Helmholtz press breakfast at AAAS: Excellent research with transatlantic partners
Global challenges require international partnerships. Mutual strengths, similar interests and combined expertise will lead to greater success in finding global solutions for these challenges. The Helmholtz-Alberta-Initiative is one example for an excellent international research partnership. At this year´s AAAS Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Prof. Juergen Mlynek, President of the Helmholtz Association, and Dr. Indira Samarasekera, President of the University of Alberta, will give an interesting insight into the initiative, its projects and its objectives.
Global challenges require international partnerships. Mutual strengths, similar interests and combined expertise will lead to greater success in finding global solutions for these challenges. The Helmholtz-Alberta-Initiative is one example for an excellent international research partnership. At this year´s AAAS Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Prof. Juergen Mlynek, President of the Helmholtz Association, and Dr. Indira Samarasekera, President of the University of Alberta, will give an interesting insight into the initiative, its projects and its objectives.
“Collaborations with international research organizations in general and with transatlantic partners such as the Helmholtz Alberta Initiative, in particular, strengthen the Helmholtz Association’s international standing”, explains Prof. Mlynek. “And especially the University of Alberta with its enormous expertise in important research fields, such as environment, energy and health is one of the most reputable universities in North America.”
Dr. Indira Samarasekera adds: “Helmholtz and the University of Alberta complement each other very well. The cooperation of scientists from Canada and Germany will create an added value with regard to the development of solutions to questions of global importance in different fields including energy and environment, ecosystems and resource informatics, and health.”
About the Helmholtz-Alberta-Initiative:
The Helmholtz-Alberta Initiative (HAI) is an independent international research partnership that effectively bundles the scientific and technical expertise of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centre – Germanys largest scientific organization – and the University of Alberta (Canada) to jointly develop solutions to key challenges in fields such as energy and environment, ecosystems and resource informatics, and health.
Within the framework of the first HAI project “HAI – Energy and Environment” scientists from the University of Alberta and the four Helmholtz Centres namely the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ –German Research Centre for Geosciences, the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, the Forschungszentrum Jülich and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology jointly research fundamental challenges with respect to a sustainable, efficient and environmentally compatible future energy supply by investigating fields of global relevance such as coal and oil sands. The key objective of this project is to carry out independent and open-ended research to gain basic knowledge and to develop innovative technologies and system solutions for an efficient energy production of high quality energy carriers as well as to reduce environmental impact by improving land reclamation measures for post-miming landscapes.
A further goal of this international initiative is to supply a long-term contribution to a scientific and technical collaboration in both countries and, in this respect, support, among other factors, the education and exchange of the future scientific generations across a broad spectrum of scientific fields.
For further information about HAI, please contact:
Dr. Bernd Uwe Schneider
Lead Science Coordinator Helmholtz
Head of Staff, Scientific Executive Board
Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ – German Research Centre for Geosciences
Tel: +49 331 288 1065
Dr. Stefan Scherer
Managing Director Helmholtz-Alberta Initiative
University of Alberta
Tel: +1 780 248 1369
About AAAS Annual Meeting:
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an international non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science around the world by serving as an educator, leader, spokesperson and professional association. In addition to organizing membership activities, AAAS publishes the journal Science, as well as many scientific newsletters, books and reports, and spearheads programs that raise the bar of understanding for science worldwide.
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