Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (German: Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren) is the largest scientific organisation in Germany. It is a union of 16 scientifically, technically, biologically, and medically oriented research centers with altogether some 30,000 employees (some 9,700 staff are scientists) and an annual budget that is about 3 billion euros. The official mission of the Association is "to answer great and pressing questions of science, society, and economics". The namesake of the association is the German physiologist and physicist Hermann von Helmholtz.
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[edit] Members
Members of the Helmholtz Association are:
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung (AWI) Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) German Electron Synchrotron
- Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg (DKFZ) German Cancer Research Centre
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) German Aerospace Center
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)
- Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) Jülich Research Centre
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), (formerly Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe)
- Helmholtz Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research
- Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Centre for Materials and Coastal Research (HZG)
- Helmholtz Zentrum München German Research Centre for Environmental Health (HMGU)
- GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB)
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ
- Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP)
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine Berlin-Buch (MDC)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) formerly known as Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (FZD) changed 2011 from the Leibniz Association to the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres.[1]
[edit] Programme structure
The works of the centres are categorised into programmes, which are divided into six research groups. The Helmholtz centres are grouped according to which research group they belong to:
- Energy (DLR, KIT, FZJ, GFZ, HZB, HZDR, IPP)
- Renewable energies
- Energy efficient conversion
- Nuclear fusion
- Nuclear safety research
- Technology, Innovation and Society
- Earth and environment (AWI, DLR, FZJ, KIT, HZI, GFZ, HZG, HMGU, UFZ)
- Geosystem: The changing earth
- Marine, coastal and polar systems
- Atmosphere and climate
- Biogeosystems: Dynamics, adaptation and adjustment
- Terrestrial Environment
- Health (DKFZ, FZJ, KIT, HZI, DZNE HZG, HMGU, GSI, HZB, HZDR, MDC, UFZ)
- Cancer research
- Cardio-vascular and metabolic disease research
- Function and dysfunction of the nervous system
- Infection and immunity
- Environmental health
- Comparative genomics for human health
- Systemic Analysis of Multifactorial Diseases
- Key Technologies (FZJ, KIT, HZG, cooperation of the HZB in single topics)
- Supercomputing
- Fundamentals of Future Information Technology
- NANOMICRO: Science, Technology, Systems
- Advanced Engineering Materials
- BioSoft: Macromolecular Systems and Biological Information Processing
- BioInterfaces: Molecular and Cellular Interactions at Functional Interfaces
- Technology, Innovation and Society
- Structure of Matter (DESY, FZJ, KIT, HZG, GSI, HZB), HZDR
- Elementary particle physics
- Astroparticle physics
- Hadrons and nuclear physics
- Research with Photons, Neutrons and Ions (PNI)
- Aeronautics, Space and Transport (DLR)
[edit] Funding
The annual budget of the Helmholtz Association amounts to more than two billion euros, of which about 70% is raised from public funds, while the rest is contributed by the members from external funds. The public funds are provided to 90% by the federal government and the rest by the states.
[edit] Notes
- Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe is often abbreviated as FZK, although this violates the rights of Feuerverzinkerei FZK Karlsruhe.
