Research & Science

Optics and photonics have characterised the scientific city of Jena for more than 100 years. Today, basic photonics research in Jena is concentrated at the university’s Abbe Centre of Photonics (ACP), the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (IPHT) and the Helmholtz Institute Jena (HIJ). In addition to the international training of young scientists, scientific issues in the fields of ultra-optics, strong-field physics and biophotonics are being pursued. Also in co-operation with the ACP, the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (IOF) addresses holistic solutions with light to tackle important future issues in the fields of energy, mobility, environment, safety, health, communication and information technology. The Ernst Abbe University conducts application-oriented research in the fields of laser technology and optics/optical technologies and offers numerous degree programmes in these areas. Thanks to the close links between the university, non-university research institutes and the local optics industry, this field of research is a focal point of the economic structure of the entire region.

Biophotonics is a rapidly growing, multidisciplinary field of research that focuses on the investigation of optical and photonic processes utilising the entire electromagnetic spectrum from the X-ray to the terahertz range for the life sciences and medicine. This makes biophotonics a scientific discipline of outstanding social importance, as it can be used to overcome challenges such as limiting the effects of an ageing society, preventing pandemics and safeguarding healthcare systems. Its areas of application include applied basic biomedical research, in particular using spectroscopic and imaging methods to understand life processes and the development of diseases at a molecular level.

Furthermore, the development of point-of-care diagnostic approaches for rapid on-site analysis of body fluids (i.e. miniaturised analytics & diagnostics in combination with innovative microfluidic concepts) as well as clinical diagnostics, therapy and therapy monitoring (e.g. in ophthalmology, where biophotonic methods are already very well established) are the focus of interest.

Today, infectious diseases are the cause of one third of all premature deaths. Numerous new pathogens have emerged in recent decades. Of particular concern is the increasing number of germs that are resistant to currently known antibiotics. There is an urgent need to elucidate the resistance mechanisms and develop new, effective therapeutic approaches.

Immunocompromised patients, for example after transplantation or chemotherapy, are particularly susceptible to infectious diseases. Multi-resistant bacteria can then lead to severe pneumonia, for example, which can only be treated with a few antibiotics. Accurate and rapid diagnosis is therefore becoming increasingly important. Infections caused by opportunistic pathogens such as human pathogenic fungi are also increasingly becoming a problem in hospitals. Yeast fungi of the genus Candida , for example, are among the most common triggers of fungal septicaemia. Research into the molecular mechanisms of the infection process and the human immune response forms the basis for the development of new diagnostics and therapeutics.

Several large Jena research networks are dedicated to the challenges of infection and resistance for society as a whole in a broad approach to their comprehensive prevention, early detection and effective control. At the new Leibniz ScienceCampus InfectoOptics, for example, researchers in Jena are working on developing innovative optical technologies to diagnose and combat infectious diseases. In addition to the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knöll Institute (HKI) and the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (IPHT), the Friedrich Schiller University, the University Hospital, the Ernst Abbe University, the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF and the Friedrich Löffler Institute for Molecular Pathogenesis are also involved.

Maintaining the quality of life of older and elderly people is one of the greatest challenges of our time due to demographic change.

Ageing research in Jena addresses these challenges on several levels: Basic researchers in the field of molecular ageing research and biomedical pharmaceutical research companies are working together with doctors on the development and testing of therapeutics and intervention strategies for the treatment and prevention of age-related diseases and dysfunctions.

Humanities scholars and social scientists are analysing the psychological and social consequences of an ageing society with the help of individual and social parameters in order to positively influence health behaviour and old-age provision. As part of a pilot region for age-appropriate living, exemplary urban planning solutions are to be developed, including prototype buildings for the post-growth society.

The constantly growing volume of data in the energy industry, finance, weather, climate and many other areas requires new techniques for processing and analysing data. Computer science in Jena researches, develops and produces such techniques for applications in medicine, logistics, environmental protection and biodiversity. Algorithmics, bioinformatics, high-performance computing, digital image processing and self-organising computing and information systems are the focus of computer science research at Friedrich Schiller University and Ernst Abbe University Jena.
The research is complemented by commercial enterprises in Jena such as Intershop AG, Carl Zeiss AG, Jenoptik AG, ORISA GmbH, Ibykus GmbH, ams AG and the DAKO group of companies, which are in close contact with both universities. Examples of successful spin-offs from the universities are TAF mobile GmbH and Navimatix GmbH.

In their natural habitats, microorganisms are in constant dialogue with other microbes and higher organisms – whether in peaceful symbiosis, as food competitors or as pathogens. The resulting interactions are regulated by different chemical signals: In most cases, these are small molecules produced by the microorganisms and used for communication. These substances can be used both as attractants and as deterrents for other organisms, or they take on the role of a virulence factor.

