Where we are

Research within the IMPRS on Gravitational Wave takes place either in Hannover or in Potsdam-Golm. A good train connection and modern technical tools make a close collaboration between both sites possible.

General information on Germany on the Web:

• Facts about Germany
• Welcome to Germany - website of the Federal Foreign Office
• How To Germany
• Information for Newcomers at the AEI

Hannover

Neues Rathaus Hannover

The capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony is a major centre of northern Germany. The city at the river Leine has a population of about 520,000 and is an important place for trade fairs with the world's largest fairground. Hannover hosts the annual computer fair CeBIT, and the World's Fair EXPO2000 also took place in Hannover.

The University of Hannover was founded in 1831 as a Higher Trade School with 64 students. Today the Leibniz Universität Hannover, named after the German polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, offers a broad academic spectrum in nine faculties for more than 20,000 students. Most university buildings are located near the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen which are a large recreation area in the city and have been created for the Royal family between the 17th and the 19th century.

AEI Hannover

The Albert Einstein Institute Hannover, where scientists from the University Institute for Gravitational Physics and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics work together, has moved into a new building in 2005. Located at the university campus Schneiderberg, the cafeteria is just a few minutes away, and it is not far to the city center and its pedestrian zone.

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Ruthe

GEO600

In Ruthe, 20 km south of Hannover, the institute maintains the gravitational wave detector GEO600 – a laser interferometer with an armlength of 600 m, situated at the borders of a field. GEO600 is a German-British collaboration between the AEI and the Universities of Hannover, Glasgow, Cardiff, and Birmingham. It is also part of the international LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) which includes joint data analysis of all the participating detectors.

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Potsdam

Sanssouci

The city of Potsdam with its population of 150,000 is the capital of the federal state of Brandenburg. Located just at the gates of the German capital Berlin, the old summer residence of Prussian kings is famous for its parks and palaces that are World Heritage Sites. The city is surrounded by lakes and the river Havel and provides excellent conditions for rowing and canoeing – even Olympic athletes are training in Potsdam.

AEI Potsdam

Potsdam has become a center of science in Germany. In addition to its university and other colleges of higher education, there are more than 30 research institutes in the city, ranging from astrophysics to Jewish studies and molecular plant physiology. The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) is situated at the Science Park Potsdam-Golm, a research campus on the western outskirts of Potsdam that has developed into a research cluster in physics, chemistry, and life sciences. It is home to the faculty of mathematics and natural sciences of the University of Potsdam, three Max Planck Institutes, two Fraunhofer Institutes, and a business incubator. A regional train connection allows reaching Berlin downtown in 45 minutes.

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