NANO-BIO-PHYSICS SYMPOSIUM 07.09.2019 Day 2

„Es war faszinierend, von Pionieren der Biophysik wie Professor Erich Sackmann [dem Doktorvater von Hermann Gaub] zu hören, wie die Biophysik als exotische Nische in der Physik begann, mit zwei Studenten in seiner ersten Vorlesung“ sagte Professor Jan Lipfert, einer der Co-Organisatoren des Symposiums. „Aus dieser Nische ist ein Schwerpunkt der Physik in München geworden, der viele Studenten begeistert und international hohes Ansehen genießt“.

On September 6th and 7th, nearly 200 biophysicists from all over the world came together for the festive symposium in honor of Hermann Gaub, who holds the LMU chair for biophysics and molecular materials and is one of the co-founders of the Center for NanoScience. Renowned speakers from Germany, the USA, Switzerland, China, Canada, and Israel presented their current research under the title "Stretching the boundaries of physics, one molecule at a time". There was a wide range of topics presented: From single-molecule biophysics to mechanobiology and translational medicine. In addition to their current research, many of the speakers emphasized the important role of the fundamental contributions to the development of their area by the working group of Professor Hermann Gaub and Munich Biophysics. Hermann Gaub is a co-founder of single-molecule biophysics, in particular through a series of pioneering work in which he established the manipulation and force spectroscopy of individual biomolecules using specially developed force microscopes. Many lecturers also highlighted the catalytic effect of the Center for NanoScience (CeNS), which shaped Munich Biophysics as the nucleus for a number of successful startups as well as the starting point for several excellence clusters.

"It was fascinating to hear from biophysics pioneers, such as Professor Erich Sackmann [the doctoral supervisor of Hermann Gaub], how biophysics began as an exotic niche in physics, with two students in its first lecture," said Professor Jan Lipfert, one of the organizers of the symposium. "This niche has become a focus of physics in Munich, which thrills many students and enjoys a high international reputation."