For the fifth time, the annual meeting of the Priority Program 2289 “Hetero-Aggregates” took place in the middle of october in Bremen, where it is coordinated at the University of Bremen with Lutz Mädler as spokesperson. Staff from 16 interdisciplinary projects came together to exchange information on the current state of research and plan further collaboration. This year's meeting featured numerous short presentations followed by discussions – an intensive exchange on methods, results, and future research approaches. 

The priority program, funded by the German Research Foundation DFG, is investigating how mixtures of different particles – known as hetero-aggregates – can be specifically designed to develop new functional materials. The aim is to understand and exploit synergies between particles – for applications in energy storage, catalysis, sensor technology, and life sciences, for example. “SPPs are funded for a maximum of six years, so the annual meeting was also used for initial transfer orientation. It's great to see how numerous visions and research approaches are giving rise to interdisciplinary strategies and collaborations that will hopefully lead to many more exciting developments,” says Lutz Mädler.