Freiburg, 29 February 2024 – Nanodiag BW showcased itself with great success on 22 and 23 February 2024 at the regional “Jugend Forscht” competition. At the joint stand of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Freiburg, the research cluster presented its project: multimedia-based and interactive.
Our scientists Sinja Bächtle and Carolin Engelmann explained to the young, interested audience what they are detecting in their laboratory experiments. With great enthusiasm for experimentation, the young visitors eagerly grabbed the pipettes. Our scientists Carolin Engelmann and Sinja Bächtle demonstrated how to use pipettes to draw a membrane, into which a nanopore would be incorporated in a subsequent step. Whether the “painting” was successful was immediately measured electronically and vividly visualised on the computer. A short video illustrated how Nanodiag BW utilises these tiny pores in delicate membranes for its research project. And what all of this has to do with our health was explained by the experts.
Who can throw the beanbag through the hole?
In our research, a protein must pass through a nanopore. How does that work? The explanation was provided at our stand. At our interactive “Cornhole” game, there was even something to win. Almost everyone—both young and old—grabbed one of the beanbags and tried to aim for the hole. Everyone had a lot of fun!
The participation of Nanodiag BW in the regional “Jugend Forscht” competition was a great success. We thank the University of Freiburg, who enabled us to take part as a Gold Sponsor, and we hope that we were able to inspire many of the enthusiastic visitors at our stand to pursue a scientific degree, ensuring that our research cluster has creative talent for the future!
What is the regional “Jugend Forscht” competition?
The Regional Competition South Baden is the largest regional competition in Baden-Württemberg. This year, 156 young researchers participated with a total of 79 projects under the motto “Use Your Head.” The topics came from the fields of the world of work, biology, chemistry, geosciences and space sciences, mathematics/computer science, physics, and technology. On the first day of the competition, the projects were evaluated by the jury. The winners will move on to the state competition in the next stage. The competition was supported by sponsors such as the University of Freiburg and other institutions. On the second day, “Jugend Forscht” opened its doors to the public, where around 1,000 students and other interested visitors attended the competition at the SICK Arena of the Freiburg Exhibition Centre.
