Scientific profile

Molecular Systems Science and Engineering is an interdisciplinary research field stretching from materials science to synthetic biology and medicine. Our focus is on development of new carbon-based materials, molecular engines, 3D printing, regenerative medicine, vaccines and cancer therapy. We also contribute to application areas like diagnostics, sensor technology and renewable energy.

The institute for pharmacy and molecular biotechnology is involved in development, analysis and application of pharmaceutical agents as well as investigation of molecular and cellular mechanisms of their action.
To this end, we apply experimental techniques from chemistry, molecular and cell biology, pharmacology, and pharmaceutical technology as well as bioinformatics.

...studies function, structure and usage of hardware for data acquisition and processing. Employing detailed knowledge of elementary components of computer chips and architecture as well es large, heterogeneous computer systems, we are able to adapt algorithms to the specifics of a hardware system in order to boost their computational efficiency or reduce their energy footprint. We deploy application specific hardware/software combinations and optimized system configurations for specific computing challenges.

...is nowadays considered the third pillar of science, complementing experiment and theory. More and more knowledge of complex natural phenomena is obtained from large-scale, detailed simulations. They involve techniques from modeling of such phenomena and numerical methods, the design and implementation of algorithms to the actual execution of programs on modern hardware. We employ these techniques in applications from biology and medicine to chemistry and astrophysics and advance methods by overcoming application specific challenges.
Research Groups:

Philosophy, on the one hand, tells us a lot about what we ought to do, what we should value, what is reasonable, rational, beautiful, justified, etc. That is, it specifies the norms that guide our actions and beliefs. Science and engineering, on the other hand, investigate what is the case, what mechanisms underlie complex phenomena, how we can build things on a nanoscale, etc. In other words, it provides us with a lot of facts. The Professorship for Philosophy links the norms and the facts to contribute to actions towards real-world change. In order to act, we need to know both what we ought to do and how we can do it. Therefore, we connect philosophical research into norms and scientific research into facts for practical purposes.