The 2024 edition of the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, which highlight the impact that universities are having on each of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), has recognized the University of Bonn’s strong commitment to sustainability in several categories. The University has even secured first place in Germany for SDG 11—Sustainable Cities and Communities.
As part of its efforts to strengthen top-level research, the German Research Foundation (DFG) funds a number of consortia known as Collaborative Research Centers (CRCs), some of which are implemented by several universities working together. Below are the details of the CRCs involving the University of Bonn for which funding is set to continue.
Thousands of particles of light can merge into a type of “super photon” under suitable conditions. Physicists call such a state a photon Bose-Einstein condensate. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now shown that this exotic quantum state obeys a fundamental theorem of physics. This finding now allows one to measure properties of photon Bose-Einstein condensates which are usually difficult to access. The study has been published in the journal “Nature Communications.”
Dr. Julian Schmitt from the Institute of Applied Physics at the University of Bonn has been presented with the Industrie-Club Düsseldorf’s Science Award for 2024 in recognition of his outstanding work studying quantum gases of photons. The accolade is worth €20,000.
At first glance, gender research and Catholicism seem to have nothing to do with each other. Nevertheless, there is an office for theological gender research at the University of Bonn. Sister Jakoba is a research assistant and talks about the complex and historical connection between gender and the church. It is about the impact of this history on today's debates, both within the church and in socio-political terms.
Prof. Dr. Ofer Firstenberg from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, has been awarded a Bessel Research Prize by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The award, which is endowed with 45,000 euros, is considered an outstanding honor, especially for younger scientists, and is awarded to scientists abroad.
The 8-bit Commodore 64 home computer—affectionately known by its fans as the “bread box” because of its shape—came out in 1982 and is one of the best-selling computing platforms in IT history. The Commodore’s impact on pop culture, technological development and computer science education lives on in the present day. The University of Bonn’s Media Studies section will be hosting an international conference to discuss the past, present and future of the Commodore 64, on Friday and Saturday, July 5–6. Professor Jens Schröter, University of Bonn Chair of Media Theory, and his colleague Professor Stefan Höltgen of SRH University Heidelberg, have invited experts from media studies, computer science, museology, musicology and cultural studies to speak, as well as historical computer collectors and hackers to the conference in Bonn. The event will be held in English.