From the beginning of the Universe to living beings —Lecture Series “Wissenschaft für Alle” in the first half of 2026
22.12.2025 |
In the first half of 2026, the lecture series “Wissenschaft für Alle” of GSI and FAIR will cover a wide range of topics – from the “nursery” of the Universe billions of years ago to the complex living beings we observe on our planet today. Interested parties can either attend the event in the lecture hall of GSI/FAIR following a registration or dial into the broadcast of the event via video conference using an internet-enabled device such as a laptop, cell phone or tablet. The program begins on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, with a lecture by Dr. Konrad Lehmann from GSI/FAIR on consciousness in animals.
Animals surround us in fascinating diversity. The variety of their external appearance is matched by an equally rich variety of nervous systems. There are tiny and very large brains, extremely simple nerve networks and complex thinking organs, and these come in many forms, because evolution has produced highly capable brains in multiple ways. Inevitably, many people ask themselves: What is going on inside? And: Do animals even have consciousness?
Or, more often: “a consciousness”? In fact, there seem to be several types of consciousness, depending on the definition of the philosophical concept. A foray into the animal kingdom reveals that all types of consciousness can be found there, often in unexpected places: Even single-celled organisms react flexibly to their environment; spiders plan sophisticated raids; octopods dream (most likely); birds pay attention to the preferences of their beloved; fish possess “self-awareness”; wasps turn out to be individuals.
Mental abilities that we humans until recently attributed solely to ourselves are surprisingly widespread in the animal kingdom. This is all the more surprising given that the last common ancestor of all higher animals was probably a worm with a nerve network and an eye spot that lived around 600 million years ago. It seems that evolution can conjure up useful mental abilities out of thin air when needed.
Dr. Konrad Lehmann describes himself as a “brain mediator”; he teaches brains about the brain, so to speak. He studied biology at Bielefeld University and earned his doctorate in neurobiology with a thesis on how early traumatic events and stressful environmental conditions impair brain maturation. Since 2006, he has been conducting research at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena on the brain’s adaptability and learning mechanisms, and he habilitated there in 2011. He has been working in the Biophysics Department at GSI/FAIR since September 2019. His research broadly focuses on how the mammalian brain adapts to different environmental conditions. Using state-of-the-art imaging and anatomical methods, he investigates influences such as the social environment, stimulating surroundings, and age. In addition to numerous scientific publications, he has already written several books on the subject. His most recent publication is “Das Bewusstsein der Tiere” (The Consciousness of Animals), published by Springer-Verlag.
The further course of the program also covers current research on the Hubble constant, one of the fundamental quantities in cosmology, which plays a decisive role in determining the age of our Universe. Two lectures take a look at the small building blocks of our world – on the different possible forms of atomic nuclei and on nanoworlds that can be created using ion beams from the particle accelerator. Another contribution deals with larger structures, focusing on exoplanets and the search for a second Earth. Finally, there is an anniversary to celebrate: the SHIP measurement setup, used for the discovery of six new chemical elements at GSI/FAIR, including the element darmstadtium, is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
The lectures start at 2 p. m., further information about registration, access and the course of the event can be found on the event website at www.gsi.de/wfa
The lecture series “Wissenschaft für Alle” is aimed at all persons interested in current science and research. The lectures report on research and developments at GSI and FAIR, but also on current topics from other fields of science and technology. The aim of the series is to prepare and present the scientific processes in a way that is understandable for laypersons in order to make the research accessible to a broad public. The lectures are held by GSI and FAIR staff members or by external speakers from universities and research institutes. (CP)
Current program
- Wednesday, 21 January 2026, 2 p.m.
Haben Tiere ein Bewusstsein? Gegenfrage: Warum nur eins?
Konrad Lehmann, GSI/FAIR
- Wednesday, 25 February 2026, 2 p.m.
Zwei Werte – ein Universum: Diskrepanzen bei der Bestimmung der Hubble-Konstante
Andreas Flörs, GSI/FAIR
- Wednesday, 18 March 2026, 2 p.m.
Exoplaneten – auf der Suche nach der zweiten Erde
Bernd Scharbert, Volkssternwarte Darmstadt
- Wednesday, 22 April 2026, 2 p.m.
Sind Atomkerne rund? Die Formen der kleinsten Bausteine
Kathrin Wimmer, GSI/FAIR
- Wednesday, 20 May 2026, 2 p.m.
Treffer im Nanobereich – wie Schwerionen Nanowelten erschaffen und verändern
Ina Schubert, GSI/FAIR
- Wednesday, 17 June 2026, 2 p.m.
Vorstoß ins Reich exotischer und superschwerer Kerne – 50 Jahre Spitzenforschung an SHIP
Fritz-Peter Heßberger, GSI/FAIR
