Overview of BORA members
In the Bonn Research Alliance (BORA), our 12 BORA members combine different areas of expertise, especially in the fields of life and health, maths and modelling, matter and the universe, data and digitalization, security, sustainability and society, which manifest themselves in close cooperation (in research projects, training programmes and joint appointments). On this page, all BORA members are briefly introduced with their research focuses.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing SCAI combines know-how in mathematical and computational methods with a focus on the development of innovative algorithms and their take-up in industrial practice – bringing benefits to customers and partners.
Research fields
Fraunhofer SCAI‘s research fields in Computational Science include machine learning
and data analysis, optimization, multiphysics, energy network evaluation, virtual
material design, numerical data-driven prediction, meshfree multiscale methods, fast
solvers, bioinformatics, high-performance computing, and computational finance.
From research to professional software solutions: The business areas of Fraunhofer
SCAI cover the entire range from research to prototypes to customer-specific solutions.
The world-leading software solutions are marketed internationally.
Research with the University of Bonn
Connections to university research are established through the chair of Prof. Dr.
Michael Griebel at the University of Bonn and through an academic partnership with
the Institute for Numerical Simulation (INS), also at the University of Bonn. The INS
is a mathematical research institute at the University of Bonn focusing on scientific
computing, numerical analysis, and numerical simulation. In its research work, the
institute develops tools for numerical simulation in natural sciences and engineering,
geosciences, medicine, life sciences, business, and finance.
Collaborations with the University of Bonn
The Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology (b-it) is one of Europe’s leading institutions for cutting-edge research and higher education in informatics. We shape digital transformation in exchange with economy and society and focus on data science and its application areas media, life sciences and autonomous systems.
The service center "WestAI" is a consortium of scientific organizations in North Rhine-Westphalia led by the University of Bonn. The services offered to customers from science and industry include support in the processing of data, in the transfer of AI technologies, in preliminary research and in the development of prototypes and customer-specific AI solutions.
The Institute for Numerical Simulation is devoted to the design and implementation of computational tools for scientific applications in the Natural and Engineering Sciences, Geosciences and Geodesy, Medicine and Life Sciences, and Economy and Finance.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and ErgonomicsFKIE develops technologies and processes with the aim of early detection, mitigation and management of existential risks. In close cooperation with strategic partners, the institute is dedicated to the entire processing chain of data and information: from acquisition, transmission and processing to reliable protection.
Research focus
The human factor is of central importance to the work carried out at Fraunhofer FKIE.
Research focuses on developing effective and efficient human-machine systems:
people are placed at the center as decision makers and responsible actors. In the
context of the German Armed Forces, civilian security agencies and the industry, the
Fraunhofer FKIE develops methods and procedures for all aspects of security – be it
on the ground, in the air, at sea, under water or in cyberspace.
The Fraunhofer FKIE is active in six interdisciplinary research fields as a leading
institute for applied research and application-oriented innovation in information and
communications technology. It has built up specialized knowledge and its research
ranges from studies and tests to the development of prototypes.
Collaborations with the University of Bonn
One focus of the Department IV “Security and Networked Systems” is the detection and analysis of attacks on IT systems. Particular attention is paid to the social acceptance of the solutions developed, e.g., through the use of pseudonymization and anonymization. The human factors of IT security are also being researched. The aim here is to better support people in the areas of development and administration.
Application-oriented research into efficient and secure data exchange is the focus of the working groups, whose close links with the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE and central players such as the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the Federal Police or the Cyber and Information Space Command (KdoCIR) make this possible.
The biodiversity of insects, birds and mammals continues to decline. This trend is also reflected to a similar extent in the plant world, especially in the agricultural landscape. However, while climate researchers have been collecting data on climate development for decades and are thus able to demonstrate changes and make forecasts, comparable data material on the Earth's biodiversity is lacking. To date, there is no broad-based and automated monitoring program, nor are the necessary technical prerequisites and infrastructure in place. In the public perception, the topic therefore remains abstract. Reliable figures and conclusions are needed to give it the attention it urgently deserves. So far, however, these have either not been available at all or have been spatially limited, which diminishes their significance. Experts agree that the extent of the problem can only be understood with the help of a sound data basis on the status quo and development of the biosphere.
As part of the largest organization for applied research in Europe, the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems IAIS, based in Sankt Augustin/Bonn and Dresden, is one of the leading scientific institutes in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning and Big Data in Germany and Europe.
Research focus
Around 350 employees support companies in the optimization of products, services, as well as in the development of new technologies, and processes, and new digital business models. Fraunhofer IAIS is shaping the digital transformation of our working and living environments: with innovative AI applications for industry, health, and sustainability, with forward-looking technologies such as large-scale AI language models or Quantum Machine Learning, with offers for training and education or for the testing of AI applications for security and trustworthiness.
Local Cooperation
Bundled research expertise door to door – Fraunhofer IAIS and the neighboring Institute for Computer Science at the University of Bonn as well as the Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology (b-it; funded by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the University of Bonn, the RWTH Aachen, and the Bonn- Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (H-BRS)) work closely together in common areas of research and interest.
Collaborations with the University of Bonn
The Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology (b-it) is one of Europe’s leading institutions for cutting-edge research and higher education in informatics. We shape digital transformation in exchange with economy and society and focus on data science and its application areas media, life sciences and autonomous systems.
KI.NRW supports the transformation of North Rhine-Westphalia into a nationwide leading location for applied artificial intelligence (AI). The aim is to accelerate the transfer of AI from cutting-edge research to industry, to establish a model region for professional qualification in AI and to promote the social dialog about AI. In doing so, KI.NRW places people and their ethical principles at the center of the design of artificial intelligence.
