dem Entsafter trinken. Gestärkt und mit neuen Ideen für die Aktivierungsparameter durfte ich im Anschluss ein Glassubstrat in den Plasmaofen (unten) legen. Nach Lösen des Rätsels aus dem Entsafter und Einstellen der Parameter an der Bedientafel des Ofens (links hinter dem Ofen), begann im Inneren eine LED als Symbol für das Plasma zu Brennen und das eingelegte Substrat wurde gereinigt und aktiviert. Obwohl ein Glasobjektträger in den Ofen eingelegt wurde, kam ein Leibnizkeks wieder heraus. Diesen sollte ich dann auf den Substrattisch des Druckers legen (oben). Doch wie den Drucker einschalten? Dazu mussten die in meiner Arbeit ermittelten Einstellparameter für die Druckkopfspannung in das Bedienfeld rechts eingestellt werden. Nach der Eingabe begann die grün leuchtende Seitenlichtfaser zu leuchten und die Pumpe des Druckers begann zu arbeiten. Mit dem xy-Tisch konnte ich zum Schluss meinen Leibnizkeks mit meinem auf dem Hut verbauten vollfunktionstüchtigen Nutelladrucker veredeln.

Dissertation: Pseudomonas-Derived Secondary Metabolites in Amoebae – Bacteria Interactions

Description

In my PhD I studied amoebae–bacteria interactions to identify novel natural products mediating this predator-prey relationship. Two of the discovered molecules are mounted on the hat. I studied their biochemical production in bacteria using molecular biological methods, for which short DNA sequences (primers) are required. They come in tubes and were used to build the fence of the garden which I share with other PhD students. The DNA sequence of the primer on the podium codes for the amino acid sequence DRMARTINKLAPPER. Our group trips by boat, for Kart racing and to the Bowling Roma are also on display. At the latter I finished a Jumbo-Pizza glued on top and bottom of the hat. My hobbies cycling and fire juggling are also shown in a creative way. Last but not least, my master students decided to put a whip instead of a cord on the edge of the hat.

Dissertation: Ultrashort pulse written volume-Bragg-gratings

Description

As it is common practice in our work group this hat is a tribute to the content of and the life with and around the way towards the final defense of the thesis accompanied by its presentation during/post the defense procedure.

In the more background section of the hat, one can roughly see the science part where laser systems have to be repaired and aligned directly on the hat mimicking the reality. Even more, samples have to be inserted properly in the 3D movable positioning system to enable high quality in-volume gratings. This is followed by the post-processing and characterization procedures/techniques. All setups having a high ratio of moveable parts and wired indicating feedback systems (LEDs).

As science is not straight forward as well as not the sole task of a researcher nowadays, during the daily operation a lot of additional administrative stuff has been around my thesis. So I had to solve during the laser etc. alignment at the hat several IT and lab issues in parallel during the live presentation. This and the end of the drawstring being a small bag filled with money representing my task as financial officer of our coffee machine and supply were in charge to mimic these additional tasks.

In the foreground the free time related undertakings are depicted. A large section here pays tribute to the single parts of the triathlon training. All being mechanically driven enabling for a live completion of a triathlon – quite easy ;).

A more hidden part on the picture is correlated to the collection of speeding tickets as this might have happened from time to time…

In the very center of the hat a motorized rotating tower can be found paying tribute to a self-introduced running gag that we are capable of solving of every problem by a new level of performance – we can do the ‘ultra-‘ level, as we are doing ultrafast optics – physicists…

Dissertation: Structure, occurrence and function of novel degradation products of the porphyrin pigments of life

Description

With this beautiful hat, my working group has outdone itself and I would like to thank you once again on this way.

On the front left side, the structural formula of one of our novel elucidated natural products is shown. In addition, the vasoconstrictive effect of this substance class was very elegantly illustrated, which was proven in vivo in mice brain, which is shown next to it. Furthermore, the two LC-MS systems, on which I have spent the most lab time, are displayed in the back together with a light-protected tube (an unmistakable sign of my light-sensitive samples or substances). In the middle of both, a polarograph was recreated, at which I taught differential pulse polarography to students.

On the right side, my passion for live music is illustrated in the form of a festival stage as well my excitement for trekking shown through hiking boots, backpack and tent. Behind the festival stage, some pictures of my time in the group can be folded out. Furthermore, my regular card and board game rounds with Doppelkopf, Pen and Paper, Gloomhaven and Andor (super cool replica ship from Andor) are not missed out. In addition, our field as part of Flussland Jena is shown in the center, where we have grown a variety of delicious and organic vegetables. Another highlight is the self-made Buff on the shaft of the hat, which can be pulled down at any time to warm the neck. Without one of those around my neck, I am rarely seen.

