List of Max Planck Institutes

Max Planck Institutes are research institutions operated by the Max Planck Society.^[1] There are over 80 institutes.^[2] Most of them are located in Germany, although there are other locations in other European countries and the United States.^[1][2]

Institutes are organized into five categories according to their research area:^[1][3]

• Astronomy & Astrophysics
• Biology & Medicine
• Material & Technology
• Environment & Climate
• Humanities

One institute can belong to several research areas. In addition, it can also belong to several more specialized research fields.^[1] In administrative terms, the institutes of the Max Planck Society are divided into three sections: Biology and Medicine, Chemistry, Physics and Technology and Human Sciences.^[4]

Institutes and Research Units

As of April 2024, the following Max Planck Institutes and Research Units exist (in alphabetical order):^[1]

Name	Location	Research areas
Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics	Frankfurt	cultural studies, social science, cognitive science, linguistics
Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior	Radolfzell / Konstanz	evolutionary biology, ethology, ecology
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology	Leipzig	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, ethology, and cognitive science
Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology	Halle	cultural studies, jurisprudence, social and behavioural sciences
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy	Heidelberg	astronomy, astrophysics
Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics	Garching	astronomy, astrophysics
Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History	Rome (Italy)	cultural studies
Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry	Martinsried	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, immunology, infection biology, medicine, structural biology, cell biology
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry	Jena	microbiology, ecology, earth science, climatology
Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence	Martinsried / Seewiesen	organismic biology, ornithology, neurobiology, behavioural ecology, evolutionary biology, evolutionary genetics, neuroscience
Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing	Cologne	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, structural biology, cell biology
Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine	Münster	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, immunology, infection biology, medicine, structural biology, cell biology
Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen	Tübingen	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, botany, structural biology, cell biology
Max Planck Institute of Biophysics	Frankfurt	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, structural biology, cell biology
Max Planck Institute for Brain Research	Frankfurt	neuroscience
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics	Dresden	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, neuroscience, structural biology, cell biology
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry	Mainz	chemistry, earth science, climatology
Max Planck Institute for Coal Research	Mülheim	chemistry, solid-state physics, materials science
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences	Leipzig	neuroscience, cognitive science, linguistics
Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods	Bonn	jurisprudence, social and behavioural sciences
Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces	Golm	immunology, infection biology, medicine, structural biology, cell biology chemistry, solid-state physics, materials science
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law	Freiburg	jurisprudence, social and behavioural sciences
Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics	Tübingen	neuroscience, cognitive science,
Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research	Rostock	social and behavioural sciences
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity	Göttingen	cultural studies, social and behavioural sciences
Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems	Magdeburg	structural biology, cell biology chemistry, complex systems
Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization	Göttingen	neuroscience, structural biology, cell biology solid-state physics, materials science, complex systems
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology	Jena	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, microbiology, ecology, neuroscience, botany
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion	Mülheim	structural biology, cell biology chemistry
Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society (associated institute)	Frankfurt	medicine, neuroscience
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology	Plön	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, behavioural biology
Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience	Jupiter, Florida (United States)	neuroscience, structural biology, cell biology
Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society	Tübingen	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, structural biology, cell biology
Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society	Berlin	chemistry, solid-state physics, materials science, particle physics, plasma physics, quantum mechanics
Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics	Berlin	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, immunology, infection biology, medicine
Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology	Jena	evolutionary biology, genetics, infection biology, social science, linguistics
Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics	Golm / Hanover	astronomy, astrophysics, particle physics, plasma physics, quantum mechanics
Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research	Bad Nauheim	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, immunology, infection biology, medicine, physiology
Max Planck Institute for the History of Science	Berlin	cultural studies
Max Planck Institute for Human Development	Berlin	cultural studies, cognitive science, social and behavioural sciences
Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics	Freiburg	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, immunology, infection biology, medicine
Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology	Berlin	immunology, infection biology, medicine
