Silver medal for young physicists

The German Physics Championship GYPT at the DPG’s Physics Centre is organised in a manner similar to an international scientific conference: at the GYPT, pupils present the results of their research from recent months in a twelve‑minute talk, after which they must respond for sixteen minutes to critical questions — also in English — posed by competing teams and the highly distinguished jury. The three silver medallists from the SFZB also ranked among the best in the individual competition. The five‑member national team that will represent Germany at the Physics World Championship in Zurich, Switzerland, from 5–12 July is selected from this group.

Dr Riel, who completed her doctorate in physics at the University of Bayreuth in 2003, emphasised during the award ceremony: “This year, around one third of the participants are female, which is far from a given in a physics competition.”

Alongside scientific curiosity, the most frequently mentioned reason for taking part in the GYPT is the exchange with like‑minded young people. “The infectious curiosity and enthusiasm of these young people provide an excellent foundation for the future generation of researchers, who cannot be supported enough,” said Professor Walter Zimmermann, physicist and coordinator of the Student Research Centre at the University of Bayreuth.

“With yet another silver medal for a Bayreuth team, Alan, Benjamin and Elisa have been rewarded for their creative and persistent research, which they have carried out since autumn with the support of their schools and the SFZB supervision team — Berin and Tarek Becic, Niklas Brütting, Frederik Gareis and Sebastian Friedl. The latter were themselves successful in national and international physics competitions in previous years and now pass on their experience,” Zimmermann added.

The three highest‑ranking teams at the German Physics Championship have been invited by the DPG to take part in an exclusive two‑day tour of CERN in Geneva — the world’s largest particle accelerator facility. The talent development associated with the competition, which has an international reach, is supported by the German Physical Society and financially backed by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation. In addition, numerous volunteers make a decisive contribution to the success of the German Physics Championship, including the 45 jury members from across Germany who participated in this year’s competition.