TU Berlin successfully involved in Einstein Centers

The Einstein Foundation will support two new Einstein Centers in the future. The TU Berlin is strongly represented among them. It holds the spokesperson position at the Einstein Center for Catalysis, and at the Einstein Center for Neuroscience, whose spokesperson is based at Charité University Medicine Berlin, TU scientists are involved.

Einstein Centers are an important building block for the sustainability of top-level research networks in Berlin. By applying for an Einstein Center, the consortia, which are already funded by third parties, for example in excellence clusters, graduate schools, or DFG research centers, have the opportunity to establish cross-institutional research and teaching networks in Berlin. The goal of the Einstein Foundation is to strengthen the international competitive position of the Berlin research location.

The funding for the two new Einstein Centers begins in January 2016 and amounts to a total of around 16 million euros for a period of five years. Both Einstein Centers were jointly applied for by Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

TU President Prof. Dr. Christian Thomsen says: "I am pleased that TU Berlin has successfully secured the Einstein Centers. We will also use this as motivation for the planned proposals in the upcoming Excellence Funding Round."

Einstein Center for Catalysis (EC²)

The Einstein Center for Catalysis (EC²) builds on the interdisciplinary research of the Excellence Cluster Unifying Concepts in Catalysis (UniCat). The spokesperson of the new center and of UniCat is Prof. Dr. Matthias Driess from the Department of Metalorganic Chemistry and Inorganic Materials at TU Berlin. He emphasizes: "The approval for the new center is a great success and a basis for future joint work in catalysis research in the Berlin area. This goes beyond UniCat."

In the Einstein Center for Catalysis (EC²), the development and advancement of methods are promoted that enable a breakthrough in understanding the dynamics of chemical and biological catalysts. The basic research at EC² focuses on activating important small molecules as starting materials, which are indispensable for the energy transition, raw material change, and value chain. By researching the dynamics of the necessary chemical and biological catalysts, more efficient and new pathways to raw materials and medicines are made possible. The scientific-methodological potential is also intended to serve as a catalyst for new molecular research activities between chemistry, biology, physics, and medicine in Berlin.

Central partners of the center include the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, the Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology Berlin, the Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences Berlin, the Helmholtz Center Berlin, and the UniCat-BASF Joint Lab.

Einstein Center for Neuroscience

The Einstein Center for Neuroscience is an initiative of the Excellence Cluster NeuroCure, the Berlin School of Mind and Brain, the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, and the Center for Stroke Research Berlin. Partners include Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (spokesperson), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, and non-university institutions such as the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine and the Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology. Various departments of TU Berlin, including Faculty IV Electrical Engineering and Computer Science as well as Faculty II Mathematics and Natural Sciences, will be involved. The center aims to unite research groups under one roof, strengthen collaboration among neuroscientists across disciplines, and promote further networking. It also seeks to bring basic research, clinical research, and engineering closer together. The core is a unified, modular curriculum for interdisciplinary training in neuroscience and related fields. With the help of the "Einstein Training Program," up to 25 new doctoral candidates will be recruited and supported annually. The candidates will receive a tailored doctoral program, along with support and supervision until the completion of their respective projects.

In addition to catalysis research and neuroscience, the Einstein Center for Mathematics has existed since 2012. Researchers from TU Berlin are also involved there.