Research Priority Areas (RPAs) of the TU Dresden
These research priority areas represent the for the currently strongest research fields of our University, which are characterized by publication impact and third-party funds. Especially five Clusters of Excellence and a graduate school as well as various collaborative research centers contribute to the research excellence of the TU Dresden.
The research of the TU Dresden is focused on five strategic research priority areas:
Health Sciences, Biomedicine and Bioengineering comprises four interconnected fields at the interface of basic and translational research:
- Interdisciplinary fundamental research of physical concepts and priciples that underlie the organisation of living matter (Cluster of Excellence: Physics of Life);
- Stem Cells and Tissue Formation, which directly leads to Regenerative Therapies (CRTD - Center for Regenerative Therapies TU Dresden);
- research uncovering the causes of, and developing therapeutic approaches for, major diseases of modern societies, i.e. Cancer (OncoRay), Diabetes (DZD), and Neurodegeneration (DZNE) as well as other disorders of the brain, notably those tackled by the Psychological and Behavioral Sciences; and
- Molecular Bioengineering, which provides an interface between biology and engineering (B CUBE, BIOTEC, Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials).
In addition to these four established fields, an emerging research area is Systems Biology, where experimental and theoretical science meet. A particular strength of this RPA is the transdisciplinary networking of basic and translational researchers within TUD and its local non-university partners such as the MPI of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics. These research foci constitute a fertile ground for the advancement of young researchers, as exemplified by the Dresden International Graduate School for Biomedicine and Bioengineering (DIGS-BB), awarded in the 1st program phase of the Excellence Initiative.
Examples of the reseach excellence for the priority area:
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Cluster of Excellence: Physics of Life
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Dresden International Graduate School for Biomedicine and Bioengineering (DIGS-BB)
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German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE).
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Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC) of the TU Dresden
- CRC 940 “Volition and Cognitive Control”
- CRC/TRR 67 "Functional Biomaterials for Controlling Healing Processes in Bone and Skin - From Material Science to Clinical Application" with integrated graduate school - Locations: Leipzig, Dresden
- CRC/TRR 83 "Molecular Architecture and Cellular Functions of Lipid/Protein Assemblies" - Locations: Heidelberg, Dresden, Bonn
- CRC/TRR 127 "Biology of xenogeneic cell and organ transplantation - from bench to bedside" - Locations: München, Hannover, Dresden
- CRC/TRR 205 "The Adrenal: Central Relay in Health and Disease"- Locations: Dresden, Munich, Würzburg
- CRC/TRR 237 "Nucleic Acid Immunity" - Locations: Bonn, Dresden, Munich
- CRC/TRR 265 "Losing and Regaining Control over Drug Intake: From Trajectories to Mechanisms to Interventions" - Locations: Berlin, Dresden, Heidelberg
- Graduate Schools: European Graduate School in Addiction Research (Volkswagenstiftung), International Max Planck Research School for Molecular Cell, Developmental and Systems Biology (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft)
- FOR 5146 "FerrOs: Defining the osteohepatic axis in the context of iron homeostasis"
- FOR 3013 "Vector- and Tensor-Valued Surface PDEs"
- FOR 2682 "Seasonal adaptation of Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila suzukii"
- FOR 2599 "Tissue Type 2 Responses: Mechanisms of Induction and Regulation"
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FOR 2038 "Nanopatterned Organic Matrices in Biological Silica Mineralization"
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SPP 2084 "µBONE - Colonization and interaction of tumor cells within the bone microenvironment"
- Humboldt-Professur: Prof. Jochen Guck
- ERC Advanced Grant: "ZF-BrainReg", Prof. Michael Brand
- ERC Advanced Grant: „GENSURGE“, Prof. Frank Buchholz
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ERC Advanced Grant: „CHIMO“, Prof. Stephan Grill
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ERC Advanced Grant: „MacAGE“, Prof. Dr. Michael Sieweke
- ERC Consolidator Grant: „PhaseAge“, Prof. Dr. Simon Alberti
- ERC Consolidator Grant: „DEMETINL“, Prof. Triantafyllos Chavakis
- ERC Consolidator Grant: „SENSOCOM“, Prof. Dr. Katharina von Kriegstein
- ERC Starting Grant: „SLEEPCONTROL“, Prof. Dr. Henrik Bringmann
- ERC Starting Grant: „ProNeurons“, Dr. Volker Busskamp
- ERC Starting Grant: „ONco-Energetics_OFF“, Dr. Mohamed Elgendy
- ERC Starting Grant: „PreventAll“, Prof. Dr. Julia Hauer
- ERC Starting Grant: „REDOXCYCLE“, Dr. Jörg Mansfeld
- Freigeist Fellow (VW-Stiftung): Dr. Volker Busskamp
- Freigeist Fellow (VW-Stiftung): Dr. Ivan Minev
Information Technology and Microelectronics is an area of utmost importance as the largest microelectronics hub in Europe is centered in Dresden, with over 1,500 companies growing at an average rate of well over 1,000 jobs/year, and currently approximately 50,000 employees. As a result of strategic appointments over the past decade, TUD´s scientific competence now covers the full spectrum from basic and applied research on information processing and communication, to developing and testing innovative materials (Nanotechnology, Bionics). There are strong ties with several regional Fraunhofer Institutes as well as multiple joint ventures with industry’s global leaders, e.g. reflected by acquiring and steering the German Leading-Edge Cluster “CoolSilicon”. The Cluster of Excellence "Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden" (cfaed) and the successful Cluster of Excellence "Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop" (CeTI) are towering examples of our cutting-edge research.
