Research Profile: Top-Level Research

Source: https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/research-and-teaching/research-profile Parent: https://www.uni-bonn.de/en

The University of Bonn has stood for top-level research for over 200 years. The founding professors already saw Bonn as a research university aimed at answering scientific, social and technological questions. Researchers, teachers and early-career researchers all benefit from this today, taking advantage of established German and global networks and strong scientific and social partnerships—with measurable effect.

Transdisciplinary Research

The six Transdisciplinary Research Areas (TRAs) at the University of Bonn create spaces for innovation in research and teaching.

More about our TRAs1

Fakultätsschilder beim Absolventenfest © Volker Lannert/Uni Bonn

Seven Faculties

The University of Bonn has divided its teaching and research activities into seven faculties, which are themselves subdivided into institutes, departments and even clinics. The faculties constitute the heart and center of the University.

Explore our Faculties2

Excellence in Research and Teaching

“We invest in people. We foster networks. We create impact.” We follow this strategy to create the ideal environment for creative scientific work by outstanding researchers that extends beyond our six Clusters of Excellence and to promote talented researchers at all career levels.

Excellence Strategy3

The Best Minds

The outstanding research performed by our researchers is shown by the many awards that have been received.

Excellent Researchers4

Cooperative Research Culture

Innovative top-level research in many national and international partnerships and collaborative projects sets us apart.

Collaborative Projects5

Diverse Appointments

The diversity of our externally funded professorships is a sign of our close cooperation with economy and society.

Externally Funded Professorships6

What sets our research profile apart?

01.

Excellence

The University of Bonn is one of eleven German Universities of Excellence3 and the only university with six Clusters of Excellence7. Recent decades have seen us produce more Nobel Prize and Fields Medal winners than any other German university.

02.

Networked

Embedded in the UN city of Bonn and a region of cutting-edge research, the University of Bonn is one of the leading research-oriented universities in Germany.

03.

Transdisciplinary

Our seven faculties cover a broad range of disciplines. This strong range of disciplines is supplemented by six cross-faculty, interdisciplinary “Transdisciplinary Research Areas” (TRAs)1 that create areas for exploration and innovation to facilitate academic exchange.

04.

Comprehensive Support

Our goal is to create the ideal conditions for internationally networked research to attract and develop the best researchers. Our Argelander Program for Early-Career Researchers8 offers comprehensive support to promote early independent research.

Transdisciplinary Research Areas

Transdisciplinary Research Areas (TRAs) focus our research on key scientific, technological and social issues of the future and create areas for exploration and innovation.

Mathematics, Modelling and Simulation of Complex Systems

How do complex systems actually work? Interaction of mathematical modelling, classical observational methods, data simulation and creative spirit.

TRA Modelling9

Building Blocks of Matter and Fundamental Interactions

How do the building blocks of matter interact? How do complex structures emerge at the different length scales of nature? Find out more about our research.

TRA Matter10

Life and Health

Understanding the complexity of life - developing new strategies for health.\ Read more about TRA Life and Health.

TRA Life and Health11

Individuals, Institutions and Societies

Complex relationships between the individual, institutions and societies – developing new views of micro- and macrophenomena.

TRA Individuals & Societies12

Past Worlds and Modern Questions. Cultures Across Time and Space

We foster and network research on the preconditions and conditions of the emergence of modern societies as well as on negotiation processes of heritage.

TRA Present Pasts13

Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Futures

The TRA Sustainable Futures researches institutional, science- and technology-based innovations in the field of sustainability.

TRA Sustainable Futures14

Latest Research and Teaching News

How to Spot Disinformation: Tips from a Cybersecurity Expert15

In late March, representatives of government and the business and scientific communities will meet on the University of Bonn’s Poppelsdorf Campus to discuss one of the most pressing issues of today’s digital age: the targeted dissemination of disinformation. The Bonn Dialogue on Cybersecurity will be held on Thursday, March 26, 2026, from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm in Lecture Hall 1, Poppelsdorf Campus, University of Bonn, Friedrich-Hirzebruch-Allee 5, 53115.

Mar 17, 2026 15

What’s in a Name? — The Unknown Faces of History16

Most people in history remain nameless, appearing in sources merely as numbers, traits or anonymous figures. A new research project launched by the Cluster of Excellence Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS) and the Department of History (IGW) at the University of Bonn is looking into how these nameless individuals can be analyzed and rendered visible in historical records. It has been awarded €370,000 in funding from the Volkswagen Foundation.