Together with the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and the German Institute for Standardization (DIN) as well as other research partners, Fraunhofer IAIS is developing test procedures for the certification of artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
The aim is to ensure technical reliability and responsible use of the technology. Industrial requirements are taken into account through the active involvement of numerous associated companies and organizations representing various industries such as telecommunications, banking, insurance, chemicals and trade.
WestAI gives players from business and science access to AI models and high-performance AI computing infrastructures. It supports start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises in using state-of-the-art AI technologies to turn innovative ideas into reality and open up new fields of application.
PhenoRob performs world-leading research in robotics and phenotyping for sustainable crop production. Our vision is to transform crop production by optimizing breeding and farming management through developing and deploying new technologies. PhenoRob addresses a real-world problem with a technology-oriented approach. Our scientists have backgrounds in computer science, geodesy, robotics, plant science, soil science, economics, and environmental science. This interdisciplinary team forms the only DFG-funded Cluster of Excellence focusing on agriculture.
DZNE is a member of the Helmholtz Association (Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren). It researches neurodegeneration and the
wide range of diseases it triggers. In addition to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, this also includes less common diseases such as frontotemporal
dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinocerebellar ataxia, and childhood dementia.
DZNE consists of ten sites – Berlin, Bonn, Dresden, Göttingen, Magdeburg, Munich, Rostock/Greifswald, Tübingen, Ulm and Witten – and pools expertise
distributed nationwide within a single research institute. With some 600 employees, Bonn is the DZNE’s largest site as well as the seat of the Executive
Board and the central administration. The location’s research covers a wide variety of topics and disciplines, ranging from studies in the laboratory to human clinical studies and population health studies.
Research focus
DZNE dedicates its efforts towards all aspects of neurodegenerative diseases – from molecular mechanisms to health care and patient care. In order to cover this wide range of topics, DZNE pursues an interdisciplinary scientific strategy that includes various interlinked areas of research: DZNE scientists work together across disciplines and sites, so that new findings can be rapidly transferred into practical application. Within this “translational” approach, DZNE collaborates with universities, university hospitals, research institutes and research-driven companies – both in Germany and worldwide.
Collaborations with the University of Bonn
Bonn International Graduate School Clinical and Population Science
BIGS Clinical and Population Science offers a structured 3-year PhD program covering a wide range of research activities in both individual and population health areas. As an interdisciplinary research program, BIGS Clinical and Population Science combines the resources of two different Faculties, (Medicine and Agriculture) and also works in close collaboration with top-level independent research institutes located in Bonn, such as the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE).
This program offers diverse research opportunities with a methodological emphasis on genetics, imaging, and biostatistics. In this world-class research environment, our students work with excellent scientists on highly relevant projects, learning the latest techniques.
Bonn International Graduate School Neuroscience
BIGS Neuroscience offers a structured 3-year PhD in a top-level, internationally competitive program. The school takes an interdisciplinary approach to this rapidly developing field, focused on understanding the molecular and cellular processes underlying complex behavior as well as studying disorders of the central nervous system to discover their mechanisms and develop new treatments. The program provides access to the Bonn Neuroscience community working on topics ranging from molecular and cellular neurobiology, behaviour, computational neuroscience to psychology. Students can use advanced technology platforms and core facilities. Our affiliated scientists come from the Faculties of Medicine, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, and Arts of the University of Bonn, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association (DZNE), and the Max Planck Society’s Caesar Research Institute.
Bonn International Graduate School of Immunosciences and Infection
The Bonn International Graduate School (BIGS) Immunosciences and Infection, was established in 2016 on the basis of the Graduate Program International Immunology Training Program Bonn (IITB) developed by ImmunoSensation. The BIGS Immunosciences and Infection now provides a unique framework for all PhD students in the fields of immunology and infectious disease in Bonn. Furthermore, BIGS serves as an umbrella for other structured PhD programs in immunology, e.g. the International Research Training Group (IRTG) 2168 between Bonn and Melbourne.
International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Brain & Behavior
IMPRS for Brain and Behavior is a collaboration between the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar (MPINB), the University of Bonn, and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn, Germany. The program aims to recruit outstanding doctoral students and immerse them in a stimulating environment that provides novel technologies to elucidate the function of brain circuits from molecules to animal behavior.
One of the central questions of biology is how brain circuitry enables animals to make sense of their environment by integrating relevant sensory signals to generate appropriate behaviors. Establishing the link between brain circuits and behavior is known as ‘neuroethology’, which aims to understand how the collective activity of the vast numbers of interconnected neurons in the brain gives rise to the diversity of animal behaviors. To gain a full understanding of brain circuitry underlying a specific behavior requires the combination of research approaches focusing on different levels of detail - ranging from the anatomical reconstruction of neural circuits to the quantitative behavioral analysis of freely moving animals and natural behavior. The IMPRS for Brain and Behavior is unique and distinguishes itself from other graduate schools in the field of neuroscience by focusing its efforts on providing theoretical and methodological training in neuroethology and modern neuroscience methods.
ImmunoSensation2 is a Cluster of Excellence funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). We are dedicated to the study of innate immunity beyond the boundaries of classical immunology. We adress the immune system as a sensory organ for health, which we term the immune sensory system. We are immunologists, neurobiologists, systems biologists, biochemists, biophysicists and mathematicians from the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Bonn and the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) of the Helmholtz Association.
Founded in 2012, ImmunoSensation2 is currently in its eleventh year of funding. We continue to pursue our mission of innovative science in immunology. Further, we link immunology to other systems, such as the metabolic system and the nervous system. Ultimately, we want to better understand the intimate connection between the immune sensory system and human health and disease.
NRW Networks 2021: "iBehave: Algorithms of Adaptive Behavior and their Neuronal Implementation in Health and Disease"
The North Rhine-Westphalian state government is supporting five outstanding research networks in pioneering research fields with a total of 81.2 million euros. Among them is "iBehave" under the leadership of the University of Bonn, which is being funded with around 20 million euros.
