Sep 28, 2018
Success in the Excellence Competition: Three Clusters for TU Dresden
Everybody at TU Dresden is elated: Three out of TUD’s six proposed Clusters of Excellence have been approved as part of the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Government! The decision was announced today by the German Research Foundation (DFG, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft). This is a considerable success in light of the fierce competition. With this achievement, TU Dresden has demonstrably cleared the second hurdle to remain in the race for the title of University of Excellence. The prerequisite for applying for this title is the approval of at least two Clusters of Excellence. Prof. Hans Müller-Steinhagen, Rector of TU Dresden, highlights the importance of this decision for the whole university. “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in these clusters! This is a brilliant accomplishment for the entire university and confirms that we have rightly earned our place among the top research universities in Germany. Full of motivation and optimism, we now turn our attention to finalising our application for the University of Excellence funding line.”
In the first round of the Excellence Initiative, TU Dresden has initially managed to secure funding for one Cluster of Excellence since 2007, followed by two clusters in the second round. Therefore, today’s approval of three Clusters of Excellence is a further testament to TU Dresden’s continuous, successful development.
These are TU Dresden’s new Clusters of Excellence:
PoL: Physics of Life
To fathom life is one of the greatest and most complex scientific challenges. The cluster aims to investigate the fundamental issues in cell and developmental biology and initiate a paradigm shift: to create understanding of the underlying biological processes of life as complex physical phenomena.
Spokesperson: Prof. Stephan Grill
ct.qmat: Complexity and Topology in Quantum Materials
Pioneering materials with tailor-made functions are the basis for progress in virtually all areas of modern technology. ct.qmat places emphasis on quantum mechanisms on the atomic scale, which, in conjunction with topological physics and the chemical and physical complexities, reveals hitherto unprecedented properties and phenomena. This cluster proposal was submitted in cooperation with the University of Würzburg.
Spokesperson: Prof. Matthias Vojta
CeTI: Center for Tactile Internet
CeTI aims to expedite the efficient cooperation between man and machine. A future application is the co-working of man and machine with mutual learning. This endeavour requires both innovative communication technologies in ‘real time’ as well as an understanding of the human body and its reactions.
Spokesperson: Prof. Frank Fitzek
The two existing Clusters of Excellence CRTD (Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden) and cfaed (Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden) will be continued through funds provided by the Free State of Saxony and TU Dresden, so that TU Dresden now has five outstanding, international research clusters.
The approved Clusters of Excellence belong to TUD’s Research Priority Areas of Health Sciences, Biomedicine and Bioengineering; Smart Materials and Structures as well as Information Technology and Microelectronics. Since all Research Priority Areas of TU Dresden are interdisciplinarily intertwined, many academic disciplines ultimately contribute to the success of the Excellence Strategy.
Starting on 1st January 2019, the three Clusters of Excellence will receive funding for the next seven years. The funding will amount up to ten million euro p.a. for each cluster, in line with the DFG tender. The official funding confirmations are expected within the next few days.
Regarding the other Clusters of Excellence that were not selected despite their generally high quality, TU Dresden will now have to consider which of these could be financed through alternative funding schemes.
Today calls for celebration, but tomorrow morning we have to continue working on our application for the University of Excellence status, as time is of the essence. Our application must be submitted by 10th December. The international reviewers will inspect TU Dresden in February 2019 and finally, on 19th July 2019, the decision will be announced as to which universities will be awarded the “University of Excellence” title and funding.