From The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE) And The Technical University of Dresden [Technische Universität Dresden] (DE) : “Quantum matter:: entanglement of many atoms detected for the first time”

From The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE)

And

The Technical University of Dresden [Technische Universität Dresden] (DE)

9.30.22

New insights into quantum phenomena at phase transitions

In the past, quantum phenomena could be investigated only in the realm of just a few atoms. A research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Technical University of Dresden (TUD) has now discovered conditions for which quantum entanglement dominates on much larger scales. The results suggest new approaches to the exploration of quantum phenomena and their practical applications such as quantum computing.

Andreas Wendl preparing a superconducting magnet system. Credit: A. Heddergott /TUM.

To observe phase transitions in familiar temperature ranges, we can look at water. At 100°C it evaporates into a gas and at 0°C it freezes into ice. In all three states, the atoms display different forms of order that change abruptly across well-defined transitions. Such ordered states are also referred to as phases, separated accordingly by phase transitions. Material properties such as magnetism, superconductivity or ferroelectricity are also ordered phases, however, of the electrons in solids.

Near absolute zero, at -273.15°C, the behavior of materials can no longer be explained by classical theories. Here quantum mechanics plays a crucial role, in particular the phenomenon of entanglement, in which particles share a quantum mechanical state. If a phase transition occurs at absolute zero, for example by means of a magnetic force, the entanglement changes and specialists speak of a quantum phase transition. As for high temperatures, quantum phase transitions result in an abrupt change of the material properties.

New type of phase transition discovered

“Despite more than 30 years of extensive research dedicated to phase transitions in quantum materials, we previously assumed that the phenomenon of entanglement plays an important role at tiny distance and time scales only,” explains Matthias Vojta, Chair of Theoretical Solid State Physics at TUD. In their investigation of lithium holmium fluoride (LiHoF4), the team was able to demonstrate under which conditions quantum entanglement can be studied on much larger scales. “We discovered a new type of quantum transition in which magnetic domains play a decisive role.”

Spherical samples permit precise measurements

LiHoF4 is a ferromagnet at very low temperatures. However, if a strong magnetic field is applied exactly perpendicular to the preferred magnetic direction, the ferromagnetism vanishes entirely above a quantum phase transition. This phenomenon has been known for a long time. In their studies, the researchers now changed the direction of the magnetic field. Andreas Wendl, who conducted the experiments as part of his doctoral thesis work, explains: “We used spherical samples for our precision measurements. This allowed us to investigate the behavior in response to a small tilt of the magnetic field.”

In doing so, the researchers made a surprising observation. “We discovered that the quantum phase transition continues to exist, whereas it was previously believed that even the smallest tilt of the magnetic field would immediately suppress the transition,” says Christian Pfleiderer, professor of Experimental Physics for the Topology of Correlated Systems at TUM. Instead of the expected gradual variation in the material’s properties, the team observed an abrupt change – the defining feature of a phase transition.

The cause of these transitions according to the researchers is what is known as textures. These refer to the rough patterns in which the particles organize themselves in their microscopically ordered states. In ice these are mutually tilted crystallites and in magnets these are magnetic domains, also known as Weiss domains. Until now it was unclear whether textures can exhibit quantum phase transitions by themselves. The researchers have now discovered that this is possible and thus demonstrated that quantum entanglement also takes place at the level of textures – in other words for large numbers of atoms.

Significance for quantum technologies

On the basis of their data, the researchers have developed a new theoretical model. “For our analysis, we had to generalize existing microscopic models to take into account the tilt of the magnetic field,” says Heike Eisenlohr, who performed the calculations as part of her PhD thesis. “As an entirely new aspect, we then also calculated the feedback of the ferromagnetic domains on the microscopic properties.”

The discovery of the new quantum phase transitions and the underlying theoretical model promise to be important as a foundation and general frame of reference for research on quantum phenomena in materials, as well as for new applications: “Quantum entanglement could be controlled and applied in such technologies as quantum sensors and quantum computers,” says Vojta. Pfleiderer adds: “Our work relates to fundamental research. However, it could soon have a direct impact on real-world applications with targeted use of the newly discovered material properties.”

Science paper:
Nature

See the full article here .

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Stem Education Coalition

The Technical University of Dresden [Technische Universität Dresden] (DE), internationally known as Dresden University of Technology) is a public research university, the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, the largest university in Saxony and one of the 10 largest universities in Germany with 32,389 students as of 2018.

The name Technische Universität Dresden has only been used since 1961; the history of the university, however, goes back nearly 200 years to 1828. This makes it one of the oldest colleges of technology in Germany, and one of the country’s oldest universities, which in German today refers to institutes of higher education that cover the entire curriculum. The university is a member of TU9, a consortium of the nine leading German Institutes of Technology. The university is one of eleven German universities which succeeded in the Excellence Initiative in 2012, thus getting the title of a “University of Excellence”. The Technical University of Dresden succeeded in all three rounds of the German Universities Excellence Initiative (Future Concept, Graduate Schools, Clusters of Excellence).

In 1828, with emerging industrialization, the Saxon Technical School was founded to educate skilled workers in technological subjects such as mechanics, mechanical engineering and ship construction. In 1871, the year the German Empire was founded, the institute was renamed the Royal Saxon Polytechnic Institute (Königlich-Sächsisches Polytechnikum). At that time, subjects not connected with technology, such as history and languages, were introduced. By the end of the 19th century the institute had developed into a university covering all disciplines. In 1961 it was given its present name, The Technical University of Dresden [Technische Universität Dresden].

Upon German reunification in 1990, the university had already integrated the College of Forestry (Forstliche Hochschule), formerly the Royal Saxony Academy of Forestry, in the nearby small town of Tharandt. This was followed by the integration of the Dresden College of Engineering (Ingenieurshochschule Dresden), the Friedrich List College of Transport (Hochschule für Verkehrswesen) the faculty of transport science, and the “Carl-Gustav Carus” Medical Academy (Medizinische Akademie or MedAk for short), the medical faculty. Some faculties were newly founded: the faculties of Information Technology (1991), Law (1991), Education (1993) and Economics (1993).

In 2009 TU Dresden, all Dresden institutes of the Fraunhofer Society, the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Community and the Max Planck Society and Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, soon incorporated into the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, published a joint letter of intent with the name DRESDEN-Konzept – Dresden Research and Education Synergies for the Development of Excellence and Novelty, which points out worldwide elite aspirations, which was recognized as the first time that all four big post-gradual elite institutions declared campus co-operation with a university.