Humans and animals live in a constantly changing environment. The ability to flexibly adapt behavior to changing demands is critical for all organisms to thrive and survive. Consequently, humans and animals have evolved the ability to make decisions that weigh benefits and costs based on expectations. Difficulties in making such decisions and in implementing them through adaptive motor control are central features of many neurological diseases, yet the underlying processes in the brain are poorly understood. In iBehave, researchers are collaborating across disciplines and species to study survival-related behaviors and their underlying neural networks.
"We want to use computer science and artificial intelligence to better understand how the brain controls behaviors such as decision-making," says Prof. Grunwald Kadow, who is also a member of the Transdisciplinary Research Area "Life and Health" at the University of Bonn. In the next step, the researchers want to transfer their findings to the diagnosis and prediction of neurological diseases in humans. In the medium term, iBehave researchers want to take their technologies and findings out of the lab and into the clinic. "We are convinced that our methods of analyzing behavior and brain activity could represent or bring about a paradigm shift in diagnosis and therapy."
The aim of the funding program is to sustainably strengthen existing topic-related and cross-location research networks of universities, universities of applied sciences and non-university research institutes, to expand them and to increase their visibility and international competitiveness. The support is scheduled to run for four years from August 2022.
The Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) comprises the Museum Koenig Bonn and the Museum of Nature Hamburg. It is dedicated to research into biological diversity and how it changes, the findings from which have illuminating relevance for society as a whole. To better understand ongoing mass extinction of flora and fauna, scientists look for correlations and causes of – often – human-made changes and aim to find solutions for the conservation and preservation of ecosystems and species – the livelihood of mankind. Included and connected to our research on biodiversity is Knowledge Transfer on these themes in the Museum Koenig Bonn with its research collections and its exhibition for the public.
Four Research Centres
The LIB structures its work tasks in four centres:
In addition to taxonomic and morphological research, evolutionary biological questions are at the forefront of the research of the scientists and their working groups. They analyse the origin of species, their phylogeny and classification as well as their adaptation to the environment.
The analysis of completely sequenced genomes will play a fundamental role in phylogenetics and evolutionary biology in the foreseeable future. The study results and research methods are used to illustrate lineages and support the authorities in the reliable determination of species. The spectrum of tasks ranges from molecular taxonomy and barcoding, research on speciation processes and evolutionary genomics to bioinformatics and biobanking.
Here, researchers face the challenges of global biodiversity decline. Their tasks include studies on the drivers of biodiversity change – but also technology development for modern monitoring. The extensively collected data is evaluated, taking into account current trends, up to and including climate research and agricultural and environmental policy.
Together with the other research museums of the Leibniz Association, the LIB is becoming a cornerstone of knowledge transfer. The explanation of biodiversity, its change and relevance for our society are at the centre of the programmes and activities. Educational and outreach programmes in cooperation with schools, universities and other educational institutions aim to raise awareness of the ecological challenges facing our planet.
Highlights
For its analyses, the LIB draws on its valuable scientific collections comprising more than 15 million objects, which are continuously expanding. Using stateof-the-art technology and various methods, scientists examine these “reference databases” – the collections and heart of the institute – to answer relevant questions about our society for the future. By comparing current data and evidence from organisms, the scientific collections help to outline the impact of humans on the environment and to model future scenarios.
Collaborations with the University of Bonn
Gemeinsame Zusammenarbeit mit dem Bonner Institut für Organismische Biologie (BIOB).
Mitglieder des BIOB sind Generaldirektor Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof und die Zentrumsleiter Prof. Dr. Christoph Scherber (Zentrum für Biodiversitätsmonitoring und Naturschutzforschung) und Prof. Dr. A. Suh (Zentrum für Molekulare Biodiversitätsforschung).
Dazu gehören verschiedene Forschungsprojekte.
Prof. Dr. Christoph Scherber, Leiter des Zentrums für Biodiversitätsmonitoring (zbm) ist Mitgliled im Transdisziplinären Forschungsbereich "Innovation und Technologie für eine nachhaltige Zukunft (TRA Sustainable Futures)" und im Exzellenzcluster PhenoRob.
The LIB, Museum Koenig Bonn supervises approx. 20 BSc and 30 MSc students per year and teaches 6-10 courses per semester in the OEP Master's program (some of which are also open to BSc students):
- Evolution of Mammals - Form and Function (MSc)
- Bioinformatics for Master Students – Beginner's course (MSc)
- Biodiversitätsforschung (BSc)
- Patterns and Processes Shaping Biodiversity (MSc)
- Bioinformatics and Evolutionary Genomics (MSc)
- Evolution and Biodiversity of Lower Vertebrates (MSc)
- Beginners course: Programming in C/C++ (MSc)
- Biodiversity of the Tropics, with a field trip to Ecuador (MSc)
- Evolution, Diversity, and Biology of Arthropods (MSc)
- Zoogeography and ecology of marine organisms in tropical habitats (with excursion to the Red Sea, Dahab/Egypt) (BSc, MSc)
- Principles of Taxonomy: Weekend Seminar (BSc, MSc)
- Experimental design and statistics with R (MSc)
- Animal ecology and methods in biodiversity monitoring (MSc)
The Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods is located in the former residence of the Egyptian ambassador in the Bonn district of Gronau in the federal quarter (“Bundesviertel”) close to the Rhine and the UN. It does interdisciplinary work at the intersection of economics, law, and psychology. Most, but not all of the work is behavioral, combining theory, experiments and the analysis of observational data.
Research Groups
01.
Behavioral Law and Economics
Behavioral Law and Economics looks at the law from a social science perspective, often, but not only, from a behavioral science perspective. The research group deals with three major questions: Why is legal intervention necessary at all? In what ways can the law influence the behavior of its addressees? How is new law made and implemented?