Dissertation: A Provenance-based Semantic Approach to Support Understandability, Reproducibility, and Reuse of Scientific Experiments

Description

“I like to prove it, prove it,
You like to prove it, prove it,
We like to prove it, prove it,
Prove it”

The little musical device on my dissertation hat repeats the words reminding me of the scientific spirit. The lyrics, inspired by the famous song “I like to move it” by Reel 2 Real, was written and sung for me by my colleagues in the Fusion group on my PhD defense day summarizing my work focusing on the fundamental truth of science.
The foundation of science is based on evidence and proofs.
Without proofs, scientific research is incomplete,
Without experiments, hypotheses can not be confirmed or refuted,
Without documentation, reproducing results from experiments is hard.
The scientific research is a complex journey undertaken by every PhD researcher. My PhD work aims to document the story of this complex journey so that every hypothesis, every experiment, every step and every result do not get lost and the present and future generations can reproduce and get new meaningful insights from this documented history.
The hat tells the short story of a PhD researcher (including mine) as represented by my PhD work.
Prove it  isA ScientificGoal. To achieve it, the Scientist conducts Experiment with the Microscope (Blue thing). This Experiment isDescribedIn an OnlineNotebook which is namedAfter Jupyter (The planet on my hat). The OnlineNotebook hasAuthor Scientist.
As seen on the hat, my work tries to integrate the various components of scientific research and give meaningful relationships to all the processes and objects involved in the experiments through the latest computer science technologies.
During this journey, scientists also are confronted with positive and negative results. The major thing that helped me through the positive and negative times is the support received from my colleagues and friends. The song shows this support. They remind me every day that we could do and prove it. 

"I like to prove it, prove it.
You like to prove it, prove it. 
We like to prove it, prove it. 
Prove It!!! (All together)" 

Dissertation: Horizontal vs. Vertical Tectonics: Analysis of Large-scale Structures related to the Deformation History of the Barberton Greenstone Belt

Description

Der Hut eines Geologen - standesgemäß auf Marmor. Das aufwändige Design im Hochrelief wird im Folgenden anhand elf (Die Schnapszahl ist sicher kein Zufall) exemplarischer Punkte erläutert: (1) Landesflagge Südafrikas, wo die Geländearbeit im Zusammenhang mit der Dissertation durchgeführt wurde, und künstlerische Darstellung des afrikanischen Kontinents mit Hinweisen auf musikalische Vorlieben des Doktoranden. (2) Plutonische Gesteinskörper, die – hier korrekt dargestellt – im Untergrund des Arbeitsgebietes erstarrt sind. Beachtenswert sind Minerale und Goldvorkommen auf der Oberfläche dieser Gesteinskörper. (3) 3D-Modellierung des Arbeitsgebietes mit plastischer Darstellung des Oberflächenreliefs. (4) Miniatur des Geländefahrzeugs und Darstellung häufig mitereisender Anhalter. (5) Bierkasten mit stark dezimiertem Inhalt – Zusammenhang zur Dissertation unklar. (6) Kartendarstellung der wichtigsten Ergebnisse der Dissertation. (7) Miniatur des Doktoranden – der Ausruf bezieht sich auf Eureka City, eine Lokalität innerhalb des Arbeitsgebietes. (8) Bösartige Anspielung auf nicht gewaschene, vom Doktoranden zubereitete Pfifferlinge – es handelt sich nicht etwa um einen Salz-, sondern einen Sandstreuer! (9) Geschirrtuch, das während der Geländearbeit auf groteske Art als Duschhandtuch zweckentfremdet wurde. (10) Tabletten mit heilsamen Eigenschaften, aber unberechenbaren Nebenwirkungen. Diskretion ist geboten. (11) Schlauchboot, das während der Dissertationszeit Teil zahlloser Unternehmungen war.

Dissertation: Entwicklung von Drahtgitterpolarisatoren für Anwendungen im ultravioletten bis in den vakuumultravioletten Spektralbereich

Description

The topic of my work was the investigation of nano-optical elements, which allow the control of the polarization of light (wire grid polarizer) for short wavelength (in the vacuum ultra violet). For that, I investigated a variety of materials and the influence of fabrication techniques. The content of the work and several personal key experiences presented on this hat in a much interwoven manor.

Stemming from a liking of mine for historical European marital arts, reenactment and forging the main themes are a castle, swords and a knight.  On the path of this knight, those experiences are represented. The knight is walking along its way by turning a crank.

