In 1924, the Institute was founded as Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Flow Research with Ludwig Prandtl as Managing Director. After World War II, in 1948, it was re-opened as Max Planck Institute for Flow Research, expanded and re-organized in 1969 with three additional departments, which were oriented in Molecular Physics. In 1993, the Department of Flow Research was closed. In 1996, Theo Geisel was appointed Director and founded the Department of Nonlinear Dynamics. In 1996, the Department of Reaction Kinetics was closed, followed by the Departments of Atom and Molecular Physics as well as the Department of Molecular Interactions, which were closed in 2001. In 2003, Stephan Herminghaus and Eberhard Bodenschatz were appointed Directors. On November 19, 2004, the Institute was re-named as Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization.

• Max Planck Society