News

Since 2012, the Berlin Cluster of Excellence UniSysCat has awarded the Clara Immerwahr Award each year to outstanding early-career female scientists in the field of catalysis research. Following the conclusion of the Cluster of Excellence, the Fritz Haber Institute has taken over the prestigious award and will present it as part of the Gerhard Ertl Lecture on 10 December 2026. more

Dr. Patrick Giesbrecht has been granted a fellowship through the highly competitive Canada Postdoctoral Research Award program of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada to carry out research within the Interface Science Department at the Fritz Haber Institute. more

As a collaborative effort between the five Max Planck institutes in Berlin, a workshop on the often-overlooked topic "Parenthood in Science" took place on June 30 at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society. The workshop provided a space for critical reflection on how parenthood, the desire to have children, and unpaid care work shape academic careers, workplace culture, and knowledge production itself. more

Researchers from the Molecular Physics and Physical Chemistry Departments of the Fritz Haber Institute have shown how two highly synchronized infrared (IR) laser beams can control molecules as they switch between different structural conformations. Their technique provides a new window into how molecules rearrange themselves during chemical reactions, offering fundamental insights into the microscopic processes that govern chemistry. more

Prof. Dr. Beatriz Roldan Cuenya, Director of the Interface Science Department at the Fritz Haber Institute, has been selected to present this year's prestigious Heilbronner-Hückel Lecture. This award entails a series of lectures in Swizerland organized jointly by the Swiss Chemical Society and the German Chemical Society. She will speak about her research at the major research universities in Switzerland. more

On June 19, 2026, Prof. Dr. Gerard Meijer, Director of the Department of Molecular Physics at the Fritz Haber Institute, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Science at the University of Waterloo, Canada, in recognition of his outstanding scientific achievements as a molecular physicist. more

On June 5, Prof. Dr. Beatriz Roldan Cuenya, Director of the Interface Science Department of the Fritz Haber Institute, delivered the prestigious Nanqiang Lecture at Xiamen University in China. This distinguished Named Lectureship is awarded to leading scientists worldwide to promote cutting-edge research and interdisciplinary exchange. more