March 19, 2026
A group of science teachers from Hamburg’s upper secondary schools spent an afternoon at the Center for Hybrid Nanostructures (CHyN) on March 19. Their goal: to gain insights into the new excellence cluster BlueMat and its innovative research on water and nature-inspired materials.
The visit was organized through the „Initiative Naturwissenschaft & Technik (NAT)“, established in 2007 with Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) as a founding partner. NAT offers excursions for teachers to gain new perspectives and bring ideas back to their classrooms.
Although the participating teachers had visited labs on the Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld before, BlueMat offered a fresh angle. The teachers — ranging from physics and chemistry to biology, and science education— first attended a lecture by Prof. Patrick Huber, BlueMat´s main spokesperson. „In the unique properties of water we see outstanding potential for scientific breakthroughs and industrial applications“, explains Huber. A highlight in his talk was the focus on hydrovoltaics— which means harvesting energy at the nanoscale from wetting and drying processes in aqueous environments.
The group then toured the ChyN labs, where experiments with water in nanostructures were on display. Teachers were struck by how water acts as a natural driver in these processes. They see clear opportunities to translate BlueMat’s research into classroom experiments that use no complex chemical mixtures, but only natural ingredients. This approach could inspire their students, says Martin Biebl of Sankt-Ansgar-Schule, and even lead to visits with classes for science competitions like GYPT, the German Young Physicists’ Tournament.
Some teachers also recognized the chance to guide gifted students towards the cluster’s interdisciplinary fields, which range from physics to biology. With BlueMat’s funding secured for at least seven years and probably longer, students finishing school right now could be motivated to pursue related studies and possibly join the cluster later in their career.
The teachers left with a deeper understanding of the ongoing paradigm shift from complex chemical materials to nature-inspired, water-driven technology. They expressed eagerness to share these insights with students and colleagues alike. Both NAT and BlueMat aim to maintain close ties and explore further collaborative opportunities in the future.
