Measurements, microscopes and documentation: Alex Hastings at his workplace in the New Residence.
© Markus Scholz
29.01.2015 in Research, Featured, Science

News from the past

Is a fossil from the Geisel Valley the first proof that crocodiles cared for their brood? How were five different crocodile species able to share a single habitat? Finds from the Geisel Valley date back to the Eocene Epoch and still hold many secrets. These secrets are attracting researchers from around the world, including Alexander Hastings. When speaking to Hastings about his work, it quickly becomes clear what has drawn the young palaeontologist from Florida to Halle, of all places. Read more

Wellness drink or motorbike jacket? Karl-Ludwig Kunze and Bernhard Schipper with a kombucha culture.
© Maike Glöckner
03.04.2014 in Research, Featured, Science

Design meets science

You’ve successfully developed and perfected a crystallisation technique. You’re carrying a treasure trove of knowledge and experience about biominerals around with you. Patents have been filed and industrial partnerships have been found. But has the full potential of the technology you’ve developed or the material you’ve discovered been completely tapped? Read more

The three daughters of Ernst Wertheimer came all the way from Israel. (photo: Maike Glöckner)
© Maike Glöckner
15.01.2014 in Miscellaneous, Featured

An emotional journey to the ancestors

The relatives of eight professors barred from the university during the Third Reich travelled to Halle at the end of November 2013 for an act of commemoration. Getting to know the place where their ancestors worked was for many not only a journey in time, but also a very intensive experience. Read more

Heiner Lück, presenting a print of the Sachsenspiegel. Guido Kisch already researched this law book.
© Michael Deutsch
19.11.2013 in Study and Teaching, People, Featured, Campus

Unforgotten injustice

Guido Kisch and Heiner Lück are connected by more than just the fact that Lück has held Kisch’s former chair at the University of Halle for nearly 20 years. Since his time as a student, Lück has been examining the biography of the Jewish legal scholar who was a professor in Halle for eleven years until he was banned from his profession in 1933. Today Kisch’s family are friends with Heiner Lück. Read more

Gully erosion is evidence of landscape destruction in the agricultural steppes of Southern Siberia
© Manfred Frühauf
27.02.2012 in Featured, Research, Science

Putting life back into the steppes

Of all places, Russia’s most important bread basket lies in the remote Western Siberian Steppe. The area is crucial for the government of this giant realm as it ensures harvests and safeguards the country from expensive imports. Yet the area is endangered. For decades the steppe’s soil has been destroyed by improper farming techniques and strong climate fluctuations. How and if it is possible to use the area more sustainably in the future while, at the same time, increasing yields is what Halle’s geo-ecologist, Professor Manfred Frühauf, is hoping to find out in the next five years as part of a joint research project. Read more