Gruppenbild mit den Rektoren Axel Schölmerich, Ursula Gather und Ulrich Radtke (von links)

Rectors Axel Schölmerich, Ursula Gather and Ulrich Radtke (left to right) at the opening: Resolv is a research programme jointly conducted by the UA Ruhr partner universities. © RUB, Marquard

Resolv Cluster kicks off

More than 40 million euros have been invested into the Solvation Science research programme, in which RUB is involved together with its partners. This marks the beginning of a new era for the Excellence Cluster.

Resolv has kicked off: After being already a Cluster of Excellence at RUB for seven years, the joint Resolv proposal by RUB and TU Dortmund University secured a new funding period under the umbrella of the Excellence Strategy. The consortium will be awarded approx. 42 million euros to conduct research by the end of 2025.

Martina Havenith assumes the function of Speaker at Resolv. At the New Year’s Reception, she reviewed the cluster’s achievements to date and outlined its future prospects.

Axel Schölmerich, Rector at RUB, commends the uncompromising quality requirements at the Resolv Cluster of Excellence, in particular with regard to new appointments and fostering junior researchers.

Ursula Gather, Rektorin der Technischen Universität Dortmund

Ursula Gather, Rector at TU Dortmund University, is looking forward to the beginning of a new era. Within the Resolv Cluster, her university has been upgraded from a collaboration partner to a true partner.

Ulrich Radtke, Rektor der Universität Duisburg-Essen

Ulrich Radtke, Rector at the University of Duisburg-Essen, emphasises the important role the Resolv Cluster plays for the entire region. The University of Duisburg-Essen is involved in it as a collaboration partner.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Cleij, Universität Maastricht

Professor Thomas Cleij from Maastricht University outlines a successful example of structural transformation and transfer. The Chemelot region has undergone similar developments as Ruhr – from coal mining industry to a knowledge and technology hub.

Das neue Managing Board von Resolv (von links): Wolfram Sander, Enrica Bordignon, Roland Winter, Sprecherin Martina Havenith, Christian Merten, Stefan Kast und Dominik Marx

The new Resolv Managing Board (left to right): Wolfram Sander, Enrica Bordignon, Roland Winter, Speaker Martina Havenith, Christian Merten, Stefan Kast and Dominik Marx

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The go-ahead for the ongoing collaboration in the cluster was given at the Resolv New Year’s Reception on 22 January 2019. Assessing the activities so far, the results have been overwhelming, and the prospects regarding future goals are promising.

Fostering junior researchers and Internationalisation

Ruhr Explores Solvation, Resolv for short, has published more than 1,000 articles since 2012, more than 200 of them in so-called high-impact journals. More than 200 international chemists, physicists and engineers collaborate in the cluster, striving to decipher the role of solvents in chemical reactions, as well as industrial and biological processes. “At the same time, we are committed to fostering junior researchers,“ said Resolv Speaker Professor Martina Havenith.

A new Graduate School will be open to graduates as soon as they obtain their Bachelor’s degree, i.e. long before the Master’s degree, in order to attract more potential PhD candidates. Moreover, a new training programme for postdoctoral researchers in the field of solvation science will be funded by the European Union. In this postdoctoral program, Resolv collaborates with a Swiss research center (National Center of Competence in Research – Molecular Ultrafast Science and Technology). Professor Axel Schölmerich, Rector at RUB, commended the “uncompromising quality requirements when it comes to appointments and fostering junior researchers.“ They have proved a recipe for success to date.

Aiming for technology transfer

“The joint cluster Resolv has launched a new era,“ Professor Ursula Gather, Rector at TU Dortmund University, happily explained. Starting in 2019, TU Dortmund University will expand the Solvation Science research programme by appointing new professors. Thus, the cluster intends to further intensify its transfer activities. Based on solvation research, new concepts for the industry may be developed: For example for energy conversion and storage, or the development of smart sensors. Resolv brings all these ideas to the table at the Ruhr-Konferenz topical forum “From idea to product” (“Von der Idee zum Produkt“).

The cluster’s New Year’s Reception demonstrated that this is indeed a true, active research programme at University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr). Accordingly, the University of Duisburg-Essen is likewise involved in the cluster as a collaboration partner. Its Rector, Professor Ulrich Radtke, took stage at the New Year’s Reception to point out the already enormous benefit gained by the UA Ruhr as a whole through the Cluster of Excellence.