The young scientists of the Erlangen Student Chapter are supported in their goals by the Optical Society (OSA). Dominik Rattenbacher's group is one of numerous OSA Student Chapters in over 80 countries: "We have set ourselves the goal of implementing all the objectives of the Optical Society for the Student Chapters. This includes public outreach activities, education, networking between scientists, and social exchange".

Commitment to Young Scientists and the Public

In order to pass on the enthusiasm for physical research to the interested public, the OSA Student Chapter organizes lectures and experiments at the annual "Blue Night" in Nuremberg. At schools, the young scientists promote studying physics and show the post-graduate opportunities. An annual field trip to a company is planned for the doctoral students and postdocs at the Max Planck Institute, and a games night or a trip to the Christmas market, for example, are held for social exchange. 

„We want to offer a public viewing at the institute for an online conference that will take place for the first time this year. We have also considered inviting an editor from a major journal to hold a seminar for young scientists. If you want to publish our research, it is important to know what you have to consider when submitting it to a journal," Dominik summarizes the next goals.

The OSA Student Chapter has a long tradition at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light. Several generations of PhD students have been involved there, and this will be continued in the future.