02.
Experimental Economics Group
The Experimental Economics Group uses laboratory and field experiments to (a) study the formation of economic preferences (such as risk, time and social preferences) in childhood and adolescence, (b) measure the impact of educational interventions on human capital formation, and (c) improve the work climate in organizations.
03.
Economic Design & Behavior
Our research in the area of Economic Design & Behavior focuses on what could be called "Behavioral Economic Engineering". This combines tools from game theory and behavioral research to develop markets, algorithms and competitive strategies.
Highlights
- The Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods has established laboratory experiments as a legitimate approach to legal research.
- It has established the study of economic decision-making by children and adolescents as an important research topic even in the leading economic journals.
- It has contributed to crisis management, such as securing vaccine supplies, preventing power outages, reducing energy consumption and promoting climate protection.
Collaborations with the University of Bonn
ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy, a joint initiative of the Universities of Bonn and Cologne, aims to advance the analysis of markets & public policy in light of fundamental societal and technological challenges, such as digitalization, global financial crises, rising inequality and political polarization. Since 2019, ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy is funded as a Cluster of Excellence under the German Excellence Strategy. ECONtribute is the only Cluster of Excellence in Economics and neighbouring disciplines.
The development of responses to these societal challenges requires a comprehensive and innovative approach which takes account of societal objectives beyond economic efficiency, legal and political constraints and makes use of innovative research designs. To this end, the Cluster brings together outstanding researchers from economics and neighboring disciplines – management, psychology, political science and law – from the Universities of Bonn and Cologne, the Behavior and Inequality Research Institute (briq) and the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods and organizes their research activities under the roof of the Reinhard Selten Institute (RSI).
The ECONtribute network promotes two-way knowledge exchange between researchers and policymakers.
Institutions are ubiquitous. All human behavior is embedded in and guided by formal and informal institutions. The discipline of economics models individuals as having well-defined preferences, and as maximizing their personal well-being. In this perspective, institutions are constraints.
In our research program, the following questions will guide us: How can one help institutional analysts and designers make more adequate definitions of the problems that call for intervention? And how can one help them design interventions that are more effective, and ideally also less intrusive? How can this program of making institutional design smarter come to life? The answers will not be found in the silo of one discipline.
7. Max Planck Institute for Mathematics (MPIM)
The Max Planck Institute for Mathematics is located in the city center of Bonn between Münsterplatz and Bottlerplatz. The institute has only a small number of permanent staff. Most of the scientists visit the institute for a fixed period of time within the Guest Program. This concept aims at stimulating the discussion and the exchange of ideas within the mathematics community.
Guest Program
Within the Guest Program mathematicians with a completed Ph.D. can work at the MPIM for a fixed period of time, ranging from weeks to several months. Young researches at the postdoctoral level can get in contact to established scientists, who enjoy staying at the MPIM for a sabbatical. The whole concept of the program is about stimulating the communication within the mathematics community, to exchange ideas, or to discuss new findings in seminars and at the traditional four o‘clock tea. Over the years a few thousand mathematicians have used this unique opportunity.
Working Areas
- Algebraic Groups
- Arithmetic Geometry
- Number Theory
- Representation Theory, Algebraic and Complex Geometry
- Differential Geometry and Topology
- Algebraic Topology
- Global Analysis
- Non-Commutative Geometry
- Dynamical Systems
- Mathematical Physics
Collaborations with the University of Bonn
The Hausdorff Center of Mathematics (HCM) is a Cluster of Excellence of the University of Bonn and is supported by the four mathematical institutes of the University of Bonn, the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics (MPIM) and the Institute for Social and Economic Sciences. With six departments, the cluster's spectrum ranges from pure and applied mathematics to mathematically oriented research in economics and interdisciplinary research. Identifying and addressing mathematical challenges of the 21st century is one of the main goals of HCM, as is the promotion of young scientists in an independent and international environment. Since its inception in 2006, the cluster has been successfully renewed twice, in 2012 and most recently in 2018 for another seven years.
In cooperation with the University of Bonn, the renowned Bonn Max-Planck-Institute for Mathematics offers a PhD program with a special focus on the study of moduli.
The MPI für Neurobiologie des Verhaltens - caesar (MPINB) in Bonn is located in the beautiful Rheinaue, the largest park in Bonn. It focuses on basic research in neuroethology – the study of the neural basis of animal behavior. The international team of researchers at the institute studies how the collective activity of vast numbers of neurons gives rise to the plethora of animal behaviors. The interdisciplinary research spans from imaging neural circuits at the nanoscale to analyzing neural activity in a freely moving and naturally behaving animal.
Highlights
Understanding how animals perceive and interact with their world is a major
technical challenge because you need to study animals and their brains “in
action”. A key highlight of our research is the development of experimental approaches to link neuronal activity to naturalistic behavior in freely moving animals. The world’s lightest, head-mounted multiphoton microscope was recently developed at our institute. Our technologies include high resolution quantification of naturalistic behavior, imaging tools for measuring neuronal population activity during goal directed behavior and the reconstruction of synaptic connectivity using 3D electron microscopy.
Collaborations with the University of Bonn
NRW Networks 2021: "iBehave: Algorithms of Adaptive Behavior and their Neuronal Implementation in Health and Disease"
The North Rhine-Westphalian state government is supporting five outstanding research networks in pioneering research fields with a total of 81.2 million euros. Among them is "iBehave" under the leadership of the University of Bonn, which is being funded with around 20 million euros.
Humans and animals live in a constantly changing environment. The ability to flexibly adapt behavior to changing demands is critical for all organisms to thrive and survive. Consequently, humans and animals have evolved the ability to make decisions that weigh benefits and costs based on expectations. Difficulties in making such decisions and in implementing them through adaptive motor control are central features of many neurological diseases, yet the underlying processes in the brain are poorly understood. In iBehave, researchers are collaborating across disciplines and species to study survival-related behaviors and their underlying neural networks.
