The first Retreat Meeting for PhD students and Postdocs of MNTF will take place at the ABG Tagungshotel in Beilngries from November 2 to 4, 2023. Register now for this excellent opportunity to interact and learn from each other! The program will include workshops and lectures, networking and other activities. We look forward to your active participation and hope that together we can have a rewarding and interesting meeting.

Two professional workshops will be offered at the Retreat Meeting: "Pitch Perfect: Short Presentations for Science" by Dr. Markus Gottschling and "Visualizing Science Projects" by Elisabeth Werner. The entire program will be in English.

Please register now at the Digicampus link below. There will be at most 30 spots available.

(organized by Thomas Bratzdrum, Kevin Postler, Michéle Scholl)

A multi-day workshop on Research Data Management from the perspective of PhD students and Postdocs is currently planned as part of the MNTF Graduate Center. (It is still subject to approval by the Senior Board.) External speakers as well as university speakers will give overviews and practical introductions. We plan to organize some hands-on sessions too. Suggestions are welcome! Currently the dates October 27, November 10, November 24 are planned (not earlier than 10:00 or later than 15:30 on each date).

If you want to be kept up to date on this event then please sign up to the group "Workshop: Forschungsdatenmanagement / Research Data Management" at the Digicampus link below.

(organized by Manuel Zahn, Christian Wiebeler, Marcus Kollar)

Bridging the worlds of condensed matter physics and biophysics, this workshop gathers experts from both fields and their intersection. With a focus on machine learning and numerical methodologies, it aims to inspire collaborative advances. The workshop provides a platform for insightful talks and engaging discussions in the fields of condensed matter physics and biophysics. Your participation and ideas will be appreciated.
The workshop takes place at the University of Augsburg from Wednesday to Friday, September 13 to 15, 2023, see details under the link listed below. Application for in-person participation is limited to members of the University of Augsburg and their collaborators, but the talks at the workshop will be video broadcast.
Invited speakers: Ricard Alert (MPIPKS Dresden), Marin Bukov (MPIPKS Dresden), Marcello Dalmonte (ICTP Trieste), Christoph Dellago (Universität Wien), Fernando Iemini (UFF Niterói Brazil), Zala Lenarcic (Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana), Hartmut Löwen (HHU Düsseldorf), Steffen Rulands (LMU München), Francesco Piazza (MPIPKS Dresden), Suropriya Saha (MPIDS Göttingen), Michael Schmiedeberg (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg), Abhinav Sharma (Universität Augsburg), Holger Stark (TU Berlin).
(organized by Reyhaneh Khasseh, Susanne Liese, Christian Wiebeler)

The talk and discussion panel on "Paths in Academia" with Prof. Xueping Zhao (U Nottingham, Ningbo, China) and Prof. Abhinav Sharma (U Augsburg) will focus on exploring diverse career trajectories within the academic world. The speakers shared their personal experiences and insights on their career paths. The audience is invited to ask questions and engage in a discussion about the ever-changing landscape of academia and the myriad career opportunities it presents.
(organized by Susanne Liese; supported by MNTF-GZ)

Title: Assembly of tight junction belts by surface condensation and actin elongation
Abstract: At the cell-cell contact site of the living cell membrane, Tight junctions form to seal tissues. Assembly of Tight junctions involves oligomerization of membrane receptors, surface binding, and phase separation of cytosolic scaffold proteins. Interestingly, this surface phase separation process occurs in the undersaturated cytosolic scaffold protein concentration. The underneath mechanism is not explored yet. Here we investigate why the surface phase separation happens at a concentration far below the saturation level and explore how the receptor controls the shape and spatial localization of tight junctions. We derive a thermodynamic theory for a three-dimensional cytosolic domain in the presence of a two-dimensional flat membrane. Protein molecules in the cytosolic domain can not only diffuse freely but also bind to the membrane, forming a membrane-bound layer. Combining the experiments and theory, we find that strong binding affinity facilitates the surface phase separation in the two-dimensional membrane at very low cytosolic concentration. Moreover, total receptor amount and oligomerization control the pattern of surface condensates in the membrane. Our work suggests that surface binding combined receptor oligomerization represents a versatile mechanism to control the formation of the protein-rich domain at intra-cellular surfaces.
(organized by Susanne Liese; supported by MNTF-GZ)

The eleventh MNTF Graduate Get-Together will take place on Thursday, July 6th, 5:30pm, in T-2004. This event provides an informal platform for PhD students and postdocs from MNTF to meet and talk about their work. After a 45 minutes small talk round with snacks and beverages, Xenia Kraus (physics) and Thomas Hirschmüller (mathematics) will present their research and their group in short talks (~15 minutes each). There will be plenty of time to chat and share your thoughts. We are looking forward to interesting discussions.
(organised by Susanne Liese and Frederic Wagner)