Examples of the reseach excellence for the priority area:
- Cluster of Excellence "Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop" (CeTI)
- Cluster of Excellence "Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden" (cfaed)
- Cool Silicon – Energy-Efficiency Innovations from Silicon Saxony
- 5G Lab Germany
- Lehmann-Zentrum Hochleistungsrechner-/Speicherkomplexs (HRSK-II)
- SFB/TRR 248 "Foundations of Perspicuous Software Systems - Enabling Comprehension in a Cyber-Physical World" - Locations: Saarbrücken, Dresden
- GRK 1763 "Quantitative Logics and Automata"
- GRK 1865 "Hydrogel-Based Microsystems"
- GRK 1907 „RoSI: Role-based Software-Infrastructures for Continuous-Context-Sensitive Systems“
- GRK 2323 "Conducive Design of Cyber-physical Production Systems"
- FOR 3013 "Vector- and Tensor-Valued Surface PDEs"
- SPP 1796 "FFLexCom - High Frequency Flexible Bendable Electronics for Wireless Communication Systems"
- SPP 1894 " Volunteered Geographic Information: Interpretation, Visualization and Social Computing"
- International Max Planck Research School for ”Dynamical Processes in At-oms, Molecules and Solids” (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft), Helmholtz-Kolleg NANONET
- Cool Energy Car Communications (Energieeffiziente Fahrzeugkommunikation)
- Zwanzig20 fast
- BigData Competence Center ScaDS
- Dresden Center for Nanoanalysis (DCN)
- Dresden Center for Computational Materials Science (DCMS)
- Reinhart Koselleck–Project: „Adaptive Lasersysteme mit Wellenfrontregelung und Phasenkonjugation für Strömungsmessungen bei Brechungsindexeffekten“
- ERC Advanced Investigator Grant: Karl Leo
- Deutscher Zukunftspreis 2011: Karl Leo
- Vodafone-Chair (Prof. Gerhard Fettweis)
- Deutsche Telekom Chair of Communication Networks (Prof. Frank Fitzek)
- ERC Consolidator Grant: „GrDyAp“, Prof. Andreas Thom
- ERC Consolidator Grant: „CSP-Infinity“, Prof. Manuel Bodirsky
- ERC Consolidator Grant: „DeciGut“, Prof. Sebastian Rudolph
- ERC Starting Grant: „BILUM“, Jun.-Prof. Sebastian Reineke
Materials Science and Engineering is playing a decisive role in providing solutions to global mega-challenges such as energy, resources and mobility. By establishing the Cluster of Excellence „Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter (ct.qmat), physicists, chemists and material scientists from Dresden and Würzburg are going to unite their efforts to understand, control and apply fundamentally new states of quantum matter. Fundamental scientific research activities at TUD also focus on understanding the principles of structure-property relations and interactions of materials in various environments, on nanotechnology concepts, new functional and smart materials and corresponding technologies, advanced surface engineering, high performance multifunctional lightweight materials, materials for energy, and new design concepts with adapted sensors and actuators. TUD competences are complemented by intense collaboration with local Leibniz-, Fraunhofer- and Max Planck Institutes and a network of strategic cooperations with prestigious industry partners.
