life newspaper of the university of freiburg www.leben.uni-freiburg.de 04 2017 reformation: martin luther revolutionized europe > s. 2 competition: two cluster proposals advance > s. 5 oration: a night of lectures at the audimax > s. 10 archived for a million years for posterity’s sake: information cauterized in a silicon disc. photo: andreas manz the “human document project“ seeks to store information indefinitely by alexander ochs how long can you store docu- ments? and on which type of storage unit – paper, cd, hard drive, usb stick? everyone knows the problem and some certainly remember the days of fl oppy discs, cassettes, super-8 or vhs video tapes and audiotapes. these stor- age methods have more or less disappeared from the market and are no longer considered appropri- ate storage media for indefi nite, future-proof data backup. but how can we know which medium or technology will still work and will be able to be decoded in the year 2525 – and with which types of de- vices? 500 years is considered a long time because digital data have a much shorter shelf life than books or cuneiforms. freiburg scientists and their col- leagues from the “human docu- ment project” have ambitious plans: they have set out to deter- mine how we can archive informa- tion for a million years. in order to get clear about the unimaginable dimensions for such an undertaking: it is a timeframe of 10,000 centuries or 1,000 millennia. other than perhaps nuclear waste there isn’t much produced by mankind that could last that long, according to skeptics. engineers and archivists the “human document project“ manages all relevant aspects of data storage: content, storage sys- tems, technology, data backup ma- terials, data storage protection, coding. the physicist and engineer gerald urban, who has been pro- fessor for sensors at the depart- ment of microsystems engineering – imtek since 1996, has organ- ized this year’s conference as sen- ior fellow at the freiburg institute for advanced studies (frias). “it was really important to me that we take an interdisciplinary approach. that means presenting humanities scholars with the latest technologi- cal and software developments as well as showing natural scientists and technologists the challenges facing librarians and archivists at the same time.” besides the question of materials and technical issues: what exactly do we wish to pass down to the next umpteenth generations? “im- portant aspects of contemporary culture” is the somewhat nebulous response. but what should that be? among others, the ancient historian prof. dr. hans-joachim gehrke is in charge of answering that ques- tion. from 1987 to 2008, he held a professorship at the university of freiburg and worked as director of outreach for the university college freiburg. “for historians evolution is of interest, especially dramatic changes such as cultural schisms.” but even if a dictator had multiple documents destroyed, us research- ers would start storing their climate data outside the country once don- ald trump became presidency, an enormous ecological catastrophe would hit us or a meteorite would slam against the earth – “some- thing is always left over. there is never ground zero,” says gehrke. made for eternity a future-proof document would have to be able to survive such events too. by way of example for the level of durability we are talking about, the ancient historian men- tions the burned clay tablets from the babylonians or the ancient egyptians’ pyramids: “they were made for eternity, even when rulers knowingly steered the information about their effect such as in the gilgamesch epic or the codex hammurabi.” but oftentimes knowl- edge gets lost: the us space agency nasa no longer has ac- cess to the data of the fi rst moon landing. and that was dated july 20, 1969, which was not even 50 years ago. measured against the temporal dimensions of the “hu- man document project” it is even absurd. in the egyptian delta of the nile, a french offi cer found a stone tablet with an inscription in three languages in 1799 that was dated 196 b.c., which significantly led to the decoding of the egyptian hieroglyphics. the famous rosetta stone, which by the way weighs 762 kilograms, was found by acci- dent. the chemist, engineer and former frias fellow prof. dr. andreas manz from the korea institute of science and technolo- gy europe, who is also involved in the project, put it in simple sounding terms: “we want to leave something behind.” he wants a “rosetta stone for digital infor- mation”. examples for successful long-term transfer come to him spontaneously: “the dna code of hemoglobin is certainly billions of years old. and the amber found in the north sea is 50 million years old.” something hard in something soft the researchers prefer an old recipe, those of fossils: “you have to place a hard object in something soft, but not too soft,” says manz. according to current research, it is a ten-centimete large round disc made of silicon and weighing several grams, a monocrystal, inorganic and non-corrodible so it is resistant to decay. manz’ student park jukyu cauterized information in an analogue fashion into this so- called wafer. with the naked eye you can see several signs: a man, a woman, a tree, carrots, the sun, mountains, a flower, fire, birds, fi sh. in four languages and three writings. you can discover addi- tional content with a magnifying glass or a microscope. scientists at stanford and harvard universi- ties in the us take the approach of infi ltrating information into human dna. while ancient history, at least according to current records, did well without images or written ob- servations, the age of images flooding our world has arrived. how can you select what is rele- vant and what is not – for the people who will inhabit the earth thousands from generations from now? or those who will visit planet earth? in essence it is about one thing only: what’s left over? and perhaps those involved are asking themselves if they are working on an emerging new discipline. it is too early to answer that question. perhaps it would make sense to ask that question in a million years.