Measured by the number of DAX board members, no top manager in the German economy was a graduate of the TU Dresden in 2019.

According to the QS Engineering and Technology Ranking the university ranked 113th worldwide and 5th in Germany. According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings the university ranked 157th worldwide and in engineering & technology the university ranked 90th worldwide. Moreover, According to Reuters, the university was ranked 79th in the list of ‘Most Innovative Universities Ranking 2019’.

The Eduniversal Business Schools ranking ranks the university’s Faculty of Business and Economics with 3 out of 5 palmes of excellence. According to the university ranking 2016 of the German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche the university ranked 7th in Germany in computer science and mechanical engineering and 6th in Germany in business informatics and engineering management. The university did not take first place in any of the ranked subjects: Business Administration, Business informatics, Engineering management, Natural Sciences, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Economics.

International cooperations

As one of the first universities in Germany it has opened a branch in Hanoi, Vietnam offering a Master’s course in mechatronics. It also maintains close partnerships with leading universities around the world, e.g. Boston University, Georgetown University, Harvard Medical School, Tongji University [同济大学](CN) and Pohang University of Science and Technology [포항공과대학교](KR).

The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE) is a public research university in Munich, with additional campuses in Garching, Freising, Heilbronn, Straubing, and Singapore. A technical university that specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and the applied and natural sciences, it is organized into 11 schools and departments, and supported by numerous research centers.

A University of Excellence under the German Universities Excellence Initiative, TUM is consistently ranked among the leading universities in the European Union and its researchers and alumni include 17 Nobel laureates and 23 Leibniz Prize winners.

Research

TUM is ranked first in Germany in the fields of engineering and computer science, and within the top three in the natural sciences.

In the QS World Rankings, TUM is ranked 25th (worldwide) in engineering and technology, 28th in the natural sciences, 35th in computer science, and 50th place overall. It is the highest ranked German university in those subject areas.

In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, TUM stands at 38th place worldwide and 2nd place nationwide. Worldwide, it ranks 14th in computer science, 22nd in engineering and technology, and 23rd in the physical sciences. It is the highest ranked German university in those subject areas.

In the Academic Ranking of World Universities, TUM is ranked at 52nd place in the world and 2nd place in Germany. In the subject areas of computer science and engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, food science, biotechnology, and chemistry, TUM is ranked first in Germany.

In the 2020 Global University Employability Ranking of the Times Higher Education World Rankings, TUM was ranked 12th in the world and 3rd in Europe. TUM is ranked 7th overall in Reuters’ 2019 European Most Innovative University ranking.

The TUM School of Management is triple accredited by the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Association of MBAs (AMBA).

Partnerships

TUM has over 160 international partnerships, ranging from joint research activities to international study programs. Partners include:

Europe: ETH Zurich, EPFL, ENSEA, École Centrale Paris, TU Eindhoven, Technical University of Denmark, Technical University of Vienna.
United States: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, Cornell University, University of Texas-Austin, The Georgia Institute of Technology .
Asia: National University of Singapore, Multimedia University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Amrita University, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology.
Australia: Australian National University, University of Melbourne, RMIT University.

Through the Erasmus+ program and its international student exchange program TUMexchange, TUM students are provided by opportunities to study abroad.

From The Dresden University of Technology [Technische Universität Dresden] (DE) And The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE): “New Fur for the Quantum Cat. Quantum materials:: entanglement of many atoms discovered for the first time”

From The Dresden University of Technology [Technische Universität Dresden] (DE)

And

The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE)

9.2.22
Prof. Matthias Vojta
Technische Universität Dresden
Chair of Theoretical Solid State Physics
Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat – Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter
Co-spokesperson
Tel.: +49 351 463-34135
Matthias.Vojta@tu-dresden.de

Schroedinger’s cat with quantum fur: In the material LiHoF4, physicists from the universities of Dresden and Munich have discovered a new quantum phase transition at which the domains behave in a quantum mechanical fashion. Credit: C. Hohmann, MCQST.

Be it magnets or superconductors: materials are known for their various properties. However, these properties may change spontaneously under extreme conditions. Researchers at the Technische Universität Dresden (TUD) and the Technische Universität München (TUM) have discovered an entirely new type of such phase transitions. They display the phenomenon of quantum entanglement involving many atoms, which previously has only been observed in the realm of few atoms. The results were recently published in the scientific journal Nature [below].

New Fur for the Quantum Cat

In physics, Schroedinger’s cat is an allegory for two of the most awe-inspiring effects of quantum mechanics: entanglement and superposition. Researchers from Dresden and Munich have now observed these behaviors on a much larger scale than that of the smallest of particles. Until now, materials that display properties like, e.g., magnetism have been known to have so-called domains – islands in which the materials properties are homogeneously either of one or a different kind (imagine them being either black or white, for example). Looking at lithium holmium fluoride (LiHoF4), the physicists have now discovered a completely new phase transition, at which the domains surprisingly exhibit quantum mechanical features, resulting in their properties becoming entangled (being black and white at the same time). “Our quantum cat now has a new fur because we’ve discovered a new quantum phase transition in LiHoF4 which has not previously been known to exist,” comments Matthias Vojta, Chair of Theoretical Solid State Physics at TUD.

Phase transitions and entanglement

We can easily observe the spontaneously changing properties of a substance if we look at water: at 100 degrees Celsius it evaporates into a gas, at zero degrees Celsius it freezes into ice. In both cases, these new states of matter form as a consequence of a phase transition where the water molecules rearrange themselves, thus changing the characteristics of the matter. Properties like magnetism or superconductivity emerge as a result of electrons undergoing phase transitions in crystals. For phase transitions at temperatures approaching the absolute zero at -273.15 degrees Celsius, quantum mechanical effects such as entanglement come into play, and one speaks of quantum phase transitions. “Even though there are more than 30 years of extensive research dedicated to phase transitions in quantum materials, we had previously assumed that the phenomenon of entanglement played a role only on a microscopic scale, where it involves only a few atoms at a time,” explains Christian Pfleiderer, Professor of Topology of Correlated Systems at the TUM.

