Round Table Gender & Diversity

Wednesday 4 Feb 2026, 12:00 → 15:45 Europe/Berlin

Physics Department

In this semester the women representatives and PHYDINE, once more, invite you to a talk in the Physics Colloquium followed by a round table discussion of the series "women in science".

The talk will be given by Prof. Dr. Silke Weinfurtner (University of Nottingham)
with the topic “Exploring Classical and Quantum Fields in Curved Spacetimes: Lab-Based Investigations into Black Holes and Early Universe Physics”
will take place on Wednesday, 4th February 2026 at 12:30 pm
in lecture hall A in Biology.
As usual the Physics Department will provide coffee and snacks during and after the talk.

From 14:15 pm on, Prof. Dr. Silke Weinfurtner will be discussing with us on
the topic “Art + Science --- Dream a Little Before You Think: Building Inclusive and Collaborative Research Environments”.
The event will take place in TL 1.140 (old ECAP).
To provide a relaxed atmosphere, cookies and drinks and coffee will be provided.

As usual, the opportunity to exchange (own) experiences and information on the topic will be provided in an relaxed atmosphere. We would like to cordially invite particularly students (bachelor + master) as well as scientists (phD/postdoc/lecturer) to participate in the round table. 

Please register for the round table discussion until 2th February 26.

12:30 → 13:30 Exploring Classical and Quantum Fields in Curved Spacetimes: Lab-Based Investigations into Black Holes and Early Universe Physics

Exploring the dynamics of the early universe and black holes unveils profound insights into the interplay between general relativity and classical/quantum fields. Important phenomena emerge when gravitational and/or field interactions are strong, and/or when quantum effects become prominent. Notable examples include Hawking's proposal on the evaporation of black holes, Penrose's conjecture on the spin-down of rotating black holes, and Kofman's proposal on particle production during preheating. Despite their significance, observing these phenomena directly remains elusive. In this presentation, I will report on recent advancements in investigating these processes in laboratory experiments involving normal and quantum liquids.

Speaker: Silke Weinfurtner (University of Nottingham)

14:15 → 15:45 Art + Science --- Dream a Little Before You Think: Building Inclusive and Collaborative Research Environments

This talk explores how inclusive scientific environments can be intentionally created and sustained through collaboration, networks of support, and shared excitement and joy in research. At its core, it presents engagement and art–science approaches as deliberate tools for translating Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion into everyday scientific practice by:

*
Advancing equity through supportive and interdisciplinary structures that lower barriers and empower early career researchers
*
Sustaining diversity by valuing different perspectives, methods, and forms of contribution across science, philosophy, and the arts
*
Enabling inclusion through playful and creative approaches that foster psychological safety, curiosity, and collaboration

Drawing on personal experience, the speaker will discuss engagement and art–science collaborations as an ongoing experiment in building such environments, share concrete examples of success, and reflect openly on challenges encountered—and on what it takes to overcome them.

Speaker: Silke Weinfurtner (University of Nottingham)