"We want to use computer science and artificial intelligence to better understand how the brain controls behaviors such as decision-making," says Prof. Grunwald Kadow, who is also a member of the Transdisciplinary Research Area "Life and Health" at the University of Bonn. In the next step, the researchers want to transfer their findings to the diagnosis and prediction of neurological diseases in humans. In the medium term, iBehave researchers want to take their technologies and findings out of the lab and into the clinic. "We are convinced that our methods of analyzing behavior and brain activity could represent or bring about a paradigm shift in diagnosis and therapy."
The aim of the funding program is to sustainably strengthen existing topic-related and cross-location research networks of universities, universities of applied sciences and non-university research institutes, to expand them and to increase their visibility and international competitiveness. The support is scheduled to run for four years from August 2022.
In 2014, the SFB1089 “Synaptic Micronetworks in Health and Disease” organized a very successful Kick-Off-Meeting with a variety of outstanding national and international speakers, including Nobel laureate Thomas Südhof. The success of this meeting gave rise to the idea that an annual meeting might not only strengthen the neuroscience community in Bonn but also the connections between scientists from all over the world. Therefore, with the support of other major facilities of the Bonn neuroscience community (BCN, DZNE, and BIGS Neuroscience), a joint conference open to all interested neuroscientists was realized. Since 2015 it offers the possibility to coordinate scientific efforts, to profit from each other’s knowledge, and to open new perspectives.
The BonnBrain³ Meeting is known for its informal atmosphere. Lively discussions following oral or poster presentations usually continue into the evening, accompanied by a glass of beer or wine. Students are very welcome to participate, too. The meeting even offers a special student symposium and career development sessions are open for students and postdocs. A neuroscience art competition as well as the legendary “Shake the Brain Party” with live music are also a fixed part of the program
Summary
The brain is a complex network of billions of nerve cells that gives rise to our cognitive abilities. Understanding the structure of this network is an important step in understanding how it works. The field of connectomics ultimately aims to provide a comprehensive description of the physical coupling between all neuronal elements of the brain.
Subprojects
1. Predicting the Impact of Connectomes on Cortical Function using Statistical Inference
Principal Investigator MPINB:
Dr. Marcel Oberlaender
2. High resolution connectivity analysis of CA3/DG engrams: from behavior to structure
Principal Investigators University of Bonn:
Professor Dr. Heinz Beck & Dr. Karl Martin Schwarz, Ph.D., Faculty of Medicine;
Professor Dr. Ulrich Kubitscheck, Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
3. Towards a connectomics-based predictive model of the inner retinaTowards a connectomics-based predictive model of the inner retina
Principal Investigator MPINB:
Dr. Kevin Briggman, Ph.D.
Summary
The overarching goal of the CRC is to understand how behavior is generated by coordinated activity of neuronal circuits, and how this is disrupted in neurological disorders. The past decade has seen significant advances in this field, with the refinement of techniques for measuring and manipulating the activity of large populations of neurons in behaving animals, as well as the ability to quantify behavior in novel, extremely precise ways. This has allowed to formulate and test new hypotheses about how neuronal activity represents features of the outside world, how neuronal circuits integrate environmental information with internal states, and how this leads to goal-directed behavior.Notably, even simple behaviors rely on the orchestrated performance of neuronal circuits spanning multiple brain regions. The CRC will, therefore, leverage the critical mass of projects designed to investigate different brain areas for the examination of extended neuronal systems spanning multiple brain regions. We will focus on how these systems work together and how neuromodulation, which we consider to be a key factor in mediating state-dependent modulation in multiple brain regions, contributes to behaviorally relevant circuit activity. These approaches lead to the acquisition of rich behavioral and cellular data, which have to be integrated into a theoretical framework that allows us to rigorously link behavior to neuronal activity patterns. The CRC will mount a coordinated effort to develop methods for the precise observation of behavior and identification of behavioral syntax. Moreover, both within individual projects and within the central project, the CRC will implement a range of mathematical and theoretical methods that link neuronal activity to behavioral features. Finally, the CRC will use novel behavioral opto-tagging and imaging approaches combined with transcriptomic/connectomic approaches to obtain more precise, cellular, and synapse-level connectivity data from neurons identified as behavior-related in vivo.We will continue to apply these interdisciplinary approaches to the study of CNS disorders, most notably epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. We are convinced that understanding the basis of disease-related phenotypes across scales, down to the level of single neurons, is crucial to gaining a true understanding of neurological diseases and developing novel treatments.
Term
01.10.2013 - 30.06.2025 (3. Funding Period)
IMPRS for Brain and Behavior is a collaboration between the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar (MPINB), the University of Bonn, and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn, Germany. The program aims to recruit outstanding doctoral students and immerse them in a stimulating environment that provides novel technologies to elucidate the function of brain circuits from molecules to animal behavior.One of the central questions of biology is how brain circuitry enables animals to make sense of their environment by integrating relevant sensory signals to generate appropriate behaviors. Establishing the link between brain circuits and behavior is known as ‘neuroethology’, which aims to understand how the collective activity of the vast numbers of interconnected neurons in the brain gives rise to the diversity of animal behaviors. To gain a full understanding of brain circuitry underlying a specific behavior requires the combination of research approaches focusing on different levels of detail - ranging from the anatomical reconstruction of neural circuits to the quantitative behavioral analysis of freely moving animals and natural behavior. The IMPRS for Brain and Behavior is unique and distinguishes itself from other graduate schools in the field of neuroscience by focusing its efforts on providing theoretical and methodological training in neuroethology and modern neuroscience methods.
