Roughly 400 guests took part today in a ceremony at the University of Bonn celebrating Bonn physicist Rudolph Clausius. A range of speakers from research and politics hailed the man’s scientific breakthroughs, including his formulation of the second law of thermodynamics, the coining of the term ‘entropy,’ and his prescience in what we today call ‘sustainability.’ To commemorate the occasion, the Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry has renamed itself the Clausius Institute. The highlight of the evening: speeches by Nobel Prize winners Professor Jean-Marie Lehn (Chemistry, 1987) and Professor Steven Chu (Physics, 1997).

The University of Bonn's 33,000 students and 7,500 employees represent a substantial “economic footprint” for the region: One in 25 jobs in the city is tied to the University, and it is responsible for one in every 40 euros generated here. This reflects the findings of a study by the Economica Institute, commissioned by the University of Bonn. The researchers also warned about the negative effects of shifting portions of the academic operations from the inner city to the outlying districts.

The flood disaster of July 14 and 15, 2021, claimed human lives and caused immense property damage in large parts of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia. Members of the University of Bonn were affected, too. Many were in danger of their lives and had lost apartments and household goods. The readiness to help and the solidarity in the region and beyond was great afterwards. With the campaign "WIR helfen" (We help) initiated by the Rector, the University collected donations and helped unbureaucratically. Now a review took place on the anniversary of the flood.

Companies share rising profits with their employees, which has led to above-average wage increases in the financial sector in recent years. This was revealed by a team led by Dr. Michael Böhm, a researcher at the ECONtribute Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn.

During sperm production, an enormous amount of DNA has to be packed into a very small space without breaking anything. A central role is played by certain proteins around which the DNA thread is wrapped - the protamines. A recent study by the University of Bonn provides new insights into this important mechanism. The results have been published in the journal PLoS Genetics.

Protein molecules require a defined shape in order to function. When they are created, their building blocks are therefore linked together in a very specific way. Researchers at the University of Bonn are now taking a closer look at a key step in this process and are investigating the effects of transient oxygen starvation on protein folding in plants. Researchers from the University of Münster, the Technical University of Kaiserslautern and the University of Bielefeld were also involved in the study. The study has now been published in the journal Plant Cell.

The war in Ukraine has raised numerous pressing questions that need to be answered. At the University of Bonn, multiple experts research the topic area from different perspectives - from international law to international relations to resource policy. We have put together an overview for the media.

The University of Bonn has once again received excellent reinforcement. The internationally renowned anthropologist, curator and critical heritage specialist Paul Basu now occupies a so-called Hertz Professorship in the Transdisciplinary Research Area "Present Pasts". The starting point for his work is a critical engagement with the heritage of Western knowledge production, especially as it is reflected in scientific archives and collections. In doing so, he brings together different disciplines, but also the non-university public.