Matthias Mayer

In a novel approach to empower citizens to contribute to scientific research and close the linkages between science and society, we crowdsourced research questions from patients as well as their relatives and caretakers in the fields of mental health and traumatology. In both projects, crowd members provided more than 1000…

Transformation of palm fiber into valuable cellulose and its further chemically modification are our effort to develop highly-effective and powerful adsorbent for removal dyes in aqueous media.   Tags: Engineering, Environment & Nature, Ocean Pollution.

Rare-earth elements have distinct properties that make them vital to the electronics and energy sectors. However, the current method of their extraction remains highly toxic and unsustainable. Arshia Mostoufi proposes using a novel biological-based system for the cost-effective and environmentally friendly extraction of rare-earth elements from metal ores using a…

Extending high-precision measurements towards isotopes of the heaviest elements is challenging as these are only available on an atom-at-a-time level. This demands extremely efficient and sensitive tailored ion trap and laser spectroscopy approaches at large-scale accelerators featuring highest stability for measurement times up to days. This will improve our understanding…

In this Falling Walls Breakthrough Conversation, digital participants had the chance to engage in a live conversation with Frederick Fenter. He talked about his role as Chief Executive Editor at Frontiers, the role of academic publishing in fostering public trust in science, the importance of open access and open science.…

The Witness Tree Project aims to break the wall to talk to nature. We try to reconnect people, in particular high-school students, with trees and forests through the use of automated data collected and translation. The project’s automated social media accounts, that post human-readable messages based on data about the…

Sofía Ulloa Arias is addressing the environmental impact of short-lived plastics in the pet industry, where discarded toys contribute to significant waste. Her solution involves the use of mycelium from mushrooms and vegetable substrates to create compostable pet toys, promoting a greener future and revolutionising the sector with the world’s…

PRESENTED BY Martin Bothe NOMINATED BY Humboldt Universität zu Berlin Tags: Surgical Gloves, Examination Gloves, Protection, Surgery, Material Science, Healthcare Workers, Medical Device

Creating a fibrous and conductive cathode from a mix of copper, phosphorus, and sulfur served as a catalyst, dramatically speeding up oxygen’s reaction with water. This insight produced batteries that could be charged and discharged quickly and had high capacity, 460 watt-hours per kilogram (compared with about 75 Wh/kg for…

Advanced structure of photothermal nanomaterial can boil sea water in a few seconds under solar (free) energy, providing unlimited fresh water supply. This material is cheap, easy to fabricate, and safe.