10000 new employees at the MPIE
The MPIE as part of the project we4bee
The Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung (MPIE) participates in the project we4bee, which aims to study the life of bees under various environmental influences. Benjamin Breitbach, from the department "Structure and Nano-/Micromechanics of Materials", initiated the project at the MPIE together with Dr. Hauke Springer, head of the group “Combinatorial Metallurgy and Processing”.
A colony of bees is living since May 2020 on the roof of the MPIE. High-tech sensors and cameras measure temperature, precipitation and humidity as well as wind and fine dust pollution in the beehive. The MPIE data will contribute to a better understanding of the life of bees in an urban environment, for which the bee is an important biosensor.
Around 100 institutions from Germany are taking part in this project. Scientists of the Julius-Maximilians Universität Würzburg analyse the collected data and make them available to the public.