News Archive 2009 - 2015

A team of four Jacobs University graduate students will be heading to London to compete in the regional finals of the 2015 Hult Prize, the world’s largest student competition which sees top-tier schools competing for $1 million in start-up funding. This year’s contest, which calls for solutions to ‘Early Childhood Education in the Urban Slum and beyond’, received a record number of 20,000 first round entries from more than 500 colleges and universities in over 150 countries.

For most people work is an integral part of their life which not only secures their life standards, but also forms the basis for social participation and personal growth. If someone’s workability is limited as a result of health problems, medical rehabilitation can often help to regain strength and capabilities, and to continue to work in a productive way and remain healthy. In cooperation with the Deutsche Rentenversicherung Oldenburg-Bremen health psychologists at Jacobs University are now investigating what contributes to the success of such medical rehabilitation treatments.

Computer simulation of a dipeptide bound to an MHC multimer. The function of these chemical compounds to facilitate the production of MHC multimers for the detection of T cells was discovered by the Springer group at Jacobs University

In its fight against tumors, the human immune system uses so-called T cells that can recognize and kill cancer cells. To detect and follow such anticancer immune responses, doctors and researchers make use of so-called MHC multimers. These are proteins that specifically bind to the surface of the T cells and tag them with a fluorescent label so that they can be seen through the microscope or by other means, allowing researchers to calculate how many T cells that react with the tumor are present in the patient.

The Robotics Group at Jacobs University has just started with research on the development of an intelligent robot for the underwater inspection of bridges. This latest work forms part of the the project 'Vulnerability of Transportation Structures, Warning and Evacuation in Case of Major Inland Flooding (FloodEvac)'. Bridges in particular are critical transport infrastructures during flooding. On the one hand they are crucial for disaster response logistics and evacuations; on the other hand they tend to be strongly affected by the floods often becoming unusable.

In natural sciences and engineering researchers frequently rely on theoretical models to understand spatio-temporal phenomena and make predictions. These models are verified by numerical simulations and depend on certain input parameters or initial conditions. In order to test the models, researchers execute a large number of simulation runs with different parameter settings generating large amounts of what is called “multi-run multi-field data”. A new research project at Jacobs University now aims at visually analyzing such data to better understand the influence of the initial parameters on the simulation result. The project under the lead of Lars Linsen, Professor of Computational Science & Computer Science, is funded by the German Research Council with €256,000 for a period of three years.

From Monday, January 12, the campus will come to life again after the winter break with the start of Jacobs University’s annual Winter School. Jacobs students will be joined by external guests in taking various courses in the humanities and social sciences. Students of natural sciences and engineering also have the opportunity to take lab courses. In 2015, Jacobs University welcomes 23 external participants from 11 countries. Most of them stay on campus and join Jacobs University’s college community. The Winter School ends on January 30.

One of the eight international scholars honored with this year’s Georg Forster Research Award by theAlexander von Humboldt Foundation is coming to Jacobs University to take up a research position at the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS). The psychologist, Erhabor S. Idemudia from Nigeria, is a professor at North West University in Mahikeng, South Africa. He will spend a period of 6 months each in 2015 and 2016 at Jacobs University, planned to stretch from May to October in both years.

Jacobs University wishes you and your family a joyous and peaceful holiday season, happiness and success in the new year 2015.

For the sixth year in a row, Jacobs University’s Rotaract Club made Christmas come early for children attending two local kindergartens. The annual present drive “Make a Wish” put a smile on the faces of 246 kids as they unwrapped the gifts from Santa and his elves.

Researchers from Jacobs University, universities in Lisbon, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Gothenburg, and Uppsala, as well as industry representatives from Lisbon and The Hague convened on the Jacobs University campus for a regular project meeting of the EU-funded EMOTE project (European Research Grant: EU-PF7-317923).

Prof. Dr. Dr. med Dagmar Führer,  Prof. Dr. Heike Biebermann and Prof. Dr. Klaudia Brixinitiated and coordinate the DFG Priority Program »Thyroid Trans Act Act«

More than 100 experts in thyroid research from all over the world have come together at Jacobs University for the »First International Conference of Thyroid Trans Act« held on campus from December 5-7. The impact of thyroid hormone action was the central topic of the three-day meeting, which was organized by the coordinators of the priority program »Thyroid Trans Act«, the first thyroid consortium funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

The first meeting of Jacobs University’s new advisory panel, the Sounding Board, took place on campus last week. Composed of 17 members, the Sounding Board aims at commenting on and assessing the new study programs at Jacobs University.

In the run up to Christmas and the winter break, Jacobs University got into the festive spirit with an informal reception for the whole community.

Finding a job after finishing a degree is every graduate’s aim. In order to achieve this goal, Jacobs University specifically prepares students for entering the job market. Jacobs University students get the chance to not only make contacts with renowned companies and scientific institutions but to also learn firsthand about the opportunities and challenges of the job market.

Members of the public and the Jacobs community are warmly invited to take part in the annual "Make a Wish!" Christmas present project. The Jacobs Rotaract Club together with EPYSMO have collected Christmas wishes from local children, and community members on and off campus now have the chance to make those wishes come true!

Postgraduate students of social sciences from Jacobs University and the University of Bremen have founded the "BIGSSS Ebola Group" to raise awareness of the outbreak of the deadly pandemic in West Africa.  The members of the Bremen Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS)  are also collaborating with Master students from Bremen's University of Arts (HfK). The team aims not only aims to draw more attention to the global Ebola problem, but also wants to work on how scientists and students can support the help efforts. On December 3, these issues were discussed during an information event, which also marked the start of the Ebola-Week 2015, which aims to raise further awareness of the threat of Ebola.

On Wednesday, November 26, 2014 at 8 pm the winter program 2014/2015 of the film and lecture series “Bremer Tagebuch” started with a special evening to celebrate its 200th edition. The event was held in German at the Haus der Wissenschaft in Bremen.

Our working environment is in constant flux. Demographic change leads to more diverse employees in terms of age, gender, culture and ethnic background, which is challenging for companies. How to successfully cope with this transformation was the focus of the 15th meeting of the WDN- WISE Demography Network at Jacobs University. The residency group Bremen was host of this event at which companies and scientists exchanged ideas on the topics of current developments, strategies and trends in the area of demographics.

China's position in the world has changed dramatically over the past three decades. The country has become the largest economic power in the world and exerts significant economic and political influence around the globe. In response to this development Jacobs University has opened the Jacobs Center for the Study of China and Globalization (Global China), which was inaugurated on Wednesday evening.

The Earth System Science Research School (ESSReS) celebrated the final graduation of 22 of its PhD students with a festive ceremony on Friday, 27th November 2014 at the Seefischkochstudio, Bremerhaven.

Asvin Goel, Professor of International Logistics, has been honored with the TSL Best Paper Award at the annual meeting of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences(INFORMS) in San Francisco. The award is given every year to an outstanding journal paper in the field of transportation science and logistics.

Have you ever had this one idea that you can imagine to become a real business? Or do you have the entrepreneurial mindset and drive to build a business but just lack the creative idea? Then join the Jacobs Startup Competition 2015 (JSC) and make your ideas come true!

The Bremen-based HANSA-FLEX Foundation continues its supports of Jacobs University students by again offering scholarships worth €150,000 per year, which enable students to pursue their studies in Bremen. By providing the scholarships the HANSA-FLEX Foundation aims to strengthen Bremen as a location for science, research and education. The scholarships are awarded to students from economic and science majors.

On November 7 and 8, the charity concert Piano To Forte organized by Jacobs University students is is taking place again on campus. The program of the two musical evenings includes different music genres from classic to rock and from choral singing to traditional Turkish music. The proceeds are going towards social projects initiated and run by students from the university in Bremen-Nord initiated.

Thorsten Rudolph (Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen), Prof. Dr. Peter Baumann and Markus Lennartz, Vice President Global Accounts / International Business, Public Sector, T-Systems International GmbH

The rasdaman Big Data technology, developed under the lead of Peter Baumann, Professor of Computer Science, has won the Big Data Challenge at this year’s prestigious Copernicus Masters competition.

Mengting He, a Master student in International Logistics and Management at Jacobs University, was this month crowned the winner of a popular Chinese TV quiz show, which regularly draws an audience around 20 million people. During the show – the title of which translates as 'Who’s Still Standing?' – the 23-year-old from Changsha successfully competed against nine other Chinese students who were studying at universities such as Harvard, Yale, Cambridge University or the University of Sydney.

Frank Oliver Glöckner, Professor of Bioinformatics at Jacobs University, has been appointed as member of the German Council for Information Infrastructures (Rat für Informationsinfrastrukturen) which was established by the Joint Science Conference (Gemeinsame Wissenschaftskonferenz – GWK) for a pilot phase of four years.

As of now Jacobs University is receiving heat and electricity from its own thermal power station, which will greatly reduce energy costs. The implementation of thermal power station forms part of the trilateral contract between the Jacobs Foundation, the State of Bremen and Jacobs University.

 
Photo courtesy of Nico Fröhberg

A mash-up of the classic computer games Pong and Snake was crowned the winner of this year’s jacobsHack! hackathon, which took place over the weekend. Under the motto „Live long, hack strong“, 85 students from all over Europe and the USA met at the hackathon JacobsHack! at Jacobs University. The programming competition was organized by current and former Computer Science (CS) students from the international university and was supported by companies such as Google, SAP, Microsoft and Entrepreneur First who acted as sponsors and jury members.

Heino Niederhausen, Head of  Personnel, Mercedes-Benz Plant Bremen, Daimler AG, and Sven Voelpel, Professor of Business Administration and founder and Director of WDN – WISE Demographic Network.

Photo: Thomas Kleiner / GfG

Jacobs University’s WDN - Wise Demography Network welcomes the Mercedes-Benz Plant Bremen as a new member. The production plant has been closely cooperating with Jacobs University and the WDN for a number of years in the areas of demography and education. The company is now further extending its relationship with the university by joining the WDN network.

As part of its Smart Electricity Grids funding initiative the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports a new interdisciplinary research project at Jacobs University. The goal of the new project named Analysis and Management of Stochastic Fluctuations in the Net’ is to analyze the effect of fluctuations, both in the generation and consumption of electricity, on the stability of the electricity grid. Stefan Kettemann and Hildegard Meyer-Ortmanns, Professors of Theoretical Physics, and Gert Brunekreeft, Adjunct Professor of Energy Economics at Jacobs University are at the helm of the three-year project, which is funded with a grant of €548,600.

The first major student-run hackathon is taking place at Jacobs University on October 4 to 5sponsored by Google and Microsoft amongst others. More than 100 participants have the chance to get to know fellow hackers and representatives from Google, SAP, Microsoft and Entrepreneur First during the 24-hour hackathon.  Prices worth €2000  await the winner with the best project.

Peter Baumann, Professor of Computer Science at Jacobs University, has been honored with the Kenneth D. Gardels Award by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). The OGC Board of Directors awarded the prize to Peter Baumann in recognition of his “significant contribution to the OGC's essential role and mission in the global Information Technology community”.

Jacobs University successfully participated in field tests on the Azores as part of the EU project 'Marine Robotic System of Self-Organising, Logically Linked Physical Nodes (MORPH)'. A new type of robotics-based distributed sensor system, aimed at providing marine scientists and commercial operators with a revolutionary tool for marine habitat mapping in complex 3D environments was intensively tested in sea trials. The latest round of testing was organized by the Center of IMAR of the University of the Azores.

The second generation of VIA BREMEN Logistics Ambassadors are ready to promote the expertise of the port and logistics location Bremen / Bremerhaven overseas. This year, the City Airport Bremen hosted the awards ceremony at the Bremenhalle, where Jürgen Bula, the Chief Executive Officer and member of the advisory board of the VIA BREMEN foundation, handed over the certificates – signed by Martin Günthner, Bremen’s Senator for Economic Affairs, Labor and Ports – to ten logistics ambassadors from eight different nations. The certificate verifies the successful completion of the program 'VIA BREMEN Logistics Ambassadors', which has been created by VIA BREMEN in collaboration with the International Logistics department at Jacobs University.

For one weekend, Jacobs University was their home again: around 100 alumni returned to Jacobs University for their Homecoming on campus in Bremen-North and at the same time celebrated the 10 and 5-year anniversary of their Graduation. “I am happy to see that our alumni have traveled from all over the world for this Homecoming. Jacobs University connects people for a lifetime.”, said Prof. Dr. Michael Hülsmann, Managing Director of Jacobs University. Among a variety of activities organized by the Alumni Association and the official reunion dinner the program was mainly characterized by career- and networking events over the course of which alumni and current students as well as many entrepreneurs came together.

Bremen’s Senator for Social Affairs, Children, Youth and Women recently paid a visit Martinshof gardeners at Jacobs University. Since 2005 around 20 members of the Martinshof organization have been working together with their group managers Ute Kampen and Christoph Wuppenhaas on Jacobs University’s campus.

Since its launch in 2010 Jacobs University’s Executive Master Program Basin and Petroleum System Dynamics has now been firmly established as a sought-after program for hydrocarbon modelers and geochemists in the oil and gas (hydrocarbon exploration) industry. This year sees Jacobs University celebrate the successful graduation of its second BPSD class. Seven graduates from five nations*, who are working for renowned gas and oil companies, have successfully finished their executive Master degree. On top of their day job they took part in an 18-month long part-time study program at Jacobs University to become experts in modeling and evaluation of petroleum systems.

Due to globalization, demographic change and skills shortages, companies and their employees have changed over the years. This has lead to the emergence of a more diverse workforce. Individuals from different cultures face various demands, and the integration of foreign employees brings new responsibilities. A culture of welcome (welcoming new members to a group, appreciating diversity and dealing effectively with all kinds of challenges) can lead to better cooperation within the organization, and more satisfied employees. It can also result in higher commitment of employees to the company, and greater success of its products and services. A transfer project by Jacobs University initiated by the health insurance company Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), and the moving service provider UTS, was launched last week. The aim is to support companies in exchanging best practice examples and to provide the state-of-the science with regard to successful integration of their business into the international market.

The Bremische Hafenvertretung (BHV), which represents around 220 local companies from a variety of industries associated with the ports in Bremen and Bremerhaven, has established a new scholarship program for logistics students in cooperation with Jacobs University.

Water pollution with residues of pharmaceuticals has become a rather common phenomenon. In all German rivers, for example, the concentration of gadolinium, a high-tech metal that belongs to the group of rare earth elements, occurs in anomalously high concentrations. Gadolinium is used as a contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It is not metabolized by the human body and quickly excreted through the kidneys into the sewage system.

Each year, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) honors a Jacobs University student for the exceptional academic achievements and commitment to extracurricular activities in social, ecological or political areas with a special award. This year’s recipient of the DAAD Award is Celine Lofthus Gaasrud from Norway.

Jacobs University logistics specialists are bringing their expertise to a social project initiated by Mercedes-Benz, managed by Martinshof (represented by Andreas Beyreitz) and in cooperation with the University of the Arts Bremen (HfK), the Faser Institut Bremen and the InnoWi. Günter Sprecher (BM center leader) and Christian Wolters (department leader) have not only been active during the workshop but are intensively supporting the Smarty initiative, showing the importance of the project for the management of Mercedes-Benz.

Jacobs University welcomes two new members to its Advisory Board International Logistics.Christian-Hans Bültemeier, Chief Financial Officer of HANSA-FLEX AG, and Jürn Schmidt, Managing Director of Hansa Meyer Global, have joined the board, which currently comprises 9 experts of the logistics industry from metropolitan region Bremen-Oldenburg and is chaired by Hans-Ludger Körner, member of the board of Röhlig & Co Holding GmbH & Co. KG.

Jacobs University has initiated formation of a new Big Data Domain Working Group which recently has been established by the members of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). Peter Baumann, Professor of Computer Science at Jacobs University will co-chair the group together with John Herring, Oracle, and Chuck Heazel, WISC.

Jacobs University student Fabiola Gerpott will attend the 5th Lindau Meeting on Economic Sciences (Aug 19 - 23) and be blogging from the event on the Lindau website. The 25-year-old, who is studying for a double PhD in Psychology and Business Administration at Jacobs University and the University of Amsterdam, will join around 460 young scientists from more than 80 countries.

Would you like to learn about other cultures and broaden your horizon? Here is your chance to meet people from all corners of the world without having to travel far. Become a host parent for young people from across the globe who are starting their studies at Jacobs University in the fall semester. Joining the Jacobs University Host Family Program is great chance to not only discover new cultures, traditions and languages, but also to bring students closer to Bremen and the region.

At the heart of the oxygenic photosynthesis lies a water-splitting process that is responsible for generating the oxygen in our atmosphere. This chemical reaction is driven by the so-called Photosystem II enzyme (PSII), which is part of the membrane of plants, bacteria or algae. The active core of this enzyme in turn consists of a cubane-shaped manganese-oxo cluster comprising four manganese ions that are working as a perfect match to split water and produce oxygen.

Taking environmental samples is part of the day-to-day work of researchers in many different fields. In recent years new methods have been developed to extract the DNA and enzymes from such samples and analyze their structures and functions. Environmental samples with organic components are for example stored at DNA or tissue banks or as part of natural history and living culture collections. Most of these collections and institutions use their own system to assign and reference samples in their databases. A new DFG-funded project now aims to change that by developing a comprehensive standard for the assignment of any kind of meta-omics data to reference samples in natural history and living culture collections.

On the occasion of its 28th International Congress, held in Paris from July 8-13, 2014, theInternational Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) elected Jacobs professor Klaus Boehnke as IAAP fellow "in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Applied Psychology". Dr. Boehnke was one of the founding members of the Division of Political Psychology of IAAP in 1990 and served first as its secretary and treasurer and then, from 2004 to 2010, as its president. He put emphasis on topically focusing the program of the division on peace psychology.

Big data poses a number of challenges in relation to capture, curation, storage, search, sharing, transfer, analysis and visualization. In science and engineering multi-dimensional sensor, image, simulation output, and statistics data make up for most of the extremely large volumes of data which standardized SQL databases are not able to deal with these specific kinds of data. Initiated by Peter Baumann, Professor of Computer Science at Jacobs University, it has now been decided to extend the SQL database language with massive multi-dimensional arrays. Work has already commenced on the new forthcoming standard named SQL/MDA.

Young math talents from all over the world are currently meeting at Jacobs University. The participants from 10 countries are competing in the International Tournament of Young Mathematicians 2014 (ITYM) which is taking place until July 19 at Jacobs University. The contest aims to give young talents an insight into mathematical research. By hosting the event Jacobs University is expanding its long-term activities in the area of mathematics.

Vaccinations can protect and save lives, but many don't have enough vaccination-based protection. The situation is especially severe in poverty-stricken parts of the world as for example in the slums of Mumbai. High school students from Bremen and India have now started a collaborative project with the aim to give children in poor districts of Mumbai the possibility to get a vaccination. Jacobs University supports this project and together with the University of Bremen prepares the students for their work in India.

At its international congress in Paris, the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) has named Jacobs University professor Sonia Lippke as President Elect of its Health Psychology Division. The IAAP was founded in 1920 and is the oldest international association of psychologists with more than 1,500 psychologists from over 80 countries among its members.

Thomas Heine, Professor of Theoretical Physics, has been chosen as a Speciality Chief Editor of new open-access journal Frontiers in Materials. In his role he will look after the section ‘Computational Materials Science’, which is one of 14 specialty segments in the new peer-reviewed online journal.

Katja Windt, President of Jacobs University, was presented with the Logistics Award by the Kieserling Stiftung. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katja Windt was honored for her achievements to date in the field of logistics and for steering Jacobs University’s change process. She received the award in front of more than 250 guests at a festive evening at Bremen’s Dorint Park Hotel.

You are not quite sure yet what and where to study, and would like to explore your options? Do you want to get a taste of different fields of study and acquire academic learning skills before starting your degree? Would you like to improve your academic English in an international university environment? Then Jacobs University’s Foundation Year Program is the right choice for you: Spend a year on our international campus in Bremen, prepare yourself for your undergraduate studies and earn transferable ECTS Credits at the same time.

Two young researchers from Jacobs University will again take part in the 64th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting dedicated to Physiology or Medicine. Caroline Hoppe, a second year undergraduate student in the Biochemistry and Cell Biology major, and PhD student Sunil Kumar Saini are among 630 talented young scientists from 80 countries chosen by a scientific panel of Lindau organizers.

A group of Arctic Geomicrobiology-interested students at Jacobs University, conducted field sampling of microbes in the Eyafjordur fjord in Northern Iceland for Ocean Sampling Day 2014, a worldwide event that took place on June 21 to investigate the importance of microorganisms for the sea as an ecosystem. More than 160 scientific institutions around the globe participated in the Ocean Sampling Day, which was organized under the lead of Prof. Dr. Frank Oliver Glöckner, Professor of Bioinformatics at Jacobs University, within the framework of the EU-funded project Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology).

Pictured from left to right:
Louis Lagoutte (BA Integrated Social Sciences, from the United Kingdom), Nickolet Ncube (MSc Physical Sciences, from Zimbabwe), Kamila Radikovna Mustafina (BSc Biochemistry and Cell Biology, from Russia) and Sergio Sarmiento (MA International Logistics and Management, from Bolivia)

Four Jacobs University students are joining more than 30 high-profile speakers, including 2011 Peace Nobel Laureate and Liberian Peace Activist Leymah Gbowee, at the CHOCOVISION business conference, which is taking place in Davos from June 17 to 19.

The ocean is the source of all life on earth. One drop of sea water contains more than 1 million microorganisms; they are the oldest life form on our planet and have made human existence possible in the first place. Still, our knowledge of these microorganisms is rather limited. The EU-funded projectMicro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) now aims to change that. Under the lead of Prof. Dr. Frank Oliver Glöckner, Professor of Bioinformatics at Jacobs University, a group of international scientists of different fields is investigating these microorganisms invisible to the human eye, and their importance for the sea as an ecosystem. For June 21, 2014 the team has planned a worldwide event called Ocean Sampling Day (OSD)that everyone can take part in.

Ten Jacobs University students are heading to Iceland on a transdisciplinary arctic geo-microbiology field trip funded by the European Union with its Lifelong Learning Programme and the ERASMUS Intensive Programme. The 18-day field trip will take the ten undergraduate students to the North of Iceland (June 12-30). The selected cohort of Life Sciences and Earth and Space Sciences students will join 20 more students from the University of Reading (UK), Ghent University (Belgium), and the University of Akureyri (Iceland).

Ribosomes are large cellular machines that are responsible for the biogenesis of proteins. They are composed of RNA molecules, which harbor the catalytic activity, and auxiliary proteins. Ribosomes are also a prime target for several classes of antibiotics, which inhibit the RNA-mediated catalysis in bacterial protein biosynthesis by directly interacting with the ribosomal RNA. This makes ribosomal RNA a particularly important and interesting study object, with high relevance to the Focus Area HEALTH at Jacobs University. The German Research Foundation (DFG) supports the research on the biogenesis of ribosomal RNA, which is carried out in the laboratory of Dr. Christian Hammann, Professor of Biochemistry, with a grant of 390,000 Euro.

For more image of this year's Graduation, please go to our Mobile website.

On Friday, June 6, Jacobs University celebrated the successful Graduation of its 11th graduating class. A total of 386 young people – 262 Bachelor, 70 Master and 54 PhD Students – received their diplomas at the university’s Sports & Convention Center. In her role as President of Jacobs University, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katja Windt congratulated the graduates on their achievements. Angela Titzrath, Board Member for Human Resources of Deutsche Post DHL.

(Pictured from left to right: Prof. Dr. Arvid Kappas, Prof. Dr.-Ing.Katja Windt, Prof. Dr. Michael Hülsmann, Prof. Dr. Werner Nau)

Michael Hülsmann, Arvid Kappas and Werner Nau are joining the executive team of Jacobs University. In addition to establishing three focus areas, the alignment of the study programs, a growth in income and a decrease of material and personnel costs, the strategy plan of Jacobs University, adopted in February, also stipulates the reorganization of the management structure. By filling the central position of Managing Director and two Academic Deans, which Jacobs University’s Board of Governors agreed to at its meeting yesterday, another milestone in the restructuring process of Jacobs University has been reached.

A university is a melting pot of ideas. Some of them might be so enticing that those first thoughts soon take on shape: a student project turned into a business. At the first Entrepreneurs’ Day at Jacobs University students and alumni have had the chance to present a number of different projects. The Entrepreneur’s Day offered the opportunity for future business founders to enter into a dialogue with potential partners and experts. The start-up founders could have their business model evaluated and got tips how to possibly optimize their solutions and market them effectively.

Jan Delhey, Professor of Sociology at Jacobs University, is the new associate editor of the Journal of Happiness Studies. He took on his editorial role on June 1.

Demographic change alters our society and impacts on the economy. Companies have to adapt to an ageing workforce, a decrease in young employees and a growing number of workers with a migration background. To find out how the situation is perceived and dealt with by different sides is the goal of a new research project by Jacobs University in cooperation with ArcelorMittal Bremen. Within the three-yearDemowa project the researchers led by Sonia Lippke, Professor of Health Psychology, and Christian Stamov- Roßnagel, Professor of Organizational Behavior, aim at developing and testing innovative and efficient concepts for staffing structure and personnel development.
The project is funded with 728,000 Euro by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the framework of the program “Arbeiten - Lernen - Kompetenzen entwickeln. Innovationsfähigkeit in einer modernen Arbeitswelt”.The transdisciplinary approach to a problem, close cooperation with industry and focusing on the areas of Health and Diversity are exemplary for research at Jacobs University.

Two new African scholarship recipients have just been selected to study at Jacobs University Bremen with the support of the MasterCard Foundation’s Scholars Program. Thato Mohhothu from Lesotho and Brian Mudahigwa from Rwanda have undergone a demanding selection process to be accepted for the Akwanya part of the Scholars program. They will be arriving at Jacobs University in the fall semester, joining fellow MasterCard Foundation Scholars Clemens Nsindo from Tanzania and Jean Luc Hirwa from Rwanda.

