Greifswald, 05 June 2023

The Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP) has received the "HR Excellence in Research Award" for the second time. The seal of quality of the European Union certifies that the German research institute is committed to providing the best possible working conditions for scientists. Around 700 research institutions across Europe bear this award, but only 25 in Germany so far.

Top-level research is only possible with motivated employees. INP therefore wants to offer its employees the best possible working conditions and plenty of room for personal development. To achieve this goal, INP implements the "European Charter for Researchers" adopted by the European Commission in 2005 and the associated "Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers". The renewed award of the HR Excellence in Research Award is proof of the successful implementation of the diverse guidelines.

"We are competing internationally for talent and want to attract the best researchers to our institute. With the HR Excellence in Research Award, we can prove that we adhere to the strict guidelines of the European Union for the best possible working conditions in research," explains Dr. Hans Sawade, Head of Management Support at INP.

The HR Excellence in Research programme involves an analysis of various topics and the creation and implementation of action plans. The spectrum ranges from processes in human resources management and working conditions to training measures and career planning.

"Participation in the HR Excellence in Research programme has motivated us to examine and optimise our entire processes and offers for employees. For example, we have significantly streamlined our application process and now offer regular training on topics such as personnel management or research ethics. Through the involvement of our employees and the feedback from the jury, we have been able to improve significantly in recent years," comments Dr. Christine Zädow, Equal Opportunities Officer at INP. 

Details of the HR Excellence in Research Award can be found on the website of the European Union: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/hrs4r

Further information
Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology e.V. (INP) 
Stefan Gerhardt // Communication Department
Phone: +49 3834 554 3903 // stefan.gerhardtinp-greifswaldde
Felix-Hausdorff-Straße 2 // 17489 Greifswald // www.inp-greifswald.de/en/

Greifswald, 20 April 2023

Heiko Miraß, Parliamentary State Secretary for Western Pomerania and Eastern Mecklenburg, visited the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP) in Greifswald yesterday. He informed himself about research projects that the INP is planning in the newly opened Z4 Centre Life Science Plasma Technology.

The Z4 complex, which is directly adjacent to the INP building in Greifswald, was ceremonially opened at the beginning of March. Tenants have been able to move into their laboratory and office space since this month. With a total of about 1,000 square metres of laboratory space and about 140 square metres of office space, INP is the largest single tenant in the new building. The centrepiece of the lease is a 400 square metre production hall with a 6.5 metre ceiling height, where INP plans to build a hydrogen reactor, sputter reactor, biomethanol reactor and other facilities.

Heiko Miraß, Parliamentary State Secretary for Western Pomerania and Eastern Mecklenburg, comments: "We are proud of high-tech research from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In the field of plasma technology, Greifswald is an important centre in the international scientific community. With the new laboratory space at Z4, the INP can continue to work on innovative technology for a climate-neutral and more environmentally friendly future. The many transfer cooperations with regional partners are particularly exciting, because this means that the INP's cutting-edge research can also generate impetus in the regional economy."

The newly rented laboratories will mainly be used for large-scale INP projects researching innovative technologies. The "CAMPFIRE" project focuses on energy conversion and storage technologies as well as energy systems based on green ammonia. In the "biogeniV" research project, INP is working with partners to develop technologies for the production of green fuels and valuable materials such as biomethanol and biogas from biogenic residues. The "PHYSICS FOR FOOD" project is researching physical technologies for a more environmentally friendly agriculture and food industry.

Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Weltmann, Chairman of the Board and Scientific Director of the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP), notes: "With our application-oriented research, we are looking for plasma-based solutions to major economic and societal challenges in the field of hydrogen economy as well as sustainable agriculture, medical technology and surface technology. For the development of new technologies, we need modern infrastructures like the Z4 offers us. We thank the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for supporting our research and are proud to be able to develop innovations for our state."

Further information
Leibniz Institute for Plasma Research and Technology e.V. (INP)
Stefan Gerhardt // Communication Department
Phone: +49 3834 554 3903 // stefan.gerhardtinp-greifswaldde
Felix-Hausdorff-Straße 2 // 17489 Greifswald // https://www.inp-greifswald.de/en/

Greifswald, 17 April 2023

Actinic keratosis is considered the most common precursor of skin cancer and is triggered by excessive UV radiation. Without treatment, it can often develop into malignant forms of skin cancer. Under the leadership of the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP), the international doctoral candidates network PlasmACT is investigating the use of medical gas plasma technology as a treatment method. The project is funded by the European Union.

Eight young international researchers will work on a plasma-based treatment method and its mechanisms of action against actinic keratosis as part of their doctoral theses. Since 2013, several plasma devices have received approval as medical products in Europe and are successfully used against, for example, diabetic foot syndrome and chronic wounds. Current research now studies the efficacy of plasma against cancer cells. Whether and how plasma technology is also suitable for treating actinic keratosis, an early form of skin cancer, is to be shown by the new research work of the European doctoral candidates network PlasmACT.

Dr. Sander Bekeschus, head of the Plasma-Redox-Effects research group at INP and initiator and spokesperson of the PlasmACT network, comments: "We are very pleased to have the opportunity to open up a new field of application for plasma medicine together with young researchers. The common goal of developing a plasma-based treatment for actinic keratosis would critically support preventing invasive non-melanoma skin cancer."

EU supports training of young scientists

The European Union is funding the work of the PlasmACT consortium within the framework of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions of the Horizon Programme with a total of 2.15 million euros. The funding serves the transnational and cross-sectoral mobility and career development of researchers and is highly competitive. Only 15 percent of the applications were funded this year.

