Excellence Strategy
Clusters of Excellence
Major success for the Rhine-Main Universities
A total of five of the cluster initiatives submitted by the Rhine-Main
Universities (RMU) will receive funding in the Excellence Strategy of the
German federal and state governments from 2026 onwards. The
Clusters of Excellence will receive funding for a period of seven years.
Overview of the three universities‘ cluster projects
At TU Darmstadt, two research projects will be funded as Clusters of Excellence: Reasonable Artificial Intelligence (RAI) and The Adaptive Mind (TAM), a joint proposal with Justus Liebig University Giessen and Philipps University Marburg.
Reasonable Artificial Intelligence (RAI)
The RAI Cluster of Excellence, under the leadership of the Technical
University of Darmstadt, is dedicated to the development of a new
generation of AI systems based on the reasonable use of resources, data
protection standards and continuous improvement. Multidisciplinary teams
are working together in four research areas to shape the future of AI.
Although deep learning has enabled important advances in the field of
artificial intelligence over the last ten years, current AI systems have
displayed some significant weaknesses, such as an inability to reason,
difficulty handling new situations and a need for continuous adjustments.
Last but not least, current AI systems also require substantial resources. The
aim of the Cluster of Excellence project “Reasonable Artificial Intelligence”
(RAI) is thus to develop the next generation of reasonable AI.The Adaptive Mind (TAM)
Researchers from institutions such as the Centre for Cognitive Science at
TU Darmstadt will contribute their expertise in the fields of cognitive
science and artificial intelligence to this research cluster. In “The Adaptive
Mind” the researchers will, together with their colleagues from the
Universities of Gießen and Marburg, investigate how human behaviour is
impacted by changing external conditions – with humans remaining stable
in some situations and adapting in others. A key question being
investigated by the research cluster is how to balance these two strategies
in adaptive and learning systems. The aim is to develop new approaches
for how we can understand human perception, thought, decision-making,
actions, and learning using computational models. This topic is relevant for
many academic fields – such as cognitive science, neuroscience,
psychology, research on learning robots, and the training of neural
networks.
At Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, the Excellence Cluster PRISMA++ will be funded.
Precision Physics, Fundamental Interactions and Structure of Matter (PRISMA++)
PRISMA++ is the follow-up project for the Cluster of Excellence "Precision
Physics, Fundamental Interactions and Structure of Matter" (PRISMA+). The
proposal for the cluster was being submitted jointly by JGU's Institute of
Physics and Institute of Nuclear Physics, together with the Helmholtz
Institute Mainz. The purpose of this cluster is to explore the existence of a
"new physics" beyond that of the Standard Model of particle physics. There
are three main factors underlying the research into the limitations of the
Standard Model. These are the extent of synergy between theory and
experiment, the availability of state-of-the-art facilities on the campus and
wide-ranging international collaboration. Among the core features of the
cluster is the construction and operation of the particle accelerator MESA
(Mainz Energy-recovering Superconducting Accelerator) that will enable
the results of high-precision experiments to be compared with the
predictions of theoretical physics. In this new funding period, the cluster is
proposing to also investigate aspects of physics at high and low energies
with the intention of identifying new particles and phenomena. In addition,
the study of the properties of neutrinos is to be intensified. The work of the
cluster will continue to receive significant support through the research
program of the Mainz Institute of Theoretical Physics (MITP) and the
development of hardware by the PRISMA Detector Lab. The Mainz Physics
Academy will furthermore remain the umbrella body responsible for all
activities relating to the training and career planning of the associated
young researchers. Prof. Dr. Concettina Sfienti of the institute of Nuclear
Physics at JGU and Prof. Dr. Alfons Weber of the Institute of Physics at JGU
are the spokespersons for PRISMA++.
At Goethe University Frankfurt, two Clusters of Excellence will be funded: the cluster initiative SCALE and the existing Cluster of Excellence Cardio-Pulmonary Institute (jointly with Justus Liebig University Giessen).
SCALE: Subcellular Architecture of LifE
Cells consist of billions of molecules that are organized from single
molecules to large molecular complexes to organelles. Although the
functions of many individual molecules have been well characterized by
now, it often remains unclear how the cellular architecture develops and
functions, and how the parts interact. In addition to uncovering the cell’s
self-organization principles, the scientists at SCALE also want to create a
simulation of the cell with high spatial and temporal resolution. This, they
hope, will lead to a better understanding of how cells really function and
how their various “machines” interact.CPI: Cardio-Pulmonary Institute
Diseases of the cardiovascular system often go hand in hand with lung
diseases, and are the most common causes of death worldwide. The Cluster
of Excellence seeks to understand which molecular biological processes
underlie these organs’ functioning as well as their failure in diseases. To
find new therapeutic approaches, CPI scientists are developing crossuniversity
model systems, ranging from cell cultures to animal models, and
combining the results with examination data from patients. The cluster
received funding as the “Excellence Cluster Cardio-Pulmonary System” from
2006 to 2018 and was again awarded the title of Cluster of Excellence
Cardio-Pulmonary Institute in 2019.
EXU proposal project: Contacts
A dedicated project management team has been established to steer and coordinate the joint RMU proposal project in the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments.
Email to the entire project management team: exstra@rhein-main-universitaeten.de
Goethe University Frankfurt: Annabel Bokern (+49 69-798-11103)
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz: Dr. Amelie Scheu (+49 6131- 39-26929)
TU Darmstadt: Lisa-Maria Speck (+49 6151- 16 20046)
RMU Office: Marlar Kin (+49 69 247477610)
About the Excellence Strategy
The aim of the Excellence Strategy is to strengthen Germany’s position as
an outstanding research hub in the long term and further improve its
international competitiveness. The Excellence Strategy is implemented in
two funding lines by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the
German Science and Humanities Council: the Clusters of Excellence funding
line designed to support project-based funding in internationally
competitive fields of research at universities or university consortia and the
Universities of Excellence funding line which serves to strengthen
universities as individual institutions or as university consortia in the long
term and further develop their leading international role based on
successful Clusters of Excellence. For the latter, individual universities must
have at least two, consortia must have at least three Clusters of Excellence.
Financial support through federal and state funding is not the only reason
why success in the Excellence Competition is important for universities. It
also promotes national and international visibility, because, on the
international stage, the program is considered an elite funding program.
Clusters of Excellence are able to work on interdisciplinary fields of
research with a long-term perspective and further develop research and
infrastructure jointly with non-university research partners. They also
increase a university’s attractiveness as a research and study location. As an
alliance, the Rhine-Main Universities want to strengthen their attractiveness
through various joint and complementary offers in research and teaching,
improve support for scientists and staff and increase synergies in
infrastructure and transfer. In doing so, they want to contribute to
sharpening the region’s profile as an internationally visible center of
science. A successful proposal as a University Excellence Consortium in the
Universities of Excellence Competition would mean an extraordinary boost,
in particular on an international level.