In order to keep up with our increasingly complex and demanding society, people have to continuously develop new skills. Older adults, however, show a decline in perceptual, cognitive and motor abilities. Still, these abilities are important for the development of new perceptual-motor skills required for using modern cell phones, ticket machines, vehicles and in-vehicle equipment, computers and tablet-PCs, and when moving into an assisted living situation. How changes in perceptual, cognitive and motor abilities affect the development of new motor skills is now investigated by researchers from Jacobs University in cooperation with the University of Michigan, the Universiteit Twente und the Universität des Saarlandes. The new research project Re-LOAD* is funded by the German Research Council (DFG), the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NOW) and the National science Foundation (NSF) within the framework of the Open Research Area Scheme with a total of around 1 million Euro.

The Jacobs Robotics group very successfully demonstrated intelligent robotics solutions for logistics applications at CEMAT, the leading fair for intralogistics currently taking place in Hanover. The demonstrators are linked to the EU-project RobLog (Cognitive Robot for Automation of Logistic Processes) on developing intelligent robotics solutions for logistics processes by a consortium of five European research teams and two companies. The Jacobs Robotics group contributes to the project with 3D perception and world-modeling in complex scenarios, i.e., the recognition and localization of objects plus the generation of semantic maps that allow for efficiently planned actions of the system.

The novel system for the unloading of coffee sacks. The 3D perception software to recognize and localize individual sacks to allow for planned actions was developed by the Jacobs Robotics group.

Dominic Sachsenmaier, Professor of Modern Asian History at Jacobs University, has been announced as the new President of the Toynbee Prize Foundation. His new honorary role comes in addition to his current professorship at Jacobs University and his other activities. He will start his presidency on August 1st for an unlimited period, succeeding Professor Raymond Grew (University of Michigan).

One of the key projects carried out by Jacobs University's OceanLab has been the design, development, construction and operation of a growing battalion of deep sea research vehicles. When loaded with a range of scientific instruments and cameras, these tools can be driven via the internet at great depth within the oceans of the world. With a tracked design, large forward facing camera globe and a bright yellow colour, they were rechristened the ‘Wally’ crawlers by Canadian research colleagues when ‘Wally 1’ happened to be deployed at the same time as the release of the popular Pixar movie.

On May 17, Jacobs University researchers and students will be taking part in the »Bremer Herztage« at the Haus Schütting in Bremen. They will be presenting the RENATA research project to visitors. RENATA is investigating how mobile health promotion can be employed in practice and which role computers, smartphones and the internet can play, in order to change health behavior in the long term. The project, which is being led by Sonia Lippke, Professor of Health Psychology, is an example of Jacobs University‘s new focus area 'Health'.

Jacobs University has performed very well in a number of areas in the new global university rankingU-Multirank. The results of the new ranking, developed by the Dutch Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS) and the German Centre for Higher Education Development (CHE), have just been published. The first evaluation focused on the areas of Physics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Business Studies. Jacobs University’s study programs within these subject areas achieve great results in the ranking.

Africa is considered to be the market of the future. The African states count among the fastest growing economies of the world. It comes as little surprise that the demand for skilled people to foster cooperation with the world’s third largest continent is also high in Germany. But how can employers find qualified individuals and work with them long-term? Jacobs University and the German-African Business Association have explored potential answers to such questions during a joint event held at Jacobs University. 

Jacobs University research associate Mirja Meyer is the second PhD student from Jacobs University to win the sought-after Best Paper Award of the CIRP International Conference on Manufacturing Systems.

European Maritime Day (EMD) is the leading maritime event in Europe and brings together different maritime stakeholders from all around Europe each year. Bremen has been chosen by the European Council to host this year’s EMD.

German society is more cohesive than it was in the early 1990s. As a Bertelsmann Stiftung studyshows, Germans have, overall, developed a greater sense of community over the past two decades. Hamburg is the clear overall leader and, in addition to the country's three city-states (Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen), the states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Saarland have above-average levels of social cohesion. The situation is not as positive in the eastern states. While people there do have a stronger sense of community than was the case directly after reunification, the gap between the country's eastern and western regions is greater now than it was 25 years ago. These are some of the findings of the  new Social Cohesion Radar for Germany published by the Bertelsmann Stiftung in cooperation with Jacobs University – namely Klaus Boehnke, Professor of Social Science Methodology, Jan Delhey, Professor of Sociology, Georgi Dragolov, Ph.D. Fellow (BIGSSS), Dr. Zsófia Ignácz, Dr. Jan Lorenz, Scientific Fellow.

Jacobs University was among Bremen representatives from science, business and culture at the recent ‘Deutsche Woche’ (German Week) in St. Petersburg. Bremen was this year’s partner state of the ‘Deutsche Woche’. The delegation was led by Martin Günthner, Senator for Economic Affairs, Labor and Ports.

Jacobs professors Andrea Koschinsky-Fritsche and Laurenz Thomsen have been appointed for a second term as scientific members of the German Research Foundation’s Senate Commission on Oceanography.

In the latest university ranking by Germany’s Centre for Higher Education Development (CHE) Jacobs University again receives excellent results. The new university ranking has just been published by the CHE and the German newspaper DIE ZEIT, both in print and online. For Jacobs University the focus of the evaluation was placed on business administration, which is represented here by the study program ‘Global Economics and Management (GEM)’.

It was a mixed bag of results for Jacobs University at this year’s Hanse Boat Race on the Hamburg Außenalster. Conditions were quite tough this year with wind strength of about 4 and choppy waters making it not an easy competition for all teams involved.

A major new survey of the seafloor has found that even in the deepest ocean depths you can find bottles, plastic bags, fishing nets and other types of human litter. The litter was found throughout the Mediterranean, and all the way from the continental shelf of Europe to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge 2,000 kilometres from land. Litter is a problem in the marine environment as it can be mistaken for food and eaten by some animals or can entangle coral and fish – a process known as “ghost fishing”.

Trust is all over the news and often because it has gone missing – in people, organizations, institutions, governments and nations. When we complain about this, we imply that trust is a precondition for society and economy. But is it really? And what do we mean by ’trust’?

Pictured from left to right: Michael Hülsmann (Professor of Systems Management), Freddy Wilchez (MSc International Logistics Management & Engineering / ILME, Ecuador), Vlad Petca (MSc ILME, Romania), Pronnoy Das (BSc ILME, India), Mengting He (BSc ILME, China), Frank Dreeke (CEO, BLG), Eugenia Rosca (MSc ILME, Moldova), Martin Günthner (Senator for Economic Affairs, Labor and Ports), Darima Pivovarova (BSc ILME, Russia), Natalia Rabota ( MSc ILME, Ukraine), Christoph Meyer (Coordinator International Logistics), Mahlet Sahle (BSc ILME, Ethiopia), Svenja Klötscher (VIA BREMEN), Klaus Platz (VIA BREMEN), Jürgen Bula (CEO, City Airport Bremen)

Nine Jacobs University students have been honored as VIA BREMEN Logistics Ambassadors by Martin Günthner, Senator for Economic Affairs, Labor and Ports. The students from eight countries received their certificate for successfully completing the new program ‘VIA BREMEN Logistics Ambassadors’, which was jointly launched byVIA BREMEN and the International Logistics department at Jacobs University. The ambassadors’ goal is to carry the reputation of the Bremen State as an outstanding logistical and maritime location into the world.

A number of autonomous underwater and surface vehicles from several European institutions including Jacobs University have just been tested in the waters off the Spanish Costa Brava. The tests were carried out by 26 scientists from Germany, Portugal, Italy, France, and Spain, who are all partaking in the research project MORPH (Marine Robotic System of Self-Organising, Logically Linked Physical Nodes). The four-year project, which started in 2012, is funded by the European Commission as part of its Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) with an overall budget of approximately €8.4 million.

More than 32,000 people from all over the world have already registered for Jacobs University’s massive open online course (MOOC) “DNA – from structure to therapy”. This free six-week course by Dr. Susanne Illenberger, Prof. Sebastian Springer, and Dr. Nicole Kühl will start on April 25, with a preview accessible already on April 11. The only prerequisites are some high school knowledge of biology and chemistry, and a curious mind. Registration is open at https://iversity.org/courses/dna-from-structure-to-therapy.

If you are staying on campus over spring break, here is a little reminder about the changed opening times of the serveries. Have a happy and relaxed spring break...with lots of chocolate!

The second annual congress of Thyroid Trans Act (SPP1629) took place at the Essen University Hospital last weekend. The priority program, which is jointly coordinated by Jacobs University, the Essen University Hospital and the Berlin Charité, aims to substantially improve the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of thyroid disease. With a focus on impact of thyroid hormones within the human body Thyroid Trans Act is the first German consortium in thyroid research. The thyroid is a comparatively small human organ, but the hormones it produces are of great importance for many processes within the human body.

Two ultrashort laser pulses of a length of only few femtoseconds excite a vibrational motion of the ionic liquid molecules. The third femtosecond pulse interacts with the molecules after a variable time delay and measures the vibrational motion and the transfer of its energy to other vibrational modes

Researchers at Jacobs University in cooperation with a scientist from Aberdeen University (who is now working at the University of Bremen) have succeeded in observing the ultrafast vibrational energy transfer in ionic liquids, salts, which are liquid at temperatures below 100°C. Ionic liquids are highly interesting solvents due to their tunable properties. They can be applied in the production of pharmaceuticals in order to combine the action of two different drugs. However, such application strongly depends on a detailed understanding of the elementary interactions between the counter ions and between the ionic liquid molecules and the environment. The experimental results pointing out the role of hydrogen bonding in energy transfer processes within ionic liquids are an important step in this direction. The work has been accepted for publication in the Journal of the American Chemical Society andselected as a highlight by the editors (J. Am. Chem. Soc., DOI: 10.1021/ja502527y).

More than 80 high school and university students from all over Europe have made their way to Bremen for the tenth anniversary edition of the Bremen International Model United Nations (BRIMUN). During the four day conference, which is running until April 16, the students simulate the processes of the United Nations. Each delegate was assigned a country in advance and has to represent its government’s positions during the debates.

Transdisciplinarity in research and teaching is a key characteristic of Jacobs University. Jacobs University is now expanding its existing cooperation with the world’s leading chocolate and cocoa producer Barry Callebaut. The aim of the six-year project COMETA* is to precisely analyze around 10,000 chemical components of the cocoa bean. At the end of the cooperation in 2020 a unique database and new rapid quality tests for cocoa classification, processing, and planning requirements for raw material shall be available. Barry Callebaut is financing the project with a total of 3.7 million Euro.

Rhododendrons are considered one of the most popular plants in our gardens. Researchers at Jacobs University are convinced that the plant contains agents for the development of new antibiotics.

On April 9, Jacobs University continues its lecture series »Fenster zur Wissenschaft« at SPICARIUM in Vegesack. Prof. Dr. Alexander Lerchl talks about the science of Chronobiology and explain why an inner clock is so important for all living beings. The lecture starts at 6 p.m. and is held in German.

After an eventful and exciting weekend, this year’s edition of JacoBus, Jacobs University’s annual business plan competition, has ended with team Lumen coming out tops.

On March 28 and 29, Jacobs University hosts the fourth edition of the business plan competition ‘Jacobus’. The organizers welcome students from all over the world, who will present their business ideas on the topic of ‘Smart Technologies’. The competition offers young students – among them representatives from top universities like MIT, Columbia University and Cambridge University – an ideal platform for pitching their business ideas.

The Research Network for Maritime Law, which Jacobs University is part of, has been presented with the NordWest Award by Metropole Nordwest. At the ceremony held at the Museum Varusschlacht in Osnabrück the research network was one of three awardees alongside the projects “Das Beste für den Nordwesten” and “Trauerland”. The NordWest Award recognizes great contributions to strengthen communal life and cooperation within the Northwestern Metropolitan Region Bremen-Oldenburg.

On March 27, Jacobs University offers 30 interested girls and boys between 10 to 15 years of age the chance to peek into the field of natural sciences.

Two Jacobs University students will be competing in the final round of PeakTime, the largest business challenge competition in Eastern Europe. The year’s contest is addressing corporate social responsibility and social businesses.

The Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS) celebrated the graduation of 30 of its PhD students with a festive ceremony at the Golden Hall in Bremen’s Böttcherstraße. The graduates from eleven countries were honored for the completion of their PhDs. BIGSSS is funded by then national Excellence Initiative and jointly run by the University of Bremen and Jacobs University.

A new study by Alexander Lerchl, Professor of Biology at Jacobs University, has found that the birthrate in Germany is considerably lower at weekends and on public holidays in comparison to the weekly average. The researcher studied German birth statistics for the year 2012 and discovered that the number of births on Saturdays was 16% lower and the number of birth taking place on Sundays was almost one fifth lower than the average per week.

Milestone reached in realignment - Transdicisplinarity, internationality and interculturality as fundament
The next important milestone in the realignment of Jacobs University has been reached: Diversity, Health and Mobility are the new focus areas in education and research. “Intensive exchange with our professors, members of staff and students has developed and newly focused the existing dimension of our university against the backdrop of the societal challenges of our time”, emphasizes Katja Windt, President of Jacobs University. “We are on schedule within the agreed timetable, the constructive discourses have again illustrated the passion and commitment in jointly working on remaining secure in future.”

Sebastian Springer, Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Jacobs University, and Randy Schekman, winner of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine 2013 and Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at UC Berkeley, have published a joint study on the mechanisms of intercellular protein transport. The publication in the journal ‘Traffic’ continues a long-term cooperation between the scientists. During his time as a postdoctoral researcher in the US, Prof. Springer worked with Prof. Schekman at UC Berkeley. Their latest study shows how cells master the distribution of protein in the cell body.

The coordinators of DFG Priority Program Thyroid Trans Act met up on campus recently to take stock of ongoing cooperations within the program and review its results to date. Klaudia Brix, Professor of Cell Biology and joint program coordinator, welcomed her colleagues Dagmar Führer, Director of the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Essen University Hospital, and Heike Biebermann, Institute of Experimental Pediatric Endocrinology at the Berlin Charité, for the three-day coordination meeting. The scientists also discussed preparations for a conference with German and international thyroid experts that will take place at Jacobs University from December 5 -7.

Jacobs University continues its lecture series »Fenster zur Wissenschaft« at SPICARIUM in Bremen North. On the second Wednesday of every month, Jacobs University researchers talk about current and fascinating topics from the world of maritime science followed by a discussion. A special exhibition including an interactive presentation compliments each presentation.

Dr. Nair Vidhu, Acting Consul General of India in Hamburg, H. E. Excellency Mr. Upali Sarrath Kongahage, Ambassador to Germany from Sri Lanka , Jacobs University President Katja Windt, H. E. Mr Takeshi Nakane, the Ambassador to Germany from Japan, H. E, Mr.  Pehin Dato Abdul Jalil Hj Ahmad

Dignitaries from Brunei Darussalam, Japan, Sri Lanka and India attended the traditional reception in honor of the Osasiatischer Verein zu Bemen held at Jacobs University. They were joined by around 200 representatives, from the world of diplomacy, business, science and politics.

On February 26, Jacobs University’s International Logistics department held its annual ‘Logistics Internship Day’on campus. Bachelor and Master students in International Logistics gave presentations about their internships in front of an audience of representatives from the logistics industry, members of staff and fellow students.

Frédérique Mittelstaedt, a final-year Jacobs University undergraduate student majoring in Physics, will join Entrepreneur First this summer. He is one of the two students from universities outside Great Britain and the only student from a German university to take part in the program, having made it through a very demanding selection process.

Jacobs University, the Wirtschaftsörderung Bremen (WFB) and local sports clubs in Bremen-Nord have come to an agreement which allows the clubs to use the eastern part of the Oeversberg sports ground free of charge until the end of 2018. Jacobs University thereby reaffirms its commitment to Bremen-Nord.

The Board of Jacobs University’s Alumni Association held its first meeting of the year in Berlin at the weekend. The German capital is the home of Stefan Anca, Secretary of the Board, and the meeting was hosted by Stefan’s employer Project A Ventures. The Board was joined by Suna Turhan as new Treasurer (not pictured) and Devashish Tikekar as new interim Vice President. The Alumni Office was represented by Imke Sonnenberg, Manager Alumni Relations.

Health psychologists at Jacobs University are researching programs to improve health literacy among the elderly. Their work is part of a new three-year research project which is being supported by the European Union with a budget of 2.9 million Euro. Jacobs University is among 23 cooperation partners taking part in the IROHLA (Intervention Research On Health Literacy among Ageing population) project.

At its meeting on February 10, the Board of Governors of Jacobs University has unanimously agreed to the restructuring plan presented by Jacobs University under the leadership of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katja Windt. “The requirements of the trilateral contract between Jacobs University, the Senate of Bremen and the Jacobs Foundation can be met by the plans presented to us. We trust that on this basis the goal can be reached to guarantee a substantial and financially resilient perspective of Jacobs University”, said Prof. Dr. Karin Lochte, Chair of the Board of Governors after the meeting.

At its meeting on February 10, Jacobs University’s Board of Governors has unanimously elected Katja Windt as the President of Jacobs University. Since the beginning of 2014 Prof. Dr.Ing. Windt has already served as Acting President of the institution.

The MZUKA choir performs at a concert in aid of Doctors without Borders taking place at Kulturkiche St. Stephani on February 12.

Jacobs University‘s female rowing team took up a well-earned place on the winners’ podium at the 7th Ergocup held on campus at the weekend. The team won the double over 1000 meter and the quadruple race over 1000 m against the Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA) with 3:37and 3:50 minutes respectively.

Jacobs University continues its German language lecture series »Fenster zur Wissenschaft« at SPICARIUM in Bremen North. On the second Wednesday of every month, Jacobs University researchers talk about current and fascinating topics from the world of maritime science followed by a discussion. A special exhibition including an interactive presentation compliments each presentation.

Commonly, big data is seen as too big to transport. A real hindrance, however, is often the security policies which data centers have to implement to safeguard themselves. Secure simultaneous access to archives of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) has now been made possible based on the rasdaman Big Data engine, developed by Jacobs University researchers under the lead of Peter Baumann, Professor of Computer Science. The newly adapted technology effectively bridges the Atlantic in real time. It was recently unveiled at the 10th Plenary of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) in Geneva and can now pave the way for services merging data across data centers, nations, continents - ultimately, across the planet.

Bremen’s unifreunde association held its traditional New Year’s Reception at Obere Rathaushalle yesterday. The festive event was attended by more than 300 guests from politics, academia and business including representatives from the Bremen Senate, Jacobs University and the University of Bremen. During the evening newly appointed faculty members from both universities were introduced and received a warm welcome by the audience.

Picture shows from left to right:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katja Windt (Acting President and Provost of Jacobs University), Prof. Dr. Bengt Beutler (unifreunde Chairman ), Prof. Dr. Tanja Thomas (Professor of Communication and Media Science), Jens Böhrnsen (President of the Senate and Mayor of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen), Prof. Dr. Julia Bendul  (Assistant Professor of  Network Optimization in Production Logistics) and Prof. Dr. Bernd Scholz-Reiter (Rector of University of Bremen)

Students from the Computer Science Club at Jacobs University will hold a hackathon at College 3 this weekend (February 1 to 2). The JacobsHack! is taking place for the second time and is open to CS majors. 44 participants are registered for the event which has a free theme.

When and how fast or whether at all a molecule can cross the cell membrane are some of the most fundamental biological questions. Despite their high relevance in medical research – membrane traffic decides on whether a cell or an organism is kept alive or dies – such questions are tricky to answer. At Jacobs University a research team has now developed molecular-level motion sensors that can monitor membrane traffic in real time. This new method cannot only be applied in fundamental research, but also be used in the pharmaceutical industry in the development of new drugs. A study about the new motion sensors has been published in the leading journal “Angewandte Chemie” and selected by the editors as a 'hot paper'.

This spring semester, the Jacobs community welcomes 29 visiting and exchange students from the United States, Russia and Turkey as new members. Twenty-one students from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania will be joining the campus for a period of one semester. For the last nine years, Lafayette College has been a long-term partner of Jacobs University – a successful partnership which each year enables a large group of Lafayette students to visit the campus in Bremen.

As part of a new research project Jacobs University computer scientists and mathematicians are examining the creation of visualizations in medicine for potential sources of error. Lars Linsen(Professor of Computational Science and Computer Science), Tobias Preusser (Professor for Mathematical Modelling of Medical Processes), and Horst Hahn (Professor of Medical Imaging) aim to identify, quantify, and visualize these uncertainties in medical visualization, in order to allow for more educated decision-making by medical experts. The three-year research project is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) with 340,000 Euro.

The JACOBUS Challenge business plan competition is back again. This year, students from all over the world are asked to present their ideas for innovative products and initiatives in the field of “Smart Technologies”. Registration is open until January 24 at www.jacobus-challenge.com.

From January 30 to 31, Jacobs University is offering a two-day workshop in cooperation with German Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH. The workshop involves hands-on experience with a laser scanning microscope made available by the sponsor. Advanced registration is therefore required atwww.zeiss.com/tech-workshop. The workshop is free of charge and open to the students and researchers of the molecular life sciences with an interest in cellular structure and visualization of protein transport.

Today, 71% of the earth’s surface is covered by oceans and 29% by land. The question, however, when vast landmasses rose above sea-level is still subject to debate among scientists. A new study by Jacobs University in close cooperation with the University of Bonn and the University of Cologne shows that 2,700 million years ago vast landmasses already existed on earth. The research results have now been published in renowned science journal Geology. (DOI: 10.1130/G35014.1).

From January 13 to 31, Jacobs University runs its Winter School program for external and internal students.

Götz Pfander, Professor of Mathematics at Jacobs University, has been awarded the John von Neumann Visiting Professorship by Technische Universität Munich (TUM). In January and February Prof. Pfander will hold a series of twelve guest lectures at TUM starting on January 8.

Photo: © chrisdorney - Fotolia.com

„In the new year I will definitely… stop smoking, go on a diet, join the gym, learn Spanish...” An endless list of New Year’s resolutions and often forgotten by mid-January. Jacobs University health psychologists are now offering anonline program which can help to make health-related goals last longer and become a part of a daily routine. The German language program covers the areas of exercise and nutrition and was first developed for people who had taken part in medical rehabilitation. It is now open to everyone who would like to work on their health and fitness – no matter if they have previously enrolled in a rehabilitation program. Users have to be allowed to exercise and eat fruit and vegetables. The program is also available in Dutch and will be accessible soon in Chinese.

Jacobs University continues its German language lecture series »Fenster zur Wissenschaft« atSPICARIUM in Bremen North. On the second Wednesday of every month, Jacobs University researchers talk about current and fascinating topics from the world of maritime science followed by a discussion. A special exhibition including an interactive presentation compliments each presentation.

2013 was an amazing year at Jacobs! Our researchers took part in many exciting new projects, our students won more awards, research funding increased, and we developed more international connections with other universities. Revisit 2013 through the top news stories, according to visitor traffic. Here's to 2014, Happy New Year!

(Graphic: Dr. Manuel Tsotsalas/IFG)

A novel method developed by the workgroup of Thomas Heine, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Jacobs University, and researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) enables manufacturing of polymer layers with tailor-made properties and multiple functions. A stable porous gel (SURGEL) for biological and medical applications is obtained from a metal-organic framework (SURMOF) grown up on a substrate. The method is presented in the renowned Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS – Journal of the American Chemical Society. DOI:10.1021/ja409205s).

Jacobs University student Michael Rothgang has been honored for his outstanding academic performance by the Bremen-based Karl Nix Foundation. The 17 year-old graduated from Oberschule Findorff with a GPA of 0.78 and is currently studying mathematics and physics at Jacobs University. Michael Rothgang is one of 17 awardees who received a diploma and prize money of up to €2,500 from the Karl Nix Foundation during a recent ceremony held at Dorint Park Hotel in Bremen.

Logistics are the backbone of the global flow of goods increasingly also becoming a field of ecological responsibility. Transport packaging can be a starting point for reducing costs, CO² emissions and waste. How can transport packaging be designed in more eco-efficient way? To tackle this question, the PTS Logistics Group and VIA BREMEN’s Sustainability/CO² Group have set up the student competition “PTS Packaging Award 2013”. The contest was won by Alexander Taskov, a graduate of Jacobs University from the Class of 2012, who received the first prize endowed with €2000. The 25-year-old from Bulgaria developed an evaluation catalogue for transport packaging and beat a number of international participants.

The Jacobs University Alumni Association has a new President. Taking over from President Petar Perkovic (class of 2004), is current Vice-President Peter Dabrowski (class of 2004). Peter's term as President is until 2016. Congratulations Peter!

Ulrich Kortz, Professor of Chemistry at Jacobs University, has been appointed as 'Guest Professor of Henan Province' by Henan University in Kaifeng, China. He is the first German professor to receive the honor.

As part of new EU project CADDY*, Andreas Birk, Professor of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science at Jacobs University, is researching new processes to enable the interaction between underwater robots and divers plus possibilities for underwater robots to assist divers during complex underwater missions. The chance of accidents is usually reduced by pairing up divers and adopting well defined rules for diving operations. However, during demanding dives, for example in complex 3D environments or with bulky equipment such measures might not be sufficient and technical support becomes necessary. As part of itsSeventh Framework Programme (FP7) the EU has put up €3.7 million funding for the CADDY project which runs until 2017.

Jacobs University continues its German language lecture series »Fenster zur Wissenschaft« atSPICARIUM in Bremen North. On the second Wednesday of every month, Jacobs University researchers talk about current and fascinating topics from the world of maritime science followed by a discussion. A special exhibition including an interactive presentation compliments each presentation.

