Eva-Maria Neher remembers

Professor Neher, the XLAB is one of the largest student laboratories in Germany, a trademark of the University and the city of Göttingen and a magnet for prospective students with an international reputation. How was it founded 25 years ago?

Twenty-five years ago, there was a lack of first-year students and, unlike today, science classes were only moderately popular. As a passionate biochemist and mother, I was convinced that attractive hands-on programs could attract young people to the natural sciences. We wanted to show young people how science works, and use experiments to gain new insights. I was able to interest first the state government and then the university in this idea. In 1998, Science Minister Thomas Oppermann asked me to write a concept. In 1999, with the support of University President Horst Kern, we started pilot courses in the practical rooms of the Second Institute of Physics. We were given laboratories and a computer room in the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, and later a laboratory for biology and offices in the Earth Sciences. From 2000, the Minister of Education, Renate Jürgens-Pieper, assigned us four teachers in the Lower Saxony school service. In 2000, Thomas Oppermann promised us our own building, which was constructed in 2003 with the university as the client. From the very beginning, we wanted to work continuously and at a very high level. The decisive factor for this was the highly qualified and motivated staff with their enthusiasm and ability to pass on knowledge. A major concern was and is the organization of International Science Camps: young people at the beginning of their scientific careers come together from all over the world for a 3-week science camp, experiment in the XLAB laboratories and exchange personal experiences.

What did the new laboratory building on the North Campus mean for the XLAB?
The XLAB needed its own building, its own face, in order to be recognized and to grow. In terms of architecture, we attached great importance to the greatest possible variety of equipment: The “standing lab”, for example, is ideally suited for molecular biology, while the biology “sitting lab” offers space for microscopy or preparation; for fluorescence microscopy or laser physics, you need powerful darkening and in chemistry, enough fume cupboards for parallel work in groups of two or three. The location of the building is ideal: we have a view in all directions of the institutes of our university and non-university neighbors and cooperation partners, who give the course participants an insight into the use of research equipment, for example. The inauguration of the laboratory building in December 2004 in front of a large audience was one of, if not the, finest moments in the history of the XLAB.

What is your favorite view?
The view of the XLAB from my current office at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research!

What were other success factors? What could no one imitate?
I wish I knew! Perhaps it was actually my traveling, my worldwide presence. In Germany, of course, we worked together with various networks such as MNU, LELA and MINT-EC. Other institutions that wanted the same thing as us and were based in Serbia, Israel, Italy, Hungary, Spain, etc. joined forces in the “Network of Youth Excellence (NYEX)” and supported each other. That was a great experience. I never missed an opportunity to promote Göttingen as a place to study.

What are you doing for XLAB today with the XLAB Foundation?
I set up the predecessor foundation to today's XLAB Foundation in 1996. However, it soon became clear that an association was better suited as a supporting structure for the operation of the experimental laboratory. But the XLAB Foundation found its purpose: From the very beginning, the XLAB was there not only for Göttingen, but also for a large, partly rural catchment area. We were happy to welcome everyone. However, there often wasn't and still isn't any reasonably priced accommodation nearby for out-of-town guests, which is why we occasionally ran our own small accommodation facility in rooms in the neighboring university guest house. When this was no longer possible, the idea of a meeting center with a residential wing matured. It is currently being built in the Weende district within walking distance of the laboratory building. The XLAB Foundation is the building owner. A particularly outstanding activity of the foundation is the organization of the annual Science Festival, to which we invite many successful scientists to give lectures for pupils and students.