With their limited duration - generally twelve years - and regular strict review, Collaborative Research Centres enable complex research projects to be completed at universities. Researchers may cooperate with non-university research institutes and with business and industry.
The new Collaborative Research Centres in detail:
Humanities and Social Sciences
The Collaborative Research Centre on "Information Structure: The Linguistic Resources for Structuring Comments, Sentences and Text" is being set up at the University of Paderborn. It examines which influences information structures have in various languages and how infrastructural rules impact human cognition in language processing, acquisition and loss. Academics from the Humboldt University of Berlin are also involved in the centre. Participating researchers from the fields of general linguistics, the linguistics of European and non-European languages, as well as from psychology and computer linguistics will work together within the scope of this topic. This approach aims to develop new models which describe the role of information structure in human cognition and in the structure of language. This will contribute significantly to a theory of human language ability and a theory of grammar.
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Caroline Féry, University of Potsdam, Tel.: 0331/977-2432, -2950
Biology and Medicine
The differentiation of cells in living organisms is accompanied by a reorganisation of cellular structures. Molecular transport and migratory movements play a central role in this process. On the one hand, new synthesised building blocks are transported to their locations within cells while, on the other, cells migrate. These processes form the core focus of the new Collaborative Research Centre on "Molecular Cell Dynamics: Intracellular and Cellular Movements" at the University of Münster, in which the Max Planck Institute of Vascular Biology in Münster, which is currently being established, is also actively involved. Using various model systems - beginning with the fruit fly drosophila and extending through to the human brain - the centre will study the principles and mechanisms of cell dynamic processes. The research work is expected to produce important insights into central questions of cell and development biology which will also be of significance to understanding human diseases.
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Christian Klämbt, University of Münster, Tel.: 0251/832 1122
Chronic inflammatory intestinal diseases, such as Crohn's disease, are widespread. It has long been known that the surface (boundary cell OR cell boundary?? layer) of the gastrointestinal tract is the gateway for the majority of all pathogens. Nevertheless, the immune system of the intestines continues to pose many questions. It is largely unknown how immune reactions proceed in the intestines or how immune responses can be influenced, for example, via T-cells which make up part of the immune system's defensive cells. This knowledge is of fundamental significance to the development of effective therapies. "Induction and Modulation of T-Cell-Mediated Immune Reactions in the Gastrointestinal Tract" is the topic of a Collaborative Research Centre being established at the Free University of Berlin. It combines studies on an animal model with patient-oriented research and cooperates in Berlin with the Humboldt University, the German Arthritis Research Centre, the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, the Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine and the Protein Structure Factory.
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Martin Zeitz, Free University Berlin, Tel.: 030/8445 2347, -2348
Now that the human genome has been decoded and reveals far fewer genes than had initially been assumed, the question arises as to which mechanisms and processes cause the great differences in the complexity of the various organisms. Control mechanisms which steer the availability and activity of proteins play a significant role in this context. The analysis of these molecular level processes and the characterisation of cellular level regulation is the aim of the Collaborative Research Centre on "Posttranslational Function Control of Proteins" at the University of Cologne. The Cologne-based Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research is contributing a number of projects to this research. The scientists aim to build a bridge between "red" and "green" genetics which will contribute to gaining key insights into protein modification and its prerequisites.
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Thomas Langer, University of Cologne, Tel.: 0221/470 4876
Membrane proteins play an important role in living cells since they are involved in many essential reactions. "Structure and Function of Membrane Proteins" is the topic of research at the Transregional Collaborative Research Centre established at the University of Konstanz and the University of Zurich. This cross-border research cooperation will direct its attention especially towards examining transport proteins, ionic pumps and neuronal proteins which are involved in cell communication, namely in signal transmission as well as in diseases of the central nervous system. The researchers not only want to analyse the structural change taking place in membrane proteins but also want to track down the protein function in various model organisms. This is expected to produce new insights into the interactions between the structure and function of membrane proteins which will be of comprehensive significance.