Members of the public and the Jacobs community are warmly invited to take part in the annual "Make a Wish!"  Christmas present project.  In cooperation with EPSYMO e.V., a local parents' alliance for psycho-motor development advancement, Jacobs students have collected Christmas wishes from local children and community members on and off campus now have the chance to make those wishes come true!

Computer Science students from Jacobs university participated in the 24-hour AngelHack Hackathon during which they had to program and present a mobile app. The students’ application 'Dare' came second place. It is a social app which sees users daring each other or an entire community with challenges.

In close cooperation with a team of international scientists, the research group of Sebastian Springer, Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Jacobs University, have discovered a novel receptor that allows the immune system of modern humans to recognize dangerous invaders and subsequently elicits an immune response. The blueprint for this advantageous structure was also identified in the genome of Neanderthals, hinting at its origin. The receptor probably provided these early humans with immunity against local diseases. The presence of this receptor in Europeans but its absence in early men suggests that it was inherited from Neanderthals. The results have been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Jacobs alumni Rytis Vitkauskas and Viktoras Jucikas (Class of 2006) have launched a mobile ticketing application that has created a major buzz in the UK and is now being rolled stateside. YPlanis the world’s first mobile event booking app catering specifically to “the spontaneous” by providing last-minute access to curated events. The former Jacobs students have received more than $13 million in funding to expand their business, which is billed as one the hottest new London start-ups.

On November 26 and 27, the WISE Demographic Network initiated by Sven Voelpel, Professor of Business Administration, met to discuss new topics including leadership behavior, diversity and development. At the recent meeting, 30 students from Jacobs University presented solutions to current company-specific questions from Daimler AG. The students competed against each other in teams of ten; three teams came out tops and are now being offered internship and career advice from Daimler.

Sonia Lippke, Professor of Health Psychology at Jacobs University, has received funding to extend a research project on rehabilitation aftercare with the launch of a new study arm in China. The international eHealth study RENATA, and its corresponding online support program for patients, are currently ongoing in Germany and The Netherlands (Reinwand et al., 2013). Both are now being rolled out to China after a successful funding application by Prof. Lippke and her Chinese colleague Prof. Dr. Yanping Duan from Hong Kong Baptist University. The RENATA study and the online support program aim at an international comparison of health services and their interrelation with individual health behavior change. It helps rehabilitation and aftercare patients to integrate medical advice from their practitioners and therapists into their daily routines.

Jacobs University will be participating in the German MINT-Kongress held at the Maritim Hotel and the Congress Centrum Bremen on November 27. Representatives and experts from schools, industry and universities will address questions of how to attract more students to MINT-majors, how to reduce the dropout rate from these majors at universities and how to integrate MINT graduates into companies of the region. MINT is the German abbreviation for a range of subjects comprising mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology - referred to as STEM in English. The MINT-Kongress is held in German.

Ingo Kramer has been elected President of the Confederation of German Employer Organisations (Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeiterverbände, BDA). In a secret ballot held in Berlin on November 18, the general assembly of the BDA gave Ingo Kramer its vote of confidence for a two-year mandate. Ingo Kramer succeeds Dr. Dieter Hundt, who had been BDA President since December 12, 1996.

Europeans feel less happy when there is a large gap between rich and poor. This is what Jan Delhey, Professor of Sociology at Jacobs University, and Georgi Dragolov, research associate and PhD student at the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), have shown in their latest study. The Jacobs researchers analyzed data from the second Europe-wide survey on quality of life, comparing 30 countries. The study shows that income inequality has two negative effects: inequality lowers interpersonal trust and increases the fear of not being well-respected by fellow citizens. Both mechanisms have a negative effect on subjective wellbeing.

The Spacebot Cup, which took place November 11-12 in Rheinbreitbach, is a special kind of competition. Robots have to independently solve difficult tasks on a planet-simulated surface built into a motocross hall. The machines have to explore their surrounding and find objects, which they ideally also have to autonomously manipulate. The event was organized by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. In total, 10 teams participated in the competition. The Jacobs University Robot was the only system that was successful in autonomously identifying and localizing both objects in the scene and completing four subtasks.

Heino Niederhausen, Head of  Personnel, Mercedes-Benz Plant Bremen, Daimler AG, and Sven Voelpel, Professor of Business Administration and founder and Director of WDN – WISE Demographic Network.

Photo: Thomas Kleiner / GfG

At the Mercedes-Benz Plant in Bremen older employees are being trained alongside young members of staff to prepare for new professions. The so-called Intergenerational Qualification is a new way of personnel management to meet the challenge of demographic change. Jacobs University PhD student Fabiola Gerpott accompanies the project as part of her studies, supervised by Sven Voelpel, Professor of Business Administration.

Open, transparent and comprehensible: Jacobs University Bremen presented its annual report to the public and explained the results in a press conference. The negative operating result of 21.1 million Euro for the financial year 2012 has been fully covered by equity capital. This information can be found in the recently published Annual Report 2012 by Jacobs University.

On November 11, Jacobs University held the inauguration of its new program for Chinese visiting professors which is supported by the Stiftung Bremer Wertpapierbörse until 2017 with a total of €360,000. Professor Bai Gao (Duke University) delivered a lecture on The New Silk Route Economic Belt: China's Response to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. More than 80 students and representatives from the Bremen business community attended this event, which was followed by a reception.

Jacobs alumna Mihaela Korte has been honored for her master thesis with the ‘Studienpreis für Mittelstandforschung’. The prize is awarded biannually by local association wiwib e.V (Wirtschaft-Wissenschaft-Bremen)* in cooperation with the universities of the metropolitan region Bremen-Oldenburg.

Around 60 students from Jacobs University (not all pictured) have come up with ideas how to make local shopping center Haven Höövt more attractive. In the process they switched from being customers to taking on the role of market researcher and developed their ideas on site. Afterwards, the students presented their suggestions during a marketing seminar with Center Manager Stefan Sahr at Jacobs University.

On November 5, Jacobs University’s new Board of Governors held its constituent meeting on campus. The Board of Governors is appointed by the Board of Trustees. Prof. Dr. Karin Lochte, Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, has been confirmed in her position as Chair of the Board of Governors.

Pictured from left to right: Michèle Barbier, Kaveh Rassoulzadegan, Jamila Ben Souissi, Valérie Gollino (half-hidden behind), Laura Giuliano, Cdt Laurent Soler, Miro Gacic, Tamara Shiganova), H.S.H Prince Albert II, Frédéric Briand, Salud Deudero (C5), Annelyse Gastaldi, Frank Oliver Glöckner, Silvia Ceramicola and Monique McLaughlin. Copyright: CIESM

Dr. Frank Oliver Glöckner, Professor of Bioinformatics at Jacobs University and coordinator of the EU-funded Micro B3 project, recently came face to face with royalty when he was elected as Committee Chair for Marine Microbiology and Biotechnology at the Mediterranean Science Commission’s (CIESM) 40th congress in Marseilles.

At yesterday’s meeting of Jacobs University’s Board of Governors, Prof. Dr. Heinz-Otto Peitgen offered his resignation as President and Managing Director. The resignation is the result of different conceptions about the leadership and future organization of the university. The Board of Governors in particular acknowledged President Peitgen’s dedication and achievements in the successful negotiations about the trilateral agreements with the Jacobs Foundation and the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen as well as his high level of commitment to the changes already undertaken at the private university.

Jacobs University continues its German language lecture series »Fenster zur Wissenschaft« atSPICARIUM in Bremen North. On the second Wednesday of every month, Jacobs University researchers talk about current and fascinating topics from the world of maritime science followed by a discussion. A special exhibition including an interactive presentation compliments each presentation.

Philipp Genschel, Professor of Political Science at Jacobs University, is spending a sabbatical year at Harvard University, where he is a visiting professor at the Department of Government. His teaching schedule includes two classes on ‘International Institution’ and ‘European Integration’. Prof. Genschel says: “It will be interesting to see how courses that I already taught at Jacobs will work here and to find out about differences in teaching styles and students’ expectations.”

On October 23, the Confucius Institute Bremen was officially opened with an event in the Obere Rathaushalle attended by 200 guests from business, education and culture institutions.

MHC tetramers are important diagnostic reagents that are used by doctors and scientists to follow a patient's immune response against a virus or a tumor. Their application has so far been limited because they are difficult to make and expensive. An invention by the research group of Sebastian Springer, Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Jacobs University, now promises to change that.

Each year Jacobs University acknowledges a student for academic excellence and community achievements with a DAAD-award – this year’s winner is Mikhail Hlushchanka. Traditionally, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) awards foreign students studying at German universities for both their excellent academic achievements and social commitment.

On Sunday October 20, Jacobs University joined forces with the local rowing club Vegesacker Ruderverein (VRV) in hosting the first International Lesum Race, combining VRV’s club championship with a competition between Jacobs University’s college eighths.

As preparations are underway for the Piano to Forte concerts on October 18 and 19, we introduce some of the performers in our new online series. Follow our students and find out about their love of music and the sometimes unusual instruments they play.

As preparations are underway for the Piano to Forte concerts on October 18 and 19, we introduce some of the performers in our new online series. Follow our students and find out about their love of music and the sometimes unusual instruments they play.

As preparations are underway for the Piano to Forte concerts on October 18 and 19, we introduce some of the performers in our new online series. Follow our students and find out about their love of music and the sometimes unusual instruments they play.

As preparations are underway for the Piano to Forte concerts on October 18 and 19, we introduce some of the performers in our new online series. Follow our students and find out about their love of music and the sometimes unusual instruments they play.

Participants of the Basin & Petroleum System Dynamics Executive MSc program at Jacobs University are currently examining and studying the geology of the central Apennines. This field excursion has been specially designed to complement, extend and bridge concepts and topics discussed during the BPSD courses or being introduced in forthcoming modules. The trip provides students with field analogues from seismic to microscopic scale basin processes.

Marine scientists worldwide will sample the world’s oceans on June 21, 2014. In the run-up to Ocean Sampling Day (OSD), coinciding with the summer solstice, a public crowd funding has been launched to raise awareness for the huge impact the tiniest organisms on our planet have. The Ocean Sampling Day event and the global initiative of the same name are part of the EU-funded Micro B3 project, which involves 32 partner institutions from 14 countries and is coordinated by Frank Oliver Glöckner, Professor of Bioinformatics at Jacobs University. The project’s main objectives are to create an integrative database and to develop a legal framework for genome-based environmental research.

A group of Jacobs Alumni has teamed up to form IniCha, a charitable association to promote positive social change through community projects. The IniCha members – the name is short for “initiate change” – are now launching the first of their internationally targeted projects in Romania.

For the last four years Jacobs University has been one of nine international institutions involved in the EU research project CyberEmotions. Funded by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union with a total of €3.6million, the project saw researchers from six European countries work together across disciplines. The CyberEmotions consortium, which included experts in the psychology of emotions, complexity, web data collection, artificial intelligence and virtual reality, focused on the role of collective emotions in creating, forming and breaking-up e-communities.
As the project has come to a close, Arvid Kappas, Professor of Psychology and CyberEmotions project leader at Jacobs University, talks about the findings and explains how technology can influence human emotions online.

Jacobs University continues its lecture series »Fenster zur Wissenschaft« at SPICARIUM in Bremen North. On the second Wednesday of every month, Jacobs University researchers talk about current and fascinating topics from the world of maritime science followed by a discussion. A special exhibition including an interactive presentation compliments each presentation.

Each month the WFB Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen, the marketing arm for the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen to promote Bremen as a location for business, trade fairs and events, picks out a young local business as its ‘Project of the Month’. In September, WFB chose Social Marketing Lab (SML) – the first start-up in Bremen set up by former Jacobs University students.

A group of researchers from Denmark, South Africa and Germany, including Michael Bau, Professor of Geosciences at Jacobs University, have investigated the geochemistry of 3-billion-year-old rock samples from the Pongola Supergroup in South Africa. These rocks originated as soils and as iron-rich sediments deposited in a shallow sea basin close to land, and are used as archives of the chemical composition of the ambient atmosphere and the oceans. They provide information on the environmental conditions at the surface of Ancient Earth at the time when life originated and started to evolve.

The 7th »China Goes Global« Conference is taking place at Jacobs University from September 25 to 27. The main topics discussed at this international meeting of experts are new research findings and practice-oriented approaches in the areas of politics, business, culture and society with view to China’s globalization plans. More than 80 experts from across the globe present their work in lectures and panel discussions. Around 200 guests are expected to attend the conferencewhich is a cooperation between Harvard University, Rollins College, Georgia Institute of Technology and Jacobs University.

Three Jacobs alumni have been accepted into a highly selective graduate program by the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM) – a joint institution of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) and the Technische Universität (TUM) in Munich.

Reimar Lüst pictured with former and current Presidents of Jacobs University: Prof. Joachim Treusch, Prof. Heinz-Otto Peitgen, Prof. Reimar Lüst, Prof. Fritz Schaumann

The Bremen Senate recently honored Prof. Reimar Lüst with a science colloquium at Bremen's town hall. Prof. Lüst, who was made an honorary citizen of Bremen in 2001, celebrated his 90th birthday in spring. Bremen’s Mayor Böhrnsen considered the honor in form of a high-profile science colloquium – which included Prof. Peter Strohschneider, President of the German Research Foundation – worthy of Reimar Lüst.

Photo (from left): Dr. Peng Fei Fu (Production Manager of Haizhibao), Dr. Claudia Thomsen (CEO and Founder of Phytolutions), Hongzhi Che (Chairman of the Board of Chengzhan Group), Dr. Laurenz Thomsen (Professor of Geosciences and Director of OceanLab) and Jie Zhao (Managing Director Haizhibao Deutschland)

On September 9, Mr. Hongzhi Che, Chairman of the Board of Chengzhan Group, and two of his managers visited Jacobs University and Phytolutions to further discuss an ongoing project on microalgae production in Weihai (Shandong province).

As an official promoter of the Science Year 2013 "The Demographic Opportunity", Bremen’s ‘Haus der Wissenschaft’ hosts a series of lectures titled “From 10 to 10 – A day for ‘The Demographic Opportunity’”. 12 speakers will talk about the opportunities presented by demographic change. Three of the lectures will be held by Jacobs faculty members Sonia Lippke, Ben Godde and Claudia Voelcker-Rehage.

The European Union with its Lifelong Learning Programme and the ERASMUS Intensive Programme will fund a two-week field trip for 10 Jacobs undergraduate students to the north of Iceland in summer 2014. The Jacobs students will join 20 more students coming from the University of Reading (UK), Ghent University (Belgium), and the University of Akureyri (Iceland).

Jacobs University puts students in motion – In cooperation with WERDER BEWEGT Jacobs students teach kids skills with the ball!  A new subject is introduced at the elementary school “Schule am Wasser “. Once a week the pupils will learn how to best handle a ball. WERDER BEWEGT – LEBENSLANG, the CSR brand of the local football club SV Werder Bremen and Jacobs University put a joint project into place called “Ballschule” that encourages kids to play ball.

On September 4, 2013, Jacobs University’s president Heinz-Otto Peitgen received the Fraunhofer Medal, which is awarded by the Fraunhofer Society for the Advancement of Applied Research to honor outstanding contributions to the society’s goals. Peitgen was presented with the medal on the occasion of the symposion on “Disruptive Innovations in Medicine” held on campus by the Fraunhofer MEVIS Institute for Medical Image Computing.

On September 2, 2013, Jacobs University started its new academic year. This time, a total of 1,337 young people from 109 nations will live and learn on campus – 14 students have enrolled in theFoundation Year, an orientation and prep course for undergraduate study, 758 are bachelor students and 565 are taking graduate studies. 436 have newly enrolled in one of the university’s almost 50 study programs or participate in one of the visiting or exchange programs.

Jacobs professor Karen Smith Stegen, KAEFER Professor of Renewable Energy and Environmental Politics, and Dr. John R. Deni, Research Professor of Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational (JIIM) Security Studies at the Strategic Studies Institute in the United States, are co-editors of a new book of collected essays on energy relations between North America and Europe.

Jacobs University’s planetary scientist Dr. Angelo Rossi has been invited to lecture at this year’s Mars Advanced Summer School taking place in Beijing (China) from September 1st to 14th. This advanced graduate summer school is cohosted by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). It attracts planetary scientists from both Europe and China and is considered to be an important didactic and scientific cooperation effort between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Participants at the kick-off meeting (left to right): René Wells (Acting Director Campus Life, Jacobs University), Heike Sprehe (Spokeswoman – Advisory Council Vegesack), Jan Eichhorn (University of Edinburgh and d|part), Rainer Küchen (Chairman Wirtschafts- und Strukturrat Bremen-Nord), Götz Frommholz, (Managing Director d|part), Janina Marahrens-Hashagen (Vice President Bremen Chamber of Commerce), Klaus Balz (Chairman Residents’ Association Bremen-Grohn, Heiko Dornstedt, (Head of the local authority Vegesack), Werner Pohlmann (Vegesack Marketing), Adalbert Wilhelm, Professor of Statistics at Jacobs University), Heinz-Otto Peitgen (President of Jacobs University)

In the next semester Adalbert Wilhelm, Professor of Statistics at Jacobs University, and Jacobs Alumnus Dr. Jan Eichhorn will be offering a transdisciplinary course on ‘Social and political participation in Bremen’. In order to deal with topics and questions relevant for different boroughs in Bremen-North, representatives from business and politics identified possible research topics during a kick-off meeting at Jacobs University. The head of the local authority Vegesack, Heiko Dornstedt, members of the ‘Wirtschafts- und Strukturrat Bremen-Nord e.V. (WIR’) and representatives from the Bremen Chamber of Commerce took part in the discussion.

Road accidents involving heavy commercial vehicles often lead to severe damages and loss of lives. Truck driver fatigue plays a contributing role in many of these accidents. In their efforts to increase road safety, governments worldwide are adopting stricter regulations concerning driving and working hours of truck drivers. However, it often remains unclear whether new regulations actually have the desired impact on road safety. Asvin Goel, Professor of International Logistics at Jacobs University, and Thibaut Vidal, Researcher at CIRRELT in Montréal, Canada and MIT in Cambridge, USA, have now analyzed and compared the impact of different hours of service regulations worldwide.

Researchers from the University of Erlangen, the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources and Jacobs University have found indicators for possible gold and non-ferrous metal deposits in hydrothermal vents in the ocean floor – so called ‘Black Smokers’ – in the South West Pacific. In a depth of 1850 meter they also measured a record temperature of +375°C within the metal rich fluids released by the ‘Black Smokers’.

Peter Baumann, Professor of Computer Science at Jacobs University, has been elected Charter Member of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo).

Negotiations between the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, the Jacobs Foundation and Jacobs University Bremen, initiated in October by Mayor Böhrnsen and Mayor Linnert based on a 14-point paper, have been successfully concluded. The result of the negotiations is a trilateral contract in addition to a detailed time schedule and plan of action. During its session today the Senate has agreed to the contract.

Students from Mumbai recently spent some time at Schulzentrum Rübekamp in Bremen-Nord. As part of their stay they also paid a visit to the Jacobs campus for a short introduction on life at Jacobs University. Matthias Ullrich, Professor of Microbiology, showed the students around campus and the laboratories.

Jacobs University’s PlanetServer is one of a new generation of geoprocessing tools for the analysis and visualization of large volumes of planetary data. It has been developed by an interdisciplinary workgroup led by Prof. Peter Baumann and Dr. Angelo Rossi involving scientists from the fields of Planetary Science, Geophysics, and Computer Science. The new tool has just been presented to the science community in a peer-reviewed paper* published in the Cospar journal Advances in Space Research (DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2013.07.002).

Jacobs University’s deep sea crawler »Wally« is developing new capabilities. In addition to two crawlers, which have been operating in rotating shifts in the extreme conditions of the Canadian deep sea since 2009, new models with added abilities to map the surrounding environment automatically and operate autonomously are currently being developed by Jacobs University in cooperation with the Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), the Geomar and the robotics groups of DLR and DFKI. The new developments form part of the €30m Helmholtz Alliance 'Robotic Exploration of Extreme Environments' (ROBEX).

Arvid Kappas, Professor of Psychology at Jacobs University, has been elected President of the International Society for Research on Emotion (ISRE) at the organization’s biannual conference which took place in Berkeley, California at the weekend.

Researchers at the Jacobs Center on Lifelong Learning (JCLL) are carrying out an online study on personality and life experiences and are looking for people between the ages of 18 and 99. Participants have the chance to win an Amazon voucher worth €100.

Host family Grosskurth from Bremen-North with their Jacobs students

Are you interested in meeting people from all corners of the world? Would you like to learn about other cultures and broaden your horizon? Do you have time to show young people around Bremen and tell them about your hometown? Jacobs University is looking for host families for new students arriving in Bremen at the end of August.

Jacobs University is launching a new German-language lecture series »Fenster zur Wissenschaft« (»Window of Science«) in cooperation with SPICARIUM, a maritime exhibition space in Bremen-North. On the second Wednesday of every month, researchers will talk about current and fascinating topics from the world of science followed by a discussion. On August 14, the first 30-minute lecture on »Thyroid and the sea« will be held by Klaudia Brix, Professor of Cell Biology at Jacobs University. The lecture series is free of charge.

Jacobs alumnus Matthias Seel is studying for a Master’s degree at Columbia University with the support of an ERP Fellowship from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. He graduated from Jacobs University last year with a BA in ‘International Politics and History’. He has since moved to New York, where he has enrolled in the ‘Master of Public Administration in Sustainable Energy Policy’ program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland have the highest levels of social cohesion, followed by Canada, the US, Australia, and New Zealand, according to the Social Cohesion Radar, a study released by the Bertelsmann Stiftung and Jacobs University. The study examines 34 countries in the EU and the OECD and was carried out by a team of Jacobs University researchers – namely Georgi Dragolov (BIGSSS PhD Fellow), Zsófia Ignácz (Research Associate), Dr. Jan Lorenz (Postdoctoral Fellow). Klaus Boehnke, Professor of Social Science Methodology, and Jan Delhey, Professor of Sociology, led the research.

The German ‘Initiative Nachrichtenaufklärung’ (INA), an organization promoting media transparency in Germany, has chosen the top 10 underreported news stories or ‘neglected news’ in the media for the year 2013. Peter Ludes, Professor of Mass Communication at Jacobs University, is one of the founders of the INA and a member of the jury that selected this year’s forgotten news topics.

LED lights are more efficient than energy-saving light bulbs or fluorescent tubes and emanate a healthier light. But not all LED lights perform the same when put to the test. Scientists at Jacobs University have examined LED lights from more than 50 leading international manufacturers applying different criteria.  LED lights were given points on a scale from 0 to 10 points for each test. The researchers found that the longevity of all LED lights was much higher than expected. As part of the study and based on their LED expertise, the Jacobs scientists have been acting as consultants to companies and communities that are planning to make the switch to LED lights.

Jacobs alumnus Dr. Tobias Böttcher is heading to Monash University in Melbourne on a much sought-after Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers from Germany’sAlexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Researchers at Jacobs University have recently made important contributions to the field of two-dimensional materials, a prerequisite for nanoscale and flexible electronics. Flexible electronics may offer in future cell phones as bracelets, solar cells on clothes, and flat, foldable computers.

Pupils and students who are especially gifted in mathematics meet top scientists of the subject: That’s the idea at the heart of the international summer school ‘Modern Mathematics’, which takes place from July 2 to 12 at Jacobs University. Around one hundred selected emerging math talents have the opportunity to discuss recent developments in mathematics with leading scientists.

The Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA) and Jacobs University Bremen have signed an agreement to offer cooperative PhD degrees. Both institutions will jointly teach PhD students with Jacobs University to award the diplomas.  

Jacobs University’s rowing team celebrated an impressive performance at the 'Deutsche Hochschulmeisterschaften' (German University Rowing Championships), which took place on the Beetzsee in Brandenburg at the weekend (June 28-30).

From June 30 to July 5, 2013 two young researchers from Jacobs University – Dr. Roy D’Souza and Julian Voll – will take part in the 63th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. They are among 630 talented scientists from 80 countries chosen by the 300 Lindau partner institutions. At the six-day conference they have the opportunity to exchange views and ideas on the topic of “Green Chemistry” with 35 Nobel laureates. Since 2003, Jacobs University has sent a total of 20 students and post-docs to the annual event, which is viewed as one the most renowned international platforms for intergenerational dialogue and current scientific debate on global topics.

Plans to build a Science Park in Bremen North are taking shape. The first Science Center to be built next to the Jacobs University campus will be a private investment and serve as an impetus for the development of a science and technology park in Bremen North.

The »rasdaman Big Data« technology, a large multi-dimensional array database developed under the lead of Peter Baumann, Professor of Computer Science at Jacobs University, has been honored with the international Geospatial World Innovation Award.

A group of international researchers on board the »FS Sonne«, Germany’s second largest research vessel, is setting sail for the Vanuatu islands, an archipelago about 2000km east of northern Australia in the South Pacific. They are spending a month at sea, from the end of June to the end of July, examining submarine metal deposits and volcanic activity. Among the 25-strong group of scientists are Charlotte Kleint and Benjamin Bühring, young researchers from the Geochemistry workgroup at Jacobs University. From July on, the two Jacobs PhD students will report on their experiences and scientific work with posts on Jacobs University’s Facebook page. The research project is supported by the Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Jacobs University researchers have taken a closer look at the visual effectiveness of traffic lights comparing differently shaped traffic light figures (so-called ‘Ampelmännchen’) from the east and west of Germany.

Not enough exercise, smoking and an unbalanced diet – many people know about the risks of an unhealthy lifestyle, but still don’t manage to change their health behavior. Jacobs University and the Stiftung Bremer Herzen (Bremen Heart Foundation) have teamed up and developed an online test to raise health awareness. Health behavior is examined with regards to motivation, expectation, pre-planning and necessary support for behavioral change. As a result of the test participants will be given tips how to change their lifestyle. The test is available for free at www.jacobs-university.de/JCLL-online-test.