Renowned European partners have come together for the project under the leadership of the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP) in Greifswald, where the researchers will write their doctoral theses: the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the Dutch Eindhoven University of Technology, the University Medical Centre Rostock, and the Belgian University of Antwerp. In addition, 10 European companies support the training of the students to prepare them in the best possible way for professional fields of applied research.

What is plasma?

We encounter plasma daily, even if we are unaware of it. About 90 percent of the visible matter in the universe is in the plasma state. Besides solid, liquid and gaseous, it is the fourth state of aggregation in which matter can exist. The electrically conductive mixture of particles consisting of atoms, ions, electrons, and molecules is created when energy is added to a neutral gas. It begins to glow. We encounter this natural phenomenon in nature in the form of the sun, lightning and the aurora borealis. In industry, plasma-based processes and technologies are used not only to coat surfaces, decontaminate food, and clean wastewater and exhaust air, but also in medicine, for example, to heal wounds.

Further information
Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology e.V. (INP) 
Stefan Gerhardt // Communication Department
Phone: +49 3834 554 3903 // stefan.gerhardtinp-greifswaldde
Felix-Hausdorff-Straße 2 // 17489 Greifswald // Germany // https://www.inp-greifswald.de/en/

Greifswald, 28 March 2023
The prestigious Rudolf Seeliger Prize of the German Society for Plasma Technology (DGPT) was awarded to Prof. Dr. Jürgen Röpcke yesterday during the 20th Symposium on Plasma Technology (PT20) in Bochum. The long-time employee of the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology e.V. (INP) receives the prize for his life's work. 

With the Rudolf Seeliger Prize, the DGPT honours deserving personalities in plasma research. Dr. Anke Dalke, Chairwoman of the Board of the German Society for Plasma Technology and researcher at the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg comments: "Professor Jürgen Röpcke has made groundbreaking contributions to the understanding of reactive plasmas with his work on laser absorption spectroscopy and has opened up completely new options for the understanding and control of plasma technological processes by means of plasma diagnostics."

Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Weltmann, Chairman of the Board of the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP) comments: "We warmly congratulate Jürgen Röpcke on this well-deserved high distinction with the prestigious Rudolf Seeliger Prize. His contribution to plasma diagnostics has not only inspired our institute, but the entire scientific community in this field, and has made new insights possible."

Jürgen Röpcke studied physics at the University of Greifswald where he also completed his doctorate and habilitation. Since 1982, he has worked at the Central Institute for Electron Physics of the Academy of Sciences, from which today's Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP) emerged in 1992. There he headed the Plasma Diagnostics Group from 2004. After his dissertation on discharge evolution in plasma displays, he worked on plasma diagnostics in diamond-depositing plasmas, spectroscopy in non-thermal hydrogen plasmas and absorption spectroscopy in the mid-infrared range, which enabled highly sensitive detection of plasma species for the first time. In 2005, he was appointed honorary professor at Stralsund University of Applied Sciences. As a founding managing director of the INP spin-off company neoplas control GmbH, he supported the transfer of quantum cascade laser technology from science to industry in the early years.

The prize is named after Rudolf Karl Hans Seeliger, a pioneer of gas discharge physics. Seeliger was a professor at the University of Greifswald from 1918 and headed the "Institute for Gas Discharge Physics" of the Academy of Sciences from 1949.

Further Information
Stefan Gerhardt // Communication Department
Tel.: +49 3834 554 3903 // stefan.gerhardtinp-greifswaldde
Felix-Hausdorff-Straße 2 // 17489 Greifswald // www.leibniz-inp.de

Greifswald, 20 March 2023

Every year on 22 March, World Water Day reminds us of the importance of one of the most important resources of life. Almost two-thirds of our planet is covered with water, but not even three percent is drinkable freshwater. Every day, large quantities of chemicals enter our waters and endanger the health of humans, animals and plants. In addition to pesticides, for example, drug residues also pollute our drinking water. The Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP) has developed technical solutions to clean wastewater of such pollutants. 

According to information from the German Federal Environment Agency, more than 400 different active pharmaceutical ingredients, their intermediates or transformation products have already been detected in the environment. Veterinary medicinal products end up as fertiliser on our fields via liquid manure and dung or are excreted by grazing animals. From there, they enter water bodies and groundwater near the surface. Human pharmaceuticals reach sewage treatment plants via wastewater, but are usually not removed there.

The German Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies vfa points to the low concentration of pharmaceutical residues found in water. However, according to the association, one way to remove these residues would be to expand the sewage treatment technology currently in use so that pharmaceuticals do not end up in water bodies.

Innovative processes ensure clean water

Prof. Dr. Juergen Kolb, an expert in environmental technologies at the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP), explains the current state of research: "We combine classical physical processes for wastewater purification with new technologies such as ultrasound, pulsed electric fields and plasma technology. This allows us to break down chemical compounds such as drug residues but also other man-made contaminants and convert them into harmless substances."

These methods have already proven their potential in various INP research projects. Currently, the approaches are being transferred to practice-relevant environments. "Our approach is currently mobile plants that can be used in hospitals, for example, where water contamination with pharmaceutical residues is particularly high. Particularly in view of the increasing number of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, we see an acute need for action here," Kolb adds. The technologies are also suitable for municipal sewage treatment plants as a fourth purification stage.

World Water Day was established by the United Nations. It has taken place every year on 22 March since 1993. This year's motto is "Accelerating Change". Worldwide, actions take place on this day to draw attention to the vital importance of water and to support initiatives for clean water and the careful use of the resource. 

More information

Stefan Gerhardt // Communications
Phone.: +49 3834 554 3903 // E-Mail: stefan.gerhardtinp-greifswaldde
Felix-Hausdorff-Straße 2 // 17489 Greifswald // Germany // https://www.inp-greifswald.de/en/