Department of Molecular Physics
The research in the Department of Molecular Physics focuses on the structure and the intra- and inter-molecular dynamics of molecular systems, from diatomic molecules to biological macromolecules, either in isolation or in interaction with their environment. For this, new experimental methods to manipulate and control, to characterise and to spectroscopically investigate these molecular systems are developed and exploited.
Research themes
Home of the molecular synchrotron
A milestone for molecular beams
Molecular Stew Analysis Produces World´s First Description of Amyloid Intermediate Structures
Stark decelerator
The ultimate molecular control tool
Molecules as a light dark matter detector
Internal degrees of molecules are a great sensor for light dark matter
Dynamics of photoionization-induced processes in laser-prepared gas- and aqueous-phase samples
Laser cooling of diatomic polar molecules
Electronic structure of aqueous-phase anatase titanium dioxide nanoparticles probed by liquid jet photoelectron spectroscopy
On January 22, 2026, Daniel Fontoura Barroso, member of the Molecular Physics Department, and his team have been awarded the Main Prize of the BPW Business Plan Competition Berlin‑Brandenburg. The team convinced the jury with its sensor-based monitoring system for bridges and other engineering structures — a solution addressing a challenge of significant public and infrastructure relevance.The BPW Business Plan Competition Berlin-Brandenburg is Germany’s largest regional start-up initiative, supporting founders in developing sustainable business models and bringing innovations to market.
The announcement by ILB Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg is available here:
https://www.ilb.de/de/bc-capital/news/pressemeldungen/2022/pressemeldung-2022_2067651.html
A video by the founders of Spree Monitoring is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxIBJrO1i_A
We warmly congratulate Daniel and the entire Spree Monitoring team on this achievement.
The official announcements are available
on the Berlin Senate website: https://www.berlin.de/sen/web/presse/pressemitteilungen/2025/pressemitteilung.1620744.php
and on the BAM website: https://www.bam.de/Content/DE/Pressemitteilungen/2025/2025-12-01-innovationspreis.html
We warmly congratulate Daniel and his team on this award!
News
Researchers from the Department of Physical Chemistry at the Fritz Haber Institute and Freie Universität Berlin have revealed the arrangement of water molecules at the interface between liquid water and air. Their findings help to better understand ...
As part of this year’s Girls’ Day on April 23, 2026, 32 girls aged 10 to 15 visited the Fritz Haber Institute and gained insight into the diverse work carried out in the research groups and workshops through hands-on experiments and craft projects.
With the aim to precisely understand its function, researchers from the Inorganic Chemistry Department and Interface Science Department of the Fritz Haber Institute, together with colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy ...
The “Premio Investigación” (Research Award) is annually presented to outstanding scientists in any field whose work is having a global impact extending further from their own scientific discipline. For the year 2025, the prestigious award goes to ...
Prof. Dr. Melanie Müller, head of the “Ultrafast Scanning Probe Microscopy” research group in the Department of Physical Chemistry at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, has taken up a new professorship for experimental condensed ...
At this year’s spring block course of the IMPRS-EPPC doctoral program, the PhD students received a hands-on training in the fundamentals of machine learning and lab automation. The workshops took place at the Fritz Haber Institute from March 23 to ...
News
Researchers from the Department of Physical Chemistry at the Fritz Haber Institute and Freie Universität Berlin have revealed the arrangement of water molecules at the interface between liquid water and air. Their findings help to better understand ...
As part of this year’s Girls’ Day on April 23, 2026, 32 girls aged 10 to 15 visited the Fritz Haber Institute and gained insight into the diverse work carried out in the research groups and workshops through hands-on experiments and craft projects.
With the aim to precisely understand its function, researchers from the Inorganic Chemistry Department and Interface Science Department of the Fritz Haber Institute, together with colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy ...
The “Premio Investigación” (Research Award) is annually presented to outstanding scientists in any field whose work is having a global impact extending further from their own scientific discipline. For the year 2025, the prestigious award goes to ...
Prof. Dr. Melanie Müller, head of the “Ultrafast Scanning Probe Microscopy” research group in the Department of Physical Chemistry at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, has taken up a new professorship for experimental condensed ...
At this year’s spring block course of the IMPRS-EPPC doctoral program, the PhD students received a hands-on training in the fundamentals of machine learning and lab automation. The workshops took place at the Fritz Haber Institute from March 23 to ...