Established within the scope of the „Wissenschaftsjahr 2010“ (Science Year 2010) the nationwide ‘Forschungsbörse’ has become a popular platform for scientific exchange with the public. By using the database German school teachers can get in touch with experts from different fields of science and invite them to their classroom. The researchers give school kids and teaching staff an insight into their daily work and share their knowledge on current research topics – for free.

“We meet our host families and we start off amazing relationships, thank you so much host parents and families. You are our connection to the country and the German the culture!” Robin Wanjiru Njenga from Kenya held a speech at this year’s graduation stressing the importance of Jacobs University’s host family program for the students. Cultural exchange, great contacts and above all long-lasting friendships are some of the benefits of the host family program. Jacobs University is now looking for host parents who like to show our new students what life is like in Bremen and the region.

Gadolinium, one of the rare earth elements, is one of the main components in contrast agents used for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Although not harmful itself, this gadolinium can serve as an indicator for other wastewater-derived substances, such as pharmaceutical residues, which could be hazardous. Under the lead of Michael Bau, Professor of Geosciences, the working group for “Resource & Environmental Studies” at Jacobs University has tested samples of Bremen’s drinking water for rare earth elements and compared them with gadolinium-contaminated samples from Berlin. The results are reassuring for Bremen-based consumers: None of the drinking water samples from the State of Bremen have tested positive for anthropogenic gadolinium.

For the last two years, Bremen’s largest newspaper Weser Kurier has been running its popular science series »Montagsexperten« (»Monday’s Experts«). The weekly feature sees scientists from universities in Bremen, including Jacobs University, use their expertise to answer questions arising from day-to-day life.

One of Jacobs University's "MOOC Production Fellowship" entries has won! The MOOC, "DNA - from structure to therapy" was submitted by Prof. DPhil. Sebastian Springer and Dr. rer. nat. habil. Susanne Illenberger. The online course explains one of the key molecules in life: Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA). DNA stores the genetic information in all living cells. The sequence of its building blocks defines both individual identity and species diversity. Changes in DNA can lead to cancer and other diseases. DNA-based technology is now used to detect and treat diseases.

In autumn 2010, Jacobs University launched the new Bachelor program ‘Global Economics and Management’ (GEM). The undergraduate study program was made possible with two million euros in financial support from the Bremer Landesbank and the Oldenburg-based utility company EWE. It has also been developed in close cooperation with regional companies. Global Economics & Management has become the most popular study program at Jacobs University. On June 7, 2013 the first 24 GEM graduates receive their diploma.

University graduates nowadays need more than just academic knowledge to master a smooth transition from campus to the first job. A new mentoring program set up by Jacobs University in exclusive partnership with euro engineering AG, helps undergraduate students to get their career off to a great start and foster their employability. euro engineering AG, part of the Zurich-based Adecco Group, is counted among the top ten of Germany’s engineering service providers.

Mathias Knollmann, PhD student in International Logistics at Jacobs University has won the Best Paper Award at the 46th CIRP Conference on Manufacturing Systems in Portugal.

Jacobs student Lea Kliem will be graduating on June 7. If all goes to plan she will then have a double BA in 'Integrated Social Sciences' and 'Integrated Cognitive and Social Psychology' to her name. In autumn, Lea plans to continue her studies at the Oxford University where she has been accepted for an MSc program in Nature, Society and Environmental Policy. But first, the 21-year-old from Frankfurt am Main will get a taste of policy making at the international Y8 and Y20 summits in London and St. Petersburg. As Minster of Environment she is part of the German delegation at the youth events which mirror the G8 and G20 summits. Here, Lea tells us why politics might just be her thing and how her time at Jacobs has helped to prepare for her new ministerial role.

On June 1, health psychologists from the Jacobs Center for Lifelong Learning (JCLL) at Jacobs University are taking part in the ‘Bremer Herztage’ held at the Kunsthalle Bremen. Under the lead of Sonia Lippke, Professor of Health Psychology, they will be offering health advice including an examination of blood sugar levels. The test, set up in cooperation with pharmaceutical giant Bayer, can be an indicator for potential diabetes. People found to be at risk of the disease should in turn review their lifestyle choices. Nutrition, physical activity and smoking are at the heart of matter. Jacobs’ health psychologists will be at hand to give tips on how to successfully change health behavior.

From September 1, 2013, Jacobs University will be a partner of The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program (MCFSP).

A committee of external business representatives, Jacobs faculty members, admission staff and current students met on campus to choose this year’s recipients of the 'Jacobs Scholarships for Global Understanding'. These particular scholarships are available to German highschool leavers who have been accepted to Jacobs University.

Gadolinium, one of the rare earth elements, is widely used as a contrast agent in clinical diagnostics. Although not harmful itself, the concentration of gadolinium in sewage and particularly in river, ground and drinking water can be an indicator for other waste water-derived substances which are potentially hazardous.

The WISE Demographic Network, launched by Jacobs University, recently met at Bremen's Weser Stadion to discuss the topic of Personnel and Executive Development. The meeting was hosted by the latest addition to the network – Werder Bremen.

In early April, nine students from Jacobs University started a new project with the Gerhard-Rohlfs-Oberschule in Bremen-Nord on behalf of the Yachay Initiative, an international non-profit organization run by Jacobs alumni and students. Once a week the Jacobs students teach a class of 8th graders on how to work in teams and develop ideas to initiate positive change in their community. The project will run until the beginning of June.

Prof. Dr. Ursula M. Staudinger, Vice President of Jacobs University Bremen and Founding Dean of the Jacobs Center on Lifelong Learning and Institutional Development (JCLL) joins Columbia University (New York) as of July 1, 2013.

Dr. Tim Nesemann, Chairman of the Board of Sparkasse Bremen, met the current recipients of the ‘Sparkasse Scholarship for Mathematics’ to find out more about their studies and life at Jacobs University. Accompanied by math students Mengyuan Zhang and Alexandru Mihai and Jacobs University President Prof. Dr. Heinz-Otto Peitgen, Dr. Nesemann, who also holds a PhD in Mathematics, toured the university campus.

Mirroring the success of previous years Jacobs University has again achieved great results in the latest CHE ranking. The German Center for Higher Education Development (CHE) and leading German news weekly DIE ZEIT have just released results for 2013. This year’s ranking focused on the fields of engineering, linguistic and educational sciences and psychology. Four study programs at Jacobs University received top scores.

More than 700 spectators watched exciting races between the rowing teams of Jacobs University andHSBA Hamburg School of Business Administration in Hamburg on May 4, 2013. In the main race over 2,000m the Jacobs men’s eight could not succeed: the cup will stay in Hamburg. In their boat ‘Liekedeeler’ the HSBA eight crossed the finish line on the Alster river with several boat lengths ahead of the Jacobs ‘Frieda’. In the overall score Jacobs University and HSBA now have reached a draw of 3:3.

Jacobs University is taking part in the much talked about "MOOC Production Fellowship" with applications for six open online courses ranging from life sciences, to the humanities, and social sciences. The online course movie trailers, an integral part of the Fellowship's application, will give an early feedback about the potential demand for the course idea, and can be voted from now through to May 23.

On May 4, 2013, Jacobs University will compete against the HSBA Hamburg School of Business Administration in the traditional Hanse Boat Race in Hamburg on the Alster river. Fans and spectators can watch four exciting races of the universities’ men’s and women’s teams. The rowing course runs from Schwanenwik to Krugkoppelbrücke, where also the main race over 2,000m will be fought out between the men’s eight. Heinz-Otto Peitgen, President of Jacobs University, and Uve Samuels, Managing Director of the HSBA, will welcome the guests.

More than 30 students from Bremen schools visited Jacobs University on Future Day, a German-wide project that allows girls and boys to get insight into technical and science-oriented professions. At Jacobs, the 10 to 14-year-olds visited bioscientific labs, learned about robotics engineering and heard at first hand from Jacobs faculty and staff, what it is like to work in an academic environment.

Many chemical reactions on earth cannot take place unless they are accelerated by catalysts, i.e. special compounds which facilitate and speed up a chemical reaction, but are not consumed themselves. In living organisms enzymes take over this role and act as biocatalysts. Enzymes achieve their special activity by encapsulating the react compounds inside small pockets or cavities in which reactions can then take place with ease. For some time scientists have been intrigued by this process and researchers from Jacobs University, the Jyväskylä University in Finland and other institutions have gained fundamental insights into the role of molecular cavities and how their size affects chemical reactions. Their research is featured as a cover story in the May issue of leading journal Nature Chemistry (Nat. Chem. 2013, DOI: 10.1038/NCHEM.1618).

For two days students from all over the world visited Jacobs University to present their business ideas in front of a critical expert jury as part of the annual JacoBus business plan competition.

How can we measure the quality of life in nations? Traditionally, the GDP has served as an indicator for the ‘state of states’. But there are rising doubts about the usefulness of GDP for evaluating how good life is, and a number of alternative measures have been developed. Jan Delhey, Professor of Sociology at Jacobs, and Christian Kroll, Affiliated Postdoctoral Fellow, Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), compared alternative quality-of-life (QOL) measures and put them to the “happiness test”: Are the new QOL measures better equipped to capture what makes people happy and satisfied with their lives?

Jacobs alumna Marlen de la Chaux has been awarded the much sought-after Gates Cambridge Scholarship, one of the most prestigious international scholarships in the world. The program was established with a donation of USD 210 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the University of Cambridge.

The Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences – BIGSSS – bestowed its first Best Paper Award on PhD Fellow Evgenia Bystrov for her outstanding paper “Testing the Second Demographic Transition Theory with Seemingly Unrelated Regression: Marital Postponement and Human Empowerment.” 

From April 15 to 18, Jacobs students have the unique opportunity to practice their French language skills while trying out their acting talent. In cooperation with the Institut Français, Jacobs University offers a workshop conducted by the French stage director Yazid Lakhouache taking place at Theater Space from Monday to Wednesday (April 15- 17). The results of the workshop will be presented at Krupp College Common Room on Thursday (April 18) at 8p.m.

Gabriela Ponce and Robin Wanjiru Njenga have been chosen for the Mercator Award 2012/2013. The 20-year-old from Ecuador and the 21-year-old from Kenya will receive 5000 Euro in prize money. Since 2008 the Mercator Foundation has annually honored students living in Mercator College for their outstanding social and intercultural commitment and their great academic achievements. Larissa Dickhaut from the Mercator Foundation handed over the award on April 8 – coinciding with the 10th anniversary of Mercator College.

Jacobs University’s executive master program “Basin & Petroleum System Dynamics “ (BPSD) has gone into its second round welcoming eight new participants for a week of courses, workshops and lectures.

Can animals change the way we think? Can we learn anything from invasive species? How do we measure animal behavior in the wild? Jacobs alumna Dr. Joanna Bagniewska (Class of 2006) ventured to answer these questions at the recent TEDxWarsaw in March.

JacoBus is a business plan competition from students for students promoting responsible entrepreneurship, diversity in leadership and sustainability. On April 19 and 20, students from 18 universities from around the world are meeting at Jacobs University for the final of the competition. This year’s topic is food and water. A jury of experts made up of scientists and business representatives will choose three winning teams out of a final round of ten giving them the opportunity to win a total of almost €10,000 in prize money.

Jacobs University has scored highly in the special analysis “Diverse Excellence 2012” rankingpublished recently by the non-profit Centre for Higher Education (Centrum für Hochschulentwicklung CHE). In its findings – with a focus on mathematics and natural sciences – the CHE examined 83 German universities in four areas: research, application, and internationality and student guidance. The results are based on the CHE Ranking 2012 first published in May last year. Jacobs University gets high scores in five study programs.

Remember when...it was proper spring...

If you are staying on campus over spring break, here is a little reminder about the changed opening times of the serveries. Have a happy and relaxed spring break...with lots of chocolate!

Researchers from Jacobs University in cooperation with Bremen-based business consultancyPTSGroup have conducted a study on the perspectives, possibilities and limits of social media use in companies. Now, first results have been published.

Carbenes are considered rather unstable carbon compounds. Despite predictions reaching back as far as 200 years, the synthesis of compounds containing carbenes showed only first results in the 1970s. N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) in particular were soon used in pharmaceutical and technical processes. Scientists at Jacobs University have now developed new ways of synthesizing stable NHC-complexes of main-group elements, which are user-friendly. They can be used as chemical overcharge protection in lithium ion batteries or possibly as liquid crystals in LC-displays. The German Research Foundation, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and the Merck KGaA support the research with a total of €1.2million.

Internet, SMS, and smartphones make an important contribution to support the elderly in health promotion. So-called expert systems provide individualized questions and tasks. A research group lead by Sonia Lippke, Professor of Health Psychology at Jacobs University, found that the use of new media may change negative health behaviors like smoking and lack of physical activity. The most important goal is to incorporate healthy behaviors into a daily routine.

Jacobs University President Dr. Heinz-Otto Peitgen joined Dr. Raymond Wells (Jacobs University Foundation of America President), Dr. Howard Resnikoff (Jacobs University Foundation of America Chairman), and about thirty Jacobs alumni from the class of 2004 through 2012 Saturday, for the 2013 Alumni Spring Reunion held in San Francisco. The event was jointly hosted by the Jacobs University Foundation of America (JUFA), and the Jacobs Alumni Association, and took place at the University Club of San Francisco atop San Francisco's Nob Hill. The board meeting featured the annual report from President Peitgen and a review of cooperations between the JUFA and Jacobs, culminated in dinner and an evening in the city.

Jacobs alumna Holly Oberle has published a book for US high school and Bachelor’s students interested in pursuing an international education outside of their home country. Many Americans know about the wealth of study abroad opportunities, but few directly enroll as full-time students in a university abroad.

Local high school students Svenja Schwichtenberg and Christina Porwig came first in the field of biology in the Bremen finals of the annual science competition “Jugend forscht”. They also received the two special awards “World Saviour” from University of Bremen and “Environmental Engineering” from Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt. The students from Schulzentrum Rübekamp in Bremen developed an eco-friendly glue made from algae – Alglue – in a lab at Jacobs University.

Think globally, act locally: From September 1, 2013 the HANSA-FLEX Foundation supports Jacobs University students with scholarships worth €150,000 p.a. over three years covering either full or partial tuition and / or board. By providing the new scholarships and allowing promising young talents to study at Jacobs University the HANSA-FLEX Foundation aims to strengthen Bremen as a location for science, research and education. Students especially hailing from Bremen, Eastern Europe or Asia and enrolled in natural sciences and business-related programs can apply for the scholarships.

Jacobs University today unveiled its new concert piano – a donation by a benefactor – with an hour-long concert by Jacobs students and the leader of the university's chamber orchestra.

“Nano” has become a buzzword, which attracts increasing attention due to the growing number of applications, based on extremely small structures. The research team led by Arnulf Materny, Professor of Chemical Physics at Jacobs University, has developed a microscope, which allows for the investigation of ultrafast chemical processes with extremely high spatial resolution.

Matthias Ullrich, Professor of Microbiology at Jacobs University, is one of the co-chairs of this year’sAnnual Conference of the Association for General and Applied Microbiology in collaboration with theRoyal Netherlands Society for Microbiology. The conference, billed as the largest of its kind in Europe, takes place at the Congress Center Bremen from March 10 - 13.

Jacobs students successfully participated in the recent 2nd Edition of the ‘LiDAR as Art’ contest, which is held in conjunction with the International LiDAR Mapping Forum in Denver, Colorado. PhD student Jan Elseberg won contest with an image called 'Self Portrait with Duckling'. LiDAR is short for Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging.

On March 1 and 2, Jacobs students are taking part in the regional finals of the 4th annual Hult Prizecontest, the world’s largest student competition on social entrepreneurship. It is supported by Bill Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative. The year's contest is addressing the Global Food Crisis. 

Jacobs students of the Masters program 'International Logistics – Management and Engineering' together with students of Prof. Jens Froese’s International Logistics Group have set up a new Logistics Master course making use of Jacobs video conferencing facilities. They have linked up with six European universities as part of European-Union-funded project 'TrainMoS' to offer more courses. These are open to students from Jacobs and other institutions free of charge.

On February 21, Jacobs University welcomed the Ostasiatischer Verein Bremen e.V. (OAV) on campus for a reception preceding the OAV’s annual celebration of its founding anniversary. Close to 200 guests from the fields of business, politics and science were on hand, including ambassadors from East and South East Asia as well as Australia.

The Board of Jacobs University’s Alumni Association gathered in Austria for the first of this year's three annual meetings. Following a tradition of coming together in cities where board members reside, the meeting took place in Mozart’s birthplace of Salzburg. It was hosted by Salzburg Research, the employer of one of the board members.

Jacobs University and euro engineering AG are cooperating to offer a new mentoring program for undergraduate students. The pilot project is initially aimed at Jacobs engineering students with a view to expand it in across other sectors and study programs in the future.

Bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics are one of the biggest health hazards of our time. In order to push the development of new antibiotic drugs fighting antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the research project TRANSLOCATION has been set up as part of the Euroepan public-private partnership Innovative Medicine Initiative (IMI). Lead by Jacobs University, 25 industry and science partners are united in the five-year project which is funded with a total of €29.3 million.

Peter Wiegand, Director of Corporate Communications at Jacobs University, will leave the university as of March 1, 2013 to pursue new professional challenges. Wiegand played a decisive role in successfully positioning Jacobs University nationally and internationally.

The JacoBus Challenge business plan competition enters its third round. This year, students from all over the world are asked to hand in their ideas for innovative products and initiatives in the field of “Food and Water”.

State redistribution from rich to poor can spur economic growth within a society, researchers at Jacobs University, University of Bremen and the ETH Zurich have found. By employing theoretical model calculations the scientists were able to show that redistribution of wealth would not only be beneficial for social and security reasons, but also have distinct economic advantages. The study results have just been published by Open-Access journal PLOS ONE. (DOI: 10.1371/journals.pone.0054904).

Two Jacobs University graduates are among six young awardees honored with the OLB Wissenschaftspreis, the highest-endowed science prize in the Northwest of Germany. With a total endowment of €22,000 the award recognizes student and graduate dissertations including PhD, Magister, Diploma, State Exam, Bachelor and Master theses. It is funded by the OLB-Stiftung of Oldenburgische Landesbank AG.

More than 300 guests from the worlds of academia, politics and business attended the traditional New Year’s Reception held by the ‘unifreunde’ at the Obere Rathaushalle in Bremen. At the festive event new professors appointed by Jacobs University and the University of Bremen over the course of the last year were introduced to the public.

Picture shows from left to right:
Prof. Dr. Moritz Renner (Professor of Transnational Business Law / University of Bremen), Prof. Dr. Bernd Scholz-Reiter (Rector of University of Bremen), Prof. Dr. Heinz-Otto Peitgen (President of Jacobs University), Eva Quante-Brandt (Senator for Education and Science), Prof. Dr. Dominic Sachsenmaier (Professor of Modern Asian History / Jacobs University), Prof. Dr. Katja Windt (Provost of Jacobs University), Unifreunde Chairman Bengt Beutler.

For the spring semester Jacobs University welcomes 33 visiting and exchange students from the US and the Netherlands on campus. The students from Lafayette College (Pennsylvania, USA),Wellesley College (Massachusetts, USA), Rice University (Texas, USA) and University College Utrecht (Netherlands) take part in an exciting but also intensive university program.

The three-day workshop “Hybrids in Microscopy” will focus on microscopic techniques that enable researchers to face the challenges of live cell imaging. It runs from January 30 to February 1.

As Jacobs University prepares for the return of its students and the start of the spring semester, we are putting the spotlight on an event series unique to our campus: Country Information Days or CIDs - run by students for the Jacobs community.

From January 14 to 31, Jacobs University offers its annual winter school for internal and external students. Courses range from politics to art to methodological topics. The program is designed for undergraduate and graduate students who would like to participate in intensive study programs and earn credits.

In Germany, China and other industrial nations the ever growing use of rare earth elements is starting to have a negative impact on the environment. Rare earths are used in the production of wind turbines, mobile phones, computers and other high-tech goods. A new study by Michael Bau, Professor of Geosciences at Jacobs University, and Serkan Kulaksiz, post-doctorate researcher, now shows that in addition to abnormally high concentrations of lanthanum and gadolinium, the Rhine is also polluted with rare earth element samarium.

A team of scientists at Jacobs University has identified a new type of weak chemical forces in an artificially created molecular system. Up to now, such forces have only been known to occur in biological systems such as proteins. The researchers were able to detect that iodine and bromine molecules placed in the hollow synthetic container molecule cucurbit[6]uril formed perpendicular contacts between a urea group of the molecular container and the encapsulated halogens. These biomimetic chemical interactions can now open new doors in the design and development of halogen-containing drugs, antiseptics, batteries, and solar cells.

As part of the EU-funded project EMOTE, Arvid Kappas, Professor of Psychology at Jacobs University, conducts research on a new generation of robotic tutors with perceptive capabilities to engage in empathic interactions with learners. These artificial tutors can serve as a complement to traditional teaching. Overall, the EMOTE project aims to research the role of empathic interventions in the process of facilitating the learning progress. The researchers explore if and how the exchange of socio-emotional cues with a tutor can create a sense of connection and social bonding and enhance the learning experience. The three-year-long project is funded with €2.9 million.

The month of January will see Jacobs professors and researchers taking part in the German language lecture series ‘Wissen um 11’ at Bremen’s Haus der Wissenschaft.

On January 1, 2013, Jacobs University’s new executive management took up office: Prof. Dr. Heinz-Otto Peitgen is the President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and spokesman of the executive management at Jacobs University. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katja Windt stands alongside him as second CEO and Provost responsible for the academic development of the university. They succeed Prof. Dr. Joachim Treusch, whose term as President and CEO of Jacobs University ended after more than six years on December 31, 2012.

Jacobs University and the Bremer Hockey Club plan to establish a hockey base in Bremen-Nord. The plan includes building up a Jacobs University hockey team whose members are welcome to also play in the teams of BHC. The Bremer Hockey Club e.V. is one of the oldest hockey clubs in Germany. Since 1913, the Sports Club is a home for hockey fans of all ages. In addition, boys and girls between 6-14 years of age from local schools will play hockey in the Jacobs University Sports and Convention Center (SCC).

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has bestowed its inaugural Georg Forster Research Award upon four outstanding researchers from developing or industrializing countries who have gained international recognition. Turkish historian Selçuk Esenbel received the award to fund a six-month period of teaching and research at Jacobs University starting in January 2014.

Joachim Treusch, President of Jacobs University, has been awarded this year’s Minerva Prize by the “Förderverein Museum Jülich”. “Prof. Treusch receives the honor for his outstanding achievements in promoting the exchange between culture and science in the city of Jülich,” said Prof. Achim Bachem, Chair of the Board of the Jülich Research Center and Chairman of the Förderverein. Joachim Treusch received the award at a ceremony in the Jülich citadel on December 11.

Jacobs students from the university’s Rotaract Club in cooperation with the initiative Epsymo e.V., a local parents' alliance for psychomotor development advancement, are organizing the Christmas present project “Make a wish” for children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Researchers at Jacobs University, KIT Institute of Functional Interfaces (IFG) and other institutions have developed a new method to produce metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). By means of the so-called liquid-phase epitaxy, the scientists succeeded in producing a new class of MOFs with a pore size never reached before. These frameworks open up interesting applications in medicine, optics, and photonics. The new class of MOFs, called 'SURMOF 2', is presented in the Nature's Scientific Reports journal.

Numerous epidemiological studies have shown that people who enjoy a cup of tea on a regular basis are suffering less from osteoporosis, cancer or cardiovascular diseases than those who never or rarely drink it. However, up to now it had remained unsolved why tea had such positive effects on the human body. Nikolai Kuhnert, Professor of Chemistry at Jacobs University, and his team have now shown for the first time that moleculobiological interactions between ingredients of tea and human DNA are responsible for tea’s healthy benefits (Advance publication in “Food & Function”, DOI: 10.1039/C2FO30159H).

To treat neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s, fundamental knowledge is often missing. The award-winning scientists Dr. Stephanie Dauth (Jacobs University) and Dr. Maike Schmidt (University of Bremen) contributed to the understanding of the complex functions in the central nervous system: They initiated the cooperation project „Alterations in brain cell differentiation, metabolism and functions in cathepsin K-deficiency“ based on observations in mammals’ brains in which the lack of the enzyme cathepsin K has a negative influence on learning capacity.

This year’s first of Advent will be one to remember for all members of the Jacobs University Choir: From November 30 to December 2, J-Cappella will participate in their very first choir competition. With their conductor Dr. Rucsandra Popescu, the singers will travel to Prague and present their work at theInternational Festival of Advent and Christmas Music with Petr Eben Prize, a prestigious competition taking place for the 22nd time this year.

Werner Bergholz, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Jacobs University, has received the IEC Award 1906. The prize is awarded annually by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the world’s leading organization in setting up International Standards in the field of electrotechnology. The award goes to IEC experts who have exceptionally contributed to making industry products and systems work safer together.

Jacobs University’s Maritime Logistics Work Group and the Kieserling Stiftung invite interested participants to their annual Logistics Forum at the ICC Conference Hall on December 5. Titled “India – More than Curry?”, this year’s discussions will focus on the subcontinent and the challenges it faces during its rapid economic growth.

In 2012, the renowned Initial Training Networks (ITN) of the Marie Curie scheme of Framework Programme 7 (FP7) launched the ‘European Industrial Doctorates’ (EID) initiative, in order to intensify the cooperation between academic and an industrial partners in the education and training of PhD students. Research talent at Jacobs University is now being nurtured through the new doctorates scheme.

