Max Planck Institute For Dynamics and Self-Organization - History

History

The early history of the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization is closely linked to the work of the famous physicist Ludwig Prandtl. Prandtl is regarded as the founder of fluid dynamics and especially made a name for himself with his boundary layer theory. In Göttingen Prandtl opened two research facilities that both exist until today: in 1915 the Aerodynamical Experimental Station, which concentrated on application-oriented topics in fluid dynamics and evolved into the Göttinger branch of the German Space Agency DLR, and in 1925 the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Fluid Dynamics. The latter mainly dealt with fundamental research in the field of fluid dynamics. After the Max Planck Society was founded the institute was renamed Max Planck Institute for Fluid Dynamics. In 2004 the institute again received a new name and is now called Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-organisation.