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Astrophysics research explores the universe with high energy neutrinos and gamma rays. Image: DESY
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Helmholtz Alliances Astroparticle Physics and DLR@Uni
The Helmholtz Association is funding two new Helmholtz Alliances. In the Helmholtz Alliance for Astroparticle Physics, scientists from the Helmholtz centres DESY and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are joining forces with working groups from 15 universities and other institutions to form a powerful syndicate with the potential of rising to a world-wide leading position. In the Helmholtz Alliance DLR@Uni, the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) is developing research networks with universities at three sites.
"Helmholtz Alliances bundle the competences of partners from universities, Helmholtz centres as well as from other national and international research institutions", says Prof. Dr Jürgen Mlynek, President of the Helmholtz Association. "Thereby, we achieve fast progress in future-oriented fields and a greater visibility on an international level, while at the same time we connect top-level research with universities and jointly train young scientists capable of competing on the international level." Helmholtz Alliances can be funded with up to 2.5 million Euro per year from out of the Initiative and Networking Fund. This is augmented by the Helmholtz centres themselves contributing the same amount. The funding period is five years. The Initiative and Networking Fund draws funds from the growth, by which the federal government through the Pact for Research and Innovation grants the German Research Organisations freedom to act in order to achieve strategic goals.
Helmholtz Alliance Astroparticle Physics
In addition to the Helmholtz centres KIT and DESY, the Helmholtz Alliance for Astroparticle Physics, headed by the KIT in a leading role, combines a total of 15 German universities and three Max Planck Institutes as well as two more external partners to form a syndicate with visibility on an international level. The subject matter includes the "non-thermal universe", the "dark universe" and "astroparticle theory". The Alliance follows in the footsteps of the successful networking concept of the Helmholtz Alliance "Physics on the Tera Scale" and bundles all significant astroparticle physics activities scattered across German universities. The reviewer panel unanimously agreed on funding the Alliance in the applied for form and to an amount of 9.990 million Euro over a period of 5 years.
Helmholtz Alliance DLR@Uni
The joint application of the three location based networks Munich "Fakultät Munich Aerospace", Braunschweig "Campus Forschungsflughafen" (Campus Research Airport) and Stuttgart – Research Campus "Gemeinsam die Zukunft gestalten" (Jointly Constructing the Future) for forming the Helmholtz Alliance DLR@Uni convinced the reviewers with the scientific quality of the research activities applied for. The reviewers recommend the granting of applied for funds amounting to 9.193 million Euro over five years. With the cooperation approach of the Helmholtz Alliance DLR @Uni, the research activities between the three DLR Institutes and the universities in the respective regions are to be strategically developed in central fields of competence and the training of doctoral candidates is to be intensified through structured programmes. Other Helmholtz Alliances already are in their preparation phase.
