Newsportal - Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) has been very successful in the first round of the nationwide Excellence Strategy: from 2019, two Clusters of Excellence will be funded:

• Cyber Security in the Age of Large-Scale Adversaries (Casa) as well as
• Ruhr Explores Solvation (Resolv): Understanding and design of solvent-dependent processes – a joint cluster with TU Dortmund University.

“We are very proud of the achievements of our top researchers and the success at this crucial point of the competition,” says Rector Professor Axel Schölmerich. “With this development, we are confidently moving on to the next round, in which we will be applying with an innovative  concept in the University of Excellence funding line.”

Boost for the Ruhr area

“The tens of millions in funding for the two clusters over seven years will give the entire Ruhr region an additional boost. It is increasingly becoming an attractive location for internationally leading research,” says Schölmerich.

“IT security is a promising topic for the future, which will be further anchored in the region and considerably strengthend through the Casa cluster,” says Professor Andreas Ostendorf, Prorector for Research, Transfer and Early Career Researchers, delighted. “The clusters benefit from the mutual support in the region. At Resolv, RUB and TU Dortmund University are already cooperating successfully with scientists from Duisburg-Essen and other non-university partners.”

The German Research Foundation (DFG) already supported the Resolv Cluster of Excellence at RUB from 2012 to 2018. It has since developed a dense network in solvation research based on the Bochum cluster, with Resolv as its hub – both within the region and internationally.