Prof Dr Christoph Strunk Bastian Schmidt, UR/Schmidt
On February 2nd, an international committee of experts selected the research outline for the cluster project the Center for Chiral Electronics of the University or Regensburg (UR) and its partners for the final round of Germany’s Excellence Strategy, a funding program jointly sponsored by the German federal and state Governments fostering cutting-edge research at German universities. Now, scholars and universities involved in the clusters have until August 22, 2024, to thoroughly prepare and submit their applications. The final decision on the multi-million euro funding as a Cluster of Excellence will be made in May 2025.
The key objective of the Excellence Strategy is to strengthen top-level research in areas that are internationally competitive – across departments, on a project-related basis and in cooperation with other universities. UR’s President Professor Dr. Udo Hebel expresses delight at the success, stating, "Our joint project proposal with the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the Freie Universität Berlin is now in the final selection round of the Excellence Strategy. Already at this stage, considering the competitive situation, this is a great success for our scientists and our university."
The University's robust engagement in extensive research networks, coupled with its esteemed reputation as a prominent collaborator, underscores its strategic foresight and forward-thinking development in recent years. In a bid to fortify research within its four key domains—Dynamics in the Global World, Integrated Sciences in Life, Health, and Disease, Digital Transformations, and Material Worlds and Sustainability—the University has strategically introduced additional professorships. This commitment is aptly mirrored in a research project like the Center for Chiral Electronics, which not only embody technical and networked excellence but also bring forth a distinctive future-oriented perspective and societal relevance.
The Center for Chiral Electronics
The successful cluster initiative Center for Chiral Electronics is a joint project of the UR, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), and Freie Universität Berlin. In cooperation with the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics and the Max Born Institute Berlin, the research team describes a novel research program that combines the fields of spintronics and chirality and thus provides the basis for novel molecular, spintronic and superconducting devices.
The aim is to develop modern technologies for data storage and information processing with ultra-high speed, low energy consumption and high stability against external interference. "The planned cluster is based, among other things, on the strong contributions of Regensburg physics in the fields of spintronics and superconductivity. The cooperation with the partners in Halle and Berlin opens up strong cooperation opportunities for the design of advanced materials and devices for future low-loss electronics," explains Professor Dr. Christoph Strunk, Experimental and Applied Physics at the UR, one of the spokespersons of the cluster.
He is leading the initiative together with MLU physicist Professor Dr. Georg Woltersdorf and Professor Dr. Katharina Franke from Freie Universität Berlin. There are diverse and interdisciplinary points of contact for the researchers of the potential Cluster of Excellence with DFG-funded Collaborative Research Centres / Transregios and Research Training Groups located at the UR, research projects funded by the Hightech-Agenda Bavaria or the Regensburg Center for Ultrafast Nanoscopy - RUN, which will open in Regensburg in May 2024.
Contact for scientific information:
University of Regensburg
Caroline Kappes
Head of Communications
E-Mail: caroline.kappes@ur.de