BIGS Neuroscience offers a structured 3-year PhD in a top-level, internationally competitive program. The school takes an interdisciplinary approach to this rapidly developing field, focused on understanding the molecular and cellular processes underlying complex behavior as well as studying disorders of the central nervous system to discover their mechanisms and develop new treatments. The program provides access to the Bonn Neuroscience community working on topics ranging from molecular and cellular neurobiology, behaviour, computational neuroscience to psychology. Students can use advanced technology platforms and core facilities. Our affiliated scientists come from the Faculties of Medicine, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, and Arts of the University of Bonn, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association (DZNE), and the Max Planck Society’s Caesar Research Institute.
The MPINB teaches courses and offers several practical modules in the Master's program in Neuroscience at the University of Bonn. MPINB research group leaders also give lectures in the BIGS Summer School. Professor Jason Kerr is an honorary professor at the Medical Faculty of the University of Bonn and supervises dissertations there.
The Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) is one of 85 memberinstitutes of the Max Planck Society (MPG). The main research area of the institute is radio astronomy with activities of the institute comprising the whole area of astronomical observations throughout the electromagnetic spectrum and also theoretical astrophysics.
Research & Highlights
To research the physics of stars, galaxies and the universe, radio astronomy looks into subjects like stellar evolution, young stellar objects, stars at a late stage of their evolution, pulsars, the interstellar medium of the Milky Way and other galaxies, magnetic fields in the universe, radio galaxies, quasars and other active galaxies, dust and gas at cosmological distances, galaxies at early stages of the evolution of the universe, cosmic ray(s), high-energy particle physics as well as the theory of stellar evolution and active galactic nuclei
(AGN).
The absolute highlight of the institute is the Radio Telescope Effelsberg. With a diameter of 100 meters, the Radio Telescope Effelsberg is one of the largest fully steerable radio telescopes on earth.
Collaborations with the University of Bonn
Massive stars, due to their short lifetime and high energy output, drive the evolution of galaxies across cosmic time. Hence, they substantially contribute to shaping the present-day Universe. The proposed new Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) will unravel the “habitats of massive stars across cosmic time”. “Habitats” are the gaseous environments within which massive stars are born and which they interact with via their feedback. Over the anticipated 12-year lifetime of this new CRC initiative, we aim to connect the physical processes that govern the habitats of massive stars across the full range of environments hosting massive stars – from sub-parsec to mega-parsec scales and from the Milky Way to the high-redshift Universe, where massive stars leave their cosmological fingerprint by driving cosmic reionisation.
Duration
10.2023 - 06.2027 (1. Förderperiode)
The Bonn-Cologne Graduate School for Physics and Astronomy BCGS is a joint program of graduate studies between the universities of Bonn and Cologne. The program leads students with a bachelor's degree through an MSc phase to doctoral studies. Students with MSc degrees are admitted directly to the PhD stage.
The BCGS provides mentoring and research internships, scholarships and travel funds, and a vibrant research environment at the forefront of modern physics. Research areas at the two departments of Bonn and Cologne span almost the entire range of current physics; from astrophysics, biophysics and condensed matter research to particle physics, quantum optics and string theory.
The BCGS was funded from 2007 to 2019 by the German Excellence Initiative and the Universities of Bonn and Cologne. Since 2020 the funding comes from the two universities.
The school offers a broad spectrum of topics in observational and theoretical, galactic and extragalactic astrophysics, observational and theoretical cosmology, fundamental physics with astronomical tools and instrumentation. In addition to the main expertise in radio and (sub-) mm astronomy of the MPIfR, there are PhD topics in a broad range of contemporary astrophysics, techniques, methods and energy bands.
The partner institutions within the IMPRS are the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn, the Argelander Institute for Astronomy (AIfA) of the University of Bonn and the 1st Physics Institute of the University of Cologne.
bicc is located in the western part of Bonn, close to the Campus Endenich. The research focuses on the topics of building peace and social cohesion, militarisation and arms control, environment, infrastructure and sustainability, agents and patterns of security and war as well as migration and forced displacement.
As an independent, non-profit organization, bicc deals with a wide range of global topics in the field of peace and conflict research. bicc wants to contribute to a more peaceful world by generating knowledge and policy relevant insights for addressing the conditions, dynamics and consequences of violent conflicts.
Highlights
bicc is globally known for its expertise on arms control and disarmament of
combatants and frequently listed as top think tank worldwide by the Global
Go To Think Tank Index Report of the University of Pennsylvania.
Staff at bicc conducts research in highly dangerous and challenging conflict
regions around the world, including Mali, Chad, South Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Researchers and practioners are seconded to the United Nations, African Union and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
bicc is also heard as a critical voice in political and public debates on topics
such as the Ukraine War, the Afghanistan intervention and arms exports.
Collaborations with the University of Bonn
The Collaborative Research Center (CRC) combines expertise from two complementary centers of excellence at the Universities of Bonn and Cologne to study newly emerging issues of social-ecological transformation and future-making in Africa. It takes current large-scale landuse change in rural Africa as its starting point. Focusing on the two seemingly opposite, yet often mutually constitutive processes of intensification and conservation, it investigates their impact on social-ecological transformation in the context of three major growth corridors in eastern and southern Africa. While social-ecological transformation is commonly understood in relation to past processes, this CRC takes a different perspective: It conceptualizes socialecological transformation as an expression of ‘future-making’. Resonating with current debates in the interdisciplinary field of future studies, this means that potential futures and the different ideas of how they can be realized are seen to have a decisive impact on current land-use dynamics, especially through diverse processes and politics of anticipation. ‘Futuremaking’ refers to physical changes as well as social practices that link the present to the future in various ways. Whereas natural scientists primarily study how a ‘future of probabilities’ is anticipated in different forms of calculation, measurements and models, the social scientists also take into account how a ‘future of possibilities’ takes shape in visions and imaginations. Together, the projects of the CRC will analyze how such different approaches to the future inform practices of large-scale land-use change, and how they relate to each other. Special emphasis will be put on surprises and unintended side-effects of future-making, which play a key role in characterizing rural Africa today.The CRC is structured in three project groups, each organized around a bridging concept that addresses specific aspects of social-ecological transformation and future-making (Figure 1). Project group A (‘coupling’) studies the articulation between social and ecological subsystems, B (‘boundaries’) looks at the shifting zones of interaction and confrontation, and C (‘linkages’) explores cross-scalar drivers, connections and causations. Empirical research focuses on development hubs in the Kenyan Rift Valley, the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania, and the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. The CRC builds upon profound research experience of the applicants and African counterparts, amplifies the unique combination of expertise at the universities of Bonn and Cologne, fosters partnerships with scholars and scientific institutions in Africa, and aims at making Bonn-Cologne one of the leading centers of innovative research in the emerging field of futures studies and social ecology in Africa.
