The European university alliance Unite! meets from September 24 to 26 and presents itself to the public

Since its inception five years ago, the Unite! University Network for Innovation, Technology, and Engineering has thrived thanks to the collaborative efforts of its nine partner universities. Under the theme “Inspiring People – Sparking Innovation,” these events aim to emphasise the collaboration between universities and society, as well as to showcase and disseminate the achievements of the alliance to a wider public.

With renowned international guest speakers

Researchers from the cluster project “The Adaptive Mind” (TAM) with the participation of TU Darmstadt have met for a two-day symposium. At the event in early June at Rauischholzhausen Castle in central Hesse, they discussed the topics of cognition, scene perception, maladaptation and sensory learning. TAM is competing for a Cluster of Excellence in the prestigious Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments.

TU researchers have deciphered the processes that take place in the human mind during navigation

How can human navigation behaviour and its uncertainty be understood? A team of researchers led by TU professor Constantin Rothkopf has provided answers to this question in an article now published in the journal “Nature Communications”. According to their computational analysis, the brain uses both information from body cues (such as the motor memory of the path already travelled) and an internal mental map for navigation. The brain takes into account that the available information is incomplete, imprecise and uncertain – and continuously recomputes the path while considering the respective uncertainties.

TU Darmstadt coordinates EU consortium on macrocycles

Macrocycles are a special class of drugs with complex properties, which can enable unprecedented therapeutic approaches. Now the EU-funded consortium “MC4DD”, led by TU Darmstadt, is focussing on the understanding and accessibility of macrocycles in order to expand the possibilities of drug development.

Machine learning for electron microscopy: Leopoldo Molina-Luna receives EU funding

Leopoldo Molina-Luna, Professor of Electron Microscopy at TU Darmstadt, is the first TU researcher to receive funding from the European Research Council (ERC) for the fourth time. Following Starting and Consolidator Grants, Molina-Luna is now receiving a Proof of Concept Grant. The new project “BED-TEM”, which is receiving 150,000 euros of funding for 18 months, aims to make methods of machine learning accessible for use in electron microscopy in a user-friendly manner. In doing so, it should help to optimise the design of experiments.

Millisecond pulsars are rotating neutron stars that emit regular electromagnetic signals, similar to lighthouses. The pulsar PSR J0437-4715 is the closest to Earth and thus the brightest. Researchers with the participation of TU Darmstadt have now gained new insights into the neutron star’s radius and its consequences for the equation of state of dense matter. The results are published in a series of papers in the renowned journal “The Astrophysical Journal Letters”.

Portrait of Athene Young Investigator Dr Andrea Belluati

The research team headed by Dr. Andrea Belluati has made a breakthrough in the synthesis of artificial cells. The biotechnologist at TU Darmstadt was involved in research to create artificial cells that resemble real ones. This success could have a lasting impact on the health care sector. Belluati carries out his research at the Centre for Synthetic Biology at TU Darmstadt and has now been selected as a new Athene Young Investigator.

TU Darmstadt research team presents innovative safety tool “LlavaGuard”

Researchers at the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Lab (AIML) in the Department of Computer Science at TU Darmstadt and the Hessian Center for Artificial Intelligence (hessian.AI) have developed a method that uses vision language models to filter, evaluate, and suppress specific image content in large datasets or from image generators. The research is part of the “Reasonable Artificial Intelligence (RAI)” cluster project, which has submitted a full application to the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments for the “Clusters of Excellence” funding line.

TU research team publication in renowned journal “Physical Review Letters”

Neutron stars are extreme objects whose inner matter can take on exotic forms. Researchers at TU Darmstadt and the University of Copenhagen have now been able to predict a new phase that favours “nuclear pasta”.

Athene Young Investigator Lisa Wille deals with the present – and researches the past to do so

How have the literature and bourgeoisie of the 18th century shaped our current understanding of individuality, uniqueness and gender? How has Americanisation and US consumer culture influenced our society since the time of the Weimar Republic? The cultural and literary scholar Dr. Lisa Wille focuses on these questions in her research. The new Athene Young Investigator also has a degree in economics.

State programme supports application for Cluster of Excellence “Reasonable Artificial Intelligence”

Professor Dr. Carsten Binnig, an expert in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Management, has been awarded a LOEWE Top Professorship at TU Darmstadt. The state of Hesse is thus supporting the “Reasonable Artificial Intelligence (RAI)” research project as part of the Excellence Strategy of the federal and state governments. At the beginning of the year, the project successfully cleared the first hurdle on its way to becoming a Cluster of Excellence. The LOEWE Professorship will be funded over five years with around two million euros from LOEWE funds.

Research paper published in PNAS

Our heartbeat and also the function of our nerve cells are regulated by special ion channels – so-called HCN channels. A research team from Milan and Darmstadt has now deciphered how the substance ivabradine from a commonly used heart medicine influences these channels. This discovery, which has now been published in the renowned journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”, could lead to the development of new, more precise medicines for the treatment of heart problems, without any undesired side effects in the brain.

Publication by TU researchers in the renowned journal “Physical Review Letters”

Atomic nuclei can be tiny magnets. Their magnetic moment can be precisely measured, but the corresponding calculations have been deficient until now. Physicists from TU Darmstadt have now solved this problem, as they report in the journal “Physical Review Letters”.

Portrait of Athene Young Investigator Dr Henning Bonart

Dr. Henning Bonart is the head of a research group at the Institute for Nano- and Microfluidics in the Mechanical Engineering Department and a newly appointed Athene Young Investigator at TU Darmstadt. The fluid process engineer wants to apply the statistical methods used in the field of uncertainty quantification and physics-based machine learning to reconcile computer simulations with time-consuming laboratory experiments or processes in microfluidics more reliably than before.

Unite’s Virtual Exchange Credit Programme (VECP)

Studying abroad without leaving home might seem paradoxical, but it's a reality thanks to Unite’s Virtual Exchange Credit Programme (VECP). The VECP initiative was launched July 2020 in response to the global pandemic. The aim was to create new opportunities for students to continue their academic journey despite the mobility challenges posed by COVID-19. The current offer is available, registration is open.