Dear conference guests,

On behalf of the German Physical Society and also personally, I would like to welcome you to the virtual DPG-Frühjahrstagung (DPG Spring Meeting) in “Mainz” with the Divisions Hadronic and Nuclear Physics and Plasma Physics as well as the Working Group on Accelerator Physics.

I am very pleased that this Spring Meeting continues to take place despite the pandemic. Maintaining scientific exchange cannot be valued highly enough. Just as important in these times are the DPG conferences once again as outstanding symbols of the importance of scientific thinking in our society: Natural science produces hypotheses that have to be verified experimentally – that is the core of basic research.

I agree with Niels Bohr, who is said to have said: “Forecasts are difficult, especially when they concern the future.“ Nevertheless, I see physics and the DPG in particular as having a special responsibility to enter into a dialogue with politics on the basis of the findings from basic research in order to meet the major challenges facing society – and thus also to enable future generations to live well on this planet. For this dialogue, the solidarity of the scientific community with the colleagues who dare to go public and stead fastly represent their results is particularly crucial.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to all those involved for the success of this Spring Meeting. First of all, I would like to thank the local conference management, Prof. Dr. Frank Maas, Institute for Nuclear Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, for its support as well as the programme committee – consisting of the chairpersons of the divisions and the working group involved – for the outstanding programme of this conference. I would also like to thank the staff of the DPG Head Office for their support and supervision of all meetings.

I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus-Stiftung for again providing generous financial support to our young members.

I wish you all an exciting conference and many new insights.

Dr. Lutz Schröter
President
Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft e. V.