04 2017 news 3 unı life newspaper of the university of freiburg www.leben.uni-freiburg.de up until recently the theologian prof. dr. karlheinz ruhstorfer lived in dresden. while he was there, he experienced how thousands of peo- ple would take to the streets every monday to protest against refu- gee policy while shouting right-wing slogans. “for the first time i had the feel- ing that our liberal freedoms were no longer something to take for granted.” in ruhstort- er’s view, these liberal freedoms have something to do with martin luther too. “in protestantism the spirit of freedom emancipated itself.” that is not to say that freedom is an inven- tion of protestantism. apart from catholic france in which the enlight- enment led to a break between reli- gion and the bourgeoise political commonwealth, the religious and political landscapes in switzerland, the netherlands, great britain and the united state melded together: “liberal freedoms that characterize the west emerged for the most part within the latin church -- and primar- ily in those areas that were protestant at first.” it was different in france, however: the enlightened religiously neutral state tried to draw religious boundaries. luther came from the monasticism of the late middle ages and studied under wilhelm von ockham who em- phasized man’s freedom of will. what was equally formative for him was mysticism that locates the godly prin- ciple within man himself and not in external acts such as a liturgy. mod- ern self-assurance of man finds its origins with luther. but this kind of freedom did not last forever, but rath- er became institutionally contained within protestantism over the centu- ries. not much is left over of the great freedoms of 19th century lutheran germany. why? because the state took over. the nation state and prot- estantism melded into one entity, which, nationally charged, also mobi- lized against the weimar republic’s brand of democracy in the 20th cen- facets of freedom tury. a development that, during the third reich, led to a portion of luther- ans serving the national socialists and even regurgitated luther’s hatred for the jews. during this era, “luther” lost his innocence, says ruhstorfer. luther was a child of the times and isn’t easily modernized to match today’s thinking. “he had great ideas. and these ideas also had a dark side.” an early commitment to brexit? what does martin luther have to do with brexit? at first and second glance, nothing at all. but it’s worth taking a third look. because without the person luther and the enormous effect that the reformation had in the holy roman empire of the german nation, the reformative movements could not have infiltrated neighboring countries. even in england although king henry viii rejected luther’s teachings his entire life, the historian prof. dr. ronald g. asch explains: “the reformation in england harks back to a royal deci- sion by henry viii. theo- logically speaking, england’s king was no protestant – it was much more about royal church rule.” in order to complete the separation with rome, henry viii enforced a series of reformation laws in the 1530s, one of which was the “act in restraint of appeals’ in 1533. it claimed “this realm of eng- land is an empire ...” or, to put it another way: we are subject to no one. no worldly or spiritual rulers and most certainly not the pope. the conservative british parlia- mentarian john redwood, an avid european union (eu) critic, made this quote the title of a blog post he published in june 2012. according to asch, redwood and other brexiteers believed the subjugation to brussels would be a betrayal against english constitutional tradition as justified by the reformation: “it was the break with rome that established the think- ing of the king-in-parliament’s abso- lute sovereignty that remained the foundation of england’s unwritten constitution up to the second half of the 20th century.” this absolute sov- ereignty should be reestablished with brexit. the pride in specifically eng- lish traditions played an important role during the anti-eu membership campaign. those against brexit had nothing with which to go up against such a historical argument. but henry viii is now being drawn in once again, this time by those opposing the current prime minister theresa may – in the debate around the brexit law. they claim may seeks absolute rule as henry viii did back then. “it is meant polemically, of course,” says asch. “but it makes it clear that his- tory has an impact even today.” sexuality without sin martin luther has long been accused that he didn’t have a grip on his own sexuality. after all, he was a monk first, left the augustinian order and later married katharina von bora with whom he had six children. “during luther’s time, sexuality was connected with the notion of disorder in intellectual circles,” explains theologian prof. dr. magnus striet. and everything that was disorderly was considered sinful. for young luther his reorientation wasn’t easy either. should he switch to the status of a married man? should he not? in the end he decided to do so and – as letters prove – he was surprised how much joy it brought him to be together with a woman, including sexually. it poses the ques- tion as to how luther managed to suddenly redefine physicality in a positive fashion. and that publicly. “piety in the middle ages was as- sociated with people’s fear. fear of god. fear of eternal damna- tion,” explains striet. luther managed to break away from this dark notion of the world. “or rather: he came to the conclusion that people themselves can do nothing for their salvation because it is the work of god, including man and his sexuality.” striet found it interesting that already during luther’s lifetime there was a struggle around sexuality that was embedded in the overall refor- mation movement. as background: not only monks such as luther but also a multitude of nuns left their orders at that time. it was a real po- litical issue, according to striet. and while the anti-reformation movement propagated chastity, luther valued sexuality as something deeply human. he did not, however, question the gender roles that were current at the time. in theory, he equalized gender relations in which he announced joint priesthood for all believers, including women, and replaced the clerical system with the family as the main institution within society, but the structures remained patriarchal none- theless. luther got into trouble with his biblical literalism, says striet: “sticking strictly to the text usually means that you don’t rattle that which is – because of the hermeneutic glasses you are wearing while reading.” illustr ation: svenja kirsch

04 2017 news 5 unı life newspaper of the university of freiburg www.leben.uni-freiburg.de wolfgang kehr starts a new foundation prof. dr. wolfgang kehr, former director for the university library (ub) has started a new foundation with 150,000 euros in capital. the goal of the wolfgang kehr foundation is to promote science and research at the university of freiburg, whereby the annual revenue should be spent on maintaining and caring for the historic collections in the ub. the department of endowment and estate/taxes will take on the foundation’s administra- tive duties. kehr ran the ub from 1967 to 1994 and has a strong connection with the historic collections. “when i began the position, the collections of manuscripts and incunables were in poor condition. we opened them up, restored them and augmented them with prints from the 16th century from the cultural area on the upper rhine. it is of particular importance for me to lend further support to these collec- tions with a foundation.” wolfgang kehr is supporting the main- tenance and care of the historic collec- tions at the university library freiburg with his foundation. photo: thomas kunz in good shape the university of freiburg is eligible to submit two full applications in the funding line “cluster of excellence” photo: jacob lund/fotolia by nicolas scherger an important partial victory for the university of freiburg: two application outlines in the funding line “cluster of excellence” were suc- cessful. the initiatives “cibss – centre for integrative biological signalling studies” and “living, adaptive and energy-autonomous materials systems (livmats)” (see infoboxes) can now sub- mit a full application. with this success the university is still in the running in the funding line “universities of ex- cellence” – two approved clusters are required for eligibility. “our extraordi- nary scientists have scored points with their successful cluster outlines. the excellence funding from the past ten years along with our expansive colla- borative research have paid off. we will do everything we can to ensure our cluster applications are successful in the competition,” says rector prof. dr. hans-jochen schiewer. 