The tenth MNTF Graduate Get-Together will take place on Thursday, June 15th, 5:30pm, in T-2004. This event provides an informal platform for PhD students and postdocs from MNTF to meet and talk about their work. After a 45 minutes small talk round with snacks and beverages, Matthias Blaschke (Physik) and Samuel Griza (MRM) will present their research and their group in short talks (~15 minutes each). There will be plenty of time to chat and share your thoughts. We are looking forward to interesting discussions.
(organised by Susanne Liese and Frederic Wagner)

The ninth MNTF Graduate Get-Together will take place on Thursday, May 25th, 5:30pm, in T-2004. This event provides an informal platform for PhD students and postdocs from MNTF to meet and talk about their work. After a 45 minutes small talk round with snacks and beverages, Georg Frenck (mathematics) and Joél Schukraft (MRM) will present their research and their group in short talks (~15 minutes each). There will be plenty of time to chat and share your thoughts. We are looking forward to interesting discussions.
(organised by Susanne Liese and Frederic Wagner)

The activities, structure, etc. of the university-wide Graduate Center can be found on its new homepage (see link below and follow up e.g. to "Weiterbildungsangebote", "Netzwerkveranstaltungen", "Newsletter", etc.).

The kickoff event of the Graduate Center takes place on Tuesday, June 13,2023, 18:00, building J, with talk and discussion on "Translational Medical Humanities: Connective and Transdisciplinary Scholarship for Global Challenges", followed by a get-together.

The bespoke workshop on "Leading when not a supervisor" by Michael Rudolph, starting on May 26, 2023 and continuing with 3 further online sessions, will take place with 10 registered participants, covering personal development, leadership, and conflict resolution.
(organized by Christina Kunzmann)

Visit the Day of Digital Teaching on May 23, 2023, in building D in order to learn about this year's topic “Open Educational Resources and beyond: studying and teaching in the digital sphere". Registration is recommended!
(part of the interdisciplinary KodiLL project)

After the first successful year we are happy to announce the next installment of the 'Graduate Get-Together' for this semester. The eighth MNTF Graduate Get-Together will take place on Thursday, May 11, 2023, 17:30, in room T-2004. This event provides an informal platform for PhD students and postdocs from MNTF to meet and talk about their work. After a 45 minutes small talk round with snacks and beverages, Airi Takeuchi ('On Mechanical Billiard Systems'; mathematics) and Alexander Hofmann ('Organic Semiconductors: Why Molecular Orientation matters'; physics) will present their research and their group in short talks (~15 minutes each). There is plenty time to chat, ask questions, and share your thoughts. We are looking forward to interesting discussions. (organized by Susanne Liese and Frederic Wagner)

Further events are planned for May 25th, June 15th, July 6th, 2023.

A three-part soft-skills course series, May 9, May 10, May 11, 2023 will be held by Prof. Robert N. Lussier (cf. link below) on the topics "Publish don't perish", "Research Development", "Management Skills".
(organized by Florian Schmid)

The bespoke workshop on ”women* in science” by Dr. Juliane Handschuh, starting on March 17, 2023 and continuing with 3 further online sessions, will take place with 10 registered participants, covering career development, networking, diversity, and dealing with male-dominated environments.
(organized by Ursula Weiß)

The seventh MNTF Graduate Get-Together will take place on Thursday, January 26 2023, 17:30, in room 506, building R (north physics building). This event provides an informal platform for PhD students and postdocs from MNTF to meet and talk about their work. After a 45 minutes small talk round with snacks and beverages, Niklas Gotthardt (Mathematics) will give a short talk (~15 minutes) about "Statistical Modelling of Energy Markets" followed by a short talk (~15 minutes) given by Richard Röß-Ohlenroth (Physics). There will be plenty of time to chat and share your thoughts. We are looking forward to interesting discussions.
(organised by Susanne Liese, Julius Natrup and Frederic Wagner)

The sixth MNTF Graduate Get-Together will take place on Thursday, December 08, 2022, 17:30, in room 506, building R (north physics building). This event provides an informal platform for PhD students and postdocs from MNTF to meet and talk about their work. After a 45 minutes small talk round with snacks and beverages, David Buchberger (mathematics) will present his research and his group in a short talk (~15 minutes). Also Julia Thurner-Irmler will present WiR (Wissenstransfer Region Augsburg) providing insights into research and outreach possibilities. There is plenty of time to chat and share your thoughts. We are looking forward to interesting discussions.
(organised by Susanne Liese, Julius Natrup and Frederic Wagner)

"In order to make it easier for young scientists to network and to get started in research, the Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Materials Engineering features a Graduate Center which started this year as part of the university-wide two-stage system of graduate training and support. Already several activities have taken place, which are organized by the young scientists themselves. [...]"

