idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
The University of Bremen is successful in the Excellence Strategy. An international commission of experts chose its cluster application and others from 88 applications. A total of 195 draft proposals were submitted in advance. The new cluster will be funded for seven years from 2019 onward. The research project is housed at the MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Sciences of the University of Bremen, where excellent marine and deep-sea research has been carried out for almost 20 years.
“This is a great success. We are grateful for the repeated recognition and distinction of the University of Bremen,” says President Bernd Scholz-Reiter. “This decision acknowledges the outstanding work of our scientists, the excellent framework conditions of the University of Bremen for marine sciences, and the excellent collaboration with our partner institutions.” MARUM is one of the world’s most important research institutes in the marine sciences. An Excellence Cluster has been funded there since 2007. Over 350 people in science and technology are working on exploring the oceans and the deep sea. “We are delighted that we can open a new chapter in ocean floor research with the new approved cluster,” says MARUM Director Professor Michael Schulz, who is also the cluster’s spokesperson. “Over the next seven years, we will explore exchange processes on the ocean floor that play a key role in the earth’s systems. The focus of our activities will be on the deep sea,” says Professor Schulz.
Exploring the Ocean Floor
The ocean floor accounts for about two-thirds of the earth’s solid surface. What processes take place there and how they affect all of the earth’s systems is still not understood. Nevertheless, the researchers are certain that it is an important interface for the climate system and the global carbon cycle. The seabed is also like an archive that has recorded the environmental conditions of bygone times. Research will also focus on how the sensitive ecosystems in the deep sea react to a changing environment and rising temperatures. The unique fleet of equipment operated at MARUM will be used for the research, with advanced devices include diving robots, drilling rigs, and autonomous underwater vehicles.
Close Collaboration with Partner Institutions
As part of the cluster, the researchers at MARUM will work closely with partner institutions in the region. These include the University of Oldenburg, Jacobs University, the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Senckenberg am Meer, and the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT). Together, the scientists hope to exploit the full potential of ocean floor research in the region.
Additional Funding for U Bremen Excellence Chairs
In addition to the funding for the Excellence Cluster, the University of Bremen also receives funds from the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments for a university lump sum of one million euros. The state of Bremen provides for an increase of this amount. Starting in 2019/20, up to eight so-called U Bremen Excellence Chairs are to be financed with the funds. Three additional chairs will be financed through the MARUM cluster application. The Excellence Chairs offer internationally outstanding scientists the opportunity to conduct research at the University of Bremen over a period of several years in addition to their home institution and to establish their own working group there. At the same time, they are intended to strengthen the university’s partnerships with leading institutions worldwide.
Senator Congratulates
Senator of Science Eva Quante-Brandt congratulates the University of Bremen along with MARUM and the marine scientists from Bremen on this success: “Bremen’s marine research has prevailed in a scientific showdown with great competition. I would like to congratulate all those involved from the University of Bremen and the nonuniversity partners in Bremen as well as the University of Oldenburg. Of course, I am particularly pleased that the panel of experts not only emphasized the outstanding research, but also the good infrastructure that has been built up thanks to the strong support of the state of Bremen. The fact that the university’s concept for the university lump sum also convinced the international experts demonstrates that the University of Bremen has taken the right path with its strategy for the further development of excellent research.”
Additional Information:
Watch a film about the excellence decision from the University of Bremen (in German):
https://youtu.be/RWoPuA6tNHA
Read the press release from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG / in German): http://www.dfg.de/service/presse/pressemitteilungen/2018/pressemitteilung_nr_43/...
www.marum.de
www.uni-bremen.de
For Editorial Offices: You will find pictures under this link from the MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Sciences of the University of Bremen. You are welcome to use these under indication of the copyright: https://seafile.zfn.uni-bremen.de/f/4fbf78b9f3fe4cbbbddc/.
Contact:
President Bernd Scholz-Reiter
University of Bremen
Tel.: +49 421 218-66010
E-mail: rektor@uni-bremen.de
Professor Michael Schulz
Director of the MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Sciences
University of Bremen
Tel.: +49 421 218-65540
E-mail: mschulz@marum.de
About the University of Bremen
Top-performing, diverse, reform-minded, and singularly cooperative – that about sums up the University of Bremen. Around 23,000 people learn, teach, research, and work on its international campus. Their shared goal is to contribute to the advancement of society. With well over 100 degree programs, the range of subjects offered by the University is broad. As one of Europe’s leading research universities, it maintains close cooperation with non-university research institutions in the region. This spirit of cooperation led to the founding of the U Bremen Research Alliance in 2016. The University’s competence and dynamism have also attracted numerous companies to settle in the technology park surrounding the campus. This has created an important national location for innovation – with the University of Bremen at its heart.
About MARUM:
MARUM uses state-of-the-art methods and is involved in international projects to decipher the role of the ocean in the earth’s system – especially in view of global change. It records the interactions between geological and biological processes in the sea and contributes to the sustainable use of the oceans.
Criteria of this press release:
Journalists
Biology, Environment / ecology, Geosciences, Oceanology / climate
transregional, national
Contests / awards, Research projects
English
You can combine search terms with and, or and/or not, e.g. Philo not logy.
You can use brackets to separate combinations from each other, e.g. (Philo not logy) or (Psycho and logy).
Coherent groups of words will be located as complete phrases if you put them into quotation marks, e.g. “Federal Republic of Germany”.
You can also use the advanced search without entering search terms. It will then follow the criteria you have selected (e.g. country or subject area).
If you have not selected any criteria in a given category, the entire category will be searched (e.g. all subject areas or all countries).
