UNI NOVA – Research Magazine of the University of Basel

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  A playground for the mind.

  Text: Angelika Jacobs / Using spontaneous discussions, a ping-pong game of creative ideas and intensive calculations, Admir Greljo explores the smallest building blocks of matter and some of the biggest unanswered questions in the universe.

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  In search of a more sustainable chemistry.

  Text: Yvonne Vahlensieck / Catalysts speed up chemical reactions and are essential for industry; but there is still some room for improvement. Murielle Delley wants to make catalysts more efficient and more sustainable.

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  Inspired by the intangible.

  Text: Irène Dietschi / Despite just two years of physics at high school, Andrea Hofmann chose to study the subject in Zurich. Today, she develops qubits with her research group in Basel.

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  A tenacious researcher.

  Text: Irène Dietschi / Mirjam Christ-Crain is setting new standards. Her motto? “Never give up.” The endocrinologist is even making advances in fields beyond her own – and always for the benefit of patients.

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  “Seeing is believing.”

  Text: Christian Heuss / Ben Engel wants to understand the solar power stations of life: chloroplasts. He uses high-tech microscopes to watch them at work and get to the bottom of carbon fixation.

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  Voyager through the history of Africa.

  Text: Christoph Dieffenbacher / Africa's written history contains many a blank page. At the University of Basel, historian Julia Tischler studies the continent's history of colonization and missionary engagement in the 19th and 20th centuries.

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  Brain researcher with a jazz flute.

  Text: Christoph Dieffenbacher / Philipp Sterzer investigates how our brain works – both in terms of everyday perception and in cases of severe psychosis. But music is his true love.

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  The pioneer.

  Text: Yvonne Vahlensieck / Curiosity is the driving force in Maria Hondele's life. In her research, the biochemist is exploring new frontiers in the field of cell biology.

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  The unassailable one.

  Text: Irène Dietschi / During the pandemic, Richard Neher monitored the evolutionary changes in SARS-CoV-2 closely and provided commentary for the media. When doing so, he was careful to avoid being drawn into political or emotional statements – and thereby made himself immune to attack.