Term
01.01.2018 - 31.12.2025 (2. Funding Period)
IDOS is one of the world’s leading research institutions and think tanks for global sustainable development. By basing its work on the interplay between research, policy advice and training, IDOS builds bridges between theory and practice. IDOS’ theorybased, empirically driven and application-oriented research provides the basis for its policy advice. It develops policy-relevant concepts, advises ministries, governments and international organisations, and refers to current policy issues.
Highlights
The institute has been ranked third among the world‘s most renowned development policy research institutes in the Top International Development Think Tanks category of the Global Go To Think Tank Index Report in 2021 for the second time in a row (at this time still under its old name: German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)). This ranking compared research institutions and think tanks differentiated by regions, topics as well as by special achievements. In the category Top International Development Think Tanks, a thematic core area of IDOS, it is listed third place out of a total of 128 institutions.
Collaborations with the University of Bonn
Land management and the securing, use, control and governance of land-related natural resources is one of the key drivers for sustainable development in Africa. Sustainable land management should contribute to food security, adaptation of agriculture and forestry to climate change, nature and environmental protection, and be organized in a way that contributes to social justice. Since October 2022, the German Research Ministry (BMBF) is supporting four regional research and development (R&D) projects that will contribute to this aim.
INTERFACES is a support project that will support the BMBF-funded regional projects in their endeavor to drive change for sustainable land management in Sub-Saharan Africa. It will do so through impact-driven support activities which build on networking for the regional projects, science communication, social learning processes and capacity development, and by complementary transfer analyses that enable or facilitate the implementation as well as improve the relevance and outreach of the regional projects' research-based findings.
To achieve changes towards sustainable land management, a fundamental reorganization is needed across technological, economic, political, institutional and social factors, including paradigms, goals and values. Changes must be gender-responsive and socially inclusive, which means that implementation pathways for sustainable land management must be based on thorough gender and power analyses and lead to outcomes that benefit both women and men of different ethnicities, ages, classes, and income levels.
Therefore, INTERFACES has four work areas that together strengthen the integration, coherence and reach of the regional projects with regard to sustainable land management: 1. Knowledge synthesis through dialogues about future visions and theories of change for sustainable land management - together with the regional projects and actors from science, policy and practice, 2. Support of innovation and implementation processes by identifying change strategies to bridge knowledge-behaviour gaps, 3. Communication, networking and knowledge management and 4. Education, e.g. through the integration of teaching content into African and German graduate programs. The methods and results of the regional projects find their way into the training of project partners and students with regard to the training of future "change agents".
The outputs from INTERFACES are expected to include scientific and non-scientific publications, the promotion of transdisciplinary research and social learning approaches in order to produce research results that are relevant to practice, the strengthening of already existing networks on land management issues and linking them up with different African networks to further contribute to the implementation of the R&D results in the area of land management. Finally, INTERFACES will anchor implementation-oriented research in education and training.
Duration
01.10.2022 - 30.09.2026
The Collaborative Research Center (CRC) combines expertise from two complementary centers of excellence at the Universities of Bonn and Cologne to study newly emerging issues of social-ecological transformation and future-making in Africa. It takes current large-scale landuse change in rural Africa as its starting point. Focusing on the two seemingly opposite, yet often mutually constitutive processes of intensification and conservation, it investigates their impact on social-ecological transformation in the context of three major growth corridors in eastern and southern Africa. While social-ecological transformation is commonly understood in relation to past processes, this CRC takes a different perspective: It conceptualizes socialecological transformation as an expression of ‘future-making’. Resonating with current debates in the interdisciplinary field of future studies, this means that potential futures and the different ideas of how they can be realized are seen to have a decisive impact on current land-use dynamics, especially through diverse processes and politics of anticipation. ‘Futuremaking’ refers to physical changes as well as social practices that link the present to the future in various ways. Whereas natural scientists primarily study how a ‘future of probabilities’ is anticipated in different forms of calculation, measurements and models, the social scientists also take into account how a ‘future of possibilities’ takes shape in visions and imaginations. Together, the projects of the CRC will analyze how such different approaches to the future inform practices of large-scale land-use change, and how they relate to each other. Special emphasis will be put on surprises and unintended side-effects of future-making, which play a key role in characterizing rural Africa today.The CRC is structured in three project groups, each organized around a bridging concept that addresses specific aspects of social-ecological transformation and future-making (Figure 1). Project group A (‘coupling’) studies the articulation between social and ecological subsystems, B (‘boundaries’) looks at the shifting zones of interaction and confrontation, and C (‘linkages’) explores cross-scalar drivers, connections and causations. Empirical research focuses on development hubs in the Kenyan Rift Valley, the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania, and the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. The CRC builds upon profound research experience of the applicants and African counterparts, amplifies the unique combination of expertise at the universities of Bonn and Cologne, fosters partnerships with scholars and scientific institutions in Africa, and aims at making Bonn-Cologne one of the leading centers of innovative research in the emerging field of futures studies and social ecology in Africa.
