Nov 11, 2016
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute for Software Research and Simulation is to be established at TU Dresden
It took some time, but now the decision has been made: The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) will establish a software institute in Dresden. The institute will be embedded in the Lehmann Centre - a central academic unit of TU Dresden.
For TU Dresden a long-cherished wish has been fulfilled. Ever since his inauguration in 2010, TUD’s rector Prof. Hans Müller-Steinhagen, himself a former long-time DLR institute director, has been committed to establishing a DLR institute at TU Dresden and is now very pleased about this decision: “It is well-known that the DLR only chooses locations with very high performing universities. Therefore, I consider today’s decision as a further confirmation for TU Dresden’s excellence.” Setting up the DLR software institute is “a success and enrichment not only for TU Dresden but also for the city of Dresden and the Free State of Saxony.”
For many years TUD has been host to numerous successful scientific activities in the fields of software development, high performance computing, Big Data, 5G-Lab, Internet of Things or internet security. It will form the basis for the new DLR institute. Prof. Wolfgang E. Nagel, Director of TUD’s Centre for Information Services and High Performance Computing (ZIH) underlines: “The DLR software institute in cooperation with the Lehmann Centre provides an excellent opportunity to combine innovative application fields such as cyber-physical systems, Cloud Computing, High Performance Computing and Big Data with software research. This will allow us to set the scientific focus on software research which up to now has not been sustainably explored. “
The goal of the new Dresden-based institute is the strategic platform research and development to support the virtual system capabilities of the German aerospace sector regarding hardware, software and application systems. The focus of the new institute will be the research on innovative technologies for practical applications in the fields of manufacturing engineering, robotics, systems and simulation as well as virtual reality.
According to Prof. Hans Müller-Steinhagen there will also be a close cooperation with the other partner institutions of the DRESDEN-concept research alliance. “The DLR institute is a top-class addition to the portfolio of extramural research institutions in Dresden and I will strive to ensure that it shall become a member of our DRESDEN-concept research alliance as soon as possible.” TU Dresden considers the further strengthening of DRESDEN-concept an important building block for its application for the next round of the federal excellence initiative (excellence strategy).
The first expansion phase with approx. 50 members of staff working on TUD premises will start in 2017. A new building for the software institute is planned in close vicinity to the Centre for Information Services and High Performance Computing in order to facilitate the integration of the DLR institute – with regards to both content and location.