University of Hamburg celebrates funding for four clusters of excellence“Top-Level Research Has a Home, and It’s Called Hamburg”

Prof. Dr. Hauke Heekeren, University president, reveals the names of the funded clusters of excellence. The great success is a result of the extraordinary cooperation in Hamburg within the University as well as with politicians and the University’s partner institutions, such as DESY. Hauke Heekeren also paid tribute to the Gateways to Health cluster initiative, which was not included in this round’s pool of funded clusters of excellence.

Congratulations via live broadcast from Berlin: “It’s not easy to get into the top league, and it’s not easy to stay in the top league. But the University of Hamburg has established itself in the top league of research!” proclaimed Dr. Peter Tschentscher, mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.

“Top-level research has a home, and it’s called Hamburg,” cheered Deputy Mayor Katharina Fegebank. She was speechless and overwhelmed that the University of Hamburg was once again able to secure 4 clusters of excellence, and the Hamburg University of Technology (TU Hamburg) even ensured a fifth cluster for the Hanseatic city. Based on her discussions with reviewers over the past few days, Fegebank said that the city played a central role in the evaluations due to its exceptional research environment and its rapid development as a scientific hub.

With the development of Universität Hamburg—University of Excellence, the entire city has evolved and progressed from being a commercial metropolis to an internationally respected research hub, declared Maryam Blumenthal, Hamburg’s new senator for science. She also celebrated at TU Hamburg, which successfully applied for cluster funding for BlueMat: Water-Driven Materials, in which the University of Hamburg is also involved.

In her acknowledgments, CLICCS spokesperson—Prof. Dr. Johanna Baehr (with deputy spokespersons Prof. Dr. Jochem Marotzke, left, and Prof. Dr. Achim Oberg, right)—pointed out that the work carried out in the climate cluster of excellence would not be possible without Hamburg’s unique research environment or the numerous climate-research players.

From the Cluster of Excellence CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter: Prof. Dr. Henry Chapman, Prof. Dr. Francesca Calegari, and Prof. Dr. Klaus Sengstock (from left to right ) also express their special thanks to those who work behind the scenes in their cluster, such as the technicians and scientific assistants. They highlighted the cluster’s special commitment to researchers at the beginning of their careers, with more than 80 percent of its funding going toward training young researchers.

In her speech, Prof. Dr. Erika Garutti, spokesperson for the Cluster of Excellence Quantum Universe, recalled the long journey that led to this successful moment. Even though her cluster team is spread across 3 locations (the Hamburg Observatory, the Bahrenfeld campus, and the Geomatikum), the collaboration is always close and trusting. (From left to right: Prof. Dr. Tilo Böhmann, University of Hamburg vice president for research; Prof. Garutti; Prof. Dr. Géraldine Servant, cospokesperson, and Prof. Dr. Timo Weigand, cospokesperson)

Prof. Dr. Konrad Hirschler (left in the picture), spokesperson of the Cluster of Excellence Understanding Written Artefacts, and his cospokesperson Prof. Dr. Schroer kept their speech short, warmly thanking the research and administrative members of their team. Understanding Written Artefacts is dedicated to researching manuscript sculptures around the world and is the only clusters of excellence at the University of Hamburg that is primarily focused on the humanities.

Prof. Dr. Kay Grünewald, Prof. Dr. Marylyn Addo, and Prof. Dr. Ulf Schmidt (from left to right) from the Gateways to Health cluster initiative expressed their gratitude for the great support their research alliance has received from a wide variety of people and institutions at the University.