Research into microbial communication and its molecular and biochemical basis is of great importance, for example for understanding ecosystems, pathogen-host relationships in infectious diseases as well as in agriculture for combating fungal and pest infestations and for identifying new, pharmacologically effective substances.

Organisms produce a variety of substances that serve to communicate with their environment or as defence substances against intruders. For bacteria and fungi, for example, these molecules, known as natural products, provide a means of defence against hostile microorganisms. Due to their antimicrobial effect, these substances can serve as the basis for new medicines.

Numerous natural substances are also involved in triggering infectious diseases, have a toxic effect or influence the immune system. Plants, in turn, have a very wide range of biologically active substances in their roots, shoots and leaves, thanks to which they successfully ward off pests of all kinds or ensure their survival, in particular by attracting pollinators.

The complete decoding of many genomes shows that the potential of organisms to produce natural substances is far greater than previously assumed – many substances have not yet been identified or even their effect verified. Scientists in Jena use state-of-the-art microbiological, genetic and biochemical methods to isolate, analyse and optimise these substances so that they can be used by humans.

The development of new materials and biomaterials as well as their characterisation, structuring and targeted application form the tasks of the research focus. The focus of interest is on synthetic macromolecules, polysaccharides, nanostructured sensors and nanomaterials as well as the production of synthetic “minimal cells” or aspects of modern methods and processes in glass and polymer chemistry. In addition to material science and chemical aspects, the applicability of the resulting architectures in biological-medical as well as physical-optical terms will be investigated in depth.

Structure of the research focus:

The fields of precision, micro, nano and surface technology are becoming increasingly important due to the ever more complex requirements placed on materials and systems. The surfaces of components can be specifically functionalised as a boundary area to the volume properties. The expertise available in Jena in the fields of physics, chemistry, materials processing and precision engineering is combined here. The issues addressed are very diverse and are located in the fields of bionics, semiconductor technology, microsystems technology, surface coating and ultra-precise machining. Precision assemblies and general materials are optimised for various mechanical load requirements, electrical or optical functions, interface or barrier effects.

Research into biodiversity makes a decisive contribution to understanding biological processes in global material cycles. Scientists from various institutes at FSU cover a broad spectrum from the ecology of higher organisms and microorganisms to biodiversity informatics. The effects of plant biodiversity in long-term experiments and the functional biodiversity of underground habitats are investigated in cross-institute projects. The research work is carried out in close cooperation with the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig.

Biodiversity and ecosystems are decisively influenced by climate change, and vice versa. The compounds carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapour, which act as atmospheric greenhouse gases and whose material cycles are being researched at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, play an important role here.

Chemical ecology investigates substances and signalling agents that control interactions between plants, animals and microbes. Living organisms communicate with each other via chemical signals: insects produce pheromones to attract the attention of their conspecifics or to warn them. When attacked by predators, plants release odours into their environment that attract the enemies of their predators. When insects perceive scents from flowers, leaves or other animals, this can influence their behaviour. Microorganisms, such as symbiotic bacteria, play an important role in many of these interactions. New insights into the development, behaviour, reproduction and co-evolution of the various life forms are used for environmental research and agriculture.

Since the end of the 1990s, the Friedrich Schiller University Jena has been characterised by high-ranking research projects (EU, DFG, …) on disciplinary and interdisciplinary research into social and economic change. Since 2008, these activities have been coordinated in the research centre People in Social Change. Today, Jena is an internationally recognised research centre on questions of how people deal with changes in the course of globalisation, technological and demographic change and overcome the problems that arise. Renowned scientists from the fields of psychology, sociology, economics, law, political and communication sciences and applied ethics combine their own and complementary perspectives in order to gain in-depth insights into the connections between individual behaviour and structural changes. In addition to a variety of joint research projects, the research focus area attaches great importance to the training of young academics.

Jena and Weimar are the centre of “German Classicism” around 1800, which, as an interplay of Enlightenment and Romanticism, forms the basis of our contemporary culture. The Jena “Enlightenment Laboratory Research Centre” with the “European Romanticism Research Centre” relate contemporary issues and problems to this formation phase of modern society in an interdisciplinary dialogue and aim to turn Germany’s classical places of remembrance into current places of discussion for a historically informed diagnosis of the present.

This also includes the self-education of modern societies about their past. After the experiences of war, dictatorship and genocide, this is one of the basic prerequisites for democracy. The Jena Centre for 20th Century History and the Imre Kertész Kolleg Jena research German and European contemporary history in close cooperation with the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora memorials, with a particular focus on the history of National Socialism and the dictatorships of the 20th century and their after-effects on the present.