It is more than just dirt: dust influences the weather, the water cycle and the chemical composition of the atmosphere. Dr. Eric J. R. Parteli at the UDE is investigating how it moves and its ablation changes the earth's surface.

For the characterization of 2D materials, the research group of Prof. Dr. Marika Schleberger has purchased a setup that allows spatially resolved Raman measurements in correlation with photoluminescence and scanning probe microscopy. The setup will soon not only be used by researchers in the group, but also in collaborations and by students in advanced practical training.

The duration of their snapshot relates to one second as one second relates to the age of the universe: In a joint collaboration with Australian Scientist Tim Davis and the Group around Harald Gießen from Stuttgart, Physicists from the Center for Nanointegration (CENIDE) at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) have developed ultrafast vector microscopy as a way of determining electric fields on surfaces with high temporal and spatial resolution.

Unlike ductile metals, oxides are ceramics, known to be brittle and unable to sustain large strains. An international team of scientists, including theoretical physicists from the UDE, were successful in achieving extreme strains of up to 8 percent in oxide membranes.