88 out of 195 in the final round 195 total applications were submitted nationwide fort he funding line “cluster of excellence”. 88 initiatives have qual- ified fort he final round. about half of them is expected to be funded. for the funding line “universities of excel- lence”, in which up to eleven applica- tions should be approved, it means overall that 29 universities are still in the running nationwide. in baden-württemberg 18 cluster initiatives will submit a full application and seven universities will have the chance to qualify as a “university of excellence”. the ministry of science, research and art is backing the pro- gram. the state will make seed money for full applications available. second round since 2012. “brainlinks- braintools has conducted excellent research work in the past and we regret that this cluster will no longer be in the competition,” says rector schiewer. “brainlinksbraintools will remain a cluster of excellence at the university. the research regarding the interface between the brain and the machine is one of our flagship topics. the freiburg institute for machine- brain interfacing technology is being built on the grounds of the faculty of engineering and will open in 2019. the cluster’s financing will run for another two years from excellence funds. thereafter, it will be sustained through the state and the university.” strict schedule both successful cluster initiatives are now entering a hot phase. they have to submit their full applications by february 21, 2018. at the same time the university has to submit its statement of intent in apply for the funding line “universities of excel- lence”. the final decision as to which cluster applications will be successful will be made on september 27, 2018. the funding period for the newly approved clusters of excellence is january 1, 2019. the university of freiburg had sub- mitted five cluster outlines. three are no longer in the running, including the renewed proposal for brainlinks-brain- tools, which has been financed in the cibss – centre for integrative biological signalling studies cibbs is building on the scientific work that the funded cluster of excellence bioss centre for biological signalling studies has conducted since 2007. the cluster initiative will develop strategies to control signal processing with precision in order to translate insights from basic research into innovative ideas. living, adaptive and energy- autonomous materials systems (livmats) that can adapt to diverse environments and produce its own clean energy. it is supported by the freiburg center for interactive materials and bioinspired (fit) and the freiburg materials re- search center (fmf) at the university along with sustainability center freiburg founded by freiburg’s five fraunhofer institutes. exzellenzportal more information about the excellence competition as well as current events can be found in the excellence portal at the university of freiburg. the cluster initiative has the goal of developing bioinspired material systems  www.exzellenz.uni-freiburg.de t d n y e m a r d n a s : o t o h p magnus striet, 52 years old, pro- fessor for fundamental theology laura becker, 25 years old, master’s student in sociology “up to now i have rarely experienced situations in which i have noticed my age, but if it does happen, it could very well be that i will have some restric- tions. but i’m not worried about that: i have always lived in the present and would like to continue to do so. that includes accepting different situations in life and engaging in new and creative ways of living. i see generational diver- sity as an opportunity. i noticed during my lectures that the issues have more depth when people of different ages engage in the discussion.” “age doesn’t play much of a role in my every day life just yet. it is only when my friends are in a far different life phase than i am. there is a lot of generational diversity at universities. i find it to be very positive and it shows me that every age is perfect as it comes. dealing with different genera- tions hast he potential for conflict, but also opportunity to learn from one an- other.” day of diversity the day of diversity organized by the office for gender and diversity is focusing on the topic of “age” this year. the event is being held on november 23, 2017 starting at 3pm in the archaeological collection. all members of the university of freiburg are warmly welcome to attend and engage in conversation with people of all ages. reg- istration is possible at www.uni-freiburg.de/go/anmeldung-tag-der-vielfalt.  www.diversity.uni-freiburg.de/tagdervielfalt/tdv2017 a wrinkle in time photos: patrick seeger during the day of diversity on november 23, 2017 the topic of “age” will be the focus. jannis behnke took a look around the university of freiburg and asked people of various generations what role age plays in their lives. sebastian beiter, 19 years old, chemical lab trainee karin schmidt, 79 years old, au- ditor in the department of history daniel spingies, 32 years old, central university administration “the moment you feel old is not measured in numbers because every- one experiences it differently. maybe people start to feel old when the kids move out of the house or you slowly retire. it has more to do with a phase of life. in general, i think it’s a good thing that i am getting older. i can travel alone and learn new, fun things. i can also do things that i couldn’t do as a child or young per- son. i think it’s great that i am at the age where i am no longer limited.” “it is actually nice to get older. after i had finished raising my children and my career was over, i am able to pur- sue my hobbies such as tennis or a university class. i have absolutely no restrictions. i think it is great that the university provides even people at retirement age with an opportunity to occupy their minds and continue their education. besides i really enjoy be- ing around younger people. i notice my age, but it is still wonderful.” “you gather more experience with age and can handle situations more readily. it is also easier to know your own limits and to note what is most important. if i think about what my favorite age was, i think about my mandatory civilian service. i had a lot of fun and could do a lot of things. but i also look positively toward the future and look forward to everything that getting older brings with it: starting a family, building a house and one day becoming a grandpa.”

