DFG establishes 17 new priority programs

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is establishing 17 new Priority Programmes for 2018. Priority Programmes aim to advance knowledge in current areas of research interest and emerging fields. The new programmes were selected by the Senate of the DFG, Germany's largest research funding organisation and central self-governing organisation for the research community, from a total of 66 submitted initiatives.

The newly approved Priority Programmes cover the entire spectrum of disciplines, from humanities, social sciences, life sciences and natural sciences to engineering sciences. The topics range from intra-African connections between rainforest and Mediterranean to the light-controlled reactivity of metal complexes, from the colonisation and interaction of tumor cells within the bone microenvironment to the deconstruction and reconstruction of the plant microbiota, and materials for additive manufacturing.

All programmes are highly interdisciplinary and are notable for their application of innovative methods. Funding for early career researchers is a key element and one of the essential prerequisites for the establishment of a new Priority Programme. All programmes also have an equal opportunity strategy.

The approved programmes describe the main subject of a Priority Programme. Over the coming months, the DFG will announce a separate call for proposals for each programme. Proposals will be evaluated in a rigorous review process to determine their scientific quality and their contribution to the general topic in question. A total of approximately €100 million will be available for the 17 new programmes in the first three-year funding period. Priority Programmes are generally funded for a period of six years. Currently, a total of 97 programmes are being funded. The 17 new initiatives will get underway in 2018.

• Entangled Africa: Intra-African connections between Rainforest and Mediterranean (ca. 6000 to 500 BP)
  (Coordinator: Private lecturer Dr. Jörg Linstädter, German Archaeological Institute, Bonn)
• Cultures of Translation in Early Modern Times
  (Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Regina Toepfer, Technical University of Braunschweig)
• The Active Self
  (Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Hommel, University of Leiden, Netherlands)

• Polarimetric Radar Observations Meet Atmospheric Modelling (PROM) – Fusion of Radar Polarimetry and Numerical Atmospheric Modelling Towards an Improved Understanding of Cloud and Precipitation Processes
  (Coordinator: Dr. Silke Trömel, University of Bonn)
• Light Controlled Reactivity of Metal Complexes
  (Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Katja Heinze, University of Mainz)
• Skyrmionics: Topological Spin Phenomena in Real-Space for Applications
  (Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Christian Pfleiderer, Technical University of Munich, Garching)
• Catalysts and Reactors Under Dynamic Conditions for Energy Storage and Conversion
  (Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Jan-Dierk Grunwaldt, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)

• μBONE: Colonization and Interaction of Tumor Cells Within the Bone Microenvironment
  (Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Lorenz Hofbauer, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden)
• Gene and Cell-Based Therapies to Counteract Neuroretinal Degeneration
  (Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Knut Stieger Ph.D., University Hospital Gießen und Marburg, Gießen Campus)
• Rhizosphere Spatiotemporal Organisation – A Key to Rhizosphere Functions
  (Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Doris Vetterlein, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Halle/Saale)
• Deconstruction and Reconstruction of the Plant Microbiota (DECRyPT)
  (Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Alga Zuccaro, University of Cologne)
• Much More Than Defence: The Multiple Functions and Facets of CRISPR-Cas
  (Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Anita Marchfelder, University of Ulm)

• Materials for Additive Manufacturing
  (Coordinator: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stephan Barcikowski, University of Duisburg-Essen)
• Soft Material Robotic Systems
  (Coordinator: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Annika Raatz, University of Hanover)
• Fluidless Lubrication Systems with High Mechanical Load
  (Coordinator: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernd Sauer, Technical University of Kaiserslautern)
• Surface Conditioning in Machining Processes
  (Coordinator: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Volker Schulze, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)
• Electronic-Photonic Integrated Systems for Ultrafast Signal Processing
  (Coordinator: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Scheytt, University of Paderborn)

###

DFG Press and Public Relations, Tel. +49 228 885-2109, [email protected]

Information is also provided by the coordinators of the new Priority Programmes.

For information on the DFG Priority Programmes also see:
http://www.dfg.de/spp/en

Media Contact

Magdalena Schaeffer
[email protected]
49-228-885-2130

http://www.dfg.de

############

Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag