After the pandemic-related break, the emeriti meeting of Paderborn's professors took place again for the first time in presence on campus at the end of June.
Prof. Dr. Volker Peckhaus, Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Studies and representative of the Presidential Board for Alumni Affairs, welcomed the attendees: "We would like to continue the tradition of regular meetings of retired UPB professors and are pleased about their participation in this year's emeriti meeting." On behalf of the Executive Board, University President Prof. Dr. Birgitt Riegraf welcomed the alumni and reported on the topics of excellence cluster applications, successful special research areas, forward-looking infrastructure projects and the development of student numbers. Almost twenty alumni accepted the invitation of the University and the central alumni management to visit their university again and to meet former colleagues.
The meeting focused on highly topical social issues: PD Dr. Adrian Keller gave a short lecture on "DNA origami – new approaches against antibiotic-resistant germs". As a member of the "Technical Chemistry" department, working group Prof. Dr. Guido Grundmeier, and head of the "Nanobiomaterials" group, he was awarded the university's 2022 Research Prize. In his lecture, he presented the current state of his research against the problem of antibiotic-resistant germs. The natural scientist is researching methods to combat resistant germs with the help of DNA-based nanoantibiotics. The subsequent guided tour of the laboratory in the NW building gave the participants an impression of the actual work processes of the researcher and his staff.
A brief overview of topics of interest to Paderborn University was given by Isabel Steinhardt, Professor of Sociology of Education. She spoke on the topic of "ChatGPT and Co. - Impact of AI Tools on Teaching and Research" and outlined challenges as well as possible solutions of "Language Learning Models" in university use.
The Emeriti Meetings take place as a university event once a year in the summer semester, provide insights into selected scientific areas of the university and address topics and developments that move the university. The meetings tie in with the active time of the professors at Paderborn University and are an annual meeting point for a reunion with colleagues.