Quantum entanglement is one of the most astonishing phenomena of physics, where the entangled quantum particles exist in a shared superposition state that allows for usually mutually exclusive properties (e.g., black and white) to occur simultaneously. As a rule, the laws of quantum mechanics only apply to microscopic particles. The research teams from Munich and Dresden have now succeeded in observing effects of quantum entanglement on a much larger scale, that of thousands of atoms. For this, they have chosen to work with the well-known compound LiHoF4.

Spherical samples enable precision measurements

At very low temperatures, LiHoF4 acts as a ferromagnet where all magnetic moments spontaneously point in the same direction. If you then apply a magnetic field exactly vertically to the preferred magnetic direction, the magnetic moments will change direction, which is known as fluctuations. The higher the magnetic field strength, the stronger these fluctuations become, until, eventually, the ferromagnetism disappears completely at a quantum phase transition. This leads to the entanglement of neighboring magnetic moments. “If you hold up a LiHoF4 sample to a very strong magnet, it suddenly ceases to be spontaneously magnetic. This has been known for 25 years,” summarizes Vojta.

What is new is what happens when you change the direction of the magnetic field. “We discovered that the quantum phase transition continues to occur, whereas it had previously been believed that even the smallest tilt of the magnetic field would immediately suppress it,” explains Pfleiderer. Under these conditions, however, it is not individual magnetic moments but rather extensive magnetic areas, so-called ferromagnetic domains, that undergo these quantum phase transitions. The domains constitute entire islands of magnetic moments pointing in the same direction. “We have used spherical samples for our precision measurements. That is what enabled us to precisely study the behavior upon small changes in the direction of the magnetic field,” adds Andreas Wendl, who conducted the experiments as part of his doctoral dissertation.

From fundamental physics to applications

“We have discovered an entirely new type of quantum phase transitions where entanglement takes place on the scale of many thousands of atoms instead of just in the microcosm of only a few,” explains Vojta. “If you imagine the magnetic domains as a black-and-white pattern, the new phase transition leads to either the white or the black areas becoming infinitesimally small, i.e., creating a quantum pattern, bevor dissolving completely.” A newly developed theoretical model successfully explains the data obtained from the experiments. “For our analysis, we generalized existing microscopic models and also took into account the feedback of the large ferromagnetic domains to the microscopic properties,” elaborates Heike Eisenlohr, who performed the calculations as part of her PhD thesis.

The discovery of the new quantum phase transitions is important as a foundation and general frame of reference for the research of quantum phenomena in materials, as well as for new applications. “Quantum entanglement is applied and used in technologies like quantum sensors and quantum computers, amongst other things,” says Vojta. Pfleiderer adds: “Our work is in the area of fundamental research, which, however, can have a direct impact on the development of practical applications, if you use the materials properties in a controlled way.”

Science paper:
Nature

See the full article here.

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Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE) is a public research university in Munich, with additional campuses in Garching, Freising, Heilbronn, Straubing, and Singapore. A technical university that specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and the applied and natural sciences, it is organized into 11 schools and departments, and supported by numerous research centers.

A University of Excellence under the German Universities Excellence Initiative, TUM is consistently ranked among the leading universities in the European Union and its researchers and alumni include 16 Nobel laureates and 23 Leibniz Prize winners.

Departments

Aerospace engineering, geodesy
Ottobrunn

Department of Architecture
Munich

Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering
Civil engineering, environmental engineering, earth science
Munich

Department of Chemistry
Garching

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Munich

Department of Informatics [Computer science]
Garching

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Garching

Department of Mathematics
Garching

School of Medicine
Munich

Department of Physics
Garching

Department of Sport and Health Sciences
Munich

School of Education
Munich

School of Governance
Munich

School of Management
Munich

School of Life Sciences
Freising

Research

The Technical University of Munich is one of the most research-focused universities in Europe. This claim is supported by relevant rankings, such as the funding ranking of the German Research Foundation and the research ranking of the Centre for Higher Education.

Under the German Universities Excellence Initiative, TUM has obtained funding for multiple research clusters, including e-conversion (energy technology), MCQST – Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology(DE) (quantum mechanics), ORIGINS (astrophysics, biophysics and particle physics), and SYNERGY (neurology).

In addition to the schools and departments, TUM has set up numerous research centers with external cooperation partners.

Integrative research centers (IRCs) combine research with teaching. They include the TUM Institute for Advanced Study (TUM-IAS), the TUM-Munich Center for Technology in Society (MCTS), TUM-Munich Data Science Institute (MDSI), TUM-Munich School of Engineering , TUM-Munich Institute of Biomedical Engineering, and the TUM-Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence.

Corporate research centers (CRCs) carry out research independently of the schools and departments, cooperating with industry partners for application-driven research. They include the research reactor FRM II, the Center for Functional Protein Assemblies (CPA), the Catalysis Research Center (CRC), the center for translational Cancer Research (TranslaTUM), the Walter Schottky Institute (WSI), the Hans Eisenmann-Zentrum for Agricultural Science, and the Institute for Food & Health (ZIEL).

Rankings

TUM is ranked first in Germany in the fields of engineering and computer science, and within the top three in the natural sciences.

In the QS World Rankings, TUM is ranked 19th (worldwide) in engineering and technology, 28th in the natural sciences, 29th in computer science, and 50th place overall. It is the highest ranked German university in those subject areas.

In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, TUM stands at 38th place worldwide and 2nd place nationwide. Worldwide, it ranks 14th in computer science, 22nd in engineering and technology, and 23rd in the physical sciences. It is the highest ranked German university in those subject areas.

In the Academic Ranking of World Universities, TUM is ranked at 52nd place in the world and 2nd place in Germany. In the subject areas of computer science and engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, food science, biotechnology, and chemistry, TUM is ranked first in Germany.

In the 2021 Global University Employability Ranking of the Times Higher Education World Rankings, TUM was ranked 13th in the world and 4th in Europe. TUM is ranked 7th overall in Reuters’ 2019 European Most Innovative University ranking.

The TUM School of Management is triple accredited by the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Association of MBAs (AMBA).

Partnerships

TUM has over 160 international partnerships, ranging from joint research activities to international study programs. Partners include:

Europe: ETH Zurich, EPFL, ENSEA, École Centrale Paris, TU Eindhoven, Technical University of Denmark, and Technical University of Vienna
United States:The Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Stanford University, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, Cornell University, University of Texas-Austin, and Georgia Tech
Asia: The National University of Singapore, Multimedia University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Amrita University, and Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology.
Australia: Australian National University, University of Melbourne, The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (AU).