Mar 17, 2026 16

Dishwashing with side effects: Kitchen sponges release microplastics17

Kitchen sponges are among the most frequently used household items – and may also represent a previously underestimated source of microplastics. Researchers led by the University of Bonn investigated how many plastic particles are released from sponges during dishwashing and their environmental impacts. The findings show that while measurable amounts of microplastics enter the environment each year, the largest share of environmental impact from manual dishwashing is caused by water consumption.

Mar 17, 2026 17

Researchers develop a ChatGPT for Portuguese18

Large language models, such as ChatGPT, perform significantly less well in Portuguese than in English despite both languages being spoken worldwide. This gap has now been closed with "GigaVerbo". The team led by Dr. Nicholas Kluge Corrêa from the Center for Science and Thought at the University of Bonn is now presenting the project in the journal "Patterns". The researchers were among the first to utilize the new "Marvin" supercomputer at the University of Bonn. Nicholas Kluge Corrêa and his colleague Aniket Sen are both members of the Transdisciplinary Research Area "Sustainable Futures" at the University of Bonn.

Mar 06, 2026 18

University of Bonn to Receive Start-up Center.NRW for Life Sciences and AI19

The University of Bonn is expanding its start-up consulting services in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and the life sciences. With the new “U-Bo-LIFE-AI” Start-up Center.NRW, it will be enhancing entrepreneurial expertise and access to networks of investors and established companies in a systematic way. The University will be receiving roughly €1 million over the next three years from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and NRW’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy to set up “U-Bo-LIFE-AI” and develop it further.

Mar 04, 2026 19

How realistic does a supermarket need to be?20

Researchers at the University of Bonn have conducted a review study to examine the methods used to research consumer behaviour in supermarkets.

Mar 03, 2026 20

Immune cells remember their location21

A new AI-based method reconstructs spatial information about where immune cells were originally located in an organ, even after these cells have been removed from the tissue and analyzed individually. To accomplish this, Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn use the transcriptome, i.e., the entirety of all messenger RNA transcripts produced by genes within a cell at a given time. The work has now been published in the journal Advanced Science and introduces the new MERLIN algorithm.

Mar 02, 2026 21

Mitochondria influence lipid storage in cells22

The powerhouse of the cells – known as mitochondria – appear to be able to influence the number of lipid droplets in the cell. A mechanism that is actually intended for a completely different purpose plays a central role in this. This is shown by a recent study by the University of Bonn and University Hospital Bonn and the University of Freiburg. The results have now been published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

Feb 26, 2026 22

We think without borders

With our magazine, we give you an insight into the research and teaching being done at our University. We focus on our transdisciplinary research and the work that we are undertaking in our six Clusters of Excellence. By virtue of their reputation and sheer number, they are without parallel in the entire German university sector.

Find out more about us in the reports on the University, on our research and on some of our favorite places in Bonn—an extremely likeable city that is home to numerous international organizations.

Download (PDF)23

Contact

Research and Innovation Services

+49 228 / 73-60915\ GZDez7@verwaltung.uni-bonn.de

The research division manages the entire research process - from initial information on funding, handling third-party funded projects and the exploitation of results.

Also see

Transdisciplinary Research Areas

The six Transdisciplinary Research Areas (TRAs) at the University of Bonn create spaces for innovation in research and teaching.

More on TRAs1

Clusters of Excellence

The University of Bonn has six Clusters of Excellence, more than any other university in Germany.

Our Clusters7

NeurotechEU

NeurotechEU is an alliance that has set itself the mission of building an innovative, trans-European network of excellence for brain research and technologies.

Learn more24

Research Profile: Top-Level Research

Transdisciplinary Research

Seven Faculties

Excellence in Research and Teaching

The Best Minds

Cooperative Research Culture

Diverse Appointments

What sets our research profile apart?

Excellence

Networked

Transdisciplinary

Comprehensive Support

Transdisciplinary Research Areas

Mathematics, Modelling and Simulation of Complex Systems

Building Blocks of Matter and Fundamental Interactions

Life and Health

Individuals, Institutions and Societies

Past Worlds and Modern Questions. Cultures Across Time and Space

Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Futures

We think without borders

Contact

Also see

Transdisciplinary Research Areas

Clusters of Excellence

NeurotechEU

Links