How can sound energy be converted into heat energy? What is the chemistry behind flashing light? And how much energy do gummy bears have? At the "Jugend forscht" action day at TU Ilmenau this week, everything revolved around the topic of energy.
With this, the university once again honored the great achievements of the young researchers in the last digital round of the West Thuringia regional competition: "Everyone was impressed by your commitment," said President Prof. Kai-Uwe Sattler in his welcoming speech and encouraged the young people to continue researching:
Big problems cannot be solved by politics alone. For that we need innovations!
Experimental lecture "with a twinkle in the eye"
Chemistry professor Peter Scharff also paid the young people the highest respect: "You are not nerds, as some people might think, but young people who care about what surrounds them." In his experimental lecture on the subject of light, he unleashed a genie, made charcoal and will-o'-the-wisp dance and lots of sparks fly.
For his commitment as a long-standing sponsor of the competition, network coordinator Christina Boge (center) then presented him with the Golden Pin, the highest award of the Jugend forscht Foundation: "You are characterized by genuine enthusiasm for the competition and the young researchers," said Boge in her laudatory speech:
Committed mentors like you are the basis of the success of Jugend forscht.
The new mentor is the President of TU Ilmenau, Prof. Kai-Uwe Sattler.
Guided tour of laboratories
At the end of the action day, the young researchers learned on a guided tour through Fraunhofer IDMT laboratories, among other things, how AI and microphones can be used to test the quality of marbels and weld seams, learned about the world's smallest headphones and marveled at the perfect silence in the anechoic room.
We are already looking forward to new, "Randomly Ingenious(e)?" Jugend forscht projects for the next round of Germany's best-known competition for young researchers!
Registration is now open.
