Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL)

@mpi-scienceoflight.bsky.social

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MPL focuses on basic research into all aspects of the interaction between light and matter, from modern optics to photonics, quantum effects and their applications in the "real" world. Impressum: https://mpl.mpg.de/de/impressum/

Using a new cone-shaped solar concentrator, researchers showed that sunlight can be used to create entangled photons. This could one day enable satellites to create secure encryption keys using the sunlight already abundant in space.
Icon of a human head in profile containing a white neural network diagram, set against a colorful background of data visualizations, sound waves, and spectrograms, symbolizing artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Group photo of the participants of the “Physics Meets Medicine” symposium in front of the MPZPM building in Erlangen.
Prof. Gerd Leuchs is speaking at the symposium in Erlangen.
Group photo of the participants of Frontiers of Neuromorphic Computing II in the MPL-building in Erlangen.
The participants of the event “Paris Week” at MPZPM posing for a group photo.
Dr. Pascal Del'Haye and Toby Bi, Research group ›Microphotonics‹
Artist impression of a frozen optical fiber core in a glass capillary
Poster for the event "How do you feel" on September 21–22, 2026 featuring a portrait of Jochen Guck
Highlights from the 10th anniversary of the MPL institute building
aspiring young scientists in a lab at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
Event banner for Paris Week in Erlangen: Physics and Medicine, July 15–17, 2026, featuring the logo of the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin.
from left to right: Prof. Vahid Sandoghdar, PhD (Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light), Dr. Viola Introini (award recipient and research group leader at MPZPM), Dr. Patricia Bassereau (Institut Curie in Paris, Chair of the Biological Physics Section at IUPAP)
The picture shows Oskar Hallatschek and the details of the talk.
ALT: Banner image for the event. Background shows a collage of people at a poster exhibition inside the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, with the institute’s logo and name in the top right corner. A pink diagonal banner reads “Join us in celebrating the 10th anniversary of our institute building!” with the date “JULY 9 2026” and time “16:30” in large white text. The logo of the support association and full name appear at the bottom left.
In the video, Prof. Vahid Sandoghdar, Dr. Masoud Mirzaei, and Dr. Alexey Shkarin (in order of appearance) explain the research behind the paper.
Announcement for the DGZ Focus Workshop of the Workgroup "Membrane Organization and Contact Sites" on June 30, 2026, 12:00–13:45 CEST, via Zoom (ID 961 7810 6979, passcode DGZ_FW). Program: 12:00 Sabrina Büttner and Katja Zieske, Introduction. 12:10 André Nadler, Professor at MPI-CBG Dresden, "From basic research to disease mechanisms in lipid cell biology." 12:40 Suzan Kors, postdoc in the Schlaitz lab at BZH, University of Heidelberg, "Analysis of organelle remodelling and contact sites during mitosis." 13:00 Zexi Xu, postdoc in the Schwille lab, MPI of Biochemistry, Martinsried, "Emergent motility in synthetic cells." 13:20 Emma Fenech, Junior Group Leader at the University of Cologne, "Building a functional atlas of homologous contact site machineries through advanced interaction mapping." Contact for questions on this workshop series: Maria Bohnert, bohnertm[at]uni-muenster.de. Upcoming events listed at zellbiologie.de/workgroups.
Dorothe Burggraf sitting at a desk with notebooks and papers, holding a pen and smiling at the camera.
Hanieh Fattahi writing on a blackboard while smiling at the camera.
Animated event banner for the 75th Birthday Symposium for Gerd Leuchs, June 25–26, 2026. The upper left and lower right corner feature a grid of teal 3D cubes that loop in a continuous optical illusion, appearing to move either forward or backward. In the middle, a bright yellow panel displays the event logo, which appears in an animated way.
The picture shows Klaus Ensslin and the details of the talk.
Video opens with the text “Do you want to see what inspires us?”, followed by impressions from research. Then the text “Can you feel it yet?”, followed by more research impressions. Then the text “Exploring the unknown. Pure fascination.” The video ends with the text “Celebrating Day of Light” in rainbow colors, the date May 16, 2026, and the logos of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light and the International Day of Light. The video is accompanied by a heartbeat sound and upbeat drum music.
A surface consisting of many T-shaped nanoresonators.
Four laughing women are holding two lightsabers. They are standing in front of a background resembling the universe with stars and the logo of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light.
Research Group Leader Prof. Leonhard Möckl at MPL
The picture shows Andreas Bausch and the details of the talk.
Professor Gerd Leuchs, smiling at the camera, is standing next to a bust of Max Planck.
Dr. Viola Introini, reasearch groupe leader of Introini Lab - Vascular Infection Research