Through the Erasmus+ program and its international student exchange program TUMexchange, TUM students are provided by opportunities to study abroad.e, TUM students are provided by opportunities to study abroad.

The Dresden University of Technology [Technische Universität Dresden] (DE) is a public research university, the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, the largest university in Saxony and one of the 10 largest universities in Germany with 32,389 students as of 2018.

The name Technische Universität Dresden has only been used since 1961; the history of the university, however, goes back nearly 200 years to 1828. This makes it one of the oldest colleges of technology in Germany, and one of the country’s oldest universities, which in German today refers to institutes of higher education that cover the entire curriculum. The university is a member of TU9, a consortium of the nine leading German Institutes of Technology. The university is one of eleven German universities which succeeded in the Excellence Initiative in 2012, thus getting the title of a “University of Excellence”. The TU Dresden succeeded in all three rounds of the German Universities Excellence Initiative (Future Concept, Graduate Schools, Clusters of Excellence).

History

In 1828, with emerging industrialization, the “Saxon Technical School” was founded to educate skilled workers in technological subjects such as mechanics; mechanical engineering and ship construction. In 1871 the year the German Empire was founded, the institute was renamed the Royal Saxon Polytechnic Institute (Königlich-Sächsisches Polytechnikum). At that time, subjects not connected with technology such as history and languages were introduced. By the end of the 19th century the institute had developed into a university covering all disciplines. In 1961 it was given its present name, Dresden University of Technology [Technische Universität Dresden].

Upon German reunification in 1990 the university had already integrated the College of Forestry (Forstliche Hochschule) formerly the Royal Saxony Academy of Forestry, in the nearby small town of Tharandt. This was followed by the integration of the Dresden College of Engineering (Ingenieurshochschule Dresden); the Friedrich List College of Transport (Hochschule für Verkehrswesen) the faculty of transport science; and the “Carl-Gustav Carus” Medical Academy (Medizinische Akademi), the medical faculty. Some faculties were newly founded: the faculties of Information Technology (1991); Law (1991); Education (1993); and Economics (1993).

In 2009 TU Dresden, all Dresden institutes of the Fraunhofer Society; the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Community and the Max Planck Society and Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf soon incorporated into the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (DE), published a joint letter of intent with the name DRESDEN-Konzept – Dresden Research and Education Synergies for the Development of Excellence and Novelty, which points out worldwide elite aspirations, which was recognized as the first time that all four big post-gradual elite institutions declared campus co-operation with a university.

Sciences

With 4,390 students the Faculty of Mathematics and the Natural Sciences is the second-largest faculty at the university. It is composed of 5 departments: Biology; Chemistry; Mathematics; Physics; and Psychology. The departments are all located on the main campus. In 2006, a new research building for the biology department opened. In October 2006 the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft decided to fund a new graduate school, the Dresden International Graduate School for Biomedicine and Bioengineering and a so-called cluster of excellence From Cells to Tissues to Therapies.

Engineering

The Faculty of Architecture comprises 6 departments. Currently, there are 1,410 students enrolled.
The Faculty of Civil Engineering is structured into 11 departments. It is the oldest and smallest of the faculties. There are currently 800 students enrolled.
The Faculty of Computer Science comprises six departments: Applied Computer Science; Artificial Intelligence; Software- and Multimedia-Technology; Systems Architecture; Computer Engineering; and Theoretical Computer Science. The faculty has 2,703 students.
The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology is organized into 13 departments. There are 2,288 students enrolled. The faculty is the heart of the so-called Silicon Saxony in Dresden.
The Faculty of Environmental Sciences has 2,914 students. The faculty is located on the main campus, except for the Forestry department which is located in Tharandt. The Forestry department is the oldest of its kind in Germany. Its history goes back to the foundation of the Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry (Königlich-Sächsische Forstakademie) in 1816.
The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering comprises 19 departments and has 5,731 students. It is the largest faculty at TUD.
The Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences “Friedrich List” is the only of its kind in Germany covering transport and traffic from economy and system theory science to electrical, civil and mechanical engineering. There are 1,536 students enrolled.

Humanities and Social Sciences

The Faculty of Business and Economics comprises five departments: Business Education Studies (Wirtschaftspädagogik); Business Management; Economics; Business Information Systems; and Statistics. There are 2,842 students enrolled.
The Faculty of Education, located East of the main campus, has 2,075 students.
The Faculty of Languages, Literature and Culture is structured into five departments: American Studies; English Studies; German Studies; Philology; Romance Languages; and Slavic Studies. There are 3,215 students at this faculty.
The Faculty of Law is going to close in the next few years. Currently there are still 933 students enrolled. The TU Dresden has partially compensated the closure by establishing a private law school
The Faculty of Philosophy comprises seven departments: Art History; Communications; History; Musicology; Political Sciences; Sociology; and Theology. There are 3,485 students enrolled.
The School of International Studies is a so-called central institution of the university coordinating the law, economics and political sciences departments for courses of interdisciplinary international relations.

Medicine
The Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine has its own campus East of the city center near the Elbe river. Currently, there are 2,195 students enrolled. The faculty has a partnership with Partners Harvard Medical International.

Research Centers
Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfaed) – Cluster of Excellence
Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD) – Cluster of Excellence
Dendro-Institute Tharandt at the TU Dresden
The European Institute for Postgraduate Education at TU Dresden (EIPOS Europäisches Institut für postgraduale Bildung an der Technischen Universität Dresden e. V.)
The European Institute of Transport (EVI Europäisches Verkehrsinstitut an der Technischen Universität Dresden e. V.)
The Hannah Arendt Center for Research on Totalitarianism (HAIT Hannah-Arendt-Institut für Totalitarismusforschung an der Technischen Universität Dresden e. V.)
Center for Media Culture (MKZ Medienkulturzentrum Dresden e. V. an der TU Dresden)
Center for Research on Mechanics of Structures and Materials (SWM Struktur- und Werkstoffmechanikforschung Dresden GmbH an der Technischen Universität Dresden)
TUD Vietnam ERC, the TU Dresden Vietnam Education and Research Center. The center offers a Master’s course in Mechatronics in Hanoi (Vietnam) since 2004.
Center for Continuing Education in Historic Preservation (WBD Weiterbildungszentrum für Denkmalpflege und Altbauinstandsetzung e. V.)
School of International Studies (Zentrum für Internationale Studien, ZIS in German)

From The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE): “Quantum internet and highly sensitive sensors”

From The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE)

8.4.22

Funding for two quantum lighthouse projects involving TUM

Cryostat for cooling down a quantum computer. They work at extremely low temperatures, close to absolute zero. Image: Andreas Heddergott / TUM / Quantum Integration Centre@LRZ

The Technical University of Munich (TUM) is participating in two quantum research projects which will receive millions of euros in State funding. The projects NeQuS and IQ-Sense, linked to the Munich Quantum Valley initiative, address quantum networks and quantum sensors. Bavarian Minister of Science and the Arts Markus Blume stated that Bavaria is to become a worldwide pacesetter in the quantum sciences.

