Excursion to FRM 2 (Garching/Munich)
The excursion to the FRM II (Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz, TU Munich) took place on 9th January 2019 with 25 “Integrated Life Sciences” students of the 3rd semester.
The Unruh group organizes at least one excursion each year to a large scale facility. On 9th January 2019 we visited the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) with students of the 3rd semester of the Integrated Live Sciences Program at FAU. We started from LKS by bus at 11:00 and arrived at TUM in Garching 13:00. After a short passport control we were welcomed by Bianca Tonin-Schebesta, who perfectly organized our whole stay at FRM II. Our student groups was warmly welcomed by Dr. Jürgen Neuhaus, member of the FRM II,Instrumentation Advisory Committee, who takes the time to give a lively introduction into the research with neutrons at FRM II.His presentation is accompanied with questions to the students and a fruitful discussion in a relaxed atmosphere.
After the introductory talk we started our visiting tour through the research areas of the FRM II in three groups. We could have a close look to the many different large scale instruments designed for studying the structure and dynamics of matter. Many applications in different scientific areas ranging from medicine, biology, and pharmacy to materials science, solid state physics, and applied sciences could be introduced shortly demonstrating the importance of neutron scattering in all these different fields. Finally, we had an impressive view into the reactor hall with the open reactor pool and the main control system. In the same context the students could get an impression on the fascinating work of a researcher at such a large scale facility. After the visiting tour through the research neutron source we had dinner with Leberkäs’, potato salad, and beer in the Campus-Cneipe close by the FRM II together with the participating scientists from FRM II, before we returned by bus in Erlangen at 10 pm.
As always, the excursion to FRM II was extremely informative, perfectly organized by the staff in Garching, and an unforgettable event. We would like to thank all the people at FRM II who made this event possible.
Selina Sonntag