Public lecture series focusses on the BTU's space experiments

All interested parties are invited to Audimax 2 on the main campus of BTU Cottbus. Registration is not required. Admission is free. This event is a further highlight of the thematic block "Aerospace - Lusatian research above the clouds" as part of the public series.

Under the title "The BTU's space experiments", Professor Christoph Egbers from the university's Chair of Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics will give an overview of the various possibilities for experiments in weightlessness - from drop towers to parabolic flights, sounding rockets and experiments on the ISS. His main focus will be on experiments used to simulate geophysical movements in the Earth's liquid core, the Earth's mantle or the atmosphere. This event at BTU will also be followed by a lively question and answer session after the lecture.

Moderator: Prof. Dr Magdalena Mißler-Behr, BTU, Chair of Business Administration, in particular Planning, Innovation and Foundation
Date: Wednesday, 19 November 2025, 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Location: Audimax 2 at the main campus of BTU, Konrad-Wachsmann-Allee 3, 03046 Cottbus

Christoph Egbers studied Theoretical Mechanical Engineering at Leibniz University in Hanover from 1982 to 1989, graduating with a diploma. From 1989 to 1994, he was a research assistant at the Centre for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen, where he also received his doctorate summa cum laude in 1994. From 1994 to 2000, he worked there as a research assistant before accepting a professorship in Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics at the Brandenburg University of Technology in 2000. In addition to the core areas of fluid mechanics and aerodynamics, he has been building up a further research area for 25 years: Experiments under weightlessness. Prof. Egbers has been the scientific director of the "Centre for Flow and Transport Phenomena, CFTMM" at BTU since 2009. He has headed the DFG Research Centre "Physics of Rotating Flows" since 2016. From 2016 to 2024, he was an elected member of the "Fluid Mechanics" review board of the German Research Foundation (DFG).

About the Open BTU lecture series
From 15 October 2025 to 28 January 2026, the Open BTU public lecture series will offer insights into exciting fields of knowledge. With this educational format, which is open to all interested parties, the university's Centre for Continuing Education supports lifelong learning and funds the transfer of knowledge and ideas in the region by addressing socially relevant issues. The BTU co-operates with other universities and institutions.

With this educational format, which is open to all interested parties, the University's Centre for Continuing Education supports lifelong learning and funds the transfer of knowledge and ideas in the region by addressing socially relevant issues. The BTU co-operates with other universities and institutions. Each lecture will be followed by an opportunity for questions and dialogue with the speakers. Anyone interested is cordially invited to take part in the wide range of events on offer.

In the current winter semester, the following topics will be examined from different perspectives:

Aerospace - Lusatian research above the clouds
with the following additional date

• 3 December 2025
  Mayday, Mayday: The climate impact of aviation is increasing
  Speaker: Anita Demuth,DeputyHead of PtX Lab Lausitz
  
  Democracy - past, present and future
• 14 January 2026
  Europe under pressure
  Officer: Martin Schulz, board chairperson of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
  and former President of the European Parliament
   
• 28 January 2026
  Meltdown of democracy
  Officer: Dr Christoph Maximilian Abels, University of Potsdam,
  ERC project PRODEMINFO

More about the Open BTU public lecture series:
https://www.b-tu.de/weiterbildung/offene-hochschule/open-btu