Last Wednesday, the Erwin L. Hahn Institute welcomed two distinguished visitors: Kai Gehring, Chairman of the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment in the Bundestag, and his colleague Marc Zietan, environmental policy spokesman for the Green Party parliamentary group on Essen City Council, stopped by to learn more about the ELH.

What lies hidden behind the historic walls of the Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site surprised the two Essen politicians a little. After all, few people know that the former control centre of the coking plant is now home to the Ruhr region's most powerful magnet and that cutting-edge research is carried out here.

However, both Mr Gehring and Mr Zietan were not only impressed by the setting, but also listened with interest to the presentation by ELH Director Prof. Dr Harald H. Quick on the various research fields and PI groups the ELH is home to. At the end, the visitors even got up close and personal with the magnetic field using an aluminium disc.

After a brief refreshment, the politicians moved on to their next appointment. We were delighted you chose to visit the ELH, gentlemen!