Max Planck Institute for Informatics	Saarbrücken	computer science
Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition	Munich	jurisprudence, social and behavioural sciences
Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems	Stuttgart / Tübingen	solid-state physics, materials science, structural biology, cell biology, computer science
Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz	Florence (Italy)	cultural studies
Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law	Hamburg	jurisprudence
Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law	Heidelberg	jurisprudence, social and behavioural sciences
Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy	Munich	jurisprudence, social and behavioural sciences
Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance	Munich	jurisprudence
Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory	Frankfurt	cultural studies, jurisprudence
Max Planck Institute for Mathematics	Bonn	mathematics
Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences	Leipzig	mathematics
Max Planck Institute for Medical Research	Heidelberg	structural biology, cell biology
Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research	Cologne	immunology, infection biology, medicine, neuroscience
Max Planck Institute for Meteorology	Hamburg	earth science, climatology
Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology	Bremen	microbiology, ecology, chemistry
Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology	Marburg	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, microbiology, ecology, botany
Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics	Halle	solid-state physics, materials science, particle physics, plasma physics, quantum mechanics
Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences	Göttingen	neuroscience, medicine, chemistry, structural biology, genetics, evolutionary biology, developmental biology, cell biology, infection biology, immunology, particle physics, plasma physics, quantum mechanics
Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar	Bonn	developmental biology, genetics, immunology, medicine, neuroscience, structural biology, cell biology
Max Planck Research Unit for Neurogenetics	Frankfurt	genetics, medicine, neuroscience, cell biology
Research Group Social Neuroscience	Berlin	neuroscience, social and behavioural sciences
Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens	Berlin	genetics, immunology, infection biology, medicine, microbiology
Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics	Heidelberg	astronomy, astrophysics, particle physics, plasma physics, quantum mechanics
Max Planck Institute for Physics	Garching	astronomy, astrophysics, particle physics, plasma physics, quantum mechanics
Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems	Dresden	solid-state physics, materials science, complex systems
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids	Dresden	chemistry, solid-state physics, materials science, particle physics, plasma physics, quantum mechanics
Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics	Garching	astronomy, astrophysics, complex systems
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light	Erlangen	solid-state physics, materials science, quantum mechanics, medicine, microbiology, cell biology
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology	Dortmund	structural biology, cell biology physiology, chemistry
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research	Cologne	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, botany
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology	Golm	botany, structural biology, cell biology, physiology
Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics	Garching / Greifswald	particle physics, plasma physics, quantum mechanics
Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research	Mainz	structural biology, cell biology chemistry, solid-state physics, materials science
Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry	Munich	developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, immunology, infection biology, medicine, neuroscience, physiology, cognitive science,
Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics	Nijmegen (Netherlands)	cognitive science, linguistics
Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics	Garching	particle physics, plasma physics, quantum mechanics
Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy	Bonn	astronomy, astrophysics
Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy	Bochum	computer science
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies	Cologne	social and behavioural sciences
Max Planck Institute for Software Systems	Kaiserslautern / Saarbrücken	computer science
Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research	Göttingen	astronomy, astrophysics
Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research	Stuttgart	chemistry, solid-state physics, materials science, particle physics, plasma physics, quantum mechanics
Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter	Hamburg	solid-state physics, materials science
Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials	Düsseldorf	chemistry, solid-state physics, materials science

Former

• Max Planck Institute for the Study of Living Conditions in the Scientific and Technical World (founded in 1970, renamed to Max Planck Institut for Social Sciences in 1980, closed in 1984)
• Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (merged with the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine to form the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, 1 January 2022)
• Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine (merged with the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry to form the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, 1 January 2022)
• Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology (merged with the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology to form the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, 1 January 2023)
• Max Planck Institute for Ornithology (merged with the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology to form the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, 1 January 2023)
• Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law (transferred to the University of Luxembourg, 1 January 2024)

See also

• List of institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health
• Ernst Strüngmann Institute
• List of IBS Centers