Quantum technologies represent incredible scientific and economic potentials for the computer of the future. Accordingly, the Free State of Bavaria has decided to provide a significant amount of funding for the fundamental research in lighthouse projects through the Hightech Agenda Bavaria. According to the Bavarian Ministry of Science and the Arts, the projects NeQuS and IQ-Sense, in which TUM is participating, will receive a total of 3.5 million euros.

Two lighthouse projects

NeQuS focuses on the communication between various quantum computer systems at five different locations in Garching and Munich. This network is to create the technical and scientific basis for a global quantum internet of the future.

IQ-Sense is working on quantum sensor technologies. The precise measurement of physical parameters is of fundamental importance to all physical and engineering sciences, as well as biosciences and medicine. This project is working to develop quantum sensors for practical application with previously unattainable resolution and sensitivity.

Internationally renowned top location for quantum technologies

Science minister Blume said: “We want to provide targeted support to interdisciplinary and inter-university projects which can lay the foundations for leading-edge innovations, innovations which are beyond the power of our imagination today and which will have a positive impact both on us and on future generations.”

In addition, the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics and the Walter-Meißner-Institute of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften) are also involved in the inter-university projects. The lighthouse projects are a part of the Munich Quantum Valley initiative, which the Bavarian State government is funding with approximately 300 million euros through the Hightech Agenda.

See the full article here .

five-ways-keep-your-child-safe-school-shootings

Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE) is a public research university in Munich, with additional campuses in Garching, Freising, Heilbronn, Straubing, and Singapore. A technical university that specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and the applied and natural sciences, it is organized into 11 schools and departments, and supported by numerous research centers.

A University of Excellence under the German Universities Excellence Initiative, TUM is consistently ranked among the leading universities in the European Union and its researchers and alumni include 16 Nobel laureates and 23 Leibniz Prize winners.

Departments

Aerospace engineering, geodesy
Ottobrunn

Department of Architecture
Munich

Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering
Civil engineering, environmental engineering, earth science
Munich

Department of Chemistry
Garching

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Munich

Department of Informatics [Computer science]
Garching

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Garching

Department of Mathematics
Garching

School of Medicine
Munich

Department of Physics
Garching

Department of Sport and Health Sciences
Munich

School of Education
Munich

School of Governance
Munich

School of Management
Munich

School of Life Sciences
Freising

Research

The Technical University of Munich is one of the most research-focused universities in Europe. This claim is supported by relevant rankings, such as the funding ranking of the German Research Foundation and the research ranking of the Centre for Higher Education.

Under the German Universities Excellence Initiative, TUM has obtained funding for multiple research clusters, including e-conversion (energy technology), MCQST – Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology(DE) (quantum mechanics), ORIGINS (astrophysics, biophysics and particle physics), and SYNERGY (neurology).

In addition to the schools and departments, TUM has set up numerous research centers with external cooperation partners.

Integrative research centers (IRCs) combine research with teaching. They include the TUM Institute for Advanced Study (TUM-IAS), the TUM-Munich Center for Technology in Society (MCTS), TUM-Munich Data Science Institute (MDSI), TUM-Munich School of Engineering , TUM-Munich Institute of Biomedical Engineering, and the TUM-Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence.

Corporate research centers (CRCs) carry out research independently of the schools and departments, cooperating with industry partners for application-driven research. They include the research reactor FRM II, the Center for Functional Protein Assemblies (CPA), the Catalysis Research Center (CRC), the center for translational Cancer Research (TranslaTUM), the Walter Schottky Institute (WSI), the Hans Eisenmann-Zentrum for Agricultural Science, and the Institute for Food & Health (ZIEL).

Rankings

TUM is ranked first in Germany in the fields of engineering and computer science, and within the top three in the natural sciences.

In the QS World Rankings, TUM is ranked 19th (worldwide) in engineering and technology, 28th in the natural sciences, 29th in computer science, and 50th place overall. It is the highest ranked German university in those subject areas.

In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, TUM stands at 38th place worldwide and 2nd place nationwide. Worldwide, it ranks 14th in computer science, 22nd in engineering and technology, and 23rd in the physical sciences. It is the highest ranked German university in those subject areas.

In the Academic Ranking of World Universities, TUM is ranked at 52nd place in the world and 2nd place in Germany. In the subject areas of computer science and engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, food science, biotechnology, and chemistry, TUM is ranked first in Germany.

In the 2021 Global University Employability Ranking of the Times Higher Education World Rankings, TUM was ranked 13th in the world and 4th in Europe. TUM is ranked 7th overall in Reuters’ 2019 European Most Innovative University ranking.

The TUM School of Management is triple accredited by the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Association of MBAs (AMBA).

Partnerships

TUM has over 160 international partnerships, ranging from joint research activities to international study programs. Partners include:

Europe: ETH Zurich, EPFL, ENSEA, École Centrale Paris, TU Eindhoven, Technical University of Denmark, and Technical University of Vienna
United States:The Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Stanford University, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, Cornell University, University of Texas-Austin, and Georgia Tech
Asia: The National University of Singapore, Multimedia University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Amrita University, and Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology.
Australia: Australian National University, University of Melbourne, The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (AU).

Through the Erasmus+ program and its international student exchange program TUMexchange, TUM students are provided by opportunities to study abroad.

From The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE): “Webb reveals highly distant galaxies”

From The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE)

7.28.22

Prof. Dr. Sherry Suyu
Technical University of Munich
Professorship of Observational Cosmology
sherry.suyu@tum.de

Dr. Gabriel Bartosch Caminha
gb.caminha@tum.de

Using the first science image released by Webb this month, an international team of scientists with significant contribution from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has built an improved model for the mass distribution of the galaxy cluster SMACS J0723.3−7327. Acting as a so-called gravitational lens, the foreground galaxy cluster produces both multiple images of background galaxies and magnifies these images. One family of such multiple images belongs to a galaxy, which the model predicts to be at a distance of about 13 Gyrs, i.e. whose light travelled some 13 billion years before reaching the telescope.

