Scientific Advisory Board Meeting 2025
From November 11 to 14, 2025 the Fritz Haber Institute has been visited by its Scientific Advisory Board that provides scientific advice, evaluates the research done at the institute, and also guides its strategic development. Visits of the SAB are an essential part of the evaluation of the institutes of the Max Planck Society.
Every three years, the Fritz Haber Institute is visited by its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), a panel of internationally renowned scientists from the fields of research of the institute from Germany and abroad, typically not affiliated with the Max Planck Society. The SAB provides valuable external expertise: It gives scientific advice, monitors research quality, and makes recommendations on the institute’s long-term strategy. Regular evaluations of its institutes are crucial for the Max Planck Society, enhancing its self-regulation and ensuring accountability for the effective use of resources. The SAB reviews are an essential component of the evaluation of all Max Planck Institutes.
The membership of the SAB of the Fritz Haber Institute reflects the institute’s research portfolio incorporating also expertise on the German science system. This year, eight SAB members, two rapporteurs as well as the Vice President of the Max Planck Society stayed over four days to get a broad impression of the institute’s performance.
The whole institute had prepared a rich and varied program for the visit. In the evening of Tuesday, November 11, the members of the SAB were warmly welcomed by the Board of Directors. During an introductory lecture by Managing Director Prof. Dr. Beatriz Roldán Cuenya, they were given an overview of the institute as a whole, its development over the past three years, current developments, and the future strategy. On Wednesday morning, selected researchers presented the institute’s five departments. The SAB members could gain a closer look at the work of the individual research groups and intensify their discussions with department members during poster sessions held on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. On Thursday and Friday morning, and also in between, there was ample opportunity for exchange between the SAB and the institute’s researchers, enabling the reviewers to gain a detailed impression of the research in the five departments.
The SAB visits are very important for all members of the institute and make for a very intense and exciting week. Overall, the SAB visit was also a wonderful opportunity for the whole institute to network, to get to know the different researchers and to deepen the insights into the manifold research projects.
We thank everyone involved for their efforts to make the SAB meeting a success for all of us and for the institute as a whole. We also wish to express our gratitude to the SAB members for the valuable visit, the many interesting and fruitful discussions, and the comprehensive suggestions. We now eagerly await the SAB’s report.
