Research field Key Technologies

 The effectiveness of this field of research is based on multidisciplinary cooperation between holistic programmes involving a wide range of technological areas with an outstanding infrastructure tailored to the needs of large-scale research.

This covers the entire spectrum from basic research up to actual applications. In the programmes “Supercomputing”, “Fundamentals of Future Information Technology”, “NANOMICRO: Science, Technology, Systems”, “Advanced Engineering Materials”, “BioSoft” and “BioInterfaces”, Helmholtz scientists are building bridges between the life sciences, the natural and engineering sciences as well as between nanoscience, microsystems technology and the macroworld. Special significance is attached to “Supercomputing” and innovation and risk research within the framework of the “Technology, Innovation and Society” programme in their function as integrating elements.

Technological advances and pioneering innovations are set in motion by basic research and creative work. The discovery of the GMR effect by Nobel laureate Professor Peter Grünberg is an outstanding example of how research results can be transformed into future key technologies leading to inno vative products of great economic and industrial relevance within ten to fifteen years. The Helmholtz centres in Geesthacht, Jülich and Karlsruhe are pooling their broad-based expertise and interdisciplinary potential to lay the foundation for the next generation of key technologies.

A high potential for innovation has been identified at the interface between the disciplines of physics, chemistry, materials science, the life sciences and nanotechnology, which can be exploited on several levels and is strongly supported by modelling and simulation. Helmholtz-specific technology platforms cooperate closely with selected universities functioning as focal points for a broad user community made up of universities and industry.

As a large-scale facility with high visibility, the petascale European Supercomputing Centre at Jülich will be firmly established as part of the German Gauss Centre for Supercomputing and as an architect of the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE), and is available to all scientific research communities in Europe.

The research field supports the high-tech strategy of the German federal government, particularly in the areas of bio- and nanotechnology, micro- and nanoelectronics, optical technologies, microsystems and materials technology, as well as information and communications technology. This research field sets the pace for innovation and develops these fields of the future which will secure Germany’s leading position and consolidate its economic strength.

Furthermore, the research field follows the recommendations of the Industry- Science Research Alliance with respect to the defined future fields, the resolution of the National Bioeconomy Council and the strategic considerations of the EU for key technologies.