Successful next step in the Excellence Strategy TU Darmstadt has the chance of establishing three Clusters of Excellence

Huge success for the Technical University of Darmstadt: In the prestigious Excellence Strategy from the German federal and state governments, TU Darmstadt has reached an important milestone. It has been selected and invited to prepare full applications for the outline proposals “Reasonable Artificial Intelligence” (RAI), “The Adaptive Mind” (TAM) and “CoM2Life” in fields of artificial intelligence, cognitive science and biomaterials and submit them for funding as part of the Cluster of Excellence funding line. The selections were made by an international panel of experts. A total of 143 outline proposals were submitted to the German Research Foundation (DFG), of which 41 have now been invited to submit full applications for the second round of the Excellence Strategy funding programme.

The cluster project CoM2Life

Researchers in the CoM2Life project at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research and TU Darmstadt are conducting research into biomaterials that will enable medical innovations such as tissue repair or the development of artificial organs.

The cluster project “Reasonable Artificial Intelligence” (RAI)

Although deep learning (DL) has enabled important advances in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) over the last ten years, current AI systems have displayed some significant weaknesses, such as an inability to reason, difficulty handling new situations and a need for continuous adjustments. Last but not least, current AI systems also require substantial resources. The aim of the Cluster of Excellence project “Reasonable Artificial Intelligence” (RAI) is thus to develop the next generation of reasonable AI.

The cluster project “The Adaptive Mind” clears the first hurdle in its application for Cluster of Excellence funding

The research project “The Adaptive Mind” (TAM), in which TU Darmstadt is participating, was successful in the first round of the Excellence Strategy. The researchers are now able to submit a full application – and hope that they will ultimately be awarded a prestigious Cluster of Excellence grant. The project aims to understand how the human mind is able to adapt.

As part of a Unite! seed funded project, researchers and scientists from KTH Stockholm, TU Darmstadt and TU Graz focus on joint training, hands-on collaboration and new insights in the field of renewable biotechnology.

Graz University of Technology is hosting the upcoming Unite! Dialogue, titled "Think Beyond: Unite! for Collective and Sustainable Impact”, scheduled to take place from the 27th to the 29th of February 2024.

UNITE.H2020 comes to an end – UNITE!Widening begins

The UNITE.H2020 project has shaped an integrated R&I strategy for the European University Alliance Unite!, concluding in December 2023. The follow-up UNITE!Widening project, starting in January 2024, aims to strengthen scientific capabilities in Portugal and Poland, highlighted in a Lisbon meeting on February 1st and 2nd.

Publication in “Nature Physics”

Physicists in Darmstadt are investigating ageing processes in materials. For the first time, they have measured the ticking of an internal clock in glass. When evaluating the data, they discovered a surprising phenomenon.

Interview with Eric Maercker from Energy Management

Eric Maercker is working on reducing the TU's energy consumption and paving the way for a CO₂-neutral university. In an interview, the 39-year-old explains, among other things, how the TU is supplied with energy and what his most urgent tasks are at the moment.

TU professor Sascha Preu receives Proof of Concept Grant from the European Research Council

With his “Photonic Vector Network Analyzers” (PhoVeNA) project, TU professor Sascha Preu (Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology) has received a Proof of Concept Grant for 150,000 euros from the European Research Council ERC. The project focuses on developing photonic characterization systems for the next generation of communication technology, which operates in the terahertz range.

Study finds biases in behavioral economic theories learned with artificial intelligence

Researchers at the Centre for Cognitive Science at TU Darmstadt and hessian.AI investigate the properties of behavioral economic theories automatically learned by AI in a publication in “Nature Human Behaviour”.

Matchmaking event helps with team building

This time those interested can participate in​ ​a virtual matchmaking event to connect with potential partners, so that more Unite! projects can become a reality. The next call will start on 15 January 2024.

Now Open for Unite! Faculty

The course “Sustainability in Teaching” provides theoretical knowledge about sustainability education and practical examples that help to integrate sustainability into your own teaching. Registrations are possible until 2 February 2024.

Application period open

CoDaS, one of the first joint degree programmes offered by the Unite! alliance, has been granted the prestigious Erasmus Mundus funding by Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union in 2023. The application period for studies starting in autumn 2024 is currently ongoing from 4 Dec 2023 to 19 Jan 2024.

Best Paper Award: Outstanding Publication by TU Researchers Recognised

One application area of artificial intelligence (AI) is in medicine, especially in medical diagnostics. For instance, scans can be analysed automatically with the help of algorithms. An international and interdisciplinary team led by researchers from TU Darmstadt recently investigated whether AI can better evaluate images of brain tumours. For this publication, the team won the Best Paper Award at the world’s largest information systems conference ICIS, prevailing over more than 1,300 other publications.

As part of a Unite! seed funded project, researchers and scientists from KTH Stockholm, TU Darmstadt and TU Graz focus on joint training, hands-on collaboration and new insights in the field of renewable biotechnology.

Sustainable processes for the utilization of carbon dioxide and biomass as future resource base of the industry will highly influence the circular bioeconomy. TU Graz, KTH and TU Darmstadt already hold a strong position in the field of renewable biotechnology, including microbial and enzymatic CO2 utilization and the biocatalytic synthesis of high-value products and commodities. Together they want to unite and expand the biotechnology division within European universities.