Examples of the reseach excellence for the priority area:
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Cluster of Excellence: Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter (ct.qmat)
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“Deutscher Zukunftspreis 2016” (German Future Award) for the development of carbon concrete
- Dresden Innovation Center Energy Efficiency
- C3 – Carbon Concrete Composite
- Dresden Center for Computational Materials Science (DCMS)
- SFB/TRR 67 "Functional Biomaterials for Controlling Healing Processes
in Bone and Skin - From Material Science to Clinical Application" + GRK
- SFB-TR 96 "Thermo-Energetic Design of Machine Tools - A Systemic Approach to Solve the Conflict between Power Efficiency, Accuracy and Productivity Demonstrated at the Example of Machining Production "
- SFB 1143 " Correlated Magnetism: From Frustration to Topology"
- GRK 2250/1 "Mineral-bonded composites for enhanced structural impact safety"
- GRK 2430 "Interactive Fiber Rubber Composites"
- FOR 3013 "Vector- and Tensor-Valued Surface PDEs"
- FOR 2433 Switchable Metal-Organic Framworks (MOF-Switches)
- SPP 1708 "Material Synthesis near Room Temperature"
- SPP 2005 "Opus Fluidum Futurum – Rheologie reaktiver, multiskaliger, mehrphasiger Baustoffsysteme"
- SPP 1886 "Polymorphic uncertainty modelling for the numerical design of structures"
- SPP1681 "Field Controlled Particle Matrix Interaction: Synthesis, Multi-Scale Modelling and Application of Magnetic Hybrid-Materials "
- ERC Advanced Grant: „LAACat“, Prof. Alexander Eychmüller
- ERC Advanced Grant: „AMPLIPORE“, Prof. Stefan Kaskel
- ERC Consolidator Grant: „T2DCP“, Prof. Xinliang Feng
- ERC Starting Grant: „FC2DMOF“, Dr. Renhao Dong
Energy, Mobility and Environment is an emerging RPA, which is already clearly visible across the full spectrum of TUD Faculties and Institutes. A recent survey showed that 25% of the approximately 500 TUD professors are involved in this area and that 16% regard it as a focus of their research. Existing competences cover topics such as adaptation to climate change, bio-geo-chemistry, biomass, combustion engines, electrochemistry, energy economy, energy efficiency, energy law, energy systems analysis, electricity generation, environmental monitoring and geo-information techniques, forestry, hydrology, limnophysics, mobility, regenerative energy systems, risk management and water resources management. Hence, TUD is in an excellent position to tackle not only core research topics, but also inter- and transdisciplinary research themes, which increasingly are moving into the focus of large environment- and energy-related projects. In June 2011, the 30 Mio Euro research building for the new Center for Energy Technology was opened.
Examples of the reseach excellence for the priority area:
- SFB-TR 96 "Thermo-Energetic Design of Machine Tools - A Systemic Approach to Solve the Conflict between Power Efficiency, Accuracy and Productivity Demonstrated at the Example of Machining Production" - Locations: Dresden, Aachen, Chemnitz
- SFB/TRR 248 "Foundations of Perspicuous Software Systems - Enabling Comprehension in a Cyber-Physical World" - Locations: Saarbrücken, Dresden
- STREP "Holistic Energy Efficiency Simulation and Lifecycle Management of Public Use Facilities (HESMOS)”
- „Center for Advanced Water Research (CAWR)“
- Dresden Innovation Center Energy Efficiency
- EcoTrain
- International Water Research Alliance Saxony – IWAS und IWAS II
- "Helmholtz Interdisciplinary Graduate School for Environmental Research” (HIGRADE)
- Boysen-TU Dresden-Graduiertenkolleg "sustainable energy systems"
- GRK 2323 "Conducive Design of Cyber-physical Production System "
- FOR 2089 "Durable Pavement Constructions for Future Traffic Loads Coupled System Pavement-Tyre-Vehicle"
- Graduate School: "Aspekte zukünftiger Satellitenerkundungen" (EADS)
- SPP 1894 Volunteered Geographic Information: Interpretation, Visualisierung und Social Computing
- UNU Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources – UNU-FLORES in Dresden
- ERC Starting Grant: „ENERGYMAPS“, Prof. Dr. Yana Vaynzof
Culture and Societal Change focuses on the transformation of culture and society with regard to social and political systems, urban and regional developments, as well as cultural institutions, museums and libraries: In this old capital of culture, where the cultural sector also accounts for a well-above average importance in the regional economy and job market, a range of interdisciplinary research programs and intense networks has been established, in particular with
- the Deutsches Hygiene Museum Dresden, a unique museum of science, culture, and society,
- the prestigious Saxon State and University Library with its internationally renowned collections of manuscripts, documents, maps, and photographs,
- the Dresden State Art Collections, one of the oldest and most important museum networks in Europe (consisting of 13 thematically different museums) that enjoys a worldwide reputation,
- the Bundeswehr Museum of Military History, that wants to develop a multiperspective and critical perspective on the history of violence and
- the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development.
Examples of the reseach excellence for the priority area:
- CRC 1285 "Invectivity. Constellations and Dynamics of Disparagement"
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EU FET-Flagship project „Time Machine“
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BMBF junior research group „HistStadt4D“
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BMBF research project „DataJus“
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BMBF research project „OERsax Rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen für Open Educational Resources“
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BMBF research project „Torgau. Heimerziehung in Spezialheimen der DDR – Eine pädagogisch rekonstruktive Studie zum DDR Erziehungssystem und dessen Bewältigung“
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BMBF research project „Schule inklusiv gestalten (SING) – Entwicklung fachdidaktischer Konzepte und organisatorischer Strukturen einer inklusiven Schule"
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MERCATOR Forum „Migration and Democracy“
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International Graduate Programme „Education & Technology"
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Research group GenderConceptGroup
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Research group „WeiterSehen“
- Akademy project Klöster im Hochmittelalter: Innovationslabore europäischer Lebensentwürfe und Ordnungsmodelle
- Spokesperson of "Die Junge Akademie": Dr. Christoph Lundgreen
- Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden