Nobel Prize goes to a Garching researcher: Employee reports on a special moment - and draws a Beckenbauer comparison

Astrophysicist Reinhard Genzel experienced a true moment of glory on Tuesday.

The Max Planck Director receives the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics.

• The Nobel Prize in Physics goes to the Garching astrophysicist Reinhard Genzel.

• "Now we're trying to get champagne," said one of the employees in a state of ecstasy.

• An employee now reports on a special moment.

Garching

- The Nobel Prize Committee honors the

Reinhard Genzel for the proof of the black hole in the center of the Milky Way.

The

news sparked jubilation in the

Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial

.

"Now we're trying to get some champagne," said an employee yesterday in a state of glee.

Nobel Prize for Astrophysicists in Garching: "We were speechless"

Physicist Ekkehard Wieprecht

, who works in Reinhard Genzel's group, reports on the morning that, like many others, began in the conference room at the

.

“The three of us were sitting in the conference room when Reinhard came in from his office next door.

He was very pale, ”says the 58-year-old.

“He said, 'Listen, I just got a call from Stockholm.

We are proposed for the Nobel Prize. '

We were speechless.

At first we couldn't believe it. "

The committee's press conference was scheduled for 11:55 a.m.

Ekkehard Wieprecht and his colleagues drummed up the 20-person team for a live conference, set up a screen and followed the

online via the video channel “Youtube”

.

“It wasn't until the name Reinhard Genzel was mentioned that we could really believe it.

There was a huge jubilation in the room, "says Wieprecht,

+

Physicist Ekkehard Wieprecht, who works in Reinhard Genzel's group, experienced the moment of the announcement live.

© mm / archive

Garching researcher receives Nobel Prize: groundbreaking results in galactic and extragalactic astrophysics

The fact that the Nobel Prize

goes to

is a “huge surprise,” he says, “we didn't expect that.” Reinhard Genzel was rather quietly enjoying the moment.

"At that moment he reminded me of

, when he became soccer world champion in 1990 and ran across the pitch all by himself." Reinhard Genzel and his group have achieved several groundbreaking results in galactic and extragalactic astrophysics in recent years.

His boss is a team

, says Wieprecht.

“He is absolutely determined, but does not forget the human side.” He knows how to take his team with him, explain his goals and communicate well, “because what has been achieved has been an unimaginable amount of work and also a great deal of motivation Reinhard Genzel. "

Nobel Prize goes to Garching: Mayor: "Recognition for the research campus"

(SPD)

is also proud

.

The award puts “our young university town in the focus of the global public”.

Because it is also representative of the Garching research location.

“Because we have created a very good infrastructure here.” Science also owes this to the city of Garching.

"We took the initiative back then and got the subway here." The

financed at least the first section of the route all by itself - to Hochbrück.

“In the last section of the route, we were only involved with ten percent, but we took over the entire construction management.

The city of Munich said at the time that they couldn't do it.

So we went into submission.

And that was definitely the prerequisite for such excellent research to take place here today. "

You can always read all the news from the Munich district with us.