“5 to 12” Science Night
Science in an unusual form and at an unusual time: the RWTH Science Night “5 to 12” takes place every second Friday in November.
Friday, November 8, 2024
“5 to 12” Science Night 2023
On November 10, 2023, the “5 to 12” RWTH Science Night offered insights into science in an unusual form and at an unusual time.
From 7pm through midnight, the attendees looked over the shoulders of RWTH scientists and explored the latest methods, topics and findings, which were broken down and demonstrated in numerous presentations, experiment stations, and exhibit stands.
Since its inception in 2003, the program has steadily grown in popularity, the number of visitors long surpassing the 5,000 threshold.
“The RWTH Science Night gives you the perfect opportunity to gain special insights into the University”, says RWTH Rector Professor Ulrich Rüdiger.
Colorful Mix of Research Topics
In 2023, there was a particular focus on the topics of energy, artificial intelligence, and math, presented in lectures and exhibitions. These and many more topics were all made tangible and accessible in the form of lectures, spectacular experiments, and exhibitions: This year, the program featured about 30 talks and 60 scientific exhibits.
Science in Our Everyday Lives
Many topics were known to visitors from their everyday experience, demonstrating the role science plays in our lives.
The program included, for example, a presentation by Professor Christina Büsing on how math supports pharmacies in planning out-of-hours services. Professor Lutz Eckstein provided insights into the urban mobility of tomorrow, while Professor Thorsten Cramer explained how our diet can affect the course of chronic diseases.
Insights Into Artificial Intelligence (AI)
In her presentation, Professor Verena Nitsch, head of the Institute of Industrial Engineering and Ergonomics, focused on artificial intelligence technologies at the workplace and talked about the evolution of occupations. Further, Professor Holger Hoos (Machine Learning), Professor Sebastian Trimpe (Learning Machines), Professor Christina Büsing (AI and Mathematics), and Professor Wil van der Aalst (Process Mining) from the RWTH AI Center brought Artificial Intelligence “Out of Research, Into Everyday Life”. Dr. Andrea Altepost and Professor Thomas Gries shed light on the topic of “Work, AI & Sustainability Using the Example of the WIRKsam Competence Center”.
Sustainable Energy Supply
In the foyer of the Mining Building, Wüllnerstraße 2, experiments and information focused on the sustainable supply of energy, for example through resource-conserving production processes. In experiments, exhibits and science slams, the institutes of aeronautics and astronautics, Wüllnerstrasse 7, demonstrated that aviation can also be sustainable, and they also showed how science can contribute to emission-free and climate-neutral aviation..
Selected Highlights
With his imaginative show of experiments, Eric Siemes took visitors young and old on a voyage of discovery through “The Fascinating World of Science and Technology”.
In the show “Making Music with Light – Experiencing Music-Synchronous Laser Shows” by the Chair of Optical Systems Technology and MHL²-Laser&Lights, laser light images moved amazingly in time with the music through the room. In addition, in the high-voltage show, visitors were able to experiment for themselves until their hair literally stood on end.
The traditional physics fair again showed all kinds of physical phenomena and invited visitors to try their hand at many experiments.
A special highlight of the Science Night was the traditional RWTH Science Slam in the Great Lecture Hall of the Audimax: Several science slammers competed against each other in an entertaining “contest of knowledge.”
| Where? |
C.A.R.L. Lecture Hall Complex, Aeronautics and Astronautics Building, Mining Building, Foundry Institutes, Institute of Jet Propulsion and Turbomachinery, University Library, ELVA Railway Signaling Lab |
|---|---|
| Admission | free |
| Host | Department for Press and Communication |