Jena celebrates the UNESCO Day of Light 2019

Projects and events invite you to Jena on 16.05.2019

On May 16, everything in Jena will revolve around the topic of light. UNESCO has declared this date - based on the "Year of Light 2015" - as the "International Day of Light", which has been celebrated annually since 2018. The aim is to raise awareness of how important light and light-based technologies are for science and research, as well as for fields of application such as medicine, energy and communication, but also for culture, culture and education. In the City of Light Jena, numerous stakeholders are celebrating the "Day of Light" with a wide variety of projects and events.

14/15.05.2019: Annual conference of OptecNet - Innovation Networks for Optical Technologies (Volkshaus Jena, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.)

With over 500 members in the regional photonics networks, OptecNet Deutschland is the largest German association in the photonics industry. The players from industry, science, research and education represent all relevant fields of technology and are nationally and internationally successful with their products, services and research focuses. At the OptecNet Annual Conference 2019 in Jena, current trends and topics in the industry will be discussed, expertise will be highlighted, cooperation will be encouraged and, for the first time, promising start-up initiatives from all over Germany will be presented.

With high-caliber keynote speeches, four specialist sessions, an accompanying exhibition and an evening event, the format has developed into a national industry meeting that offers participants excellent opportunities for professional exchange and networking.

The main topics are laser technology, quantum optics, biophotonics and image processing. In 2019, the annual conference will be held in Jena in the historic Volkshaus, which was once built on the initiative of Ernst Abbe with funds from the Carl Zeiss Foundation. This also makes it the ideal venue for the 3rd OptecNet Start-up Challenge, where young start-up initiatives from all over Germany will present their ideas.

1. Session 1: LASER TECHNOLOGY (focus: laser process monitoring)
2. Session 2: QUANTUM OPTICS (focus on: Applications of quantum technology/ 2nd generation quantum technology)
3. Session 3: BIOPHOTONICS (focus: biomedicine / photonics in medical technology)
4. Session 4: IMAGE PROCESSING (focus: industrial image processing)

16.05.2019: UC2-Workathon - Build your own light-sheet Microscope (Leibniz IPHT Jena, 15-22 h, free of charge)

On May 16th there will be the next workathon and your ideas are needed! Together with you and the modular optical construction kit UC2 we want to create the first portable light-sheet microscope based on Raspberry Pi/ESP32 and 3D printing.

Creative minds are needed: Whether with expertise in 3D printing, bio-hacking or software engineering - with your help we will realize the project!

The registration deadline is May 3, 2019 and the number of participants is limited to 30. The workathon will be bilingual (German/English).

• Organizers: Barbora Marsikova, Benedict Diederich, René Richter (Biomedical Imaging Group, Prof. Heintzmann, Leibniz IPHT Jena)
• Target audience: Experienced Bachelor students, Master students, PhD students

16.05.2019: Public themed tour "Insight. Outlook. Glimpse of light" (Jena Tourist Information, Markt 16, 5.30 pm)

Thursday, May 16, 2019 is the International Day of Light, which was proclaimed by UNESCO. Of course, the City of Light Jena should not be missing on this day.

Research in the fields of optics and photonics has made the city's name known all over the world. For more than 150 years, innovative, light-based technologies have shaped Jena as a city of science.

On this themed city tour, you will touch on all the important stations from the past to the present and learn interesting facts about Jena as a city of light.

• Organizer: JenaKultur/ Jena Tourist Information

16.05.2019: "Noble Talks at Beutenberg" (Abbe Center Beutenberg, Hans-Knöll-Str. 1, 5 p.m., free of charge)

Lecture "Climate in Transition - Plants in Transition" (Prof. Dr. Detlef Weigel, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen).

Prof. Weigel is an internationally renowned scientist who studies genetic variation in plants and researches how plants adapt to a constantly changing environment in the short and long term. His work on the regulation of flowering time and the role of microRNAs in development as well as his studies on the adaptability of plant species are of great relevance for both basic research and plant breeding.

At the beginning of the "Noble Talks", the Chairman of the Board of the Beutenberg-Campus Jena e.V., Prof. Dr. Peter Zipfel, will award the "Life Sciences and Physics" science prize to a successful young scientist.

Free parking will be available below the Abbe Center.

• Organizer: Beutenberg-Campus Jena e. V.

16.05.2019: Special guided tours and extended opening hours from 5 to 8 p.m. with free admission (Carl-Zeiß-Platz 12, 6 and 7 p.m.)

Get an exclusive insight into the current depot and a preview of the museum's new concept. Take the opportunity now before the D.O.M. closes for extensive renovation in summer 2019. The number of participants per tour is limited to a maximum of ten people.

• Organizer: German Optical Museum