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Around 3.750 athletes started at this year's Leonardo Campus Run. Despite the heat, the atmosphere was fantastic and all the runners were highly motivated. With 419 participants, the University of Münster was once again the largest group at the popular running event.

A team headed by business chemist Prof. Stephan von Delft has been looking at what effects different strategies for achieving a circular economy with lithium, cobalt and nickel for electric vehicles will have on the demand for materials in Europe. Their conclusion: eleven mines and 57 recycling plants fewer could be needed.

Many dynamic processes can be described mathematically with the aid of stochastic partial differential equations. Working together with other researchers, Dr. Markus Tempelmayr, Postdoc at the Cluster of Excellence Mathematics Münster, has found a new method which helps to solve a certain class of such equations.

In her doctoral thesis at the Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity at the University of Münster, Dr Berta Canal investigated the effects of heat stress on the reproductive capacity of fruit flies. The biologist gave an insight into her work.

Evolution is an ongoing process. The Münster Graduate School of Evolution (MGSE) has been bringing together the Faculties of Biology, Medicine, Geosciences, Mathematics and Philosophy, bundling interdisciplinary evolutionary research at the University of Münster. Four doctoral students provide insights into their work and show the role which evolution specifically plays in their everyday research.

David MacMillan, a professor of chemistry at Princeton University, is a pioneer of photocatalysis with visible light. The Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy has now awarded the 56-year-old Scotsman an honorary doctorate for his outstanding research in this field.

Anyone who decides to do a doctorate can expect exciting times and a big goal at the end. In two guest articles, doctoral student David Koke (on behalf of the doctoral student representatives) and Prof. Maike Tietjens, Vice-Rector for Academic Career Development and Diversity, write about challenges and crises, but also about support options and tips for the doctoral period.

In spring this year, the Münster Centre for Emerging Researchers (CERes) celebrated its launch as a central academic institution at the University of Münster. It represents an important contact for aspiring researchers. In this interview, Prof. Stefanie van Ophuysen, the Scientific Director at CERes, talks about the time during a doctorate and about current developments in promoting doctoral students and postdocs.

What are the career prospects inside and outside academia? In short guest articles, three early stage researchers describe their career paths and hopes for the future.

Depending on the degree programme, there are various requirements for gaining one of the often coveted places at a university. At the University of Münster’s School of Music, hundreds of applicants present themselves on a few days in May to demonstrate their skills in theoretical and, above all, practical examinations and convince the teaching staff of their suitability.

The choice of words, correct grammar and coherent syntax – all these can have an influence when it comes down to whom the authorities believe. After her analysis of several dozen statements, Joy Steigler-Herms arrived at a clear result. Anyone who expresses themselves in an educated way instead of colloquially will be seen as being more trustworthy in nine out of ten cases.

In recognition of his outstanding research in the field of photocatalysis with visible light, the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy will award an honorary doctorate to David MacMillan on 11 June. Norbert Robers spoke with the exceptional researcher.