- Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Science Slam 2024

Science Slam 2024 took place for the first time at ZGH and was organized in collaboration with the Institute for Materials and the Incubator Materials. We welcomed over 55 listeners, including members of the Institute for Materials, the MRD and the ECR Network. Early career researchers showcased their innovative work through 5-minute presentations on stage. Lei Zhang (ICAMS) and Maxim Cherkashin (Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology) won first and second places, respectively. Incubator Materials offered tickets to the 16th Falling Walls Science Summit as awards. The participants enjoyed the atmosphere of this event and suggested repeating it next year.

ECR Days: General Information

Since 2018, the MRD hosts an annual networking event for its early career researchers. The Early Career Researchers Day (ECR Day) offers master students, PhD candidates and early career postdocs a platform for scientific exchange. Presenting a talk or poster at ECR Day can be accredited with 2 CP to your Research School certificate. For further information, please contact us via mrd@rub.de.

ECR Day 2024

Early career researchers from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Forschungszentrum Jülich and Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials gathered at the 7th ECR Day on June 11th to share and discuss their research. Eleven scientists offered insights into their current developments within the four focus groups: thin films, micro- and nanosystems, thermodynamics and kinetics of materials, interface-dominated materials properties and processes, and microstructure and mechanical properties. Apart from the scientific talks, participants attended a crash course on designing scientific posters.
At the end of the day, awards were given for the best oral presentation and the best poster. The winners were Martin Wilken from Inorganic Materials Chemistry for the best oral presentation and Leander Willeke and Julia Jagosz from Microsystems Technology for the best poster.
Our organizing partner, Incubator Materials, offered two participants the opportunity to take part in the Falling Walls Science Summit 2024.

Programme

ECR Day 2023

The 6th ECR Day took place on October 24th, 2023 at the Convention Centre of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. 55 early career researchers from different fields represented in the Materials Research Department gathered to network and exchange their scientific work. Apart of these presentations, we had two external talks on transfer and science communication. The Incubator Materials supported our event and offered two participants the chance to win an excursion to the Berlin Science Week.
As in previous years, the best presentations of the ECR Day were awarded.
Congratulations to Vanessa Eisleben and Jorit Obenlüneschloß for the best oral presentations, and to Rico Zehl, winner of the best poster.

Programme

ECR Day 2022

On October 28th, 2022 we celebrated our 5th Early Career Researchers Day! About 60 PhD students and postdocs from groups associated with the Materials Research Department joined together to exchange about their research. Thanks to all the researchers who enthusiastically presented their research, the 4th ECR Day was a successful networking event.

Congratulations to the winners for the best oral presentation, Minaam Qamar, and of the best poster presentation, Samantha Muhring-Salamone.

ECR Day 2021

The 4th ECR Day took place on December 6th, 2021. 48 participants gathered to network and exchange views on their respective research topics with colleagues from difference sub-disciplines of materials science. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the eleven talks and discussions took place in a spacious lecture hall. After the lunch break, the participants met via Gather.town for the poster session and enjoyed the different ways of communicating with each other that were possible on this day.

ECR Day 2020

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 3rd ECR Day took place digitally on November 30, 2020. Participants shared their posters via Moodle for the other attendees to review. Via Zoom, eleven ECRs gave talks on their current research activities. The participants were offered insights into the research of their neigbouring disciplines and had the opportunity to discuss science and creer building among themselves.

ECR Day 2019

The second Early Career Researchers Day took place on December 2nd, 2019. Early career researchers from research groups associated with the Materials Research Department met and shared their current research, improved their network and discussed new scientific approaches. The researchers gave a total of eleven talks, 22 posters were discussed during the poster session. The event was organised and executed by the early career researchers themselves. The 2019 ECR Day was not a closed meeting among the early career scientists, as the more advanced members of the MRD had the opportunity to take part not only in the poster session, but also in the lectures and to follow the discussions of the ECRs.

ECR Day 2018

The last decade has shown that the various areas of materials research at Ruhr-University Bochum can mutually benefit from each other when interdisciplinary exchange takes place. Therefore, the MRD annually organizes the Materials Day, where materials scientists from RUB present their research to each other in talks and posters.

In 2018 a second annual Materials Day, tailored especially to the needs of younger sicentists, was established. On December 3rd, the first Early Career Researchers Day took place at ZTS (Zentrum für IT-Sicherheit) in Bochum. Prof. Ralf Drautz, Vice Speaker of the MRD, opened the event with some warm words of welcome before the 70 early career researchers, PhD candidates and master students from the 12 faculties involved in the Materials Research Department, were among themselves.

The young scientists presented their current research to the group in 12 short talks and deepened their insights into the research of their neigbouring disciplines in a productive postersession. In a subsequent workshop, the participants had the opportunity to discuss how the MRD could further support the young materials scientists at RUB. This assessment of needs proved highly valuable for planning further activities for the ECRs within the Materials Research Department as it now shapes the MRD’s program for young materials scientists in 2019 and the further years.