Country Overshoot Day marks the date each year when a country would have exhausted its annual biocapacity budget — if everyone in the world lived like its population. In Germany, that date in 2025 falls as early as 5 May — more than three months earlier than in the previous year. At Leipzig University’s b-ACTmatter research and transfer centre, innovative approaches are being explored to address the growing scarcity of resources in the face of a rising global population — through sustainable production processes and circular economy technologies. The REPLACER project is developing new generations of hybrid living materials. These materials are designed to reduce plastic pollution by using CO₂ and methane, says project lead Dr Rohan Karande in an interview.
Bringing science to the public and communicating research content and arguments in an appealing way is an important qualification for scientists.
Selina Hanisch, a doctoral student in the BioMat working group at b-ACTmatter, presented her research work to the public in an entertaining way at two events in autumn.
At the ‘Salon of Science’ on 6 November 2024 at the Chemnitz Industrial Museum, visitors received answers from researchers from various scientific fields to questions such as ‘When will we wear clothes made of CO2?’, ‘When will we travel completely emission-free?’ or ‘How can we achieve the energy transition?’. The event format focuses on personal dialogue. Together with other experts from Aachen, Dresden, Freiberg and Ilmenau, Selina answered the questions of science-interested guests from the surrounding area in an ‘Ask the Scientist’ interview format. Parallel to the event, the travelling exhibition ‘Power2Change: Mission Energiewende’ was also open to visitors.
Every year, Leipzig University also offers scientists a platform where graduates can present their research work in a generally understandable and entertaining way. On 12 November 2024, the Graduate Academy Leipzig hosted a science slam to mark ‘Doctorate Day’. Here you could present your own research in 10 minutes in an entertaining way. Jack Pop, known from the Circus of Science, led through the evening with interactive experiments. Selina took 2nd place in the Science Slam that evening with her presentation entitled ‘Bacterial co-housing: from survival to synergy’. Congratulations to her!
Selina Hanisch (left) at the Salon of Science in the Chemnitz Industrial Museum. Photo: Marcel Frank
In November 2024, Franziska Ullm took over as Managing Director of the Research and Transfer Centre for Bioactive Matter b-ACT matter, succeeding Dr Susanne Ebitsch, who left Leipzig University in October to join the Center for the Transformation of Chemistry (CTC). The biochemist from Saxony is not new to Leipzig University. She has already studied biology here and later completed a master’s degree in biochemistry with a specialisation in biomedicine. After completing her studies, Franziska Ullm remained at Leipzig University for the time being: She worked at the Institute of Biochemistry as a research assistant and doctoral student until 2022, where she gained experience in coordinating research projects and supervising junior researchers. For the past two years, she worked at the FILK Freiberg Institute gGmbH, a non-university Freiberg research institution with an accredited testing laboratory specialising in materials science and technology development.
We are delighted that Franziska Ullm has taken over the administrative management of the centre and would like to extend a warm welcome to her!
Franziska Ullm is the new Managing Director of the b-ACT matter research and transfer centre.
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LEIPZIG UNIVERSITY
Research and Transfer Center for bioactive Matter b-ACTmatter