A young girl laughing while trying a small experiment for herself.
First Slide: Picture of Max Planck with the text "Happy Birthday, Max Planck! April 23, 1858". Second Slide: Quotation of Max Planck "Dem Anwenden muss das Erkennen vorausgehen. Insight must precede Application." Third Slide: Picture of the MPL's leadership, from left to right Florian Marquardt, Dorothe Burggraf and Vahid Sandoghdar, with the text below "We send our warmest congratulations!" Fourth Slide: Group picture of all the employees of MPL in the staircase with the text "Happy birthday! On behalf of the entire institute". Last Slide: Picture of MPL with the text "Inspired by his legacy, of curiosity & discovery, we carry his name and spirit forward"
Two young girls wearing safety googles are smiling and inspecting an aluminium cast in the shape of a star.
The picture shows Dagmar Iber and the details of the talk.
The picture shows Scott A. Diddams and the details of the talk.
Shown in this picture is the first experimental measurement of cavity-less strong coupling between light and acoustic vibrations (phonons) in an optical fiber. In the lab, one can measure several indicators of strong coupling. One of these is an avoided crossing, such as that shown in the picture.
Michael Frosz (left) and Susanne Viezens (right) standing in a hallway at MPL and smiling at the camera.
Professor Florian Marquardt is holding a blue-and-white plaque from the German Physical Society, which lists the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light as a quantum research center.
Artifical artwork: The optical transparency of ITO nanocrystals (the transparent, grey and black spheres) can be selectively modified using short laser pulses (white and orange wave lines.
A crowd of people sitting in a room, following a talk. A man in the front, who is a member of the SAB, is asking a question.
The MPL logo in form of a power button, fading into a power button. The words diversity, female power and success appear after one another in the button. It fades into a group picture of many women at MPZPM, then a group picture of many women at MPL. The words "diversity makes us strong" appear, then fade into the MPL logo as power button again.
The picture shows Keren Bergman and the details of the talk.
The picture shows Joachim Spatz and the details of the talk.
The picture shows 15 different colored circles. They are cross sections of hollow core fibres. Different color maps illustrate various properties of the electric field of the light wave, such as its strength, and the phase of the wave as it moves through the fiber.
Gerd Leuchs on the left, together with Michele Dougherty (president of the Institute of Physics), Heike Riel (president-elect of the German Physical Society), and John Doyle (past president of the American Physical Society). All four of them smiling at the camera. In the background is the official banner of the ceremony and a screen with thanks to the partners.
Dr. Flore Kunst holding the certificate for the prize and smiling at the camera.
Dr. Stephanie Möllmert in her lab, smiling and looking trough a microscope.
Dr. Viola Introini wearing a lab coat, sitting in her lab and smiling at the camera.
A girl smiling at the camera. There are details of this years' Girls'Day, like the logo, the date and the link to the website. There is also the slogan "Dein Tag, dein Weg! Klischeefreie Berufs- und Studienwahl für alle" (Your day, your way! Cliché-free career and study choices for everyone)
Dr. Clara Wanjura, smiling at the camera.
The picture shows Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla and the details of the talk.
The confocal fluorescence image shows the transition zone from the fallopian tube to the uterus of a mouse in a cross section. The image presents a cross-section of the fallopian tube, revealing its internal architecture with cell nuclei (blue), actin-rich structures which trace the epithelium and musculature (red), and nucleic acids in secretory and epithelial cells (green).
Optical ring resonator with a diameter of 200 μm on a SiC substrate.
Dr. Viola Introini in her laboratory at MPZPM, smiling at the camera.
Five people of UTN visiting a laboratory at MPL.
Tumor cell in the maze of the lung vasculature in a mouse.
The black Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light surrounded by a snowy road and landscape.
Seowon and Jonathan are working together on an optical table.
In frog brains (orange-blue), developing axons from the eye (yellow-white) follow a specific path to reach their final destination. Along the way, they make a characteristic turn. This turning is mediated by both chemical and mechanical signals. The exact nature of this chemo-mechanical coupling is what the researchers in this study aimed to understand.
The picture shows Professor Tomohisa Toda who is a research group leader at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin.
The image shows the fractured edge of a damaged borosilicate glass sample.
The image shows cultured cortical neurons from rats. By labeling the tissue with fluorescent probes key cellular components become visible. Microtubules, the structural framework of the cell, are marked in green whereas the energy producing organelles mitochondria are red. The neurons nucleus are visible in blue.