This Webb image shows the galaxy cluster SMACS J0723.3−7327 with a large number of lensed background galaxies. The white bar at the bottom corresponds to 50 arcsec, which is approximately the maximum size of Jupiter observed from Earth.
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI.

The first science image released by Webb was of a gravitational lens, in particular the galaxy cluster SMACS J0723.3−7327. Gravitational lenses, especially galaxy clusters, magnify the light from background galaxies and produce multiple images of these. Before Webb, 19 multiple images of six background sources were known in SMACS J0723.3−7327. Webb data now revealed 27 additional multiple images from another ten lensed sources.

“In this first step towards the road opened by Webb, we used recent data from this brand new telescope to model the lensing effect of SMACS0723 with great accuracy,” points out Gabriel Bartosch Caminha, postdoc fellow at TUM, the MPG Institute for Astrophysics (MPA) and the German Centre for Cosmological Lensing (GCCL). The collaboration first used data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) to build a “pre-Webb” lens model, and then refined it with newly available Webb near-infrared imaging. “The JWST imaging is absolutely astounding and beautiful, showing many more multiply lensed background sources, which allowed us to substantially refine our lens mass model,” he adds.

One of the most accurate models available

Many of these new, lensed sources do not yet have distance estimates, and the scientists used their mass model to predict how far away these lensed galaxies are most likely to be. One of them was found to be probably at the amazing distance of 13 Gyrs (redshift > 7.5), i.e. its light was emitted during the Universe’s early stages. This galaxy is multiply lensed into three images and its luminosity is magnified by a factor of μ≈20 in total.

However, to study these primordial objects, it is fundamental to describe accurately the lensing effect of the foreground galaxy cluster. “Our accurate mass model forms the foundation for the exploration of the Webb data,” emphasizes Sherry Suyu, Professor of Observational Cosmology at TUM, Max Planck Research Group Leader at MPA and a Visiting Scholar at the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics. “The spectacular Webb images show a great variety of strongly lensed galaxies, which can be studied in detail thanks to our accurate model.”

The new model for the mass distribution of the foreground cluster is capable of reproducing the positions of all multiple images with a high accuracy, making the model one of the most accurate available. For follow-up studies of these sources, the lens models, including magnification maps and redshifts (i.e. distances) estimated from the model are made publicly available. “We are very excited about this,” Suyu adds, “we are eagerly awaiting future Webb observations of other strong lensing galaxy clusters. These will not only allow us to better constrain the mass distributions of galaxy clusters, but also to study high-redshift galaxies.”

Science paper:
Astronomy & Astrophysics

See the full article here .

five-ways-keep-your-child-safe-school-shootings

Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE) is a public research university in Munich, with additional campuses in Garching, Freising, Heilbronn, Straubing, and Singapore. A technical university that specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and the applied and natural sciences, it is organized into 11 schools and departments, and supported by numerous research centers.

A University of Excellence under the German Universities Excellence Initiative, TUM is consistently ranked among the leading universities in the European Union and its researchers and alumni include 16 Nobel laureates and 23 Leibniz Prize winners.

Departments

Aerospace engineering, geodesy
Ottobrunn

Department of Architecture
Munich

Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering
Civil engineering, environmental engineering, earth science
Munich

Department of Chemistry
Garching

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Munich

Department of Informatics [Computer science]
Garching

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Garching

Department of Mathematics
Garching

School of Medicine
Munich

Department of Physics
Garching

Department of Sport and Health Sciences
Munich

School of Education
Munich

School of Governance
Munich

School of Management
Munich

School of Life Sciences
Freising

Research

The Technical University of Munich is one of the most research-focused universities in Europe. This claim is supported by relevant rankings, such as the funding ranking of the German Research Foundation and the research ranking of the Centre for Higher Education.

Under the German Universities Excellence Initiative, TUM has obtained funding for multiple research clusters, including e-conversion (energy technology), MCQST (quantum mechanics), ORIGINS (astrophysics, biophysics and particle physics), and SYNERGY (neurology).

In addition to the schools and departments, TUM has set up numerous research centers with external cooperation partners.

Integrative research centers (IRCs) combine research with teaching. They include the TUM Institute for Advanced Study (TUM-IAS), the Munich Center for Technology in Society (MCTS), the Munich Data Science Institute (MDSI), the Munich School of Engineering (MSE), the Munich School of BioEngineering (MSB), and the Munich School of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MSRM).

Corporate research centers (CRCs) carry out research independently of the schools and departments, cooperating with industry partners for application-driven research. They include the research reactor FRM II, the Center for Functional Protein Assemblies (CPA), the Catalysis Research Center (CRC), the center for translational Cancer Research (TranslaTUM), the Walter Schottky Institute (WSI), the Hans Eisenmann-Zentrum for Agricultural Science, and the Institute for Food & Health (ZIEL).

Rankings

TUM is ranked first in Germany in the fields of engineering and computer science, and within the top three in the natural sciences.

In the QS World Rankings, TUM is ranked 19th (worldwide) in engineering and technology, 28th in the natural sciences, 29th in computer science, and 50th place overall. It is the highest ranked German university in those subject areas.

In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, TUM stands at 38th place worldwide and 2nd place nationwide. Worldwide, it ranks 14th in computer science, 22nd in engineering and technology, and 23rd in the physical sciences. It is the highest ranked German university in those subject areas.

In the Academic Ranking of World Universities, TUM is ranked at 52nd place in the world and 2nd place in Germany. In the subject areas of computer science and engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, food science, biotechnology, and chemistry, TUM is ranked first in Germany.

In the 2021 Global University Employability Ranking of the Times Higher Education World Rankings, TUM was ranked 13th in the world and 4th in Europe. TUM is ranked 7th overall in Reuters’ 2019 European Most Innovative University ranking.

The TUM School of Management is triple accredited by the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Association of MBAs (AMBA).

