Winners of the 2010 competition “Jugend forscht” have been visiting EOC
"Climate change", "Flight physics", "Robot systems" and "Life in space" are current research topics for young talents, which DLR scientists are also working on intensively:
From 18 to 19 October 2010, winners of this year's national youth research competition visited DLR Oberpfaffenhofen and experienced DLR high-tech and science on site. Dr Dieter Hausamann, Head of the DLR_School_Lab Oberpfaffenhofen and coordinator of the event in Oberpfaffenhofen, awaited the young guests with a challenging and varied scientific and cultural programme.
The fact that the topics of their own projects fitted very well into the DLR research environment inspired and motivated the young researchers and amazed the professors: Professor Stefan Dech from the German Remote Sensing Data Center, Professor Gerd Hirzinger from the DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics and Professor Christoph Günther from the DLR Institute of Communications and Navigation took the time to talk about their institutes and their research work. They answered many questions from the interested guests and gave them an insight into possible career prospects. "That's just great!" was one professor's appreciative comment on the topics and ideas of the creative young researchers.
During their visit to Oberpfaffenhofen, the guests learnt about current highlights in Oberpfaffenhofen such as the TanDEM-X satellite mission. They visited the new Earth Observation Center (EOC), the HALO research aircraft, the German Space Operations Centre and the Galileo Control Centre. At DLR_School_Lab Oberpfaffenhofen, they had the opportunity to conduct their own experiments and gained an insight into DLR topics such as robotics and satellite remote sensing. The diversity of the research topics impressed the guests. The personal contact with scientists and institute directors also gave them a realistic picture of possible research and working conditions at DLR.
After the official programme, the group met for a final round in which each participant was able to share their impressions once again: 15-year-old Stefanie from Bremerhaven is a passionate climate researcher. This is the fifth time she has taken part in a Jugend forscht competition. In her last project, she investigated climate change in the Antarctic and is currently planning a study on the effects of volcanic ash on the Antarctic climate following the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano. "I've been involved since I was nine," she said, "The subject simply fascinates me." And when asked whether she could imagine a future career at DLR, she replied: "That would be a cool idea. I will keep going."
DLR is very interested in young talent. In order to ensure the excellence of DLR research in the future, it is highly committed to supporting young scientists. The visit of the Jugend forscht award winners is based on a cooperation agreement between DLR and "Jugend forscht". Within this framework, the national winners of the competition are invited to a DLR site every year to take part in a DLR_Talent_School.