Student projects

Take the next step

Student projects provide an opportunity to apply knowledge from your studies to an open scientific question. Projects are connected to ongoing research in the Materials Informatics group at MPI SusMat and adapted to your background and interests.

Ways to take part

Bachelor projects

A focused computational question – for example applying an established simulation method to a new material or comparing methods on a well-defined problem.
Master projects and theses

An independent contribution to an open research question in one of the four research themes, typically combining method development with application.
Computational research projects

Shorter projects within your degree programme, for example research internships or project modules, to gain hands-on experience with research methods.
Research software contributions

For students interested in scientific programming: develop and test features in open-source projects such as pyiron, executorlib or the Python Workflow Definition.

How a project is formally registered depends on the examination regulations of your degree programme. Supervision, registration and working arrangements are agreed individually before a project starts.

Where your knowledge fits

Use this as orientation, not as a checklist.

Topics from your studies and related research topics
If you enjoy or know …	… you could work on
Thermodynamics	Free energies, phase stability, defects
Atomistic simulation	Density functional theory, molecular dynamics, machine-learned interatomic potentials
Python programming	Scientific workflows, pyiron, research software
Machine learning	Interatomic potentials, Bayesian optimisation, uncertainty quantification
High-performance computing	Parallel execution and workflow infrastructure
AI and large language models	Agentic scientific workflows

These are starting points, not prerequisites. Nobody is expected to know all of these topics – projects are matched to your background, your interests and the scientific question.

How to get in touch

You do not need to arrive with a complete research proposal. A short email is enough – we will find a suitable question together.

Useful information for a first email:

Your degree programme
Your current stage or semester
Scientific topics that interest you
Relevant experience, for example Python, simulation, thermodynamics or machine learning – none is required
Whether you are looking for a Bachelor project, a Master thesis or another research opportunity