Insights We/Four – TU Berlin in the Berlin University Alliance

Source: https://www.tu.berlin/en/berlin-university-alliance/insights-wefour Parent: https://www.tu.berlin/en/studying

This magazine showcases examples of the advantages offered by this one-of-a-kind network in Germany, of the skills and talents that TU Berlin brings to the table, and of the challenges we are approaching together as a consortium. Follow us into the cosmos of cooperation to find out what we have already achieved and what we plan to accomplish.

We/Four Editorial

All that's left to do now is cross our fingers: If the evaluation is positive, the BUA will continue to receive funding under the Excellence Strategy of the federal and state governments for another seven years, starting on 1 January 2027.

From Numbers to Impact

In its second funding phase, the MATH+ Cluster of Excellence – with all three Berlin universities as applicant institutions – is using basic mathematical research to pinpoint solutions for society, the economy, and sustainability

Going Down Rough Paths

How mathematics helps us understand the turbulence of financial markets

Berlin Sparks the Next Chemical Revolution

Professor Dr. Juri Rappsilber, spokesperson of the UniSysCat Cluster of Excellence, explains how the capital is reinventing chemistry and securing our future

The Principles of Intelligence

Be it humans, machines, or animals: The Science of Intelligence Cluster of Excellence is uncovering the fundamental principles of intelligence

When Forces Unite

In this Interview TU Chancellor Lars Oeverdieck talks about the power of cooperation, successes to date, and his vision for the future.

From Vision to Action

In the Berlin University Alliance, new ideas are generated by people striving to make a difference, be it students developing sustainable building ideas, researchers forging international networks, or initiatives creating spaces of solidarity.

Health for All

The Re-Scaling Global Health project examines the complex interplay between medical challenges, biological diversity, and environmental change in cities

"Everything Starts With an Idea"

Many research findings have economic potential and could help improve people's everyday lives. But how do we make the leap from the lecture hall or lab to real-life applications? Volker Hofmann and Florian Frank are part of the management team of Science & Startups, the joint startup service of Berlin's three major universities. In this interview, they talk about the opportunities for setting up companies based on scientific research.

A Key to the Future

Quantum keys are seen as guaranteeing absolutely secure communication – but achieving genuinely uncrackable cryptography requires more than just a few tricks from the world of physics. With a new academic chair and support provided by the BUA-coordinated Berlin Quantum initiative, TU Berlin is further expanding its research into quantum communication.

From Data Centers to Diversity: What's New at the BUA

Whether new infrastructure for data-driven research, digitally networked collections, international cooperation, or providing impetus for diversity and gender studies, the Berlin University Alliance is pursuing a wide range of initiatives to strengthen the capital city as a science hub.

Exploring the Importance of Water in Berlin

The ON WATER | WasserWissen program in Berlin brings together representatives from science, politics, art, and civil society to develop ideas for a resilient future for water

Light Strips

The striped marlin (front cover) is one of the fastest and largest fish in the ocean.

Editorial We/Four No 3

This issue of our magazine focuses on the three Clusters of Excellence for which TU Berlin is an applicant university.

Fair Mobility

First the vision, then the technical innovation: Researchers and civil society actors are working together on the urban transportation of the future.

Green Food Revolution

Alternative sources of protein aim to secure the global food supply while reducing emissions. Researchers are investigating how responsible innovations in the protein transformation are.

Rooted in the Real World

The TD-Lab – Laboratory for Transdisciplinary Research is run by the Science & Society Unit at TU Berlin and focuses on research carried out in collaboration with civil society.

Little Digital Helpers

Researchers are exploring how everyone – from care recipients to medical professionals – can benefit from a digital care ecosystem.

A Digital Research Space for the Alliance

An Interview with Prof. Dr. Sonja Schimmler, Research Data Infrastructure Group at TU Berlin and research group leader of Digital Public Services at Fraunhofer FOKUS

Bridge Builders

The BUA's Open Science Ambassador Program is building a bridge to raise awareness of open science at universities.

MINT meets Gender

How a BUA Certificate Program is changing perspectives

Berlin's Unique Ecosystem for Green Chemistry

Martin Rahmel has a knack for breaking down abstract ideas so that anyone can grasp them.

Collective Intelligence: Robots Catch Virtual Fish

David Mezey, research associate at the Cluster of Excellence Science of Intelligence (SCIoI) and at HU Berlin, talks about Collective Intelligence

Explainable AI: Unlocking the Secrets of Sophisticated Networks

Although we can't see them, neural networks have been all around us for quite some time: They recognize a user's face when unlocking their smartphone, and are also pivotal in helping voice assistants distinguish our own voice from somebody else's.

