of the pancreas which he conducted enabled him to detect genes involved in the development of insulin-producing islets of Langerhans. This also provided the basis for differentiating stem cells in insulin-producing cells. Work as president of the Max Planck Society Upon taking office, Gruss was regarded by the press as an "American-style man of action" and an "unassuming high flyer". In his inaugural speech, Gruss focused on the financial scope for science: he called for the introduction of a collective bargaining law specifically for the field of science to enable Germany to attract the world's best scientists. He also spoke out in favour of a reliable financial framework: "Only adequate rates of increase – predefined for a lengthy period of time – for the budget of the MPS can guarantee planning security".<ref>Translated from German, see http://www.pro-physik.de/details/physikjournalIssue/1089825/Issue_7_2002.html#1091687Neuer MPG-Präsidente warnt vor Kürzungen, Physik Journal 1 (2002), Nr. 7/8, page 10</ref> The institutes were faced with potentially having to make cuts in their budgets after the Society's budget had not been raised as much as requested in past years. Gruss pointed out on numerous occasions that the appointment of directors at the Max Planck Society involved competing with some of the world's leading research institutions: "Yet we at Max Planck are not competing with the average – we are competing with the Harvards, the Cambridges and ETH Zurichs of this world". He went on to say that Germany was not internationally competitive when it came to pay, but that the Max Planck Society was largely able to offset this disadvantage due to the support it enjoyed from the Max Planck Foundation and thanks to its world-renowned planning security. A first step towards improving the financial conditions for top scientists from overseas was the Freedom of Science Initiative of the German Government, which has offered non-university research institutions new financial freedoms since 2009. During Gruss's term in office, numerous institutes were reorganised or newly established: The MPI for Research on Collective Goods and the MPI for Ornithology had their status raised from research group to institute; the MPI for History was reorganised to become the MPI for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, while the MPI for Biology of Ageing and the MPI for the Science of Light were newly established. The Max Planck Florida Institute marks the first institute of the Max Planck Society to be established outside of Europe; it is