Partnerships

TUM has over 160 international partnerships, ranging from joint research activities to international study programs. Partners include:

Europe: ETH Zurich, EPFL, ENSEA, École Centrale Paris, TU Eindhoven, Technical University of Denmark, Technical University of Vienna
United States: MIT, Stanford University, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, Cornell University, University of Texas-Austin, Georgia Tech
Asia: National University of Singapore, Multimedia University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Amrita University, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology,
Australia: Australian National University, University of Melbourne, RMIT University.

Through the Erasmus+ program and its international student exchange program TUMexchange, TUM students are provided by opportunities to study abroad.

From The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE): “Pilot plant for renewable hydrogen”

From The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE)

6.9.22

Technical University of Munich
Corporate Communications Center Stefanie Reiffert
stefanie.reiffert@tum.de
presse@tum.de

Contacts to this article:

Prof. Dr. Johannes A. Lercher
Department of Chemistry and
Catalysis Research Center
Tel.: +49 89 289 13540
johannes.lercher@ch.tum.de

A pilot plant is to produce hydrogen from biogas in Bavaria. Image: iStockphoto.com / Animaflora.

A pilot plant for the production of hydrogen from biogas is to be built in Bavaria. It is based on a new technology that is expected to drastically reduce the energy required for the production of hydrogen compared to conventional technologies. This will be achieved by integrating resistive heating into the chemical reactor. The technical development and practical realization of this approach are the goals of the EReTech project, which is funded by the EU and coordinated by the Technical University of Munich (TUM).

The German government has set itself the goal of becoming greenhouse gas neutral by 2045. To achieve this goal, energy-intensive production processes in the chemical industry – such as those used to produce hydrogen – are to be replaced by new, sustainable and carbon-neutral processes. Within the EU project Electrified Reactor Technology (EReTech), 14 partners from science and industry in Bavaria are implementing a hydrogen plant that is powered by electricity from renewable energy sources. The hydrogen is obtained from biogas.

The plant is being built near Eichstätt and will supply 130 tons of hydrogen per year. This will be used for hydrogen filling stations, for example. Completion is planned for 2025.

40 percent less carbon dioxide emissions

“Until now, the energy for processes in the chemical industry has been provided by combustion outside the actual reactor,” explains Prof. Johannes Lercher from the Chair of Technical Chemistry II at TUM and head of the EReTech project. Combustion with air produces carbon dioxide in a highly diluted form; it also requires significantly more energy due to heat transfer losses. “Instead of combustion heat, we use electric resistive heating inside the reactors in the EreTech project.”

The start-up SYPOX is playing a major role in the implementation of the plant. The company was founded at TUM and specializes in electrically-heated chemical reactors that convert biogas into hydrogen in a carbon neutral way. “With the help of the new technology, we can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 40 percent compared to the traditional process without reducing productivity,” explains Dr. Gianluca Pauletto of SYPOX.

Technical development requires testing under extreme conditions.

In addition to the plant in Bavaria, a test reactor is being built in Geleen in the Netherlands, to investigate the resilience of the new technology for a wide range of applications in an industrial environment. “This installation will provide us with critical information and process data for further scale-up of the technology. It will also enable us to offer solutions for the chemical industry in the future, addressing chemical reactions that require high energy input,” explains Pauletto.

More information:

The EReTech project involves 14 partners from industry, research institutes and universities from Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Sweden. It is funded through the Horizon Europe Framework Program (HORIZON) with a total budget of 9.7 million euros. The project will start in June 2022 and will last for a total of 42 months.
Research Partners are: Technical University of Munich, European Research Institute of Catalysis a.i.s.b.l., Politecnico di Milano, Ethniko Kentro Erevnas Kai Technologikis Anaptyxis, Bayerngas GmbH, Università degli Studi di Padova, Linde GmbH, HyGear Technology and Services BV, Bureau Veritas Exploitation, Chemelot Research Facilities B.V., Josef Kerner Energiewirtschafts-GmbH, Hulteberg Chemitstry and Engineering AB, SYPOX GmbH, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich.

See the full article here .

five-ways-keep-your-child-safe-school-shootings

Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE) is a public research university in Munich, with additional campuses in Garching, Freising, Heilbronn, Straubing, and Singapore. A technical university that specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and the applied and natural sciences, it is organized into 11 schools and departments, and supported by numerous research centers.

A University of Excellence under the German Universities Excellence Initiative, TUM is consistently ranked among the leading universities in the European Union and its researchers and alumni include 16 Nobel laureates and 23 Leibniz Prize winners.

Departments

Aerospace engineering, geodesy
Ottobrunn

Department of Architecture
Munich

Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering
Civil engineering, environmental engineering, earth science
Munich

Department of Chemistry
Garching

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Munich

Department of Informatics [Computer science]
Garching

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Garching

Department of Mathematics
Garching

School of Medicine
Munich

Department of Physics
Garching

Department of Sport and Health Sciences
Munich

School of Education
Munich

School of Governance
Munich

School of Management
Munich

School of Life Sciences
Freising

Research

The Technical University of Munich is one of the most research-focused universities in Europe. This claim is supported by relevant rankings, such as the funding ranking of the German Research Foundation and the research ranking of the Centre for Higher Education.

Under the German Universities Excellence Initiative, TUM has obtained funding for multiple research clusters, including e-conversion (energy technology), MCQST (quantum mechanics), ORIGINS (astrophysics, biophysics and particle physics), and SYNERGY (neurology).

In addition to the schools and departments, TUM has set up numerous research centers with external cooperation partners.

Integrative research centers (IRCs) combine research with teaching. They include the TUM Institute for Advanced Study (TUM-IAS), the Munich Center for Technology in Society (MCTS), the Munich Data Science Institute (MDSI), the Munich School of Engineering (MSE), the Munich School of BioEngineering (MSB), and the Munich School of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MSRM).

Corporate research centers (CRCs) carry out research independently of the schools and departments, cooperating with industry partners for application-driven research. They include the research reactor FRM II, the Center for Functional Protein Assemblies (CPA), the Catalysis Research Center (CRC), the center for translational Cancer Research (TranslaTUM), the Walter Schottky Institute (WSI), the Hans Eisenmann-Zentrum for Agricultural Science, and the Institute for Food & Health (ZIEL).

Rankings

TUM is ranked first in Germany in the fields of engineering and computer science, and within the top three in the natural sciences.

In the QS World Rankings, TUM is ranked 19th (worldwide) in engineering and technology, 28th in the natural sciences, 29th in computer science, and 50th place overall. It is the highest ranked German university in those subject areas.