A Marvel of Nature: An Enzyme that Provides Climate-Neutral Energy

Harnessing hydrogen as a clean energy source and sustainable raw material is a dream being researched worldwide to replace gas, coal, and oil for the production of fertilizers, fuel, concrete, and textiles, and thus put an end to the destructive exploitation of the Earth.

Event Cameras Can Improve Smartphones – and Observe Penguins in Ecstasy

It's an hour-long trek from the Spanish research station on Deception Island, located in the north of the Antarctic continent, up to Punta de la Descubierta.

A Digital Twin for Controlling Our Electricity Grid

Implementing the energy transition is a major undertaking. In addition to solar cells and wind turbines, it requires the safe transportation of hydrogen as an energy storage medium.

Hand in Hand Through Quantum Land

The Berlin Quantum Alliance is creating a network of regional expertise to pave the way towards a world with quantum computers and quantum-mechanically secured communication.

Performative Art for the Urban Climate

"Exploring and Designing Urban Density. Neurourbanism as a Novel Approach in Global Health" is one of four projects in the BUA Alliance investigating global health. It explores how major urban centers affect people, and what measures can be taken through urban planning.

Misunderstood Phenomena

Groß Glienicker Lake and Sacrower Lake are only a couple of hundred meters apart, but fluctuations in their water levels tell a different story. Researchers are working to unravel the mystery.

We are creating a framework for working together in a spirit of trust"

Anika Rehder directs the Excellence Strategy Task Force at TU Berlin, the office that coordinates the University's participation in the Excellence competition

Appeal: Fix the Institution, not the Excluded!

BY Aline Oloff, leader of the BUA junior research group “Fix the Institution, not the Excluded!” at the Center for Interdisciplinary Women’s and Gender Studies at TU Berlin

Shared Microcosm

The newly established Alliance Center Electron Microscopy (ACEM) supports the BUA scientific community with electron microscopy

X Is for Excellence

They are tackling Berlin's housing crisis, researching icecovered moons, investigating whether mushrooms can replace carbon-intensive foods, and developing an environmentally friendly AI using water. The Berlin University Alliance’s X-Student Research Groups offer students the opportunity to participate in current research projects at HU Berlin, FU Berlin, TU Berlin, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. In this article, we present four X-Student Research Groups.

Networking as a Scientific Passion

Introducing the Berlin University Alliance’s Sciencefluencers

Landscapes of Evolution

As part of an international team, a member and Distinguished Fellow of the MATH+ Cluster of Excellence has developed a method that brings together biology and geometry.

Proteins – Tiny Medicine Factories in Our Bodies

We need chemicals for all kinds of things: new medicines, fertilizers, housing construction, infrastructure, cell phones, computers, and everyday items. The aim of the UniSysCat Cluster of Excellence is to transform the chemical industry into a green circular economy. The key technology here is catalysis. TU Berlin bioanalyst Professor Dr. Juri Rappsilber has been a UniSysCat spokesperson since January 2024.

Open Science – Berlin Style

The Berlin University Alliance (BUA) adopted its mission statement for open science in November 2023. TU Berlin Professor Dr. Manfred Hauswirth, who is also a member of the BUA steering committee Advancing Research Quality and Value, discusses how the mission statement came about and what makes it special.

“Find Something That Really Gets You To Switch Off Completely”

Doing a doctorate can be extremely strenuous – psychologically too. Positive psychology provides methods that enable students to navigate more happily through the tough stages of writing a doctoral thesis.

A Plea: We Need Open Hardware!

Free and open software was instrumental in building the Internet. Professional developers collaborated on a free basis to make this possible.

A Plea: We Need to Swap More Information!

For us, transdisciplinarity means that science opens up and seeks exchange with society.

What Does Future Need?

Science is an inventor of the future. Science in Berlin dedicates itself intensively to the question of how we want to live and conduct research in the coming decades. We asked researchers, students and citizen scientists from the BUA network what is important to them.

Silent Pandemic

Antibiotic resistance is on the rise worldwide. A BUA-funded team of researchers is developing a device that can predict resistance before it occurs. The technology has the potential to open up new avenues of attack in the fight against the antibiotic crisis. Ethicists are also on board the “GlobalResist” project to assess at an early stage the potential negative consequences of the innovation.

“Everything Becomes Stronger Through Collaboration”

Mathematician and TU Berlin president Professor Dr. Geraldine Rauch speaks about a new culture of cooperation and the added value of joint research in the age of crises. The focus in this regard is on the development of the Berlin University Alliance (BUA).

The New Table Culture

Food is also a social issue. In the BUA-funded project “Social Cohesion, Food & Health – Inclusive Food System Transitions,” scientists from different disciplines are developing ideas for a socially acceptable nutrition of the future – from cultured meat as a new protein source to school meal strategies that benefit all children.