Portrait

Portrait

The Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) ranks among the top research centers in the field of polymer science worldwide. The institute was founded in 1983 on the campus of the Johannes Gutenberg University and commenced work in June 1984.

The focus on so-called soft materials and macro-molecular materials has resulted in the worldwide unique position of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research and its research focus. The Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research offers ideal conditions for conducting outstanding research. The institute combines all the necessary specialized expertise - from the creative design of new materials, from their synthesis in the lab to their physical characterization as well as the theoretical understanding of polymer characteristics.

The Institute is divided into six working areas of basic scientific research into the field of polymers.

  • Water at Interfaces
  • Non-equilibrium Phenomena in Soft Matter
  • Nanomaterials in Medicine
  • Defect Engineering
  • Multiscale Challenges
  • Proteins at Interfaces

There is strong interaction between the different departments working on interdisciplinary research projects. In addition
the institute has several service groups at its disposal, e.g. analysis of polymers, spectroscopy, electronic data processing,
x-ray structure analysis, atomic force microscopy and mechanical spectroscopy. Each service group is headed by one of the
institute’s directors, but these services can be used by all the scientists at the institute.

International promotion of young talent

The education of young scientists is fundamental for the future of science and innovation. The Max Planck Graduate Center (MPGC) is an internationally attractive, structured graduate program for the promotion of young researchers in cooperation with the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. It offers its own doctoral degree regulations and focuses on new teaching contents of innovative, interdisciplinary research fields.

Regional commitment

The MPI for Polymer Research is not only known within the framework of training international junior scientists. For more than twenty years, the institute has been training young people in two apprenticeships after completing school. For an apprenticeship as an industrial mechanic with a focus on precision mechanics as well as an office clerk, students are trained under expert guidance in modern infrastructure. In addition, the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research offers high school students the opportunity to gain their first impressions of the working environment at a research institute as part of an internship. In addition, the institute participates with projects in the student laboratory Natlab of the University of Mainz and employees actively contribute to the teaching of the University of Mainz with seminars and lectures. As part of their further education, doctoral students support students of chemistry, physics or biology in tutorials.

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