04 2017 learning 7 unı life newspaper of the university of freiburg www.leben.uni-freiburg.de freiburg’s wild times the new exhibit on student demonstrations before 1968 in the uniseum is the direct result of a teaching project by mariella hutt students didn’t start fi ghting for a stronger voice in 1968. they alrea- dy started taking to the streets to fi ght for their rights in the early 1950s and 60s. a new exhibit, “mild, wild freiburg. student initiatives before 1968“ in the uniseum at the university of freiburg illustrates this fact. it is the result of a student project that had its origins in a seminar that historian prof. dr. sylvia paletschek and private lecturer dr. karin orth led in the 2016 summer semester. after the participants acquired basic knowledge about the time before 1968, they conducted interviews with eye- witnesses who reported about their university days and their initiatives during the 1950s and 60s. during the 2016/2017 winter semester, the students then worked on the exhib- it’s content in a museum-focused tuto- rial, led by sylvia paletschek and uni- seum curator angela witt-meral: they designed a concept, searched through the university archives for photos and texts, gathers newspaper articles, ana- lyzed radio and tv segments and asked eyewitnesses for exhibits. the newly opened area of the uniseum is the fi rst result of the project “research- related learning“ through which select topics were revised in the uniseum together with the students. with the leafl et “help for a stepchild,” participants were sought who were involved in the campaign “student in the country” and wanted to do so- mething about the crisis in education. those who registered for the cam- paign received the opportunity to be trained to clearly explain to the rural population about the current situation around education. in his book "die deutsche bildungs- katastrophe (germany’s catastrophe in education)", the educator georg picht describes overcrowded lecture halls and terrible professors. thanks to frei- burg’s students, the idea emerged to create a nation-wide awareness cam- paign to draw attention to the issues. for more educational justice: the stu- dents at the university of freiburg and the “association of german students“ organized a nation-wide demonstrati- on in which hundreds of thousands of students participated. fotos: klaus polkowski the campaign “student in the country” was taken on and continued in other parts of germany. in 1967 the campaign was awarded the theodor heuss medal, thereby honoring the freiburg students’ involvement and their trailblazing role. the medal is on loan indefi nitely by an eyewitness. the campaign “student in the country” was taken on and continued in other parts of germany. in 1967 the campaign was awarded the theodor heuss medal, thereby honoring the freiburg students’ involvement and their trailblazing role. the medal is on loan indefi nitely by an eyewitness.  www.uniseum.uni-freiburg.de closing the gap the advanced training module surgical technology familiarizes participants with medically high-tech methods by jürgen schickinger technology impacts clinical medicine: doctors receive a lot of support from devices that provide measurement va- lues, images and other data. the im- portance of medical technology is gro- wing, but it is often short-changed during medical training, says sven maier. “it is important to close this gap,” says the cardiovascular technologist at the uni- versity heart center freiburg – bad krozingen. he manages the internship during the advanced training module surgical technology that doctors and other clinic-related professionals have to familiarize them with medically high- tech methods. to know how the others work “medical technology is more than the intersection between doctor, patient and the patient’s data,” emphasizes maier. various specialists work together during a lot of the operations. if it be- comes sketchy, for instance, during a heart operation, the heart surgeon, the anesthetist and the cardiovascular technology should all be able to under- stand each other blindfolded. „each professional group in the operating room has to know how the others work.“ that includes knowing the basic functions of various devices. “the use of the heart-lung machine during surgery” is on today’s agenda. where and when do you use a heart-lung machine? the advanced training mo- dule “surgical technology” gets clinic-related professionals ready for the medical future. photo: universitätsklinikum freiburg the participants are observing sur- geries live at the university heart center: where and when do you use the heart-lung machine? the two days prior were spent in simulations and practical training at furtwangen university. the participants learned about imaging techniques, computer- supported navigation and more. they learned a lot about various devices, monitors, interfaces, data and their proliferation. in addition, they learned how to prepare a heart-lung machine for use. practicing with a dummy dr. maria sailer calls the lesson with the heart-lung machine a “dry run”: a human-like dummy acts as a patient that consists mainly of tubes and a kind of artifi cial heart. “other than that, we did exactly the same things we would do in real-life surgery,” says the assistant doctor for abdominal surgery from göttingen. along with practicing medicine, she studied computer science because big data is becoming more and more important in medicine. in order to be totally prepared for her pro- fessional future, she wanted more technical understanding. that is why she is learning about essential compo- nents in the newest systems in her master’s degree program in technical medicine that the university of frei- burg offers in cooperation with furt- wangen university. “i’d like to further develop my exper- tise,” says johannes rauch. he com- pleted his bachelor’s degree in business informatics with an early concentration in health. working at st. joseph’s hos- pital in freiburg, rauch is now pursu- ing a master’s degree in technical medicine. he will most likely never use the devices shown. “but i now know where and why data is emitted from them.” he has learned a lot about how medicine and technology can be com- bined. he also has found the contact with the doctors to be most benefi cial. good teaching materials save time in summary, rauch says: “i’d do it again. anytime.” sailer calls the mod- ule “very intense.” both had hoped to have more time for the subject of com- puter-supported navigation. but they are both full of praise. “the lecturers’ support is excellent,” says sailer. rauch appreciates the experts’ avail- ability to ask questions and the quality of the teaching materials as well. “they save an enormous amount of time.” the module is organized very broadly in terms of subject matter and at a very high level. sailer agrees with him: “there aren’t many comparable offerings like this one in germany.” course coordinator jonathan ahles is thrilled. but there’s room for im- provement, he says. there always is. “at the end of the course, we always ask for the participants’ feedback. we want to do it even better the next time.” individual course and master’s degree program the module surgical technology encompasses a lecture, seminar and practical training about cardiotechnology and surgical navigation. those interested can take an individual course or as a part of a larger master’s degree program in technological medi- cine. both are advanced training that accompanies a related profession and is appropriate, for instance, for doctors, medical engineers, cardiovascular tech- nologists, medical computer scientists and other clinic-related natural scientists.  www.technische-medizin.uni-freiburg.de

04 2017 campus 9 unı life newspaper of the university of freiburg www.leben.uni-freiburg.de the laundry mat at night erasmus students show mysterious, action-filled and dreamy moments during their stay abroad in a photo competition students have been able to complete study abroad through the erasmus+ program fort he past 30 years. to celebrate the program’s anniversary, the eu office at the university of freiburg has started a photo competition “i participate in erasmus – i see europe”. a small selection of displayed images shows mysterious, action-filled and dreamy moments – from green northern lights in the norwegian sky and nocturnal visits to a laundry matt to colorful street festivals in spain. the large city festival aste nagusia submerges bilbao in the basque country in a summery, celebratory mood. photo: anouk stober when will the sheets finally be dry? noctural waiting in a laundry mat in bordeaux, france. photo: annalena becker shadow play: the feria de abril, the annual april mass, shows off a blaze of color in sevilla, spain. photo: michaela bühler reflection: a red sports car winds its way through the tiny street in matera, italy. photo: julia adam first a muffin, then modal verbs at the language café students and refugees help each other with their homework by petra völzing the conference room at the general students’ committee (asta) on belfortstrasse is rather austere for a café, but paulina steinhilber quickly arranges for a bit of coziness and or- ders fruits, coffee, cookies and