Klaus Boehnke, Professor of Social Science Methodology, has received Gordon Allport Prize by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), Division 9 of the American Psychological Association.  The Bremen-based sociologist has been honored as part of a research consortium led by Professor Michele J. Gelfand from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Jacobs University is a partner for the literature festival globale° in Bremen. It is a festival for international literature on the basis of the maxim: “Writing without borders”. Renowned as well as less known authors that have found their home in Germany and in the German language are introduced to the Bremen public.

Each year Jacobs University acknowledges students and members of staff for academic excellence and community achievements at a special award ceremony.

Reimar Lüst, Jacobs University founding father and its first honorary doctor, was awarded the Medal of Honor by the German ZEIT-Stiftung. Prof. Dr. Lüst, Jacobs University’s first honorary doctor (see news), received the award in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of science.

Jacobs University is coordinating a new EU project with the aim of increasing the efficiency, sustainability and cost-effectiveness of bioprocessing in the biopharmaceutical industry. The INTENSO (short for Mastering Integration and Intensification of Bioprocesses) project involves 16 European science and industry partners (list see below) and is headed by Prof. Dr. Marcelo Fernandez-Lahore, Professor of Biochemical Engineering at Jacobs. It is financed as part of the EU’s 7th Framework Programme (FP7)with a total of € 7.1million

Exciting day-trips to Bremen and its surroundings, visiting museums and exhibitions, on top of watching and discussing German movies – the program “Exploring German Culture and Society”offers Jacobs students a great variety of events to explore their closer and wider neighborhood. It is funded by the DAAD, the German Academic Exchange Service.

Sebastian Springer, Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Jacobs University, his colleague Mathias Winterhalter, Professor of Biophysics, and Gerd Klöck, Professor of Bioprocess Engineering at Hochschule Bremen (University of Applied Sciences) are developing a new detection method for biologically valuable substances. The new biotechnological process can be used – for example – to monitor the production of insulin or antibodies for immunotherapies.

The Wirtschafts- und Strukturrat Bremen- Nord e.V. (WIR) held its annual award ceremony on the Jacobs campus last night. More than 130 guests attended the event to hear the jury’s decision.

Prof. Ursula M. Staudinger, Vice-President of Jacobs University and Dean of the Jacobs Center On Lifelong Learning, visited the premises of ArcelorMittal in Bremen to meet with Peter Scherrer, Chairman, Personnel and Welfare.

One of Germany’s most renowned entrepreneurs, Dr. Alfred Oetker from the Dr. August Oetker Nahrungsmittel KG, visited Jacobs University. He was welcomed by President Joachim Treusch and more than 140 students, professors and external guests who attended Dr. Oetker’s speech on the global challenges faced by an international family business.

Make love for an hour a day and work for only half an hour! In a new study, Dr. Christian Kroll, Research Fellow at Jacobs University, and Dr. Sebastian Pokutta, scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, have found out how we should best spend our time in order to maximize happiness.

On January 1, 2013, Jacobs professor and multiple award-winning expert for production logisticsKatja Windt (43) will start in her new position as provost and vice president of Jacobs University. In this function she will replace the university’s two deans. By establishing a provost, Jacobs University for the first time merged the coordination of teaching and research in one position, in order to further strengthen the academic profile of the institution and the interdisciplinary cooperation between its scientists.

During its autumn meeting at Jacobs University the Board of Trustees of the Jacobs Foundation has reached a forward-looking decision regarding the future of Jacobs University and agreed to continue financing the university beyond the year 2017.  During their meeting on campus the Board of Trustees also took time out to talk to Jacobs University students, faculty and staff  (see image gallery above).

In January 2013, Jacobs will again offer its annual winter school programs for internal and external students. Courses range from politics to art to methodological topics. The program is designed for undergraduate and graduate students who would like to participate in intensive study programs and earn credits.

More than a hundred alumni from all over the world attended this year's Homecoming on the Jacobs University campus. A highlight of the event was the 5-year reunion of the class of 2007.

From 19 to 21 October Jacobs welcome the alumni back in Bremen for a fun-filled weekend. Homecoming 2012 will also celebrate the 5-Year-Reunion of the class of 2007.

Jacobs University’s deep sea crawler 'Wally will be modified as part of a new Helmholtz research alliance 'Robotic Exploration of Extreme Environments' (ROBEX). The alliance is funded by the Helmholtz Association with €30m for five years. It will pool expertise gained in lunar expeditions and deep sea investigations. As one of the ROBEX project the Jacobs deep sea crawler will become more agile by adding a new propulsion system and intelligent controls.  'Wally' is currently steered via the internet, but in future the robot will be able hover over obstacles and move around autonomously without external steering.

From October 12 to October 14, the Cambridge University German Society – an association of alumni and friends of the British elite university living in Germany – holds its Annual General Meeting on campus. Among other points on the agenda, aims of the meeting are to recruit future Cambridge students and to discuss possibilities for cooperation with Jacobs University.

President Joachim Treusch is in Houston Texas this week, as one of many international guests who have been invited to celebrate Rice University's first 100 years.

On October 13 Jacobs students host the charity concert "Piano to Forte" on campus. For the third time talented young musicians from around the world have put together an impressive concert program and play for a good cause. Guests can expect an impressive musical repertoire that reflects all aspects of the multicultural Jacobs community. This year, all proceeds go to the construction of the student MusicLab on campus to create additional space for the musical development of students. Tickets are sold at the box office or can be reserved online.

Two Jacobs students have won first prize in the Google Building Opportunities for Leadership & Development (BOLD) Immersion Program business challenge, which took place in Hamburg recently. Isabel Gora from Zimbabwe and Andra Lezza from Romania together with two students from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf convinced the Google jury with a marketing strategy aimed at increasing the growth of Google+ in China. As a prize they took home a tablet PC each as well as a trophy and a certificate.

On October 6, Jacobs University opens its doors to prospective students, families and teachers. The Admissions Team and student representatives from each major will give an insight into academics and campus life. The Open House is free, but registration in advance is required at www.jacobs-university.de/open-house-registration.

Tianmi Dong from Changzhou and Qidi Wang from Suzhou received this year’s top China Scholarships based on their performance in the application and interview process.

As the coordinator of EU research project Green EFFORTS, Jacobs University plays a significant role at this year’s GreenPort Congress in Marseilles (Oct 3-5). It is the only university to be directly involved in the conference program with Jens Froese, Kieserling Stiftung Distinguished Professor of Maritime Logistic at Jacobs, moderating the second plenary session on topic Green Terminals (Oct 3, 2 p.m.)

Jacobs University professors Christoph Lattemann, Professor of Business Administration and Information Management, and Steven Ney, Professor of Social Entrepreneurship and Policy Studies, have launched the first Design Thinking lab in Northwest Germany. D-Forge Bremen offers Design Thinking workshops, courses for students and business executives and project support.

The Senate of the National Academy of Sciences has confirmed Prof. Ursula M. Staudinger for a second term as Vice-President of the Leopoldina at its meeting on September 21, 2012.

Will robots dominate humanity in the future? What will we be eating in 20 years? What will happen to earth if too many fumes from cars and factories are around? In line with the Science Year 2012 “Project Earth: Our Future” children sent in more than 90 questions, curious what the world will look like in the years to come.

On September 21, 2012, Jacobs University bid farewell to its sixth successful class of the part-timeExecutive MBA program in European Utility Management (EUM). Nine graduates working for major European utility companies or consultancy firms with a specialization on the energy business received their final degree and now they are ready to support their home companies with their enriched skills and capabilities.

Two Jacobs University students have won the best overall prize in the German leg of Facebook’s Developer World Hack held at Café Moscow in Berlin. Stefan Mirea, 21, from Romania and Dominik Kundel, 20, from Germany faced off against competition from 300 fellow developers with their application Social Road Trip winning 'Best Overall App'.

Klaudia Brix, Professor of Cell Biology at Jacobs University, is jointly coordinating a new DFG Priority Program to study the transport and impact of thyroid hormones in the human body. She is working together with Dagmar Führer, Director of Endocrinology at the Essen University Hospital, and Heike Biebermann, Lecturer at the Institute of Experimental Pediatric Endocrinology at the Berlin Charité. 

Jacobs celebrates the successful graduation of the pioneering class in its Executive Master Program Basin and Petroleum System Dynamics. The six graduates from five nations work as Engineers and geochemists for renowned companies in the petroleum and gas industry. As part of their continued education and in addition to their day job they took part in an 18-month long part-time study program at Jacobs to become experts in the evaluation of geodata.

A workshop by Jacobs and Universidad de Buenos Aires addressed South America’s shortage of international logistics managers.

A robotic system developed by Jacobs University can record archeological data in a series of largely automated processes. Researchers from Jacobs University, the Austrian Academy of Sciences (Institute for the Study of Ancient Culture) and the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma – Sede di Ostia tested the mobile robot at the excavation site of Ostia Antica near Rome and were able to generate a precise virtual 3D model of an ancient home.

German language courses at Jacobs University will from now on be conducted by instructors from the internationally renowned Goethe Institut.

Jacobs University starts the new academic year with its highest number of students to date. A total of 1358 young people from 108 nations will live and learn on the Jacobs campus. 16 students have enrolled in the Foundation Year (serving as orientation and preparation for undergraduate study), 747 are bachelor students and 572 are taking graduate studies. 376 freshmen have enrolled in one of the more than 40 bachelor and graduate programs. The favorite among the 20 Bachelor programs is Global Economics and Management.

This week Jacobs University welcomed guest students from all over the world. Seven students have arrived from Jacobs University’s established partner universities from Scotland, France, Poland and the USA. Two students from the Sciences Po, two students from the University of Aberdeen, one student each from the University of Edinburgh and Gdansk University of Technology, and one student fromCarnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh are joining the Jacobs campus.

New to Jacobs? No idea what’s what, where what is and who means what? Fear not, for Orientation Week starts today.

A group of Jacobs alumni in the UK and the Netherlands have merged their scientific expertise and political will in the new independent think tank d|part that aims at researching and supporting civic political participation in Germany and Europe.

Representatives from the maritime industry, politics and science including Jacobs University have set up a new Research Network for Maritime Law in Bremen. Its aim is to further International Maritime Law in education and research by pooling existing knowledge and skills within the Metropolitan Region of Bremen/Oldenburg with a major focus on research and training new experts in Maritime Law.

Erasmus – short for European Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Student – is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary. At Jacobs University, the European academic exchange program has been running since 2004. Since this time, Jacobs University has set up Erasmus exchanges with partner universities in France, Norway, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Romania and Scotland.

Researchers at Jacobs University are seeking German-speaking participants for an online survey about healthy living. They will take a closer look at aspects affecting a healthy lifestyle such as motivation, expectations and planning. By answering the question participants can check what their health ad fitness regime is like and where improvements can be made. The survey is in German, all data will be protected and only used for research purposes.

Jacobs University’s Foundation Year Program is geared towards secondary school graduates from all over the world. It’s an opportunity for students to be introduced to university life and gain important qualifications to successfully continue their studies. With a small group of up to 20 participants, individual and intensive study preparation is guaranteed. The program focuses on qualification through the acquisition of academic skills and admission credential and orientation in core academic subjects such as economics, engineering and the natural sciences.

Eight German high school students who took part in Summer Campus 2012 at Jacobs University were supported by the Munich-based Roland Berger Foundation. During their time at Jacobs they learned about professional research and lab work in the fields of medical and life sciences and possible future career choices. As part of an international group they also experienced new cultures.

Jacobs researchers in cooperation with the University of the Azores (UAC) successfully tested a newly developed 3D camera system in the waters off the Portuguese Azores islands. The new device generates reliable high resolution 3D maps by integrating synchronized video recordings from three single cameras via intelligent image and information processing. The new system can replace standard underwater mapping methods such as sonar systems measuring sound impulses. These standard processes cannot detect vertical cliffs or complex underwater structures and only allow for the generation of coarse 2.5D maps with resolutions of about one meter.

Jacobs University’s Katja Windt, Professor of Global Production Logistics, is among 13 scholars added to the ranks of ‘acatech’ – Germany’s National Academy of Science and Engineering.

… and be part of the Jacobs University host family program!

Are you interested in other cultures? Would you like to show young people from around the world your hometown Bremen? Cultural exchange, exciting contacts and long lasting friendships – Jacobs University's host family program is all that. The university is looking for open-minded host parents for international students,starting now.

Jacobs University has joined forces with Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) in Argentina to set up South America’s first stand-alone master program in International Logistics Management. The new one-year program under the name of InterLog is specifically designed to cater for the increasing demand for logistics experts in Latin America. It will be modeled on Jacobs University’s current MSc in International Logistics: Management and Engineering.

Thirty-five high school students from the US, Germany, Macedonia, Greece, Romania, Norway, Bulgaria, Turkey, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Poland have signed up for Jacobs University’s new summer program. Summer Campus Germany, running from July 17 to 28, offers an introduction to university studies in life sciences and medical research fields.

It’s the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan today. For the next 30 days, more than one billion Muslims around the will observe the holiest month in Islam by fasting from dawn to dusk. This is also the case on the Jacobs University campus. As one of the most diverse universities worldwide, we make sure to cater for the needs of our Muslim students and staff during Ramadan.

The German ‘Initiative Nachrichtenaufklärung’ (INA) promoting media transparency recently published its latest findings of important ‘neglected news’ in Germany in 2011/12. Peter Ludes, Professor of Mass Communication at Jacobs University, is one of the founders of the INA. He talked with us about the initiative’s support of investigative journalism, the challenges for journalism due to (e.g.) globalization, and his teaching and research at Jacobs.

What will the world look like in 20 or 50 years time? What can we do to influence our future? Jacobs University is welcoming school children from the local area to its Kids University taking place in fall. This year’s motto is “Project Earth: Our Future”. Many children have sent in their questions curious what will be different in the years to come. Starting September 26, Jacobs researchers will answer three chosen questions in a series of fun lectures.

Jacobs University researchers and Bremen-based business consultancy PTS Group are looking for participants to contribute information to a new study about the use to social media in companies. The data is submitted anonymously via an online questionnaire; participating companies will receive an analysis of final results.

European grants for research projects at Jacobs University have increased more than five-fold over the course of the last couple of years following a steady and healthy build-up since 2007.

Jacobs University’s computer science teaching lab (CSTL) has been awarded an innovation prize IT 2012 from the ‘Initiative Mittelstand’, one of Germany’s leading associations and networks for medium-sized businesses.

Great news for the science region Bremen - Oldenburg: Three research groups from Jacobs University, along with scientists from the University of Bremen and the University of Oldenburg will participate in the new Priority Program investigating light driven water splitting, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

At the Best of Corporate Publishing (BCP) Awards in Berlin, Europe’s largest competition for corporate communications, the jury chose Jacobs University’s film ‘Letters to the Future – The Spirit of Jacobs University’ as the best corporate film in Germany.

From July 1-3, top German applicants will be chosen for a special scholarship offer: “The Jacobs Scholarships for Global Understanding”.

High-tech metals such as neodymium and dysprosium belonging to the rare earths elements are an important component of wind turbines and other modern electronics; their use is increasing worldwide. As part of the joint Brazilian-European project CLIM-AMAZON, Jacobs-researchers analyze the chemical behavior and the distribution of high-tech-metals in the natural system Amazon River. Thus the scientists around Michael Bau, Professor of Geosciences at Jacobs University, are able to identify future high-tech-metal pollution in tropical regions. The EU funds the project with €2m, it will run for three years.

On June 21, 2012, 16 high ranking delegates from the European Commission (EU) as well as the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the US visit the Jacobs campus. They represent a European-American task force on biotechnology research, who is currently meeting in Bremen to discuss future perspectives in biotechnology-based economics and research.

International researchers from Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Japan are meeting at Jacobs University to discuss the newest developments within their interdisciplinary, EU-financed project entitled “eCUTE” - Education in Cultural Understanding, Technologically-Enhanced from June 20 to 22.

The Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences BIGSSS, a collaborative project of private Jacobs University and the state-run University of Bremen, will be funded for another five years with about 9 million Euros from Germany’s federal excellence initiative (Exzellenzinitiative des Bundes und der Länder). This success in the excellence funding line 1 is part of the great overall success for Uni Bremen, which succeeded in both, their future concept as well as their excellence cluster MARUM, and will receive 100 million Euros over the next five years. This was announced on today’s press conference by the appropriations committee, consisting of members from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), the German Science Council and the respective German ministries.

On June 14, 2012, the board of trustees of the Fraunhofer Institute for Medical Image Computing MEVIS holds its 4th meeting on campus. Jacobs University has been enjoying a fruitful collaboration on numerous levels with the Bremen based research institution, which is world-leading in developing computer aided, image-based medical diagnosis and therapy. Heinz-Otto Peitgen, Jacobs University’s new president elect, attends the meeting in his current role as Fraunhofer MEVIS’ director.

Klaudia Brix, Professor of Cell Biology and Member of the Research Center MOLIFE at Jacobs University, is the Chair of this year’s prestigious Gordon Research Conference on “Proteolytic Enzymes and their Inhibitors”, which takes place from June 17 - 22. A diverse group of researchers consisting of established as well as younger scientists will discuss frontier research in the life sciences in Lucca (Barga), Italy.

In a collaboration workshop, held from June 11 to 14 at Jacobs University, fourteen researchers from Qatar are sharing their expertise with members of the Jacobs University faculty. The aim is to open new perspectives and set up future collaborations between the participating institutions.

Gerd-Volker Röschenthaler, Professor of Chemistry at Jacobs University, has been awarded an honorary fellowship by the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) in Haifa.

Jacobs University’s Alumni Association welcomes its 2000th member. Savannah Carr-Wilson from Canada joined the organization to stay in touch with Jacobs University and to be kept up-to date with what’s happening on campus. The 22-year-old graduated from Jacobs on June 8, 2012 with a BA degree in International Politics and History. During the Graduation Ceremony Petar Perkovic, President of the Jacobs University Alumni Association, congratulated her on stage.

Jacobs University’s Board of Governors elected Prof. Dr. Heinz-Otto Peitgen to be the university’s new President. Heinz-Otto Peitgen, Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Medical Image Computing MEVIS and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of MeVis Medical Solutions AG, will be taking over as President of Jacobs University on January 1, 2013. The internationally renowned mathematician and multiple award-winning entrepreneur will succeed Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Joachim Treusch, who has served as President of Jacobs University since July 1, 2006.

On June 8, 2012, Jacobs University honored its ninth graduating class, the »Class of 2012«. The 371 young academics – 184 BA’s, 109 MA’s and 78 PhD’s – hailing from 64 nations, were the first graduates to receive their diplomas in the new Sports & Convention Center on the Jacobs Campus. The internationally renowned architect Max Dudler designed the building. In 44 fields of study, the graduating class once again achieved a nationally outstanding passing rate of 94,8 percent. Prof. Dr. Jutta Allmendinger, President of the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB), held the keynote speech at the graduation ceremony of 2012.

Here you can find press material and a downloadable image gallery.

It’s not just Jacobs students who glam up for Graduation, members of the faculty also don their Sunday best for the occasion.

On June 6 and 7, Jacobs University celebrates the opening of its research center ‘Humanities, Modernity and Globalization’ (HMG) with an international conference on ‘Global Integration and Cultural Diversity’. At HMG, the tenth research center to be opened on campus, Jacobs scientists are working in multidisciplinary teams.

In June, Jacobs University is home to cultural events spanning music, theater and art.

Jacobs University’s collaborations with institutions in the Middle East have taken significant steps forward during recent trips to the region by Can Ikram, Chief Representative Middle East and Dr. Thorsten Thiel, COO and Vice President of Jacobs University.

In the run-up to Graduation Day on June 8, our Social Media Channel will be buzzing with posts and tweets. Come and follow us.

Jacobs University is looking for questions from children for the next Kids University in fall 2012.
In September and October, Jacobs researchers will be answering those question in a series of fun lecture. The theme of this year’s Kids University is “Project Earth: Our Future”, which is in fact also the topic of the current Science Year. As they say: Children are our future.

Two student teams from Jacobs University recently returned with great results from robot challenges in the US and Germany.

Jacobs University has introduced a new summer program for high school students from year 10 onwards. The Summer Campus Germany 2012 consists of either a seven or a 12-day program and offers an introduction to university studies in life sciences and medical research fields.

Jacobs University professor Thomas Rommel has been appointed Rector and Provost of theEuropean College of Liberal Arts (ECLA) in Berlin. He will start in his new role on August 1.

Jacobs University's switch-over to LED technology on campus is entering its second phase. First results of research project have been delivered and energy-saving over a period of twelve months has fulfilled all expectations.

The 75th anniversary of Bremen’s Rhododendron-Park pulled in the crowds. Hardly a seat was left empty in the Botanika Seminar Room, where 14 students from Jacobs University were joined by Matthias Ullrich, Professor of Microbiology at Jacobs, and Dr. Hartwig Schepker, science coordinator of the Rhododendron-Park Bremen, to talk about rhododendrons growing in the park and their places of origin. Almost 600 wild species of rhododendrons and more than 3000 varieties grow in the Rhododendron-Park.

Jacobs University has launched a bike-lending scheme for on campus. Students can borrow a bike for the day using their Campus Card and explore Bremen-Nord and its surroundings. Currently three male bikes and seven unisex bicycles are on offer.

Convalescence is an important part of the recovery process after an illness or an accident. In the long-term it is crucial for patients to transfer habits and skills learnt during the convalescence period into their daily life. A team of young Jacobs scientists under the leadership of Sonia Lippke, Professor of Health Psychology, will examine how effective internet-based after-care can be in helping and supporting patients when they return home after convalescing.

On May 19, a group of Jacobs students will be participating in the 75th anniversary of the Rhododendron-Park Bremen. The park’s science coordinator Hartwig Schepker, Matthias Ullrich, Professor of Microbiology at Jacobs, and a group of Jacobs students invite visitors on a trip around the world.

Jacobs University professor Katja Windt has joined the supervisory board of Fraport, the owner and operator of Frankfurt Airport. Fraport AG counts among the leading companies within the industry and operates one of the most important air traffic hubs in the world. Katja Windt holds the Bernd Rogge Professorship of Global Production Logistics at Jacobs University.

On May 19, German Bundesliga club FC Bayern Munich will play in the Champions League final for the ninth time. The team under President Uli Hoeneß counts among the most successful football clubs in the world. But could the strategies employed by soccer professionals also be a successful tool for businesses? Sven Voelpel, Professor of Business Administration at Jacobs University, shows that professional soccer often is miles ahead of business due to the intense pressure within the sport.

A team of Jacobs University students were recently welcomed by Poliboy, the Lilienthal-based market leader in many home care markets and a household brand with an 80 year tradition, for their final presentation on the company’s social media presence.

At yesterday’s Hanse Boat Race the Jacobs female four won the 1000m race for the fourth time in as many years beating their opponents from the Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA) by 20cm in a tight finish. Meanwhile, the battle proved to be harder for the Jacobs male eight, who after three consecutive victories had to admit defeat to their HSBA rivals and leave the Cup behind in Hamburg.

According to a new study by researchers from Jacobs University, the Max-Planck-Institute Bremen, The Alfred Wegener Institute for Marine and Polar Research and the University of Greifswald, nutrient supply after algal bloom determines the succession of the bacterial population. The results of the study have just been published in the Science journal.

Three teams with students coming from six different universities have won the 2012 edition of JacoBus Challenge business plan competition, which took place on April 27 and 28 at Jacobs University.

Jacobs student Simon Möller received the annual College Nordmetall Award 2012. He has been chosen by the award committee for his social involvement in extra-curricular activities on campus and academic excellence. He received the award endowed with 5,000 Euros thanks to the generosity of the members of the Jacobs University Board of Governors.

The weather forecast predicted a cloudy, overcast morning for Bremen with morning temperatures of 6°C and a moderate to strong breeze. Not the sort of start you’d like for a bit of a paddle on the Lesum in Bremen-Nord. But then that’s not what the Jacobs rowers have come for.

As part of Germany´s nation-wide Future Day (formerly Girl’s Day) today, more than 20 girls and boys from Bremen schools visited Jacobs University to learn about different professions on campus. They get to know about works places in technology, education, catering, human resources, teaching and science.

More than 50 students from around the globe will meet at Jacobs on April 27 and 28 to present their business solutions for the JacoBus Challenge 2012, a business competition organized by the Business Entrepreneurship and Management Society of Jacobs University (pictured). This year, students taking part in the contest were asked to examine the topic of “Energy and Environment”.

Jacobs University has expanded its social media presence by launching the official Jacobs YouTube channel.

They are known as the rain forests of the sea, but over the course of the last decade coral reefs have been dying at an alarming rate all around the world in turn threatening the rich marine biodiversity dependent on them. Jacobs University’s OceanLab group investigates the risks and dangers posed to fragile coral ecosystems world-wide.

On April 14, alumni and friends of Jacobs University gathered at Harvard University, one of the oldest and most distinguished universities in the world. It is the second time that Jacobs alumni and their guests were able to enjoy the generous hospitality of the famous US institution.

The Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS) celebrated its Graduation Day on April 13. In a festive ceremony at the ‘Goldener Saal’ in Bremen’s famous Böttcherstraße 36 graduates from four continents were honored for the completion of their PhDs. They successfully completed their studies at BIGSSS, a graduate school funded by the Excellence Inititative of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and jointly run by the University of Bremen and Jacobs University.

This week is dedicated to African historical and cultural heritage at Jacobs University. Students from the African, Black and Caribbean Student’s Association (a.b.c.s.) are organizing the annual African Heritage Week, which is taking place April 16 – 21. This year’s motto is “roots”, exploring traditional African customs plus their effects on today’s culture on the continent.

Slowly heating sugar until it transforms into tasty caramel is one of the culinary world’s basic delights and one of the first exposures of children to chemistry. Teasing apart the chemical composition of caramel has, however, been a sticky problem for food chemists, due to the enormous complexity of the product mixtures obtained. Nikolai Kuhnert, Professor of Chemistry at Jacobs University, and his team of researchers have developed a method to analyze the chemical composition of caramel

On April 21, Jacobs University invites prospective students, interested parents as well as teachers and counselors to find out more about studying at Jacobs University. What is it like to live on a modern campus with students from 111 nations? What study programs are on offer and what can students expect from their courses? What kinds of scholarships are available and what are the career chances after graduating from Jacobs University? The entry to the Open House is free, but registration in advance is requested at www.jacobs-university.de/open-house-registration.

