Why is it that we use the computer to develop different functions?

Why it has long been underestimated, the mechanics really plays an important role for the brain,

or in the brain for different functions and especially during development.

So it's a really exciting topic which we started to investigate

which excites us every single day.

So the group started as an M&M group funded by the DFG

and has grown since then.

We have PhD students, master students, special students

who also write their thesis within the project in Polestar.

We developed new experimental and computational tools

to on the one hand understand really what's going on in the brain

and especially mechanics, regulated processes,

and on the other hand assist the diagnosis and treatment of diseases

and really assist clinicians.

That's our overall goal eventually.

And for that we combine experiments, modeling and simulation

and that's really special because we combine it all in the same group

so we can iteratively advance the numerics

and also the experiments depending on our findings.

And in terms of experiments we do mechanical measurements

but also microstructural investigations

and even sometimes simultaneously

which gives us really new insights that were not possible before.

And in terms of modeling we focus on material modeling

but also on modeling processes like growth or diffusion.

For example how the cells migrate in the early developing brain

or how growth and differential growth leads to folds in our brain.

And then we implement all these equations into finite element frameworks

to be able to on one hand identify material parameters

and on the other hand to really perform large-scale simulations

with the goal to finally be able to give personalized predictions

that are also relevant in the clinic.

What is nice in the group is that everyone works on related topics

so we can really all exchange ideas, support each other

so we have a bi-weekly meeting online since the COVID pandemic

but we also try to organize team events and stuff like that

to really have a team spirit and jointly not only do research

but also fun activities.

So we are looking forward to exploring brain mechanics

even further in the future because the brain keeps surprising us every day

and it's really exciting and fun to work on that topic.