a huge bowl of raspberry muffins for the table. “i now bake twice a week,” says the student of islamic studies, laughing. nour salameh is sitting at the ready as well. “i only come for the muffins,” he notes jokingly. he came to germany a few months ago from aleppo, syria. he has a degree in engineering and wants to start training as a mechanic here. “the language café is really im- portant to me,” he says, admitting that he has to learn german quickly. it is also important for him to get to know new people and to do things with them. “although it is called language café, it is about more than just languages. we want to get to know different cultures,” explains steinhilber about the underly- ing concept behind the project as she pours coffee from a thermos. the group has already visited several exhibits, barbecued together and even did an excursion to lake constance together. in the interim the room has started to fill. mohammad kaboul and mutha- ma al-darwish disappear behind steinhilber’s laptop – research for homework. “i never know how many people will show up and what will happen,” she casually says. “i have learned that it is best to let things unfold by themselves. it works every time.” the student is the link between the department of islamic studies at the university of freiburg and the initiative “start with a friend” in the the group meets tuesdays and thursdays to learn and discuss things – every now and again they do excursions too. photo: thomas kunz language café. they embarked on a joint venture to start the language café. releasing frustration and remaining happy theresa hoffmann has sat down with mouath isharboutly at the table. together they are going through fill-in-the-blank texts in which the verbs are missing. isharboutly starts to practice: “i take measures to study at the university,” he says, laughing. he wants to study ethnology. “who can explain past perfect here?” shouts steinhilber into the room. not so easy, the german students discover. kaboul and al-darwish are now trying to help steinhilber. “i have to write a paper on transsexuality in islam,” she says. both syrians are looking in the internet for texts by an imam from egypt who has addressed it. “there is nothing in the koran that talks about gender reassignment,” they explain, which is why such texts have been used in the islamic world. both of them go to a refugee class in em- mendingen. hayyan salman kaboul whispers something in her ear. he laughs. “hayyan just corrected me.” it isn’t “we meet friends,” but rather “we meet with friends.” salman has over- come many language barriers and now studies economics. he meets his countrymen and women at the lan- guage café. at the moment he is supporting jana hahn in translating an arabic text about women’s rights. but they also talk about a lot of other things too. there are a lot of things that the young syrians have to get used to in their every day lives in germany. hashem atfeh, for instance, wants to start training as a physical therapist. but he needs an internship for that and he can’t find one. because he isn’t en- rolled as a student, employers have to pay him minimum wage. he has now northern lights – a magical natural spectacle in the norwegian sky of kvaløya. photo: philipp ehrenmann gotten an internship at the energy provider badenova. “we have to have a lot of patience,” he says, laughing and drumming his fingers on the table. the refugees also can’t expect immedi- ate assistance from the job center be- cause the small staff is completely overworked. “we aren’t used to this level of bureaucracy in syria,” explains salman. he himself is happy to have found a room in an apartment with several others. “i tried to help other refugees to find an apartment,” ex- plains hahn, but when the landlords found out that it wasn’t her, but a refugee who wanted to move in, they always reneged. the young people have the chance at the language café to release their frustration, but the atmosphere is still relaxed and happy nonetheless. there are no female refugees here today. “every once in a while, one will come, but women are much more involved in their families. perhaps they also shy away because there are mostly men here.” the german academic exchange service has been funding the language café since april 2017. it gives the team a chance to start a women’s project – a café for women only. “we are very happy for the funding because no one should have to pay here,” emphasizes steinhilber. her fellow students theresa hoffmann and anna-lena kranz will take over running the language café starting the 2017/2018 winter semester. steinhilber will be doing an academic year in iran. links and contact information e-mail: sprachcafe@start-with-a-friend.de www.start-with-a-friend.de/ standorte/freiburg/sprache-lernen www.facebook.com/sprachcafeuni

04 2017 campus 11 unı life newspaper of the university of freiburg www.leben.uni-freiburg.de building speculators at the drawing “quadropolis” could be the city of the future – what does it reveal about modern urban development? museums – it’s called “waterfront development”. another difference to current prac- tice: “in the game all of the people are the same. a blue pawn is the same as the next. but in reality various factors make them different from one another,” explains mattissek. that is why ques- tions of environmental justice are dis- cussed with great intensity in contem- porary approaches to urban planning: “how will a factory that is placed directly in an urban setting impact the residents there? and to what extent do factors such as age or income deter- mine how much access someone has to certain infrastructures, goods and services in a city?” furthermore, the competitive idea behind the game points to actual problems in urban policy and planning, suggests freytag: “certainly, it is the competitive nature of the game that makes it fun. but if we had exchanged ideas about our respective objectives at the get go and had actually cooperated with one another, we would have all received a lot more points collectively.” case analyses of both researchers show similar results. when multiple locations compete against one another regarding sustainability, for instance, the effect is often that the environment suffers – if not directly, then elsewhere when, for instance, europe outsources a part of its production, including carbon dioxide emissions, to other continents, says freytag. “urban plan- ning and policy-making are still very much caught up in competitive logic. you might win a game with it, but it won’t save the planet.” „quadropolis“, asmodee verlag. www.asmodee.de playful urban planning: for tim freytag, people and municipal administrative are his focal point, annika mattissek bets on eco-luxury buildings and shrines to consumerism. photos: jürgen gocke ern city” is completely antiquated. “the game shows how cities were devel- oped in the 1970s and 1980s,” says freytag. various areas such as indus- trial and residential zones were repre- sented on the drawing board, but they remained largely separate in their functions. “we wish to overcome that today and now rely on the notion of compact cities,” he emphasizes. “today, city planners approach it more from the residents’ perspective. they ask themselves how they can reinvent a city to meet current needs,” explains mattissek. in a city with little space for housing, for instance, it wouldn’t take long until large harbor districts were redesigned. apartments, cafés, parks and maybe even a few possible because that will get her the most points later. she has laid the cor- nerstone for a gigantic housing devel- opment. “this is going to be a gated community. eco-luxury buildings,” the geographer jokes. her colleague freytag skulks up to the game board. he is thinking about a well-balanced mix of housing settle- ments and abundant green spaces, well-positioned shopping opportuni- ties and an industrial complex. the researcher obtains a municipal offi ce. to get as many points as possible, he will have to have at least one of them in every block of houses. “but it’s a good start: people and municipal administration are my focal point,” he says joshingly. scherger doesn’t seem to be bothered