Although the weather could be nicer, spring has begun to settle in at Jacobs. Crocuses are blooming and our ducks are back wandering around campus.

As part of an EU project Jacobs University is developing a new system for intelligent underwater robots in cooperation with eight national and European partners. MORPH – short for Marine Robotic System of Self Organizing, Logically Linked Physical Node – consists of a number of mobile components that are not physically, but virtually connected.

Young delegates from all over the world will meet for a simulation of international policy making at the Bremen International Model United Nations (BRIMUN) conference. They will discuss problems on the subject of ‘Social Inequality’ from April 2 to 5 at Jacobs University.

A documentary about solutions to global warming by Peter Byck was screened at Jacobs University. Students and external visitors alike enjoyed the film ‘Carbon Nation’. Producer and director Peter Byck attended the screening and answered questions. The event was supported by the US consulate and hosted by Michael Bau, Professor of Geoscience at Jacobs University.

The Yachay Initiative, an international charity dedicated to supporting youth empowerment and founded by graduates and students from Jacobs University, has launched a new project in Bremen, another one will follow shortly in Ecuador. The Yachay Initative collaborates with local communities and community-based organizations to run projects that combine education and action.

Great news for the science region Bremen-Oldenburg: In the beginning of April, a new graduate school funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) with a sum of €3.5m and exclusively devoted to gravitational physics will open its doors. A joint project of the Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg with an initial fundeding for 4.5 years, the graduate school also includes experts from Jacobs University as well as from the universities of Hannover, Bielefeld and Copenhagen.

In the last month, 2nd and 3rd December, of the fall semester 2011, the Ultimate Frisbee Team, went on their first tournament of this academic year. It was the famous Nikolausturnier of the University of Münster. Every year more than 2,000 athletes of different sports join this huge event together. 

Can climate protection be cool and exciting and discussed without wagging a finger? It surely can – as seen in Peter Byck’s striking documentary ‘Carbon Nation’, which will be shown on March 26 at Jacobs University’s Conrad Naber Lecture Hall.

Jacobs University is looking to intensify its relations with research and educational institutions in the State of Qatar. A university delegation recently visited the country in the Arabian Peninsula to investigate possible research collaborations and joint graduate programs.

Third-party funding at Jacobs University has experienced an enormous growth over the course of the last decade. A total of €87m has been acquired by Jacobs faculty members since 2002 achieving an average annual increase of 25% in the process.

Together with researchers from the Universities of Jena and Linz, Austria, as well as the opinion research agency Aproxima, Jacobs professor Klaus Boehnke, and his co-researchers David Schiefer and Anna Möllering conducted a comprehensive study on various facets of the lives and opinions of young Muslims in Germany (14 to 32 years). The Jacobs scientists focused on phone surveys as well as in-depth interviews with three generations of Muslim families, while the other research teams concentrated on analyzing media, such as internet forums primarily used by young Muslims as well as coverage of Muslim affairs on German, Turkish, and Arabic TV. The reception of the study, which was funded and recently published by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior (link for PDF download: see below), was highly controversial in the German media.

Jacobs students Katherine Christine Woolbright and Sandhya Karki are the winners of the Mercator Award 2011/2012. At the awards dinner at Mercator College on March 5, Sonka Stein on behalf of the Mercator Foundation honored the students for their outstanding social commitment and excellent academic performance at Jacobs.

Jacobs scientists develop new strategies of optimizing bio-
technological processes that harness the efficiency of microbes.

Jacobs University welcomed ambassadors from South Asia, South East Asia and Australia to a reception in honor of the Ostasiatische Verein zu Bremen (OAV), which is celebrating its 111th anniversary this year. The keynote speaker of the evening was Prof. Dr. Helmut Schwarz, President of the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation, who called for continued investment into research to sustain global economic progress.

Jacobs University’s first Artist in Residence has moved onto campus. Prof. Bill Seaman from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina will be spending four months at Jacobs to work with students and continue his media research. At Duke he is Professor of Visual and Media Studies in the Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies.

Jacobs University students Gabriel Bicu, Traian Chivriga, Adrian Sali and Anna Zorina will be on their way to London to take part in the regional finals of the annual Hult Global Case Challenge on February 25.

Ambassadors from East Asia, South East Asia and Australia will visit Jacobs on February 23 for an evening of debate and discussion.

A photo exhibition at the Bremische Bürgerschaft shows growing old in a new light. The images are the result of a competition held by the Leopoldina. The show opens on February 16 with Jacobs Dean and Leopoldina Vice President Ursula Staudinger as one of the guest speakers

This year’s Ergocup turned out to be a mixed bag of luck for Jacobs University’s rowing teams. While the Jacobs women’s four won the battle over 1000m, the men’s eight lost out to the HSBA in the 2000m race. This time it will be down to the HSBA to choose the rowing lane when they meet Jacobs University again at the Hanse Boat Race in Hamburg on May 5.

Jacobs University is at the helm of a new EU project with the aim to develop strategic planning instruments for cargo terminal managers and port authorities to reduce the carbon footprint of seaports and inland harbors. The Green EFFORTS project started in January; it involves eight industry and science partners and is coordinated by Jens Froese, Professor of Maritime Logistics at Jacobs. Green EFFORTS is financed mainly from EU funds totaling €3.2m Euro.

Jacobs University’s Alumni Association held its first board meeting of the year in Stockholm. The three-day meeting took place in the Swedish capital where treasurer of the board, Ewa Grzechnik, is based. The meeting was hosted by Sustainable Technology Fund.

“Sit ready! Attention! Row!” On February 11, the familiar chant will once again echo through Jacobs University’s Campus Center when rowers from across Germany compete at the Jacobs Ergocup 2012 in the Campus Center. More than 400 participants will test their strength on indoor rowing machines (ergometers).

Jacobs professor Immacolata Amodeo has been appointed Secretary General of Villa Vigoni, the renowned German-Italian Center for European Excellence in Loveno di Menaggio on Lake Como.

Jacobs students Philipp Mikio Herzberg and Frank Richter have been honored for their outstanding commitment to the campus community and their excellent academic performance. Both received awards endowed with €5000 from their respective colleges thanks to the generosity of the members of the Jacobs University Board of Governors.

The Bremen-based Kieserling Foundation extends its endowment of Jacobs University's’ Maritime Logistics professorship for a further three years.

Researchers at Jacobs University have generated a high-precision 3D model of Bremen’s city center using a so-called ThermalMapper. This particular mapping process was initially developed by Jacobs University scientists to thermographically model indoor environments in 3D. For the first time it has now been used to analyze heat distribution and heat flow in a large outdoor setting. ThermalMapper can identify thermal bridges in building which are responsible for heat loss. Mapping results can then be used to improve insulation and increase the energy efficiency of buildings.

More than 300 guests from the worlds of academia, politics and business attended the traditional New Year’s Reception held by the ‘unifreunde’ at the Obere Rathaushalle in Bremen on January 31.

On February 1, a new EU project to make huge amount of data from marine microorganisms available for research and biotechnological applications will be officially launched at Jacobs University with a three-day meeting. The Micro B3 project – the name stands for microbial biodiversity, bioinformatics and biotechnology – is financed by the EU with a total of € 9 million for a period of four years.
 

This upcoming spring semester the Jacobs community welcomes 23 new members on campus – visiting and exchange students from the United States and Russia.

Former Jacobs University student Mihai Cîrlănaru has been named ‘Romanian Student of the Year in Europe’ during a festive gala in Bucharest organized by the League of Romanian Students Abroad.

We have trawled through the Jacobs archive and compiled the ten most popular webnews from 2011 for you.

You poke, you like, you tweet, you follow, you +1 and you re-share? Then make Jacobs University a firm part of your social media life and join the Jacobs community online.

Jacobs University welcomes the first of this year's Winter School students on campus. The programs, which have seen a steady rise in interest, run until January 31.

It was an early Christmas for 224 kindergarten kids from Bremen-Nord who received presents from Jacobs’ Make-A-Wish project.

In cooperation with 16 partners from five countries, Jacobs University’s Maritime Logistics workgroup has delivered the first results of an EU-financed project to a multinational consortium in Brussels.

A group of Jacobs University PhD students (from Research Center VisComX) has started a six-month stay at Duke University in North Carolina as part of a new collaborative graduate education program. Four of the five graduates have already arrived at Duke University in Durham, one of the leading higher education institutions in the US. The last one is to follow in January.

It might not be leading up to a white Christmas just yet, but you can still get into the festive mood with Jacobs university’s very own choir. The members of J-Capella are performing the last one of a total of three Advent concerts at Schlachte in Bremen on December 18.

At this week’s Inter@act Exhibition, held at TheaterSpace on December 8, Jacobs students will be collecting money for Bremen-based charity BORDA (Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association), an organization that is devoted to improving sanitation in schools in developing countries.

Jacobs University welcomed representatives from world-leading companies on campus for a round table conference discussing the university’s new study program currently under the working title ‘Information Management and Systems’ (IMS). The new Bachelor of Science program is scheduled to start in September 2012.

Students from Jacobs University’s B-A-Link club have teamed up with local parents’ initiative EPSYMO e.V. to help fulfill Christmas wishes from children living in Bremen-Nord. EPSYMO works with children who have learning difficulties and come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Jacobs University professor Guido Möllering has co-edited a concise overview of quantitative and qualitative methods for the empirical study of trust in the social sciences.

Mihai Munteanu, a first-year mathematics student at Jacobs University was awarded the first Sparkasse Scholarship for Mathematics, endowed with €21,600. The 19-year-old Rumanian is the first recipient of the award, which was donated by Sparkasse Bremen. The scholarship will honor young mathematical talents at Jacobs University on an annual basis. Dr. Heiko Staroßom, member of the board at Sparkasse Bremen, handed over the prize during a presentation on campus.

Michele Gelfand, a soon-to-be visiting professor to the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), is one of seven humanities scholars and social scientists to be honored with the inaugural Anneliese Maier Research Award by the internationally renowned Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The awardees receive an endowment of €250,000 each to fund their collaborative research with German colleagues. BIGSSS is a joint “Excellence Initiative” graduate school by Jacobs University and the University of Bremen.

At a special awards ceremony Jacobs University acknowledged students and members of staff for academic excellence and community achievements.

The Northwestern European Regional Programming Contest (NWERC) 2011 is held at Jacobs University from November 25 to 27.

On November 21, Jacobs University welcomes representatives from global food manufacturer Kraft Foods on campus.

On November 16, Jacobs University is inviting leading company representatives and entrepreneurs from a variety of sectors to a special information event on campus.

On route to an education forum in Lisbon, high school counselors from across the globe have made a stop-over at Jacobs University to learn more about the campus.

On November 9, the German Red Cross awarded its ‘Helping Hands’ medal of honor to Jacobs University in recognition of the university’s social commitment thereby making the institution the first to receive this accolade in the Bremen region.

Jacobs University has been awarded the Entrepreneur Prize 2011 by the local business council Wirtschafts- und Strukturrat Bremen-Nord e.V. (WIR) acknowledging the importance of the institution for the region. The ceremony in front of a 150-strong audience took place on November 9th at Jacobs University’s Campus Center. The keynote speaker was Gerhard Harder, Chairman of the governing board of Sparkasse Bremen AG.

On November 8, Jacobs University honored former Bremen Senator Josef Hattig by naming one of its main conference rooms after him.

A group of exchange students in Bangkok – among them Jacobs undergraduate Eugenia Rosca – have launched a fundraising campaign for flood victims in Thailand.

On Wednesday, October 26, 2011 the presidium of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina together with some of their guests visited Jacobs University. In the morning the members and their guests met with Jacobs president Joachim Treusch, his management team and Jacobs researchers from different disciplines. A guided tour through theSocial and behavioural sciences labs rounded the campus visit.
 

globale° is taking off. This year a total of 16 male and female authors, the largest number to date, are participating in the 5th annual literature festival organized by Jacobs University and Radio Bremen. globale° – Festival for Cross-Border Literature takes place from October 21 to November 8.

Jacobs students Anna-Lena Schindl, 20, and Stephan Hürholz, 21, are bringing the first official TEDx event to the Jacobs campus. We have caught up with them during their final preparations for this unique discussion forum taking place at the Conrad Naber Lecture Hall on October 15, 2011.

In cooperation with the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI), Jacobs University will host an exclusive talk and discussion evening at the German House in New York on October 13. Nobel Prize laureate Prof. Dr. Eric R. Kandel, Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Columbia University, and Prof. Dr. Ursula Staudinger, Jacobs University Vice President and Dean of the Jacobs Center for Lifelong Learning, will deliver lectures at the event. The subject of the evening is ‘The Aging Brain'.

The fifth German LOFAR station DE605 has just been opened in the grounds of the Forschungszentrum Jülich, one of the biggest research centers in Europe. The new station is an integral part of the world’s largest digital radio telescope LOFAR – short for Low Frequency Array –and will contribute to measuring long-wave radio signals from dawn of the universe. LOFAR station DE605 has been built in cooperation with the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Jacobs University and the Forschungszentrum Jülich with funds provided by the Federal Ministry for Research and Education (BMBF).

While most students on the Jacobs campus had a lie-in and enjoyed their time off on the October 3 bank holiday, Jacobs University’s rowing teams got up early to compete in the Bremer Meisterschaften regatta on the local Werdersee. Senior rowers had long anticipated the first regatta of the season, while rowing newcomers nervously awaited their first races.

Christoph Lattemann, Professor of Business Administration and Information Management at Jacobs University, has had a busy few months as one of the five organizers of the 5th China Goes Global (CGG) research conference taking place at Harvard University from October 2 to 4.

Would you lend someone you hardly know a small amount of money? Are you open towards strangers asking for directions? If your answer is ‘yes’ to such questions, you are most likely a person who places general trust in fellow human beings. Social scientists and economists regard this particular kind of general trust as an important and valuable resource for a flourishing community. They know that a climate of strong trust in fellow citizens is doing a lot of good: it makes societies healthier and wealthier and democracies more vibrant.

Jacobs University’s alumni are supporting the next generation of students at Jacobs by funding new scholarships. At Jacobs University’s 10th Anniversary celebration Jacobs Alumni Association President Petar Perkovic officially announced the donation presenting the scholarship document to Joachim Treusch, President of Jacobs University.

On September 17, 2011, Jacobs University celebrated its 10th anniversary. Among the 1,500 invited guests were 250 Jacobs Alumni from all over the world as well as numerous representatives from the fields of science, politics and business. After a very successful first decade, Bremen’s international private university has many reasons to celebrate: The student body with currently 1,300 students from 110 nations has increased tenfold since the university’s opening; the number of study programs with more than 40 has tripled and the university has established itself as an internationally successful research institution. A special highlight of the anniversary festivities was a 1 Million Euro “Birthday-Donation” from Bremen’s business community.

On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, Jacobs University awarded its first honorary doctorate to German astrophysicist Reimar Lüst. He was honored for his outstanding lifetime achievements in the fields of space science and as a science manager.  The honorary doctorate was bestowed on September 17, 2011, as part of Jacobs University’s anniversary celebrations.

The Ambassador of People's Republic of Bangladesh to Germany, His Excellency Mosud Mannan, recently paid a visit to Jacobs University, accompanied by Consul Honorary Consulate Dr. Ralph-Hillard Geuther.

On September 1, Jacobs University starts the new academic year with a record number of students: 1290 students from 110 nations are now living and studying on campus, amongst them 677 undergraduates, 603 graduates and 10 international foundation year students. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Jacobs University has seen its student body increase tenfold since its opening in September 2001. The number of freshmen now stands at 403, an increase of 25% compared to last year. The most popular undergraduate program this year is physics with a growth of 80%.

On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, Jacobs University awards its first honorary doctorate to German astrophysicist Reimar Lüst. He will be honored for his outstanding lifetime achievements in the fields of space science and as a science manager.  The honorary doctorate will be bestowed on September 17, 2011, as part of Jacobs University’s anniversary celebrations.

At the end of July, Jacobs University invited 38 German candidates, who had been offered a place at Jacobs, to its first Scholarship Days. During the two-and-a-half-day event the students had the opportunity to compete for one of the new ‘Jacobs Scholarships for a Global Understanding’. Ten students have now been chosen and will receive scholarships ranging from full to half tuition for all three years of study at Jacobs University. They will return to the Bremen campus in time for the start of Orientation Week on August 25.

Jacobs University’s Alumni Association Board gathered in London for its second meeting of the year. Nine board members attended the two-day event, which took place at the European headquarters of global investment bank Morgan Stanley in Canary Wharf.

Fantastic news for Jacobs Alumna Amanda Valeta: The 24-year-old from Zimbabwe, who graduated from Jacobs University with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Cell Biology (BCCB) in 2009, will receive the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) International Student Research Fellowship.

Find out all about Jacobs University’s host family program, which has been running for more than ten years, during an information evening taking place on August 4 at 6.30 at the Conrad Naber Lecture Hall (Reimar Lüst building).

From July 26, ten of the top German applicants will be chosen for Jacobs University's latest scholarship offer 'Jacobs Scholarships for Global Understanding‘.

Arvid Kappas, emotion researcher and Professor of Psychology at Jacobs University, and Nicole C. Krämer, Professor of Social Psychology and expert in Media and Communication at University of Duisburg Essen, are co-editors and contributors to ‘Face-to-Face Communication over the Internet’, published by renowned Cambridge University Press as part of its ’Studies in Emotional and Social Interaction’ series.

Jacobs University researcher Dr. Angelo Pio Rossi is featured in a National Geographic documentaryon the origins of the Sirente crater in Italy which was screened on the Australian subsidiary of the channel.

Do you enjoy communicating with people from all over the world? Are you interested in other cultures? Would you like to broaden your horizon and help young students from foreign countries to get to know Bremen?Jacobs University is looking for families, single people and couples to participate in its host family program.

When Jacobs students return to campus on August 25 they will be able to sample new food menus at their college serveries provided by Jacobs’ new caterer Apetito. The Rheine-based company has been operating on the German catering market for more than 50 years and counts Vitakraft, Velux, Mobilcom and Eurogate BLG among their 600-strong customer base.

The WE-Heraeus International Physics School ‘Computer Simulations on Nanotechnology for the Environment’, which has just started at Jacobs University’s Conrad Naber Lecture Hall and continues until July 15, will feature some high-profile speakers from the field of environmental nanotechnology.

On June 30, 2011, a delegation from the University of Johannesburg consisting of the Dean of the Faculty of Science, Prof. Kinta Burger, and the Head of the Geology Department, Prof. Bruce Cairncross, visited Jacobs University.

The MS Wissenschaft, Germany’s science exhibition river freighter, is on tour again with her special cargo: This year it is the interactive presentation “New ways in medicine”. Jacobs health researchers under the lead of Adele Diederich, Professor of Psychology, contributed by creating an exhibit based on their research on “Prioritizing in Medizine”. During its three-month cruise from May 19 to September 29, the MS Wissenschaft will call at port in 35 German and Austrian cities.

Starting on July 2, Jacobs University will host the International Mathematical Summer school under the auspices of the pan-European network "European Campus of Excellence". The summer school will bring together top international mathematicians with especially talented pupils and students.

On June 14, 2011, Professor Dr. Jürgen Trabant, Jacobs Professor of European Plurilingualism, was awarded the official title of Commendatore by decree of the President of Italy. This title is bestowed to individuals who are given this honour in the Italian Order of Merit known as the Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana.

As one of the first universities in Germany Jacobs University is changing over to LED technology, a more efficient alternative to energy-saving light bulbs and fluorescent tubes.

Jacobs Wisdom Professor Roland Benz will be awarded an honorary doctorate from Umeå University in Sweden. He will be one of two professors to be honored by the faculty of medicine at Umeå University in October.

Why can people kiss in public in European countries, while in Singapore or Japan it is considered a taboo? Why are demonstrations an acceptable form of public protest in Germany, while in China demonstrators are often severely punished? Why do East German pedestrians wait at a red traffic light whereas West Germans often just cross the street? Appropriate behavior in one culture is often regarded as out of bounds in another society.

Eleven branch managers of the Bremen-based international logistics company Röhlig, working in Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, and the USA, have participated in an individualized coaching and training program developed in close cooperation with Jacobs University. The qualification program, Röhlig’s so-called “Blue Arena”, is designed to support the company’s high potentials, who are targeting the position of country directors, in the development of value-oriented leadership skills.

Jacobs University’s graduates have again reached a highly impressive success rate of 94% as a total of 369 students from 66 nations finished their studies at Germany’s only English-language university. 222 students left the Jacobs campus with a Bachelor degree, 85 earned a Master and 62 received their PhD. 

You can find press material and a downloadable image gallery here.

A team of Jacobs University students has won the ‘Road to Innovative Social Entrepreneurship – Pakistan’ (RISE-Pakistan) competition held at the University of Chicago.

On May 25th Katja Windt runs for election for the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Post AG. She is one of two designated successors for outgoing members. Among the shareholders' representatives within the Supervisory Board she will be the first woman to join, while on the employees’ representatives’ side women already hold 50% of the positions. 41-year-old Windt holds the Bernd Rogge Chair of Global Production Logistics at Jacobs University since 2008.

Karen Smith Stegen, Professor of Renewable Energies and Environmental Politics, KAEFER Chair for Renewable Energies and Environmental Politics, gave her inaugural lecture at Jacobs University on May 23. The new professorship has initially been endowed for five years by Bremen-based KAEFER Isoliertechnik GmbH & Co. KG, the world’s largest independent provider of insulations solutions.

Four Jacobs students have developed practical location solutions for Bremen-based logistics firm Egerland as part of the company's “Strategic Challenge Competition”. Tonalli Arreola Chavez, Muharrem Ergin, Veneta Ilieva and Eugenia Rosca - undergraduates in 'International Logistics Management and Engineering' - convinced the jury with an elaborate computer program, which is now being used by Egerland as a basis for the company’s future strategic orientation.

Four Jacobs undergraduate students are travelling to Chicago this week to take part in the finals of the ‘Road to Innovative Social Entrepreneurship – Pakistan’ (RISE-Pakistan) competition. Ten international teams will be participating in the last round of the contest at the University of Chicago from May 19 to 21.

Jacobs University student Dragos Mihai is the winner of the first College Nordmetall Award. The 21-year-old student has been chosen by the award committee for his many involvements with the Jacobs community including the creation of campus theater TheaterSpace.

Jacobs University and the Medienarchiv Günter Grass Stiftung have extended their cooperation with a translation project initiated by Donate Fink, Managing Director of the Medienarchiv, and Jacobs student Philip Herzberg.

Hydrothermal vents in the sea floor release large volumes of hot, metal-rich fluids into the deep ocean. Until recently, it was assumed that most of the released metal is deposited as minerals in the close vicinity of the springs while the net flux of into the open ocean is negligible. However, new research results from Andrea Koschinsky, Professor of Geosciences at Jacobs University, and Sylvia Sander from the University of Otago, New Zealand, suggest that organic compounds bind the hydrothermally derived metals, forming water-soluble complexes, which are easily transported by the water currents, thus significantly increasing the flux of bio-available trace metals into the ocean’s open water column (Nature Geoscience, DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1088).

The Robotics Group from Jacobs University finished second at the 'Solutions in Perception Challenge' held during the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Shanghai, China. The team was closley beaten by UC Berkeley. Stanford University came third.

Jacobs professor Hildegard Meyer-Ortmanns, Professor of Physics, and Stefan Thurner, head of the Complex Systems Research Group at Medical University of Vienna are co-editors of "Principles of Evolution", published by the renowned Springer publishing house as part of its prestigious “Frontiers Collection” series. With contributions from a team of leading experts, this volume provides a comprehensive survey of recent achievements in today’s scientific understanding of evolution.

On May 6, 2011 Jacobs University Bremen celebrated the Homecoming 2011 of the Executive MBA in European Utility Management (EUM). This worldwide unique part-time Executive MBA program is especially designed for managers and high potentials from the utility industries and since its launch in 2004 the alumni and student body has grown to 68 participants. For the first time in history of the study program, the homecoming of the students and alumni was combined with the meeting of the EUM advisory board, in order to encourage an exchange among all who make the program’s success possible.

Jacobs University’s Spring Open House was hailed a great success by visitors and organizers alike. Over the course of the day hundreds of prospective students interested in applying to Jacobs visited the campus in Bremen. Some were joined by their families who took the opportunity to take a closer look at the great variety of programs and excellent study conditions offered at Jacobs.

Jacobs researchers have found abnormally high levels of lanthanum, one of the rare earth elements, in the Rhine River. In their study published in the scientific journal ‘Environment International’, Michael Bau, Professor of Geoscience at Jacobs University, and Jacobs PhD student Serkan Kulaksiz report a contamination of the river over a length of more than 400km (248 miles) downstream of the German city of Worms.

At its recent general assembly in Heidelberg the Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (HRK) – German Rectors’ Conference – has accepted Jacobs University as a new member.

Jacobs University got excellent marks in the the latest ranking by Germany’s Center for Higher Education Development (CHE) and renowned German newspaper DIE ZEIT.  In the fields of sociology and political sciences Jacobs counts among the best universities in Germany and neighboring countries.

From April 29 to May 1, 2011 Jacobs University played host to ten college counselors from international schools in Europe. Supporting high school students in their college search, the counselors from Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, Wales, Norway and Germany had a chance to get to know Jacobs first hand. The small group included three representatives from the United World Colleges, one public Swedish school and several international schools.