(Presse release 102/22 of the University of Augsburg [in German], December 5, 2022, see link)

The fifth MNTF Graduate Get-Together will take place on Thursday, November 17, 2022, 17:30, in room 506, building R (north physics building). This event provides an informal platform for PhD students and postdocs from MNTF to meet and talk about their work. After a 45 minutes small talk round with snacks and beverages, Nicolas Färber (physics) will present his research and his group in a short talk (~15 minutes). Also Lucia Plobner will present StartHub, the innovation and startup center of the university, providing insights into funding opportunities for academic spin-offs. There is plenty of time to chat and share your thoughts. We are looking forward to interesting discussions.
(organised by Susanne Liese, Julius Natrup and Frederic Wagner)

The fourth MNTF Graduate Get-Together will take place on Thursday, October 27, 2022, 17:30, in room 506, building R (north physics building). This event provides an informal platform for PhD students and postdocs from MNTF to meet and talk about their work. After a 45 minutes small talk round with snacks and beverages, Lukas Stoll (mathematics) and Meera Varma (physics) will present their research and their group in short talks (~15 minutes each). There is plenty of time to chat and share your thoughts. We are looking forward to interesting discussions.
(organised by Susanne Liese, Julius Natrup and Frederic Wagner)

The first Women's Regulars' Table for young scientists at the Institute of Mathematics will take place on October 26, 2022, 17:00, room 2309, building I(2). It will feature a jobtalk by Dr. Lisa Reischmann (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt). If you are interested please contact Ursula Weiß (ursula.weiss@math.uni-augsburg.de) or just drop by.

This soft-skills course will be held during one day at the University of Augsburg by Dipl.-Päd. Elisabeth Berchtold and Dipl.-Ing. Jürgen Schuster. Participants will learn how to combine rhetoric methods with the strengths of their personality. Verbal and non-verbal methods will be discussed and trained. With feedback given by the course instructors and discussion among the participants, guidelines for behaviour, rhetorical know-how, and tricks for dealing with stage fright will be developed. The contents and participants were found in the MNTF-GZ Digicampus group.
(organized by Joél Schukraft and Jiří Zeman)

The first two meetings were great success, so we are happy to announce the third 'Graduate Get-Together'. This event provides an informal platform for PhD students and postdocs from MNTF to meet and talk about their work. After a 30 minutes small talk round with snacks and beverages, Jiří Zeman (mathematics), Marijana Ugrina (physics), and Marco Korkisch (MRM) will present their research and their group in short talks (~15 minutes each). There is plenty of time to chat and share your thoughts. We are looking forward to interesting discussions.
(organised by Susanne Liese, Julius Natrup and Frederic Wagner)

This soft-skills course will be held during one day at the University of Augsburg by Prof. Dr. Matthias Menter (University of Jena). The contents and participants were found in the MNTF-GZ Digicampus group.
(organized by Joél Schukraft and Jiří Zeman)

Visit the Day of Digital Teaching on June 24, 2022, either in building D or remotely, in order to discover how teaching and learning may take place at the University of Augsburg in the future. Registration is recommended!
(part of the interdisciplinary KodiLL project)

The 'Graduate Get-Together' provides an informal platform for PhD students and postdocs at MNTF to meet and talk about their research. The meeting will start with a 30-minute discussion round during which you have the chance to get to know each other. Afterwards Lukas Graf (Mathematik), Susanne Liese (Physik), and Jonas Riesner (MRM) will present 15-minute talks on the research topics in their respective groups. There is plenty time to chat and share your thoughts. We are looking forward to interesting discussions!
(organized by Susanne Liese, Julius Natrup and Frederic Wagner)

The Women's Regulars' Table for MNTF Postdocs will meet on Thursday, June 2, 2022 at 6 pm at Il Porcino. If you are interested please contact Christina Kunzmann (christina.kunzmann@mrm.uni-augsburg.de) or just drop by.

The 'Graduate Get-Together' provides an informal platform for PhD students and postdocs at MNTF to meet and talk about their research. With this meeting, we want to spark discussions and collaborations between the different departments and answers to the question 'What are other scientists at my university working on?'.
The meeting will start with a 30-minute discussion round during which you have the chance to get to know each other. Afterwards Kevin Ruck (mathematics), Reyhaneh Khasseh (physics), and Jonas Riesner (MRM) will present 15-minute talks on the research topics in their respective groups. There is plenty time to chat and share your thoughts. We are looking forward to interesting discussions!
(organized by Susanne Liese, Julius Natrup and Frederic Wagner)