much by ethical ques- tions. “i am going to be a polluting pig,” he announces and builds a factory. but the industrial magnate’s first hesita- tions don’t take long to arise. “god, i need a park,” he murmurs as he earns three red energy markers. the little round fi gures are like environmental memorials: if there is surplus energy at the end, you get minus points. parks, on the other hand, are green salve: they cost nothing and neutralize envi- ronmental sins. the cities on the three quadropolis boards are growing like crazy. but real- ity is starting to take hold: there isn’t much left of mattissek’s ecological con- viction. her skyscrapers have reached mind-boggling heights. and what should the residents that mattissek has piled on top of one another in the form of tiny blue pawns do with their time? “shopping” is the expert’s solution, which is why she has now placed enough shrines to consumerism be- tween the houses. that pushes her points upwards. “it’s not like vauban anymore. the development is more like weingarten,” comments freytag. the researcher can’t blame himself: through his good infrastructure he has balanced out his intermittent fl irtation with construction along the harbor (“that would be a great place for the elbphilharmonie”) and energy-guzzling factory sites. and in theory people are still the focal point even at the assem- bly line. scherger even changes from saul to paul. he has given up his in- dustrial empire enshrouded with smog in favor of a sprawling harbor façade (“i am recreating rotterdam”) and green spaces. whether it was a philan- thropic change of heart or his eagle eye trained on the point card is open to interpretation. after four rounds, the winner is named: industrial magnate scherger takes third place with 46 points. freytag and mattissek are neck-in- neck. the building speculator triumphs with 52 points. her colleague lands second place with one point less. the analysis time for an appraisal: does quad- ropolis truly illustrate modern urban planning and development? the ex- perts explain that the idea of a “mod- by rimma gerenstein in the “abgezockt!” series editorial staff members from uni’leben meet with researchers at the university of freiburg for game night. the goal is to illuminate board games from a scientifi c perspective – of course, with tongue in cheek. the game do london, paris and new york have to worry about their status as world cities? the urban pearl of the future could be called “quadropolis”. every player acts like a mayor and develops a new city. and it should be able to handle the challenges of the 21st cen- tury: environmentally sound, sustain- able planning and smart infrastructure are in demand. the players have to decide how they will arrange their houses, parks and factories because it affects the number of points they re- ceive – they also need a dose of cal- lousness to force the competition to its knees. the players prof. dr. tim freytag, human geography; prof. dr. annika mattissek, economic geography and sustainable development nicolas scherger, offi ce of public relations a city will emerge here: every player receives a plan with 25 construction the procedure “so i have to decide if i will be a sustainable, pro-citizen planer or an environment-polluting industrial pig.” mattissek asks the critical question. together with freytag and scherger, she inspects the game board in the middle of the table: a square upon which 25 little cards are ordered in a row. harbor, park, shopping mall, a local municipal offi ce, a factory and a skyscraper: that is the structure. now you have to “mix and match”. the play- ers have to obtain the desired cards and cleverly place them on their individual drawing boards. mattissek grabs a house. it should be as tall as martin luther is considered the consummate bible translator even though there were german transla- tions well before him. the excellent exhibit “handwritten and printed ger- man bible translations in the middle ages before luther“ arising from a medieval studies course at the univer- sity of freiburg introduces book and text types in which the bible existed in german in handwritten form during the middle ages. it shows a printed transmission from 1466, along with the most important successful printed ein konto für alles mögliche. exhibit for bible translations versions of the german bible before luther. handwritten documents and prints from the university library’s stock provide great visuals. the ex- hibit will run from october 15, 2017 to january 19, 2018 in the volkshoch- schule (vhs) nördlicher breisgau in emmendingen. free admission. for opening hours, visit the vhs website: www.vhs-em.de -mal besser vorbereitet mit . dieses giro- und erlebniskonto hat in ihrer studien- und azubizeit alles parat. infos zu den vorteilen – banking und service, sicherheit und preisvorteile in der regio – gibt’s bei der sparkasse vor ort oder per contomaxx-app. … lebe dein konto! the exhibit shows manuscripts and prints from the time of martin luther. photo: thomas kunz  www.vhs-em.de contomaxx.de

04 2017 compass 13 unı life newspaper of the university of freiburg www.leben.uni-freiburg.de in search of the tribe six volumes of the german family name atlas help genealogical research an unparalleled cultural treasure: authors from the german family name atlas (dfa), a joint project by the universities of freiburg and mainz, have analyzed 60,000 family names in great detail. the multi- paged tome provides information, among other things, about where your own tribe originates, how and where they have spread today and which professions your ancestors practice centuries ago. in 2017, the sixth and final volume was finally published after twelve years of work. rimma gerenstein asked dr. kathrin dräger what contemporary family names reveal about given names in the middle ages and what parents who wish to give their off- spring a particularly unusual name, should know. uni’leben: ms. dräger, how often are you asked by friends and family to do private name research? kathrin dräger: that depends. if it is about selecting a child’s first name, most of them are reluctant to ask. most likely, parents don’t want a researcher butting in with her research for such a private and emotional decision. but when it comes to last names, it’s a different story. i am often involuntarily the center of attention at a dinner party, having to continue my professional life after hours. sometimes i feel as if i am squished between two book covers with the word “name dictionary” on them. we don’t even have to consult you at parties anymore: with the most recent release with the sixth volume, the dfa project is now complete. what can i find out about my last name if i snoop around in the books? the dfa is an atlas, not a dictionary. that means you won’t find entries in which it is only about the meaning of a specific name. we certainly do explain which names, for instance, originate when kathrin dräger tells people at parties that she is a name researcher, a line of curious listeners starts to form – as if she were squished between two book covers with the words “name dictionary” on them. photo: patrick seeger from a profession (winzer, reber), from given names (jakob, jäck) or origin and dwellings (preuß, wiese). for the most part, however, the books have maps that show the names’ proliferation. you can learn, for in- stance, that people who are called “mayer” and “maier” tend to live in southern german and that their name- sakes “meyer” and “meier” have a different spelling and tend to live in the north. for those who conduct genea- logical research, that is valuable infor- mation: you can see at a glance where further branches of your tribe reside and where it might be worth taking a look in the archives. the dfa provides information on over 60,000 names … … and in germany there are around 850,000 family names registered. as you can see, it is just a sliver of them all. but it is the sliver with the most common names that also show the most interesting proliferation. you can download an index on our homepage for free and discover if the volumes contain your own name. the latest volume deals with fam- ily names that have emerged from first