What a result! Jacobs University’s rowing teams were unbeatable winning all three competitions at the Hanse Boat Race in Hamburg on April 30. The Jacobs coxed eight won the 2300m main race against the Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA) by at least one and half lengths. Our sporting heroes defended their trophy, which will now stay in Bremen for the third year running. The back-up team and women's four also flew the flag for Jacobs winning their races over 1000m by two lengths and one length respectively.

Three teams from Jacobs University have come out tops in the inaugural JacoBus Challenge business competition. The winners submitted business ideas dealing with the set topic of “Education, Information and Communication”.

Students from around the globe will meet at Jacobs on April 28 to present their business solutions for the Jacobs Business Challenge (JacoBus) 2011. This year students from all over Europe were asked to examine the topic of Education, Information and Communication.

For the last five days Jacobs University has been in the grips of BRIMUN, short for Bremen International Model United Nations. In committee sessions following the rules and procedures of the United Nations, students, each representing a UN country, have been debating the issue of Health.

At the recent alumni reunion in Berkeley the Jacobs University Foundation of America welcomed three members from the Alumni Association to its fold. Jacobs alumni Elma Kurtagic, Mike Kujanek and Benjamin Liebald are now officially members of the board.

Spring has sprung and most of you will already be enjoying your well-earned break in the sunshine.

Each year 35% of perishable foods are thrown away before reaching the consumer. In many cases a lack of refrigeration or insufficient cooling during transport lead to food decay and waste, say logistics experts at Jacobs University. After studying worldwide food transportation they found that disruptions in the cooling process could be attributed to communication errors and disorganization at the interface of transportation.

It's MUN time again at Jacobs University. From April 17 to 21, students from around the world can experience first-hand the realities of international policy making as part of the 9th Bremen International Model United Nations (BRIMUN) conference.

After a successful kick-off at Jacobs University the workshop “Better Soils for Better Life” entered its next round in Brazil. From April 9 to 16 leading soil and environment specialists from Germany and Brazil gathered at Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture in Piracicaba and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation Rio de Janeiro to exchange research results and views on soil improvement - among them co-organizers Andrea Koschinsky, Jacobs Professor of Geosciences, and Geert Smid, PhD-student at Jacobs University’s Geochemistry Workgroup.

Jacobs University’s Alumni Association is gearing up for its first major meeting in the US this year. Together with the Jacobs University Foundation of America, Jacobs Alumni President Petar Perkovic has organized a reunion at the Faculty Club of the prestigious UC Berkeley in California on April 9th.

Jacobs University’s first Executive Master Program tailor-made to the specific demands of the oil and gas industry has started on April 7. President Prof. Dr. Joachim Treusch welcomed the first eight participants to the new Executive MSc in Basin & Petroleum System Dynamics on campus in Bremen.

The Rotaract Club at Jacobs University has organized a ShelterBox fundraiser. The box containing a large tent, cooking utensils and much more will be sent to Japan.

In July Jacobs University will host a number of summer schools under the auspices of the pan-European network "European Campus of Excellence". The series will bring together top international mathematicians with especially talented pupils and students.

On Wednesday, March 30, Hans Vriens, Chief Innovation Officer with Barry Callebaut AG, will recruit at Jacobs University. Together with his colleague Bregt Uyttenhove, Junior Product Development Engineer, he is looking for talented university graduates with an international outlook to join Barry Callebaut's global trainee program “Yourfuture@BC”. More than 25 Jacobs students who applied in the run-up to the recruitment event will be interviewed for positions in the areas of sales and marketing, finance and controlling, sourcing, innovations, operations as well as quality assurance.

Jacobs University and Universität Oldenburg to cooperate on teaching and research.

Hochschule Bremen and Jacobs University have signed an agreement to strengthen Bremen as a business and science location.

For his latest work "Glück. The World Book of Happiness", which has just hit the shelves in Germany, Belgian author Leo Bormans collected research findings by more than 100 leading scientists from all over the world — two of them also from Jacobs University. Prof. Dr. Jan Delhey, Professor of Sociology, and Ph.D student Katja Uglanova present their thoughts on the relationship between wealth and happiness and the importance of significant life changes as a deciding factor for individual happiness.

Recently our Zimbabwean students introduced friends and fellow students at Jacobs University to their country’s culture, music and traditions at Country Information Day (CID) Zimbabwe. We sent our photographer along to capture the flair and special atmosphere of evening for you. See some of the best pictures of the night below.

This spring semester marks the start of a special student project at Jacobs University. From March a group of Jacobs students works closely with children from Oberschule an der Lerchenstraße, a secondary school in Bremen-Vegesack. Through project-based learning, the undergraduates teach youngsters to develop their leadership skills and to initiate positive change within their community. The students involved represent a regional chapter of the Yachay Initiative, a world-wide organization mainly founded by Jacobs alumni. Supported by Jacobs Foundation, Jacobs University and DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) the Yachay Initiative not only aims to support fifth graders from Vegesack, but also school children all around the world.

The tragic and very worrying events in Japan dominate headlines around the world. Germany’s flagship TV news program “Tagesschau” interviewed Prof. Dr. Alexander Lerchl, Professor of Biology at Jacobs University and member of Germany’s Federal Commission on Radiological Protection, about the consequences of a possible meltdown at the nuclear reactors in Fukushima.

Please click here for the German-language interview.

On March 9, 2011, Dr. Autun Purser, Postdoc of OceanLab at Jacobs University, gave an exciting insight into the life under water for a group of school children from the International School Bremen. The youngsters got a chance to conduct their own experiments at the OceanLab in order to prepare for their school’s science fair on water awareness.

Five of our undergraduates are travelling to London this weekend to take part in the $1-million Hult Global Case Challenge. The prestigious contest, organized by Hult International Business School in the US, aims to tackle tough social challenges around the globe by encouraging the world’s best and brightest business students to come up with innovative solutions. In the second stage of the competition taking place simultaneously in London, San Francisco, Boston, Dubai and Shanghai a total of 142 business schools and universities will be competing for a place in the final in New York City on April 28.

On March 2, 2011, Jacobs University’s deep-sea crawler “Wally” received its distinction as “Selected Landmark” in the nationwide innovation contest “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas”. The smart machine – the world’s first research robot that can be operated via Internet and supply a live stream of data and webcam videos from the ocean floor – was chosen from in total 2,600 contestants. This is the third time Jacobs University has been honored as one of the nation’s outstanding think tanks by the initiative “Germany – Land of Ideas”, a joint venture of Germany’s federal government and economy sector represented by the Federation of German Industries (BDI).

On February 24, Jacobs University hosted a panel discussion about the challenges faced by a university of the 21st century. Prof Joachim Treusch, President of Jacobs University, welcomed diplomatic dignitaries from Asia as well as high-ranking representatives of German academia. The event, which attracted a 200-strong audience, was organized by the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Donors Association of Sciences and Humanities) and the Ostasiatischer Verein (OAV).

Jacobs University’s Alumni are gearing up for a busy year. At their recent board meeting the Alumni Association defined priorities for 2011 and set out a long-term vision for the organization. Members from the UK, Sweden and different parts of Germany attended the two-day conference which took place at a rather unusual location, the MTV headquarters in Berlin.

This year the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humankind are celebrated worldwide as part of the Unesco’s International Year of Chemistry (IYC 2011). At Jacobs University we are taking part in the activities and have started a public lecture series on March 2.

Jacobs University’s male and female rowing teams are celebrating after another victory in the hard-fought rowing battle with students from the Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA). During Saturday’s Ergocup, an indoor rowing competition on ergo-meters held at Jacobs University's Campus Center, the teams under trainer Lars Schröder won both the male eight race over 2000 meters and the female four over 1000 meters.

Ulrich Kortz, Professor of Chemistry at Jacobs University, and his team report the synthesis of a novel, discrete noble metal-oxide, containing a record number of 22 palladium atoms, as well as two central copper ions. In addition to its high catalytic potential, this {Cu2Pd22} cluster compound also exhibits very unusual intramolecular magnetic interactions. The study, which has now been published as a “Very Important Paper” in the Angewandte Chemie International Edition (DOI: 10.1002/anie.201006734), opens new perspectives for a better understanding of noble-metal particulate based oxidation catalysis as well as intramolecular magnetic phenomena of importance in materials and life sciences.

Jacobs University’s theatre group Jacobs Players are taking on a classic play by great German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. On February 26th and 27th twelve male and female students will stage Goethe's Faust at the campus' TheaterSpace.

Jacobs University student Sebastian Blümmert is the first recipient of the inaugural Krupp College Award. The 21-year-old German has been chosen by the Krupp College Award Committee for his excellent academic performance and exceptional College and University commitment. Thanks to the generosity of the Jacobs University Board of Governors Sebastian Blümmert will receive 5000 Euros. From now on the new award is presented annually to one 2nd or 3rd year undergraduate or graduate student residing at Krupp College.

Jacobs University participates in the European Integrated Project RobLog (Cognitive Robot for Automation of Logistic Processes) on robotics development for logistics processes. Funded for a four-years-period with a total budget of 7,86 million Euros by the European Union, five European research teams and two companies join forces for the research project on cognitive systems and robotics. The Jacobs scientists under the lead of professor Andreas Birk receives 1,42 million Euros of the project money to contribute the robots' 3D perception in challenging scenarios. The project starts on February 1, 2011.

Jacobs University welcomes a group of 28 new guest students from the United States and Italy, who arrived on January 25th and will join the campus community for the upcoming spring semester. The visit is based on the well-established cooperation with Lafayette College, a university with excellent undergraduate teaching located in Pennsylvania. The 26 Lafayette students, who are accompanied by their professor Bill Hornfeck and his wife Shirley, will be staying until June 1st. In addition, an Erasmus student from the University of Cagliari (Italy) will be joining the Lafayette group, as well as an exchange student from Rice University in Houston, Texas.

You poke, you like, you tweet, you follow, you shout out, you send love messages and you know what this is all about? Then make Jacobs University part of your social media activities - the Jacobs community does not only exist on campus it also exists online.

Hilke Brockmann and Jan Delhey, Jacobs Professors of Sociology and members of Jacobs University’s Happiness Research Group, have organized an experts' workshop themed „Is more always better?“ taking place at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg (HWK - Institute for Advanced Study) in Delmenhorst from January 13 to 15, 2011. Sponsored by Fritz Thyssen Stiftung, the interdisciplinary forum aims at exploring the paradigm of maximization from the perspective of human happiness.

In December, the Jacobs student club “B-a-link” supported by Jacobs University and “Epsymo”, a local parents' alliance for psychomotor development advancement set up the initiative "Make a Wish". This Christmas present drive collected wish lists of children from disadvantaged families and tried to fulfil the wishes.

Despite extensive efforts over many decades food researchers were not able to chemically characterize the so-called thearubigins, which comprise 60 to 70 % of all black tea solubles and provide flavor and the typical reddish-brown color to tea infusions. Now, by adapting an ultra high resolution mass spectrometry method originally developed for petrol research, a German-British research team headed by Jacobs chemist Nikolai Kuhnert for the first time was able to provide evidence for the presence of up to 10,000 different compounds in the thearubigin fraction of black tea; molecular formulas were assigned to about 1,500 of them. (see Rapid Communication in Mass Spectrometry, DOI: 10.1002/rcm.4778)

Only a few more days until the examination period is over and every Jacobs students will have taken this semester’s final exams. A time of ease and comfort lies ahead. Even if the campus community will be able to enjoy the usual services during winter break and intersession, there are yet some special events and variations to note:

The Christmas present drive “Make a wish” is still on until December 15th. Five Christmas trees on campus - one in each college and one at Reimar-Lüst-Hall’s coffee corner - are draped with wish lists of children from disadvantaged families. Every Jacobs community member has the chance to make a kid very happy by picking a wish list, getting one of the presents listed and bringing it to the Porters, MA 329, MC 220 or MC 101 until Wednesday. The presents will be delivered directly to the children just before Christmas.

The new internet platform facilitates the finding and approaching of outstanding female scientists in the German-speaking world. “AcademiaNet” was launched on November 2, 2010. Academia net promotes excellent female scientists, among them Adele Diederich, Jacobs Professor of Psychology, Brigitte Kudielka, Jacobs Professor of Health Psychology, Ursula M. Staudinger, Jacobs Vice President and Dean, and Katja Windt, Bernd Rogge Professor of Global Production Logistics at Jacobs University. “AcademiaNet’s” main objective is to increase the visibility of women’s excellent performances in academia and promote careers like Diederich's, Kudielka's, Staudinger's and Windt’s.

In the spirit of the Mercator Award, College III, Krupp and Nordmetall will now also be awarding endowed prizes to one of their student residents to recognize special social commitment and excellent academic achievement. On December 5 College III bestowed the new award to Anna-Lena Schindl, a second year undergraduate student from Germany. The Alfried Krupp College will award their prize in February while College Nordmetall will bestow their award in April. The prizes are donated by the Jacobs Board of Governors and the employers’ association NORDMETALL. Each prize is endowed with 5.000 Euro.

The laureates of the Mercator Award 2010 are the 23-year-old German Oliver Barnstedt and the 22-year-old Romanian Mihai Cîrlănaru, who have distinguished themselves through outstanding social commitment and excellent academic achievements. Endowed with 5,000 Euros each, the prize is awarded annually to one 2nd year and one 3rd year undergraduate student resident at Mercator College. The awards were bestowed on December 2, the death day anniversary of the foundations name patron, 16th-century cartographer Gerhard Mercator.

His inaugural visit to Bremen on December 1st, 2010, leads the new Israeli Envoy Emmanuel Nahshon to Jacobs University. After being welcomed by President Treusch, Nahshon will take the time to learn more about Jacobs University and gain insight into current research by visiting laboratories.

On Tuesday night the curtain rose for a special event: the first Fundraising-Highlight Show of the Jacobs Players. Jacobs students presented musical, dance and drama performances to more than eighty invited guests from the fields of Bremen industry, politics and society.

Jacobs University receives about 353,000 Euros for research on cultural learning and interaction within the eCUTE project funded by the EU with 2.4 Mio Euros in total. Focusing on pedagogical approaches to education in cultural understanding, the project includes experts in emotion and cultural psychology, artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, affective and cultural computing, and virtual reality. Project leader at Jacobs University is Arvid Kappas, Professor of Psychology.The eCUTE consortium with eight partner institutions in the UK, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, and Japan has begun its work in September 2010 for a three year period.

On Saturday, November 20, the Ambassador of Nepal to Germany, His Excellency Suresh Prasad Pradhan, together with his wife Nirmala Pradhan visited Jacobs University.

Jacobs University officially opened its new, cutting-edge Video Lecturing Room at South Hall on Wednesday, November 24, 2010, at 4 p.m. Equipped with a state-of-the-art e-learning conference system the facilities allow for world-wide, interactive lectures and academic discussions for up to 100 persons and eight different parties. The installation of the multimedia system especially designed for distance learning had been initiated by Jens Froese, Kieserling-Stiftung Distinguished Professor of Maritime Logistics, and was kindly supported by WFB Bremen Economic Development.

Brigitte Kudielka, Jacobs Professor of Health Psychology, has been elected full member of theAcademy of Science in Hamburg (Akademie der Wissenschaften in Hamburg).  Within the working group “Neuroscience in society” Kudielka intends to promote a well-informed public debate on the latest findings in neuroscience. Membership to the academy is admitted to exceptional scientists from Northern Germany who stand out due to academic excellence, interdisciplinarity and internationality.

Using a newly developed method, geochemists Michael Bau and Andrea Koschinsky together with their team at Jacobs University analyzed the distribution of rare earth elements in mussel shells. The mussels, which live in the hot deep-sea environments of hydrothermal vents, chiefly incorporate the rare earth europium into their shells as it typically occurs in especially high concentrations in hydrothermal fluids. These fluids also carry high loads of other metals, which is why hydrothermal vent sites often develop into rich ore deposits over time. As indicators of old inactive vent sites, fossil europium-rich mussel shells therefore might be useful tracers in the hunt for potentially profitable submarine ore bodies.

On November 17, the Jacobs community gathered on the special occasion of the annual bestowal of university awards – a highlight for students, faculty and staff.

On November 13, 2010, Jacobs University welcomes guidance counselors of international English-language schools from different countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the United States. In a three-day visiting program the guests are being introduced to Jacobs academic and residential life programs as well as to the city of Bremen.

A high-ranking delegation from Dalian, Bremen’s Chinese sister city, visits Jacobs University on November 9, 2010. Headed by Huai Zhongmin, President of the Dalian People’s Congress, the group of all in all seven representatives was sent out to explore further opportunities of cooperation with Jacobs University.

On November 9, 2010, the association »unifreunde e. V. Bremen« awarded the 2010 Prize of the Sparkasse Bremen, for outstanding academic cooperation in the field of Gravitational Physics between scientists of Bremen’s two universities: The laureates are Dr. Betti Hartmann, Lecturer in Physics at Jacobs University, and Prof. Dr. Claus Lämmerzahl, Head of the Fundamental Physics Department of the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen. The scientists received the award, which is endowed with 10,000 euros prize money, for their joint project »The search for cosmic strings as a test for string theory«, amongst others.

On November 7, 2010, Phytolutions GmbH received its distinction as “Selected Landmark” in the nationwide innovation contest “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas”. The company was chosen from more than 2,200 contestants. Founded as Jacobs University’s first spin-off in 2008 by oceanographer Claudia Thomsen, Bremen entrepreneur Stefan Rill and Jacobs University’s investment company JCBS Holding GmbH, Phytolutions develops and markets research-intensive procedures and technologies for the efficient use of marine algae as a source for biofuels, chemicals, animal feed and building materials, amongst others. Moreover, it provides consulting and research in the field of photosynthetic CO2 mitigation in industrial exhaust gases.

On November 5, 2010, Jacobs University bid farewell to its fifth successful class of the part-time Executive MBA program in European Utility Management (EUM). Fourteen graduates from various European countries, who work for major and well-known utility companies, received their final degree and are ready to support their respective home companies with their enriched skills and capabilities.

A new internet platform facilitates the finding and approaching of outstanding female scientists in the German-speaking world. “AcademiaNet” was officially launched on November 2, 2010, by German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel. The platform’s activation at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Science was attended by Germany’s top 100 female scientists, among them Adele Diederich, Jacobs Professor of Psychology, Brigitte Kudielka, Jacobs Professor of Health Psychology, Ursula M. Staudinger, Jacobs Vice President and Dean, and Katja Windt, Bernd Rogge Professor of Global Production Logistics at Jacobs University. “AcademiaNet’s” main objective is to increase the visibility of women’s excellent performances in academia and promote careers like Diederich's, Kudielka's, Staudinger's and Windt’s.

Starting in January 2011, Thomas Heine, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Jacobs University, will receive a “Starting Independent Researcher Grant” from the European Research Council (ERC), which supports up-and-coming research leaders over a period of five years with in total 1.5 Mio euros while implementing a research idea of highly innovative potential. Heine will use his grant to establish and develop Computational Combinatorial Chemistry as a future-oriented method with a wide range of possible applications in the design of materials as well as active ingredients. Furthermore, the novel method will be used for applied research in the field of “Renewable Energies”.

Ab Januar 2011 erhält Thomas Heine, Professor of Theoretical Physics an der Jacobs University, ein „Starting Independent Researcher Grant“ in Höhe von 1,5 Mio. Euro, mit dem der Europäische Forschungsrat (European Research Council ERC) herausragende Nachwuchswissenschaftler über einen Zeitraum von fünf Jahren bei der Realisierung einer Forschungsidee mit hohem Innovationspotential unterstützt. Die jetzt bewilligten Mittel dienen zum einen der Etablierung und Weiterentwicklung der computerbasierten kombinatorischen Chemie als zukunftsweisende Methode in der Material- und Wirkstoffentwicklung. Darüber hinaus soll die neue Methode im Bereich „Erneuerbare Energien“ auch auf konkrete Projekte angewendet werden.

A conference themed „Research-based learning - Didactical concepts in academia and international perspectives“ will be hosted by Jacobs University as well as the Universities of Oldenburg and Bremen from November 3 to 5, 2010. Sponsored by NOWETAS foundation , the interdisciplinary forum aims at promoting the highly relevant didactical principle of research-based learning in university teaching. The conference target groups are teachers, faculty, junior scientists and students. Attendance is free of charge and requires no prior registration.

On Friday, October 22, Jürgen B. Steinemann, CEO of Barry Callebaut AG, visited Jacobs University. On the occasion of his visit to the Jacobs Campus, Steinemann was welcomed by President Joachim Treusch and Christian Jacobs, President of the Jacobs Foundation and Jacobs University COO Dr. Thorsten Thiel. After a first introduction, the head of Barry Callebaut AG took the time to learn more about Jacobs University and toured the campus.

From October 26 through November 6 Jacobs University plays host to the fourth globale°-Festival for cross border literature. Together with Radio Bremen Jacobs University has organized the diverse event program. Visitors can expect an attractive mix of readings, exhibitions, lectures, films and workshops. This year, the festival was honored by the UNESCO as part of the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures.

On Sunday, October 17, the super-six matches and the final of NDCV Indoor Cricket Championships, were played at Gottingen University’s sports hall, in Gottingen. 6 teams that qualified to compete for the final were Jacobs University, HSV1, HSV3, HSV4, Göttingen University and PACC.

President Joachim Treusch signed a mutual exchange agreement with the traditional Dalian high school.

Former Jacobs phd student Hany Elsawy received the publication award by the Egyptian Misr El-kheir foundation. The selection of papers depend on the Impact factor of the scientific journal.

On September 28, 2010, Professor Dr. Ursula M. Staudinger, dean of the Jacobs Center and vice president of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, was appointed by the Presidium of the Academy to be the first commissioner for international affairs.

The first participants of the newly introduced International Foundation Year Program have arrived on Jacobs campus. Hailing from 5 countries, the group of consists of 10 high school graduates. 5 additional students are expected to join the program in the coming days. Jacobs University’s International Foundation Year Program provides them with the opportunity to gain fundamental subject orientation and acquire the needed prerequisites to conquer admission hurdles. Before their classes start on October 4, 2010, the participants are being introduced to campus life, academics and their teaching staff during three Orientation Days.

"Sunflowers, Morale, Framing and a Natural Experiment" is the title of the inaugural lecture that Achim Schlüter, Professor of Social Systems and Ecological Economics at Jacobs University, will give at the University Club on September 29, 2010. The English language lecture starts at 7 p.m. and will be followed by a reception.

On September 26, 2010, Ursula M. Staudinger, Vice President of Jacobs University and President of the German Psychological Society (DGPs), opens the 47th Congress of the German Psychological Society in Bremen. This gathering of psychologists engaged in research and teaching takes place from September 26 to 30, 2010, at the Bremen Exhibition & Conference Centre. Themed „Explaining, Deciding, Planning” it focuses on the social relevance of psychology and, thus, highlights genuine psychological expertise.

Astronomers from Jacobs University, Leiden University and Thüringer Landessternwarte have discovered a massive collision between two clusters of galaxies. Using observations made with radio telescopes in the Netherlands, India and the US they found a gigantic shock wave that is about 100 times the length of our own Milky Way. In this region, particles are accelerated to energies a million times higher than those at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. The observations of the shock wave provide the first direct evidence for a more than 30 year old theory that explained how this process works. The confirmation of this theory is crucial to understanding how clusters of galaxies form. The results will be published in the prestigious journal Science. A reprint of the article is available on Science Express .

On September 10, 2010, alumni and friends of one of the youngest universities in the world - Jacobs - gathered at the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States - Harvard. At the Harvard University Faculty Club, 30 members of Jacobs University’s Alumni Association and the Jacobs University Foundation of America got together for renewing their bonds, catching up on each others’ careers and learning about the latest developments at Jacobs University.

When the leaves are falling, the wind is blowing, the rain is pouring down and the academic year is on its way, then it is time for the olympic games on campus! Studying hard is only one side of student life on Jacobs campus. Fun, sports and team spirit is also part of the Jacobs experience.

The Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte (GDNÄ, Society of German Natural and Medical Scientists) awarded Joachim Treusch, President of Jacobs University, with the Lorenz-Oken-Medal on September 17, 2010. In doing so, the oldest German scientists’ association honors Treusch as an outstanding communicator between science and the public whose manifold activities have contributed significantly to a better common understanding of scientific topics.

Increasing student numbers along with the growing importance of college sports prompt Jacobs University to reconstruct its existing sports facilities into an architecturally demanding state-of-the-art “Sports and Convention Center”. The design stems from internationally renowned Swiss architectMax Dudler who has conceptualized a multifunctional building on a gross building area of 4.500 square meters that may serve as a venue both for sports and major events with up to 1,500 guests. The construction works are expected to be completed in the middle of 2011.

On September 1, 2010, Jacobs University starts into its tenth academic year with 630 Bachelor students and 580 students in Graduate programs. With a total of 1210 students from 104 nations the Jacobs campus is as international as never before. Of particularly interest to the 215 freshmen is the new Bachelor program “Global Economics and Management”.

Am 1. September 2010 startet die Jacobs University Bremen mit 630 Bachelor-Studierenden und 580 Studenten in Graduiertenprogrammen in ihr zehntes akademisches Jahr. Mit insgesamt 1210 jungen Menschen aus 104 Nationen ist der Jacobs-Campus so international wie nie zuvor. Besonders beliebt bei den 215 Studienanfängern ist der neue Bachelor-Studiengang „Global Economics and Management“.

On August 31, 2010, Jacobs University held a ground-breaking ceremony together with Bremen’s Senator for Economics and Ports to celebrate the start of the site development and construction work for a Science Park in the direct campus neighborhood. Four hectares, equipped with state-of-the-art buildings and infrastructure, will provide research and technology oriented companies with space for future establishment. The first construction project, a multi-purpose building with a combined area of 3.500 square meters for “Jacobs University Science & Technology Transfer”, is expected to be ready for occupancy in 2012.