In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, TUM stands at 38th place worldwide and 2nd place nationwide. Worldwide, it ranks 14th in computer science, 22nd in engineering and technology, and 23rd in the physical sciences. It is the highest ranked German university in those subject areas.

In the Academic Ranking of World Universities, TUM is ranked at 52nd place in the world and 2nd place in Germany. In the subject areas of computer science and engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, food science, biotechnology, and chemistry, TUM is ranked first in Germany.

In the 2021 Global University Employability Ranking of the Times Higher Education World Rankings, TUM was ranked 13th in the world and 4th in Europe. TUM is ranked 7th overall in Reuters’ 2019 European Most Innovative University ranking.

The TUM School of Management is triple accredited by the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Association of MBAs (AMBA).

Partnerships

TUM has over 160 international partnerships, ranging from joint research activities to international study programs. Partners include:

Europe: ETH Zurich, EPFL, ENSEA, École Centrale Paris, TU Eindhoven, Technical University of Denmark, Technical University of Vienna
United States: MIT, Stanford University, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, Cornell University, University of Texas-Austin, Georgia Tech
Asia: National University of Singapore, Multimedia University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Amrita University, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology,
Australia: Australian National University, University of Melbourne, RMIT University.

Through the Erasmus+ program and its international student exchange program TUMexchange, TUM students are provided by opportunities to study abroad.

From The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE) via nature research: “The humans at the heart of AI”

From The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE)

via

nature research

1.19.21

The Technical University of Munich (TUM) is ahead of the game when it comes to AI and robotics. And that includes the societal side as much as the technological.

Sami Haddadin runs a ‘robot kindergarten’ where intelligent machines learn from each other.Credit: TUM.

“AI and robotics development pull us right into the heart of what it is to be human,” says Sami Haddadin, founding director of the Munich School of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MSRM) at TUM. “We’re not looking to usher in an ‘age of automatons’. Rather, we hope to enable a smooth transition to an age of human- machine interaction.”

MSRM’s research agenda covers the understanding of humans in order to develop intelligent machines that can, in turn, help humans. Haddadin gives an example: give a young child a key and, within around 20 tries, they can unlock a door. A child’s intuitive ability to manipulate a tool is one aspect, but they also watch and learn from adults. Humans are born with this ability to transfer knowledge, but robots are not. It could take several million trials for a robot to use a key.

“We don’t have time to wait for a single robot to insert a key into a keyhole, let alone learn how to turn it,” says Haddadin. “But we can connect AI robots so they can share what their algorithms have learned while trying. Basically, we run a robot kindergarten here at TUM.”

MSRM is one of TUM’s Integrative Research Centers, bringing together researchers from various fields, from computer sciences to natural sciences, from medicine to social sciences. “We are not just doing engineering, but we are creating a new discipline,” says Haddadin. TUM pursues an “embedded ethics approach” integrating ethics throughout the whole technology development process.

Medical researchers at TUM’s university hospital work closely with AI researchers.Credit: TUM.

This applies not least to technologies intended for everyday life. The robot called Garmi was designed through consultations with elderly people and caregivers to help the elderly to continue living independently. Garmi can do general tasks, collect medical data, help with rehabilitation exercises, and act as an avatar for communication with doctors and family members. “Garmi will learn from, and teach, the other robots in its network, so each robot can quickly adapt to an individual’s needs,” says Haddadin.

In its AI research, TUM focuses on two fields. While MSRM concentrates on embodied AI, the recently founded Munich Data Science Institute (MDSI) has a data- centric perspective. On the one hand, it investigates the basic mathematical, informatics and algorithmic questions of data analysis and develops new fundamental theories and methods, especially for machine learning. On the other hand, the MDSI will develop applications in the different research fields of TUM, including quantum technology, climate science, aerospace and genome research.

Daniel Rückert, professor for artificial intelligence in healthcare and medicine, is one of the MDSI members. His lab is within TUM’s university hospital, allowing his team to collaborate directly with doctors and radiologists. “That was one of the reasons why I returned to Germany after 20 years in the UK,” says Rückert, who until a few months ago worked at Imperial College London.

Assistant robot GARMI, developed by the Munich School of Robotics and Machine Intelligence, could help elderly people live a self-determined life. Credit: TUM; Astrid Eckert.

Rückert and his team are working on using AI to generate medical images more efficiently and to facilitate their interpretation. Currently, they are developing a ‘smart’ MRI scanner that can detect whether it has generated enough information to make a comprehensive diagnosis. The technology could also compensate for movement, to improve scanning of active young children, for example, and even foetuses.

Rückert believes that AI will ultimately make health-care more humane, not less. “By taking on the routine, time- consuming tasks inherent in data acquisition, image reconstruction and analysis, AI will give medical professionals more time to focus on patients.” And because it can leverage the power of big data in its analyses, AI can pick up on rare phenomena that the human eye might miss.

“TUM is strong in both foundational and applied AI,” says Rückert. Recent research successes highlight the university’s broad range of disciplines. With machine learning methods, a research team has succeeded in making the mass analysis of proteins significantly faster than before and almost error-free. Another team has developed algorithms for autonomous vehicles that prevent accidents by predicting different variants of a traffic situation every millisecond.

The university, together with other scientific institutions, global companies and start-ups, has emerged as one of the most outstanding research ecosystems worldwide. Munich was recently heralded by the European Commission as the best ICT hub in Europe. TUM, in particular, is driving many innovations. “One of our key strengths is the translation of research into useful technologies via strong partnerships with industry,” says Sami Haddadin.

Now, with funding from the regional government of Bavaria, TUM is further boosting AI research and will create some 20 professorships in the coming months alone. “We welcome inquisitive, adventurous researchers from diverse disciplines to join us. Look at Leonardo DaVinci, who combined his imaginative, artistic flair with mathematical and scientific concepts to design beautiful machines,” says Haddadin. “This kind of multidisciplinary creativity is at the heart of TUM.”

See the full article here .

five-ways-keep-your-child-safe-school-shootings

Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

The Technical University of Munich [Technische Universität München] (DE) is one of Europe’s top universities. It is committed to excellence in research and teaching, interdisciplinary education and the active promotion of promising young scientists. The university also forges strong links with companies and scientific institutions across the world. TUM was one of the first universities in Germany to be named a University of Excellence. Moreover, TUM regularly ranks among the best European universities in international rankings.