names centuries ago. which ones are the most common? the most common male name is hartmann and that is an excellent example of the phenomenon that you see throughout the entire volume: a lot of first names in the middle ages serve as family names today, but they are no longer used as first names. no one is called hartmann anymore, and no one would christen his or her child nietzsche or nickel, which are short for nikolaus. that’s what’s great about this volume: we have created a reflection of first names during the middle ages and early modern ages that has never existed before – including multiple varieties of any given name. it is a true cultural treasure. during the middle ages the names hartmann or gertrud were popular. if i go to the playground and call out the names “emilia” or “theo”, about ten kids would turn around and look. why is it that certain names are trendy at certain times? first, you have to know that that’s a false impression. the concentration of names during the middle ages was a lot different: it could be that 25 percent of the men in the same city are called johannes, another 15 percent nikolaus and 20 percent of the women are called elisabeth. today, however, those first names that are represented at the top of the list in germany only make us three percent of the entire birth year. that these names seem to be everywhere could be because fashionable names orient themselves in certain patterns. they build clusters, so to speak. if leon is the number one name, we also have a lea. that both of these names do not have the same etymological origin doesn’t matter. the main thing is they sound the same: emilia gravitates toward sophia, pia and mia. the actual naming has nothing to do with the one during the middle ages, then: the individual is cele- brated. people go to great lengths to give their children the most unu- sual name possible. how would you advise expecting parents? i would avoid trying to transmit a specific worldview with the child’s name. if a couple who loves classical music calls their son johann sebas- tian, that incites a level of desire that can never be fulfilled. a child named socrates is also rather problematic outside greek-speaking areas. be- sides, parents should make sure that their child’s name is not so unusual that he or she has to constantly spell it or correct its pronunciation. that goes against the need for being as individu- al as possible, but it’s more practical. what can also create undesirable out- comes is when the first and last names are combined in an odd way. my uncle was almost going to be named bern- hard diener. luckily, my grandparents noticed it in the nick of time.  www.namenforschung.net/dfa/projekt workplace health lecturers from the master’s degree program “interdisciplinary health promotion” discuss ways in which people can address the body’s needs in every day situations in a series of articles. this time it is about proper nutrition. eating a balanced diet, drinking enough liquids by emilie häberle did you grab a quick sandwich for lunch yet again? in our every day lives as professionals and students, it is not always easy to pay attention to a balanced diet and sufficient liquids. but it is exactly these factors that are important to be able to get things done with concentration and to prevent fatigue. a balanced and nutritious breakfast is key for a good start to the day. for those who prefer bread, they can fall back on high-fiber whole grain varie- ties. instead of marmalade, they can use vegetables as a topping, nutrition expert prof. dr. daniel könig from the department for sports and sport sci- ence at the university of freiburg ad- vises. pre-packaged cereals often contain a lot of sugar. könig recom- mends: “if you want to be certain that a balanced and nutritious breakfast is key to having a good start to the day. photo: africa studio/fotolia no unhealthy surprises are lurking in the package, put the cereal together yourself.” if your stomach is growling before lunch or you have to overcome that mid-afternoon slump, nuts are a good choice: “they have a lot of calories and fill you up quickly. at the same time, they have valuable vitamins and fatty acids,” explains the nutrition expert. vegetable sticks or fruit slices are also good options to stave off the munchies. “however, it is not advisa- ble to have too many snacks between meals because they continuously stimulate the digestive process.” for lunch the rule is typically diver- sity: whether it is a cafeteria meal or preferably a light salad – it is ulti- mately about the variety of products that provides the body with optimal nutrients and energy. “you can use smartphone apps to easily check which dishes are balanced and rec- ommended,” says könig. in order to provide the body with enough liquids throughout the day, you should always have a carafe of water or a bottle of mineral water at your desk – put sweetened drinks aside. for coffee lovers, we have some good news for you: according to the latest research, three to five cups a day are harmless. “interdisciplinary health promotion” starting the 2017/18 winter se- mester, the university of freiburg and furtwangen university are offering a partnership master’s program “interdisciplinary health promotion”. it is designed for everyone who already has basic training in health promotion, prevention or rehabilitation and seeks to pursue an advanced degree part-time.  www.igf-studium.de

04 2017 personnel 15 unı life newspaper of the university of freiburg www.leben.uni-freiburg.de achievements the physicist dr. robert bennett from the university of leeds, england, has received a humboldt research grant for post-docs from the alexander von humboldt foundation. the founda- tion supports highly qualified scientists from foreign countries at the beginning of their careers with the scholarship. in his project at the university of freiburg, bennett will examine the casimir forc- es between neutral metallic bodies that play a significant role in nanotech- nology. dr. stefan buhmann from the institute of physics will be the host. dr. ivo coca vila at the pompeu fabra university in barcelona, spain, has received a humboldt research grant for post-docs from the alexander von humboldt foundation. the founda- tion supports highly qualified scientists from foreign countries at the beginning of their careers with the scholarship. at the university of freiburg coca vila will tackle the boundary between crim- inal wrongdoing and other forms of wrongdoing, in particular with the so- called police misconduct. he will run the gamut from main historical, dog- matic positions in the late 18th century up to the modern discussion about the limitations of criminal law and its rela- tionship to cases of misdemeanor. prof. dr. michael pawlik from the institute of criminal law and criminal proce- dure law will be the host. the carl zeiss foundation has se- lected two post-doc research projects at the university of freiburg for its jun- ior development program. for up to two years both post-doctoral students dr. constanze lamprecht and dr. tessa quax will receive an annual sum of 100,000 euros. the carl zeiss foundation funds research work in the natural and engineering sciences through this program. using the stor- age of the protein hsp70-1a in the cell membrane that only occurs in cancer cells, lamprecht will examine the inter- action between proteins and lipids on the singular molecular and singular cell level. quax is studying the molecu- lar mechanisms of signal transference from the surrounding environment on motility structures in the model organ- isms h. volcanii and m. maripaludis. both are related to archaea found in the human intestinal tract. established genetic, biochemical and microscopic research methods exist for both. the findings are meant to contribute to bet- ter understanding archaea’s ability to populate the human intestines and in- teract with their surroundings. the biologist prof. dr. tim higham from the university of california in riv- erside, usa, has received the hum- boldt research grant for experienced scientists. the scholarship is directed toward highly qualified scientists from foreign countries. at the university