News

Kongress MSE 2026 bringt internationale Materialwissenschaft nach Darmstadt

Vom 29. September bis 1. Oktober 2026 wird die TU Darmstadt zum Treffpunkt der internationalen Community aus Materialwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnik. Der Materials Science and Engineering Congress (MSE 2026) bringt Wissenschaftler:innen, Ingenieur:innen und Industrievertreter:innen zusammen, um aktuelle Entwicklungen von Digitalisierung und additiver Fertigung bis zu nachhaltigen Werkstoffkreisläufen zu diskutieren. Forschende der TU Darmstadt sind dabei nicht nur mit Beiträgen vertreten, sondern gestalten auch das wissenschaftliche Programm maßgeblich mit.

Future founders turn science into business opportunities

The Start-up Summer School 2026 organized by the Centre for Synthetic Biology at the TU Darmstadt and Futury brought together 23 ambitious early career researchers from the fields of life sciences, engineering and computer science to explore one key question: How can cutting-edge research become a successful start-up?

Eine Reise vom TURM-Observatorium bis zu Neutronensternen

Awards for Interdisciplinary Research

As part of the lectures at the Start-Up Summer School on September 7, 2026, the Center for Synthetic Biology at TU Darmstadt presented this year’s Center Thesis Awards. The awards recognize outstanding theses in the profile topic synthetic biology.

International research and excellent education for the future

Outstanding EU-funded projects are a key component of the research profile at the Technical University of Darmstadt. In the Research Field Matter + Materials (M+M), the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) in particular make an important contribution to supporting early-career researchers and fostering international research collaboration.

Forschende der TU Darmstadt untersuchen Auswirkungen der Schwerelosigkeit

Lange Aufenthalte im All können die Knochen schwächen – ein Risiko für künftige Missionen zum Mond oder Mars. Forschende vom Fachbereich Maschinenbau der TU Darmstadt untersuchen deshalb, ob gezielte mechanische Reize den fehlenden Einfluss der Schwerkraft ersetzen können. Das Projekt ist Teil des „Cellbox-Programms“ der Deutschen Raumfahrtagentur, eine Forschungsinitiative, die biologische und medizinische Experimente in der Schwerelosigkeit ermöglicht.

Researchers at TU Darmstadt and the University of Edinburgh develop new RNA tools

Caffeine is found in coffee, energy drinks and medicines. But what if we could not only consume caffeine, but also use it as a molecular switch? This is precisely what an international research team from TU Darmstadt and the University of Edinburgh has achieved. In a recent study published in “Nucleic Acids Research”, they present a new RNA aptamer – a molecule that reacts specifically to caffeine and can be used in various synthetic RNA tools.

Darmstadt Researchers Improve Models for How Heavy Elements are Created

Where do gold, platinum, and uranium come from? This question has fascinated astrophysicists and nuclear physicists for decades. A research team from Technische Universität Darmstadt has now taken an important step toward understanding the origin of heavy elements. Their findings, published in Physical Review Letters, demonstrate for the first time how modern ab initio calculations of atomic nuclei can significantly improve predictions of r-process nucleosynthesis, the mechanism responsible for creating many of the Universe’s heaviest elements.

From Research Idea to Start-Up

From September 7 to 10, 2026, the Center for Synthetic Biology at TU Darmstadt, in collaboration with Futury, will host the interdisciplinary Start-Up Summer School in Darmstadt and Frankfurt. Students, doctoral candidates, and postdocs in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, materials science, engineering, computer science and economics, as well as related disciplines, are invited to attend. The Start-Up Summer School offers participants the opportunity to develop scientific ideas in the field of synthetic biology into viable Start-Up concepts.

Study led by TU Darmstadt published in “Nature Communications”

The properties of ultra-thin magnets can be specifically altered by a minimal twist between two atomic monolayers. This is the conclusion reached by an international research team led by TU Darmstadt in a study that has now been published in the prestigious journal “Nature Communications”. The findings open up new prospects for future memory devices.