Term
01.01.2018 - 31.12.2025 (2. Funding Period)
IDOS is the founding institute of the Bonn Center for Reconciliation Research.
At the Bonn Center for Reconciliation Research, scholars from various disciplines in the humanities and textual sciences work together to develop an empirically grounded, transcultural concept of 'reconciliation' and to enable a theoretically sophisticated analysis of reconciliation processes.
For several years, interdisciplinary reconciliation research has been particularly important at the University of Bonn. The centre coordinates all activities in the field of reconciliation research. Various university institutions, such as the Centre for Historical Peace Research (Zentrum für historische Friedensforschung, ZhF), the Research Centre for Provenance Research, Art and Cultural Property Protection Law (Die Forschungsstelle Provenienzforschung, Kunst- und Kulturgutschutzrecht) and the cluster Beyond Slavery and Freedom: Asymmetrical Dependencies in Pre-Modern Societies, are networked at the centre. In addition, intensive cooperation with the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities of North Rhine-Westphalia, Essen (Kommunikationswissenschaftliches Institut Essen) and non-university centres in Bonn, the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC) is promoted.
The jointly appointed professors Prof. Dr. Anna-Katharina Hornidge (MA Seminar on Global Sustainable Development) and Prof. Dr. Clara Brandi (Bachelor of Economics) are both active in teaching.
IDOS also works closely with the doctoral programs of the Center for Development Research (ZEF) and the Department of Economics, in particular by supervising doctoral students and integrating doctoral students from the graduate programs into its projects.
The United Nations University (UNU) is the academic arm of the United Nations and acts as a global think tank. The UNU’s Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) is located in Bonn. Its vision is to create a world where people are safe from environmental risks and prosper in harmony with nature.
Research
The Institute’s research promotes knowledge for a sustainable world by uniting science, policy and practice in the area of disaster risk, climate change adaptation and transformation. Research areas include climate change adaptation incorporating insurance-related approaches, environmentally induced migration and social vulnerability, ecosystem services and environmental deterioration processes, models and tools to analyse vulnerability and risks linked to natural hazards, with a focus on urban space and rural-urban interfaces. Research is always conducted with the underlying goal of connecting solutions to development pathways.
Collaborations with the University of Bonn
The aim of the project is to demonstrate the viability of organic rice production in the MKD in order to improve product safety, environmental sustainability and livelihoods through organic production and improved land and water management. OrganoRice will holistically analyze the opportunities and challenges for a transition to organic rice production including environmental, social and economic aspects. It will also demonstrate its viability in a pilot region (Vinh Long province) of the MKD. Finally, OrganoRice will draw conclusions, which will help to successfully implement organic rice production systems in other Vietnamese regions. Our working hypotheses are:
Rice based organic farming is a means to improve product safety, environmental sustainability and livelihoods and will help to improve land and water management when measures are taken simultaneously on the farm, landscape and value chain scale.
Conversion from conventional to rice based organic farming can be accomplished faster than 3 years by adaptation of land and water management on the farm and landscape scale.
Suitable tools such as a digital knowledge platform can help farmers and authorities in the transformation process and will enable ecologically and economically sustainable farming in the long run.
Duration
01.12.2022 - 30.11.2025
The goal of COINS is the sustainable intensification of agriculture, i.e. increasing productivity without converting additional land. The German-African project team is investigating which efficient forms of land management are effective in intensifying agriculture on the same area in a sustainable manner – taking into account local conditions such as water availability and soil properties, but also socio-economic conditions in particular.
In COINS, the relevant options are catalogued and assessed for their suitability in local contexts in study areas in northern Ghana and the Senegal River Valley in northern Senegal. In COINS, a landscape-based approach with modelling, earth observation, and data science is being pursued. This will promote improved cropping practices and management practices of sustainable intensification on productive land and soil rehabilitation practices on degraded land.
The operationalisation of support mechanisms, including comprehensive risk management strategies and an incentive and monitoring program, will set the stage for sustainable land management. Great importance is also attached to the development of a range of advisory services for farmers to implement sustainable intensification, thus supporting the achievement of the goals defined by the stakeholders.
Duration
2022-2026
Even though there has been some improvement in the global electricity supply over the past years, more than a billion people still have no access to electricity. The majority of these people live in sub-Saharan Africa, where food and water security is often not a given. A sustainable economy needs to be established in rural areas of West African countries to ensure that basic standards of living are met and to guarantee the well-being of the people who live there. The RETO-DOSSO research project aims to create lasting and sustainable means of subsistence in rural areas; establishing these essential means will also pave the way for the founding of small and microenterprises.
The RETO-DOSSO research project aims to help establish sustainable means of subsistence in rural areas of Niger by establishing a foundation on which residents can earn a livelihood, thus paving the way for rural business activities. To do so, the researchers plan to use electricity generated from renewable energy sources to secure basic needs, such as food and water. Excess electricity from solar stand-alone systems will strengthen the rural economy by creating simple yet innovative business ideas as local sources of income.
Duration
01.07.2020–30.06.2023
The master's degree program Geography of Environmental Risks and Human Security, which is taught in English, is a joint degree program offered by the Department of Geography of the University of Bonn and the Institute for Environment and Human Security of United Nations University (UNU-EHS). The program explores the complex interrelationships between environmental risks and human security as well as their impact on the interactions between humans and their environment (vulnerability, resilience, adaptation).
The English-language master’s degree program in Global Health Risk Management & Hygiene Policies is aimed at university graduates with at least two years of relevant work experience who would like to acquire additional scientifically sound qualifications. It is offered by the University of Bonn in cooperation with the Institute for Environment and Human Security of the United Nations University (UNU-EHS). At the University of Bonn, the Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture and Center for Development Research are involved in teaching and the supervision of master’s theses.