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Claudia Stürmer, University of Konstanz, Tel.: 07531/88 2236
Natural Sciences
Combating infectious diseases continues to pose a great challenge. A new Collaborative Research Centre at the University of Würzburg has taken up the topic of "Recognition, Extraction and the Functional Analysis of Active Substances Against Infectious Diseases". Together with researchers from the University of Jena and the Medical Mission Clinic Würzburg, chemists, pharmacists and biologists will engage in interdisciplinary cooperation to identify and test anti-infectious substances. The research will also examine substances from "unusual sources", such as from African plants or marine sponges. The goal is to use modern methods of analysis and synthesis to determine the properties of these potential anti-infectives and to shed light on the effect they have at a molecular level. This approach aims to lay important foundations for extracting and optimising novel active substances with which infectious diseases can be combated.
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Gerhard Bringmann, University of Würzburg, Tel.: 0931/888 5323
The Collaborative Research Centre on "Solid-Based Quantum Information Processing: Physical Concepts and Material Aspects" is being established at the Technical University of Munich. The research focuses primarily on quantum information processing, which is examined both in theory-focused as well as in experimental-oriented projects. The purpose is to make "electronic systems", "optical systems" and "spin systems" available for use in applications in the field of quantum information processing. To do this, the research spans fields from quantum information theory, to theoretical and experimental solid-state physics via quantum optics through to materials sciences and nanotechnology. In addition to the Technical University of Munich, the following are also actively involved in the collaborative research: the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, the University of Augsburg and the University of Regensburg as well as the Walther Meissner Institute in Garching and the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching.
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Rudolf Groß, Technical University of Munich, Tel.: 089/289-14201
The structure of atomic nuclei and their building blocks, the protons, neutrons and mesons, can be researched on so-called electron accelerators using the help of electromagnetic probes, that is beams of electrons and photons. With this in mind, the Collaborative Research Centre on "Nuclear Structure, Nuclear Astrophysics and Fundamental Experiments with Small Impulse Transmitters at the Superconducting Darmstadt Linear Accelerator (D-DALINAC)" is now being established at the Technical University of Darmstadt. The Darmstadt linear accelerator is unique in its kind and makes it possible, in particular, to examine electrical and magnetic nuclear stimulus at low energy levels and with impulse transmitters. This means that it is possible to carry out experiments which address fundamental questions of modern nuclear physics with a new degree of precision.
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Achim Richter, Technical University of Darmstadt, Tel.: 06151/16 2116
The Transregional Collaborative Research Centre on "Symmetries and Universality in Mesoscopic Systems" will commence its research work at three locations - namely at the universities of Bremen, Duisburg-Essen and Cologne. The centre is based in the field of theoretical physics and examines interactions and quantum chaos in mathematical physics. It focuses particularly on the so-called mesoscopic systems which typically have dimensions in the range from a few nanometres to micrometers. In particular, the research network will bring mathematicians and physicists together and will cooperate with scientists at the University of Düsseldorf and the Warsaw Centre for Theoretical Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The comprehensive research perspective aims to develop the theoretical bases for new quantum technologies.
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Martin Zirnbauer, University of Cologne, Tel.: 0221/470-4303
Engineering
The Transfer Unit on "Optimised Drivetrains" at the Technical University of Munich builds on findings produced by the Munich-based Collaborative Research Centre on "Environmentally Friendly Propulsion Technology for Vehicles". This had set itself the task of researching a drive system for cars whose alternate use of combustion engine and electrical motor made it possible to reduce operating emissions. The heart of this hybrid drive is a transmission which, with its large gear ratio, can be used for both types of drive motors. In cooperation with industrial partners, the Transfer Unit now aims to develop this drivetrain into a close-to-market prototype.
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Bernd-Robert Höhn, Technical University of Munich, Tel.: 089/289-15806, -15807