of freiburg higham will examine how a day gecko species from madagascar stick to plant surfaces. geckos are known for their ability to stick to slick surfaces and have contributed to bion- ics as a result. not much is known about their surface adhesion in natural settings. higham will consult over 6,000 plant species in the botanical garden at the university of freiburg. prof. dr. thomas speck, director of the botanical garden, will be the host. dr. lena illert, senior physician at the department of internal medicine i at the university medical center freiburg, has been awarded the ele- onore and fritz hodeige foundation prize for her work in the area of signal- ing research. the 5,000 euros includ- ed in the funding award will support her basic research on hematological cancer. the institute for literary research, an independent initiative by czech lit- erary scientists, has received the otokar fischer award for the first time ever. the award winner is the freiburg literary and cultural scholar dr. tilman kasten for his dissertation ‘the cri- tique of historicism versus the history of salvation – the wallenstein novels by alfred döblin and jaroslav durych” presented in 2014. the award’s objec- tive is to make the most significant german-language research along with work published in germany about bo- hemian research more visible. that includes czech literature, language, music, visual arts, theater, film, archi- tecture, culture and cultural history. it also seeks to strengthen the dialogue between czech and german bohemi- an scholars. dr. ekkehard a. köhler, executive research association for the walter eucken institute, has received a ro- man herzog research award, the so- cial market economy prize 2017. the foundation granted köhler second place for his dissertation “essays on fiscal and monetary policy”. the award is given every year for exception research work on relevant regulative issues and is accompanied by a lump sum totaling 35,000 euros. köhler will share a portion of the award money with researchers who placed first and third. prof. dr. anna köttgen, director of the institute of genetic epidemiology at the medical center - university of freiburg, will receive the franz-vol- hard award of the german society of jetzt 50 euro startguthaben1 sichern! 0,– euro girokonto2 der „besten bank“ bundesweit kostenfrei geld abheben an allen geldautomaten der bbbank und unserer cashpool-partner einfacher kontowechsel – in nur 8 minuten din-zertifizierte beratung jetzt informieren: in ihrer filiale vor ort, unter tel. 07 21/141-0 oder www.bbbank.de/bestebank 1 voraussetzung: eröffnung gehalts-/bezügekonto zwischen dem 01.09.2017 und dem 29.12.2017, genossenschaftsanteil von 15,– euro/mitglied sowie abschluss online-kontowechsel und 2 mindestgeldeingänge von je 500,– euro in 2 aufeinanderfolgenden monaten – innerhalb von 6 monaten nach der kontoeröffnung. 2 voraussetzung: gehalts-/bezügekonto mit online-überweisungen, genossenschaftsanteil von 15,– euro/mitglied. nephrology (dgfn) this year. the prize that comes with 10,000 euros in prize money is awarded to support and dec- orate outstanding scientists in nephrol- ogy research. köttgen explores the physiology and pathophysiology of complex human characteristics and diseases that arise from a combination of genetic predisposition and environ- mental factors. she identifies genetic and environmentally specific risk fac- tors in particular for kidney diseases and metabolism disorders. the german diabetes society has awarded dr. katharina laubner, sen- ior physician in the department of en- docrinology and diabetology at the university medical center freiburg with a 7,500 euro project advancement prize. the research she supervises examines a new endoscopic method for treating diabetes mellitus and achieving weight reduction. dr. arthur schmidt, director of in- terdisciplinary gastrointestinal endos- copy at the university medical center freiburg, has been awarded the adolf kußmaul prize by the south-west ger- man gastroenterology association. schmidt has received 5,000 in prize money for his study of endoscopic full wall secretions with which, for instance, tumors can be removed from the walls of the large intestines. dr. ralf welsch from the institute of biology ii has received the “george britton award for young investigator” from the international carotenoid so- ciety. he has received the prize for his extraordinary contributions in research and international networking for the foundation and further development in the area of carotenoids, a class of fat- soluble pigments with a vitamin a func- tion. dr. constantinos zamboglou, as- sistant physician at the department of radiation oncology at the university medical center freiburg was selected for the three-year berta ottenstein ad- vancement program for clinician sci- entists. his planned project should deliver further insights into planning individualized and personalized radia- tion therapies for patients who are af- fected by primary prostate cancers. anniversaries 25th anniversaries claudia eberenz, faculty of chemistry and pharmacy nadine hahner, central university administration prof. dr. matthias jestaedt, institute for state prosecution and philosophy of law susanne schlichtholz, central uni- versity administration roswitha wagner, central university administration prof. dr. stefan weber, institute of physical chemistry ursula wöske, central university administration 40th anniversaries walter willaredt, central university administration appointments faculty of philology the rector has named prof. dr. robin curtis, heinrich heine university düsseldorf, effective as of september 1, 2017, as professor for cultural media studies at the institute for cultural media studies. the rector has named prof. dr. judith frömmer, ludwig maximilian university of munich, effective as of august 1, 2017, as professor for roman literary science (franco-roman and italian studies) with a concentration on older periods in the department of romance languages and literatures. faculty of humanities the rector has named junior professor dr. nadja germann, department of philosophy, effective as of august 30, 2017, as professor of philosophy. the rector has named dr. anna meiser, department of ethnology, effective as of october 1, 2017 for the duration of two years as junior profes- sor for ethnology. faculty of mathematics and physics the vice-rector has named dr. katrin dulitz, institute of physics, effective as of august 1, 2017, for the duration of three years, as academic councilor. the rector has named prof. dr. michael thoss, friedrich alexander university of erlangen-nürnberg, effective october 1, 2017, as professor for theoretical physics at the institute of physics. faculty of biology the rector has named dr. barbara di ventura, ruprecht karls university of heidelberg, effective as of septem- ber 1, 2017, as professor for biological signalling research at the institute of biology ii. faculty of environment and natural resources the rector has named prof. dr. andreas christen, university of british columbia, canada, effective as of september 1, 2017, as professor in environmental meteorology at the institute of earth and environmental sciences. faculty of engineering the rector has named dr. joschka bödecker, department of computer science, effective as of september 1, 2017, for the duration of four years as junior professor in neurorobotics. the rector has named prof. dr. hans-martin henning, karlsruhe institute of technology, effective as of july 10, 2017, as professor for solar energy systems at the institute of sustainable technical systems. the rector has named dr. phuong ha cu nguyen, department of micro- systems engineering, effective as of august 4, 2017, for the duration of three years, as academic councilor. the rector has given private lecturer dr. marco ragni, department of computer science, for the duration of his teaching authorization at the uni- versity of freiburg, the designation ‘unscheduled professor’. the rector has named prof. dr. anke weidlich, university of offenburg, effective as of july 10, 2017, as profes- sor for energy distribution technology at the institute sustainable technical systems.