This first action of every morning is brewing a cup of coffee. For that a fully function mill (the wind mill in the background) is used to grind the beans and to infuse the coffee (a little banner says “instant human just add coffee”) while the camp fire is used the boil the water (referring to an epic hiking tour after a SPIE event in California). The first waypoint is reached when I investigated iridium gratings as structures for VUV wire grid polarizers (the grating is reassembled by the portcullis, the inscription above the gate saying “Ir” consist of a piece of silicon on which the letters are etched into an iridium layer). As these grating elements are not able to fulfill the task, the portcullis cannot open enough for the knight to pass through. Hence, the errant knight hast to continue his journey. In the next passage (the green paper mechanisms open when the black parts are pulled) the wedding with my wonderful wife is represented. At this time, I proclaimed: “My thesis will be done before the birth of my first child!” Just to prove me utterly wrong, my second child was born before (shown as well by the mechanism).  

The next steps of my journey lend me to the PTB in Braunschweig. While working at the PTB I was puzzled by the amount bureaucracy. This is perfectly depicted by the 3D puzzle. During this time I passed along several other gates (resembling different materials) which do not open fully.  Another very important step in my life was the restoration of a historic timber frame house. This is depicted by a laser cut plywood model (the model is actually true-to-scale!), which I had to erect with hot glue during the hat presentation (it is a running gag that I recommend the use of hot glue). The final gate (the inscription says “LER”) shows the end of my PhD work were I took very fine deviations of the grating structure ( i.e. line edge roughness) into account.

Apparently I am whistling while walking down the hallways of the institute. By turning another crank the towers of the castle rise while the theme song of game of thrones is playing (all mechanically!).  

Carefully observed the knight is walking along a circle with several steps in it. One may believe that there is another hidden philosophic truth behind…

Since I always build the electronics for other hats mine has absolutely no electronics on it (this has always been a running gag) but still many features are actually functional. This is achieved by 18 individual 3D printed involute gears. These gears are nested into each other in order to drive two independent mechanism on a common center axis (much like a Swiss watch).  Further, the gearing includes a total of 14 ball and needle bearings of different types carefully designed such that the whole system is not statically indeterminate. Every day I see the hat I am just amazed by this. Constructions like this gearing are the reason why it is called the art of engineering! Unfortunately, a single image and short description cannot do justice to the sheer number and attention to detail of this features.

I am very grateful for this gorgeous hat made by a bunch of even awesome people!

Dissertation: E-Commerce warehousing: Order fulfillment in modern retailing

Description

Über die vergangenen Jahre hinweg erfreut sich Online Shopping einer wachsenden Beliebtheit bei Verbrauchern weltweit. Einhergehend mit den veränderten Konsumgewohnheiten der Kunden sind auch die Einzelhändler gezwungen, ihre Lieferketten fortzuentwickeln, um so den neuartigen Bedarfsstrukturen besser gerecht zu werden. Besonders eindrücklich ist dieser Umbruch in den Lagerhäusern der Einzelhändler zu beobachten. Moderne E-Commerce Lagerhaltungssysteme sind darauf ausgelegt, kleine Bestellungen von Endkunden, welche oftmals nur ein oder zwei Artikel umfassen, in kurzer Zeit aus einem großen Sortiment zusammenzustellen. In traditionellen Lagerhaltungssystemen sind diese Anforderungen, wenn überhaupt, nur unter massivem Ressourceneinsatz umzusetzen. Die Lücke zwischen traditionellen Systemen und steigenden Anforderungen wird dabei zunehmend größer, da E-Commerce Händler mit immer neuen Serviceangeboten ihre Marktposition im umkämpften Onlinehandel zu verbessern suchen. So wird beispielsweise durch die Etablierung von Premiumversandprogrammen, mit einer zugesicherten Lieferung am nächsten oder gar am selben Tag, der zeitliche Druck auf die Kommissionierung von Kundenbestellungen massiv verstärkt.

Viele Online-Händler setzen dabei auf neuartige Lagerhaltungssysteme, wie die auf dem Hut dargestellten Robotic Mobile Fulfillment Systeme. Hier heben kleine Lagerroboter gesamte Regale an (siehe Bild), um diese zu den Mitarbeitenden zu transportieren. Dadurch, dass nun keine Wegzeiten mehr anfallen, kann effizienter und schonender kommissioniert werden. Auf dem Hut findet sich ein Lagerroboter, welcher mit einem magnetischen Stab unter die Regale bewegt werden kann und einen funktionierenden Hebemechanismus aufweist (ebenfalls mit Hilfe von Magneten) um die Regale anzuheben und zu transportieren.