TU Darmstadt coordinates new LOEWE priority area “QuEnergy”

Through a new research consortium led by TU Darmstadt, scientists aim to lay new foundations for energy-efficient quantum technologies. The LOEWE “QuEnergy” research initiative is being funded by the State of Hesse with 4.8 million euros over four years from 2027 on. This is a close collaboration between TU Darmstadt and Philipps University of Marburg.

‘Proof of Concept’ grant for Professor Leopoldo Molina-Luna’s ‘CALIBRATE’ project

Leopoldo Molina-Luna, Professor for Electron Microscopy at TU Darmstadt, has once again been awarded a ‘Proof of Concept’ grant by the European Research Council (ERC). He is thus the first researcher at TU Darmstadt to receive ERC funding for the fifth time. The “CALIBRATE” project, which has now been awarded the grant, aims to establish a new calibration standard for transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

Dr. Johannes Dreizler mit Kurt-Ruths-Preis 2026 ausgezeichnet

Den mit 12.000 Euro dotierten Kurt-Ruths-Preis erhält in diesem Jahr Dr. Johannes Dreizler. Der Wissenschaftler hat am Fachbereich Chemie der TU Darmstadt promoviert und wurde für die Entwicklung neuartiger Moleküle als Wirkstoffe für die gezielte Krebstherapie ausgezeichnet.

Review article on position-momentum entanglement in quantum optics

Quantum technologies promise revolutionary advances in communication, imaging and sensor technology – yet their potential depends crucially on the quality and controllability of the underlying entanglement. Researchers at the Institute of Applied Physics within the Department of Physics at TU Darmstadt have now published a comprehensive review article on so-called position-momentum entanglement, which summarises the current state of the field and highlights prospects for future applications. The paper appeared in the renowned journal Laser & Photonics Reviews.

TU researchers improve understanding of the formation of heavy elements in the universe

How are heavy elements formed in the universe? Extremely neutron-rich atomic nuclei and their beta-decay rates play an important role in this process. Until now, it has been very difficult to determine these rates experimentally. Researchers at TU Darmstadt have developed theoretical predictions for such processes and successfully compared them with experimental data, where they exist. The results were published in the renowned journal “Physical Review Letters”.

Prof. Achim Schwenk appointed as external scientific member at Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik

The Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik (MPIK) is delighted to welcome Prof. Dr Achim Schwenk from the Technische Universität Darmstadt as a new external scientific member. The appointment recognises Schwenks outstanding contributions to theoretical nuclear physics and strengthens cross-institutional collaboration in a key research field of modern physics.

One new Collaborative Research Centre approved, one extended

TU Darmstadt has performed well in the current funding round for Collaborative Research Centres (CRC): the German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved the new CRC “Paper. With tailor-made properties to new applications”, which is based in Darmstadt. It has also extended funding for another Collaborative Research Centre, which is now entering its second funding phase and involves, among others, researchers from the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) working together. The success of the two Collaborative Research Centres also strengthens the “Matter” profile area of the Rhine-Main Universities Alliance.

20 Institute öffnen ihre Türen für den Girls’ Day 2026

Rund 300 Schülerinnen besuchen am heutigen Girls’ Day die TU Darmstadt. In 20 Instituten öffnen sich Türen zu Forschung und Lehre und geben Einblicke in unterschiedliche Fachgebiete.

Interview with Professor Torsten Frosch of TU Darmstadt, coordinator of the LOEWE “MultiDrug-TDM” research cluster

A novel intelligent sensor system that significantly improves cancer treatment for paediatric patients: Researchers from TU Darmstadt and Goethe University Frankfurt have been working on this interdisciplinary innovation since the start of the year as part of the “MultiDrug-TDM” project. Coordinator Professor Torsten Frosch from TU Darmstadt provides an insight into the research project.