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Professor Patrick Rinke was invited by his former physics teacher Ralf Prüßmeier to visit his old high school. During his visit, he met with students at the Immanuel Kant Gymnasium in Bad Oeynhausen, Germany, to talk about the life of a professor, studying physics and doing research at Aalto University.

"The Immanuel Kant Gymnasium in Bad Oeynhausen still looks much the same as it did in 1994 when I graduated", Rinke reminisces. "However, the physics class is now attended by three times as many students - a great success for the natural sciences."

The students listened intently when Rinke talked about his vitae and his current research on light-to-electricty conversion at Aalto. They had just studied Einstein's photo effect in class and knew very well what makes a solar cell or a light-emitting diode work.

Almost all the students plan to continue on to university, and many expressed a wish to study mathematics, physics or computer science. They were delighted to hear firsthand from a physics professor about life at a university and the trials and tribulations of being a student.

Prüßmeier, Rinke's physics teacher in 1994, reported that the students were inspired by the visit and studied with renewed enthusiasm.

More information (in German):

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