The Road to Nobel Fame: The Face of Research in Germany By Ute Zauft

Good career prospects are what lured Ulrich Husemann back to Germany from the prestigious Yale University in America. That and a very large machine. Husemann is a physicist who uses particle accelerators to carry out research into what happens when protons collide. Based in Germany, the 34-year old scientist works with the largest particle accelerator in the world: the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland.

More specifically, it was the Helmholtz Association which brought the young scientist back to Germany from his postdoctoral position in the USA. With an annual budget of some €2.8 billion Helmholtz is the largest scientific organisation in Germany. Its 16 research centres house large-scale devices, such as particle accelerators, which are invaluable to scientific and technical research and the infrastructure necessary for bio-medical research. The German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, for example, was where Nobel Prize-winning scientist Harald zur Hausen formulated the basis for the new vaccination against cervical cancer.

Helmholtz: independent research into new technologies

After returning from the USA, Husemann headed up a junior research group. "At a relatively young age I have found a job with a number of advantages. I get to work independently, I have financial resources to fund my research and I can employ my own staff", explains Husemann. He was offered an annual research budget of €250,000 over five years. What makes working at Helmholtz such an attractive proposition for young researchers like Husemann is the prospect of a permanent, tenured position. As a tenure track researcher, Husemann's work will be evaluated in three or four years and a decision made to offer him a permanent position at the research centre.

Max Planck: From basic research to junior professorships

Biologist Lawrence Rajendran speaks quickly, laughs a lot and has recently been made junior professor in cell biology. "What started out as a two-month stay in Germany has turned into eight years", jokes the 34-year old from India. Listening to him speak it is obvious that his prolonged stay was by no means against his will. The most important stage on his route to a professorship in Zurich, Switzerland, was without doubt his post-doctoral position at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden. For five years he conducted research into how human cells change as a result of Alzheimer's disease.

The Max Planck Institute in Dresden is one of 76 institutes that make up the Max Planck Society (MPG) in Germany. The Max Planck Society performs basic research, i.e., scientific research where the emphasis is not on short-term results but rather where long-term commitment and stable finances are needed. Bio-medical research such as that carried out by Lawrence Rajendran is the most important focus area for the Max Planck Society, although it is also involved in research in the natural and social sciences. On top of this, the Max Planck Society is firmly committed to internationalisation, with approximately half of all those attending Max Planck Research Schools coming from abroad.

A good environment for long-term research

After receiving his doctorate at the University of Konstanz, Lawrence Rajendran applied to the Max Planck Institute in Dresden. It was the reputation of the person who would later become his boss that prompted this decision. "Dresden has succeeded in attracting very good people from all over the world, and you can meet them, talk openly with them and get suggestions and ideas", explains Rajendran who raves about the infrastructure at Max Planck Institutes, the flat hierarchy and about the colleagues. This excellent reputation is certainly one of the reasons why 17 of the German Nobel Prize winners are from the Max Planck Society.