Over 330 Freshmen and their families are arriving on Jacobs University campus as the university's tenth academic year begins. August 25 is the first day for most of the newcomers, undergraduate freshmen and graduate students, on the campus of their new Alma Mater. Until the official start of term on September 1, the students will get to know their new home territory through a diverse orientation week program.

More than 60 Jacobs students from 24 countries will assist this year’s newcomers to settle into university life at Jacobs University. The so-called “student advisors” were appointed last week after having demonstrated high motivation and detailed knowledge about Jacobs University in individual interviews with Radu Rovin and Veneta Ilieva. The third-year-students and main organizers of the Orientation Week are confident of having made a great selection: “The student advisors performed really well. We are sure that their effort and enthusiasm will contribute greatly to make this O-Week an informative, fun, and definitely unforgettable experience for the freshies.”

People on medication involuntarily contaminate drinking water: as the drugs’ pharmaceutical agents often are not completely metabolized by the body, they are excreted and end up in the sewer system. Wastewater treatment insufficiently removes such substances. Even though the concentration of pharmaceuticals in drinking water is very low, the actual impact of such a drug cocktail is little studied.

More than one billion Muslims across the world have begun observing Ramadan. For the next 30 days, believers will observe the holiest month in Islam by fasting from dawn to dusk. Of course, this is also the case on Jacobs University campus. As one of the most diverse universities worldwide, we make sure to cater for the needs of our Muslim students and staff during Ramadan.

Jacobs University campus continues to be a place of dynamic developments. After having celebrated the opening of College Nordmetall, the fourth and largest college on campus, only one year ago, the next big construction project is already under way. The new Science Park will evolve at the northern side of Jacobs University campus.

From August 1 to 6, 2010, Jacobs University hosts the 6th New England Biolabs (NEB) Meeting on DNA Restriction and Modification. Co-organized by Albert Jeltsch, Jacobs Professor of Biochemistry, the conference is expected to attract about 160 scientists from all over the world. Highlights of this year’s meeting are the plenary lectures given by Nobel Prize laureates Werner Arber und Richard J. Roberts.

The summer school on Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) at Jacobs University taking place from July 23 to 27, 2010, has attracted a very international group of 27 participants coming from various European countries and the USA.

From July 30 to August 9, 2010, researchers in the field of religious studies from Jacobs University and the University of Bremen offer a joint international summer school titled “How Virtual is Reality?" for graduate students. The summer school focuses on the relevance of 3D online environments like “Second Life” or “World of Warcraft” for cultural studies regarding religion(s) and rituals in these virtual worlds. The summer school is financed by the Volkswagen Foundation.

Vom 30. Juli bis 9. August 2010 bieten Religionswissenschaftler der Jacobs University und der Universität Bremen gemeinsam die internationale Summer School 2010 „How Virtual is Reality?" für Nachwuchswissenschaftler an. Fokus der Summer School ist die kulturwissenschaftliche Relevanz von 3D-Online-Umgebungen wie „Second Life" oder „World of Warcraft" im Hinblick auf Religion(en) und Rituale. Finanziert wird die Sommerschule durch die Volkswagenstiftung.

As of fall 2010, the International Foundation Year Program at Jacobs University will provide high school graduates from all over the world with the opportunity to gain fundamental subject orientation and acquire the needed prerequisites to conquer admission hurdles. The first group of participants of the International Foundation Year will be welcomed on the Jacobs campus in October 2010. Applications are being accepted online until September 1st.

In the new collaborative research project BEYONDVIS, Claus C. Hilgetag, Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Jacobs University, will explore the organization of brain networks that underlie visual perception. Funded for a three-years-period with a total of 800.000 Euros by the European Commission’s ERA Net NEURON program, the project’s goal is the development of novel treatment and training strategies to increase visual performance in brain-damaged patients. For his project component of studying brain networks underlying visual attention with the objective of developing a predictive computational model, Hilgetag receives 215.000 Euros.

Only two months after its opening, the 300,000th visitor was welcomed at Bremen’s Best Practice Area at EXPO 2010. Here, Jacobs University’s interactive multimedia exhibit attracts the visitors with the opportunity for a »hands-on« experience of the university’s topics »Campus«, »Community«, »Study« and »Science«.

Only two more matches and the world will have a new soccer world champion. The teams of the Netherlands and Spain are still in the running, not least because of the progressive and effective management skills of their trainers and managers. The textbook “Management für die Champions League. Was wir vom Profifußball lernen können” (“Management for the Champions League. What we can learn from professional soccer”) by Sven Voelpel, Jacobs Professor of Business Administration, presents the latest management techniques used by football trainers and managers and reveals how every company can use these findings to improve the management of their employees. For the “Manager Magazin Online”, the authors have outlined some of their findings in a four-part article series that deals with the topics “Structure”, “Leadership”, “Management”, and “Culture”.

121 architectural best practice examples in Bremen and Lower Saxony will be opened to the public during Architecture Day on Sunday, June 24, among them Jacobs University’s College Nordmetall. The fourth and largest college on campus was realized under the management of the Hamburg architecture office Böge Lindner, which has already won several awards for the previous successful transformation of the former Roland barracks into the campus of Jacobs University. The guided tours start at 11am, 1pm and 3pm at the campus gate. Everyone interested in architecture is welcome to join.

On June 23, 2010, a novel algae cultivation pilot facility for CO2 mitigation in industrial exhausts was put into operation in Bremen-Blumenthal. The facility is part of the local waste-run power plant operated by the HKW Blumenthal GmbH. Scientific manager of the project, which is partnered by Jacobs University’s first spin-off Phytolutions GmbH and the BREWA WTE GmbH, is Laurenz Thomsen, Jacobs Professor of Geosciences. The project is funded by the Bremen Economic Development (Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen).

From June 18 to 20, the Jacobs University Rowing Team participated in the Rowing World Cup 2010 in Munich. Invited to take part in the "Städte-Achter-Sprintcup" as part of the supporting program, the team competed against other first-timers on the Olympia regatta track in two 250 meter sprints.

From June 14 to 19, Jacobs University houses 515 sportsmen and women with intellectual disabilities and their coaches on campus. The athletes participate in the “Special Olympics National Games 2010” taking place in Bremen. They compete with more than 4,000 other sportsmen and women in 17 Olympic disciplines ranging from rowing and soccer to judo and swimming. For the six days of the games, the athletes move into Krupp and Mercator College while most of the students are away for summer break or inhabit rooms in Nordmetall College.

On June 12, 2010, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands formally opened LOFAR, the world’s largest radio telescope, at a special ceremony in the Netherlands, which was attended by astronomers from all over the world. Representatives from the LOFAR research consortia in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom then officially signed the memorandum that kicks off their scientific collaboration, among them Marcus Brüggen, Vice-President of the German consortium and project leader at Jacobs University.

Am 12. Juni 2010 gab die holländische Königen Beatrix den offiziellen Startschuss für die Inbetriebnahme von LOFAR, dem größten und modernsten Radioteleskop der Welt. An der Zeremonie in den Niederlanden nahmen Astronomen aus der ganzen Welt teil. Anschließend unterzeichneten Vertreter der LOFAR-Forschungskonsortien in Deutschland, Frankreich, Großbritannien, den Niederlanden und Schweden das offizielle Memorandum zur wissenschaftlichen Zusammenarbeit im Rahmen dieses europäischen Großforschungsvorhabens. Vertreter des deutschen Konsortiums war Marcus Brüggen, Professor of Astrophysics an der Jacobs University.

Petar Perkovic is the new President of the Jacobs University Bremen Alumni Assocation e.V. The Jacobs alumnus who graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor’s degree in Cognitive and Social Psychology and Integrated Social Sciences was chosen by ballot during the annual Alumni Homecoming on Saturday, June 5, by the Jacobs University Alumni General Assembly. Supported by the newly elected Treasurer Ewa Greznik and Secretary Stefan Anca (both Class of 2007) Perkovic will steer the affairs of the association for the next three years.

On June 4, 2010, Jacobs University celebrated the graduation of its seventh class, the Class of 2010. With almost 30% more graduates over last year, it is the largest ever class at Jacobs University. The 95% success rate of this year’s graduating batch – 430 young people representing 230 bachelors, 130 masters, and 70 doctoral graduates and hailing from 73 nations – is proof of their exceptional performance and confirms once more the excellence of the University’s approach to higher education. The keynote speaker this year was the Australian ambassador to Germany, Peter Martin Tesch.

Am 4. Juni 2010 feierte die Jacobs University den erfolgreichen Studienabschluss ihres siebten Absolventenjahrganges. Mit gut 30% mehr Absolventen im Vergleich zum Vorjahr ist die „Class of 2010“ die bislang größte Abschlussklasse der Jacobs University. Die 430 jungen Menschen – 230 Bachelor-, 130 Master- und 70 PhD-Absolventen – aus 73 Nationen stellten mit der herausragenden Erfolgsquote von 95% ihre außergewöhnliche Leistungsfähigkeit unter Beweis und bestätigten einmal mehr das exzellente Bildungskonzept der Universität. Festredner war in diesem Jahr der australische Botschafter für Deutschland, Peter Martin Tesch.

Jacobs University’s spin-off SeSaM-Biotech is among the three winners of the „Bremen Founders Award 2010“ (Bremer Gründerpreis 2010). The start-up company was awarded third place in the annual competition honoring outstanding and successful entrepreneurial commitment. SeSaM Executive Director and Jacobs alumnus Dr Alexander Schenk received the award endowed with 2000 Euros prize money during the 9th Bremen Entrepreneurial Gala held at the FinanzCentrum of the Sparkasse Bremen in the evening of June 1. The Prizeotel Bremen GmbH, owner of Bremen’s first budget-design hotel, was placed first; runner-up was the Winkler Studios GmbH.

Block A of Krupp College, Block A of Mercator College and Block C of College III are Jacobs University’s most successful residential energy savers. The residents of these blocks managed to save the highest number of kilowatt hours (kWh) per person as compared to their own past during the last twelve weeks. Thus, they are the well-earned winners of the Green Team Award Spring 2010. The award is a project by the University Environmental Affairs Committee (UEAC) which consists of representatives of all parts of Jacobs University.

On Saturday, May 29, the “End of the Year Festival” organized by Jacobs students took place on Jacobs University’s Campus. Looking back to a successful year students, faculty, staff, and friends came together to celebrate the end of the term.

Today Jacobs University takes on a festive air as more than 420 graduates, families and friends from 74 nations gather on campus to celebrate Graduation 2010. The Class of 2010 is the seventh and largest class up to now to graduate from Jacobs University.

Wind power, car-sharing, and future oriented education – Federal President Horst Köhler took his time during his visit to the Bremen EXPO area on May 20, 2010 to learn more about the topics Bremen, Bremerhaven and Oldenburg are presenting at the world exhibition. The German head of state devoted one hour exploring the exhibits, among them Jacobs University’s multimedia table. Concluding his visit, Köhler signed the sculpture of the Bremen town musicians located in the center of the Bremen stand, which serves as the Bremen EXPO visitors’ book for special guests.

Windenergie, Car-Sharing, und zukunftsweisende Bildung – mehr Zeit als geplant hat sich Bundespräsident Horst Köhler für die Themen genommen, mit denen sich Bremen, Bremerhaven und Oldenburg gemeinsam auf der Weltausstellung in Shanghai präsentieren. Eine Stunde verbrachte das deutsche Staatsoberhaupt am Donnerstag, den 20. Mai 2010, am Bremer Expo-Stand, auf dem die Jacobs University gemeinsam mit Partnern aus Wissenschaft und Forschung ausstellt. Zum Abschluss unterschrieb Köhler mit goldfarbenem Stift auf einer Stadtmusikanten-Skulptur, die als Gästebuch dient.

Jacobs University participates in the European Integrated Project AMARSi (Adaptive Modular Architecture for Rich Motor Skills) on robotics development under the lead of the University of Bielefeld. Funded for a four-years-period with a total of 7 million Euros by the European Union, twelve research teams from Europe, Israel, Japan, and the US join forces to develop human-like and animal-like robots. These devices will be able to move in a natural fashion, learn motor skills like crawling, reaching, and climbing, and extend their behavioral repertoire through interaction with humans. The Jacobs Machine Learning Group under the lead of Herbert Jaeger, Professor of Computational Science, receives 526,000 Euros of the project money to contribute control modules inspired by natural brains.

Die Jacobs University schließt sich mit elf Forscherteams aus Europa, Israel, Japan und den USA im Forschungsprojekt „AMARSi“ (Adaptive Modular Architecture for Rich Motor Skills) zusammen mit dem Ziel, Roboter zu entwickeln, die das Bewegungs- und Lernverhalten von Menschen und Tieren kopieren. Anders als bisherige Roboter sollen sie sich natürlich bewegen und ihr Verhaltensrepertoire durch Lernen und Umweltinteraktion erweitern. Die EU fördert das Projekt über vier Jahre mit 7 Mio. Euro. Die Jacobs Machine Learning Group unter Leitung von Prof. Herbert Jaeger erhält 526.000 Euro für die Entwicklung der Steuermodule, die sich in Struktur und Funktion an menschlichen Gehirnen orientieren.

On May 12, Jacobs University Bremen and the Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA) met a third time at the "Hanse Boat Race" in Hamburg. The coxed eight from Jacobs University won the race by one and a half boat lengths in a close finish, capturing the trophy which will remain in Bremen at least until next year's race.

Am 12. Mai 2010 traten die Jacobs University Bremen und die Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA) zum dritten Mal zum Ruderduell „Hanse Boat Race“ auf der Alster gegeneinander an. Vor knapp 500 Zuschauern gewann der Jacobs-Achter die hanseatische Ausgabe des universitären „Boat Race“ über die Distanz von 2.300 Meter mit anderthalb Bootslängen Vorsprung und errang so erneut den großen Wanderpokal. In den erstmals durchgeführten Zusatzrennen konnte sich auch der Jacobs-Frauen-Vierer mit gut vier Bootslängen Vorsprung gegen die HSBA durchsetzen; der gemischte Jacobs-Vierer unterlag knapp mit einer halben Bootslänge.

On Monday, May 10, a new stage for Bremen was opened - the TheaterSpace. The studio theater will be a home to every member of the Jacobs community who is interested in performing arts and wants to learn more about the craft. To celebrate the grand opening of this new venue on campus, a variety of student performances, ranging from acting and poetry to dancing, singing, and music, were showcased.

On Sunday, May 9, the Jacobs University Rugby Team hosted the Roehlig Rugby Challenge 2010 on campus. The match between the Jacobs University Berserks, the team of the University of Bremen, the SC Varel, and the FT Adler Kiel Youth Team was held on the sports field in front of Krupp College. After losing the first two games against the rugby teams of the University of Bremen and the SC Varel, the Berserks stepped up a gear and could secure a win against the FT Adler Kiel Youth Team in the third match.

On Sunday, May 2, Jacobs University welcomed its sixth wave of students of the two-year part-time Executive MBA program in European Utility Management (EUM) with an opening ceremony. Ten executives from eight utility related companies coming from four different countries arrived on campus for their first block week of classes. During the next two years, the executive students will gain a wide range of new skills and sharpened their analytical abilities by combining coursework with day-to-day professional experience.

On April 26, Jacobs University hosted the Third Annual Logistics Chain Gathering on campus. Organized by the Logistics Chain, Jacobs University’s logistics club, businessmen, executives, students, and faculty from the logistics field came together to discuss current business issues and exchange ideas and visions. Highlights of this year’s get together were the award ceremony for the first BLG Case Study Competition and the celebration of the first Jacobs logistics class that is about to graduate on June 4.

Dr. Michael Bau and Dr. Andrea Koschinsky, Professors of Geosciences, win the 2010 award for best paper published in 2009 in the Geochemical Journal. With the award the Geochemical Society of Japan acknowledges their outstanding article entitled “Oxidative scavenging of cerium on hydrous Fe oxide: Evidence from the distribution of rare earth elements and yttrium between Fe oxides and Mn oxides in hydrogenetic ferromanganese crusts“. The article outlines the results of their research on high-technology elements in metal-rich marine iron-manganese nodules and crusts which are of interest as potential targets of deep-sea mining.

The first half of the “Green Team Award Spring 2010” is completed this week. As of Monday, April 12th, the inhabitants of Krupp College, Mercator College and College 3 have been competing among themselves for the title of the “Energy Star” for six weeks. At the end of round 3 (each round consists of a two-weeks-period) a great outcome is observable: At present, every single participating block managed to reduce its electricity consumption as compared to its own past. This was different at the outset of the initiative when some single blocks’ electricity consumption turned out somewhat higher than before. Thus, the “Green Team Award” seems to have achieved a change in the residents’ consumption behavior.

When adults play with Lego bricks at Jacobs University these days, this is not for the sheer fun of it but has to do with a new research project on manual dexterity. Funded for an initial two-years-period with a total of 160.000 Euros by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG), the project aims at exploring how age and expertise influence employees’ hand proficiency. For this purpose Jacobs University’s research team in Neuroscience and Human Performance has developed various tasks that probands are asked to perform by hand. Among other things, the tasks involve palpating objects made of Lego bricks, squeezing a force transducer and indicating the percipience of nylon threads on one’s index finger.

On Sunday, April 11, the Jacobs University Rowing Team christened their new racing boat for the Eight Race at the Hanse Rowing Cup on May 12. As a result of the great support from the Rowing Team’s main sponsor Lürssen, the team coaches were able to acquire this second racing boat after the first acquisition of a racing four earlier this season. In an official ceremony, Jacobs Vice-President Dr. Alexander Ziegler-Jöns christened the elegant and dynamic boat “FRIEDA”, named after Peter Lürßen's daughter. The Empacher Racing Eight is exactly what the Rowing Team had been looking for and the team therefore feels yet more confident about repeating last year’s success in the Hanse Rowing Cup – this time in a lighter and faster boat.

A new research project led by Sebastian Springer, Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Jacobs University, is examining how the body’s immune reaction to viruses, bacteria and cancer can be manipulated. In cooperation with Martin Zacharias, Professor of Theoretical Biophysics at the Technical University Munich, Springer aims at developing chemical substances to inhibit or enhance the response. These substances could then be used either in vaccines to boost the immune reaction or in drugs administered to transplant patients to suppress a possible rejection of the organ. The project, which combines bioinformatics and biochemistry approaches, is funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG) with a total of 225 000 Euros over an initial three-year period.

Visiting the campus is often times the best way to get a better picture of a university and, in particular, its undergraduate programs. Jacobs University therefore invites prospective students and their families as well as teachers and career advisors to visit the campus for the 2010 Open House on Saturday, April 24, from 10 am to 5 pm to see what makes Jacobs University the premier English-language university in Germany. During the event, guests will have the opportunity to interact with Jacobs students, faculty, and staff. Questions and concerns will be addressed as information about the admissions process is provided and numerous opportunities available at Jacobs University are highlighted.

On its hump day, Thursday, March 30, the Bremen International Model United Nations Conference (BRIMUN) was given further impetus by Max Schön. The President of the German Club of Rome held a lecture about possibilities of commitment in fighting climate change on different levels.

The eighth Bremen International Model United Nations Conference (BRIMUN) started off on Jacobs University campus on Sunday, March 28th, with an opening ceremony and a welcome dinner for more than 100 students from around the globe. The students have come together on Jacobs Campus to simulate the discussions and work of the United Nations. On this occasion, Kurt Bangert, Director of Research at the World Vision Institute for Research and Development, visited Jacobs University to talk to the delegates about “Poverty, Climate Change, and Global Governance”.

From March 28 to April 1, 2010, Jacobs University hosts its eighth Bremen International Model United Nations (BRIMUN) Conference. Organized by the Model United Nations student society, more than 100 students from around the globe come together on Jacobs Campus to simulate the discussions and work of the United Nations. This year’s theme “Energy and Resources” challenges participants to make decisions on topics such as energy security, global warming and scarcity of resources.

As of July 2010, Jacobs University will offer a new Executive Master Program in Basin and Petroleum System Dynamics: This part-time program focuses on the borderline between classical geoscience thinking and teaching on the one hand and the mathematical-geophysical-geochemical needs of numerical simulation and geoprocess understanding on the other. The program has the specific aim of bringing petroleum geoscientists in exploration from national and international oil companies up to date with the newest developments in the field.

On March 25, Jacobs University students have the unique chance to discuss the most pressing issues of our time - extreme poverty, the economic recovery, and climate change – with international experts from all over the world via internet. As the only German university, Jacobs University has been awarded the opportunity to actively participate in the global webcast and discussion forum of the State of the Planet Conference 2010. Hosted by the Earth Institute of Columbia University, the conference brings together the world's most influential and innovative thinkers and leaders from many academic disciplines to media, government, policy and business spheres to tackle critical issues facing the world. The webcast and discussion forum are provided at the IRC Conference Room from 1:30 to 11:30 pm. Prior to the first State of the Planet webcast, students are invited to attend the combined State of the Planet/BRIMUN Kickoff Reception at 2 pm.

The world’s first internet-operated deep-sea crawler developed by Jacobs University researchers has successfully taken up work on deep sea floor off Canada. Since its initial scientific walkabout in December 2009, the crawler nicknamed “Wally” has been collecting data about temperature, pressure, water currents, salinity, methane and turbidity and providing a live video stream of the local sea life. The crawler was set up in a depth of 900 metres south of Vancouver Island as part of the NEPTUNE Canada deep-sea observatory installed to explore the geological and ecological condition of the ocean floor and to monitor earthquake dynamics.

On Wednesday, March 17, more than 100 faculty, staff and students gathered at the Campus Center for the first University Lecture in 2010. Richard A. Shweder, renowned anthropologist and cultural psychologist, delivered a lecture entitled “Robust Cultural Pluralism: Understanding forms of life different from ones own” on the problems that arise in multinational societies when the attitudes, values, and traditions of people from diverse cultural backgrounds clash.

Dr. Auma Obama, Project Coordinator of the humanitarian organization CARE, visited Jacobs University on Thursday, March 18th. Besides meeting the University leadership she also engaged in a dialogue with students about how education can help young people to identify their potentials and give something back to their community. Moreover, throughout a campus tour with University President Prof. Dr. Joachim Treusch the sister of the US President Barack Obama stopped over at the laboratory for cell biology to gain insight into current research.

Pranjal Y. Kumar, Trung Hieu Nguyen, Daniel Pustelnik and Salomon Theinert are the winners of the Rubicon Contest 2010. From March 8th to 10th their team named “JacoBeans” was taking part in this international business student contest in Iserlohn, Germany. Thanks to the creativity of their business ideas on sustainability the four Jacobs students of Integrated Social Sciences, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science as well as International Politics and History finally managed to prevail over 24 other participating teams from all over the world.

The first round of the “Green Team Award Spring 2010” has started this week. As of Monday, March 1st, the inhabitants of Krupp College, Mercator College and College 3 are competing among themselves for the title of the “Energy Star”. At the end of a two-weeks-period this title will be awarded to the respective block of each college that has saved the highest number of kilowatt hours per person as compared to its own past.

“I learn in this letter that Don Pedro of Aragon comes this night to Messina!” Thus opens the curtain on William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”. A group of Jacobs students from a variety of majors and nations has banded together to bring one of Shakespeare’s most exciting and challenging comedies to life on stage.

On Thursday, February 25, Jacobs University welcomed eight ambassadors from Asia and the Pacific on campus. Organized by the Bremen Asia-Pacific Association (OAV) and Jacobs University, the ambassadors were invited to take part in a panel discussion focusing on the bilateral relationship between Asia and Europe.

On Sunday, February 28, Jacobs University offers a second chance to make New Year's resolutions: Krupp College and the East Asian Community invite the whole campus community to welcome the year of the tiger. One of twelve Chinese zodiac signs, the tiger symbolises strength, courage and wisdom – traits worth celebrating and exploring.

On Sunday, February 21, the Jacobs University Bremen Cricket Club earned second place at the "North Masters Indoor Championship 2010". Invited by the HSV Cricket Club, six teams of the Northern German Cricket Association (NDCV) participated in the cricket tournament taking place in Hamburg.

The third Jacobs Ergocup on Saturday, February 13, woke rowers and fans from hibernation: The Campus Centre was crowded with cheering spectators for the highly contended 2000 meter race of the Jacobs Eight against the Eight of the Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA). Both teams impressed with enormous speed and excellent rowing techniques on the ergometers. After a neck-and-neck race, the Jacobs Eight missed the victory by only three seconds. The win entitles the HSBA team to choose their preferred lane in the upcoming Hanse Rowing Cup, carried out annually in summer on the Hamburg Alster. But the unlucky Jacobians were not at all disappointed – the team that loses the battle on dry land traditionally beats the competitor on the water.

Henrik Maedler (Jacobs University Bremen Debating Society) and Jens Fischer (Berlin Debating Union) are the winners of the Jacobs Open 2010 debating tournament. Under the team name “Brown-eyed Blondies”, Maedler and Fischer convinced the jury with sharp arguments and dramatic gestures at the Grand Finale at the Bremische Bürgerschaft on Sunday, 31 January. In addition to winning the overall competition, Jens Fischer was elected “Darling of the audience”. The two students had left behind about 70 competitors from universities all over Europe.

Students returning to their spring semester at Jacobs were met with north Germany's eighth week of snowfall. Such a long snow period hasn't occurred in Germany since 1979.

On Saturday, January 30, the “Initiative Nachrichtenaufklärung” (INA), an initiative for media transparency, selected the top 10 underreported stories for 2009. The event was held at Jacobs University.  The initiative, first founded in 1997 by Peter Ludes, Professor of Mass Communication at Jacobs University, follows the example of the US-focused “Project Censored” and aims to draw public attention to significant but unreported issues. Each year a jury of renowned scholars and journalists decides on the top 10 most vital stories that scarcely made the news.

On Saturday, January 30, 2010, the Philharmonia of the Nations performs Ludwig van Beethoven's "Chorfantasie" and Friedrich Schiller's "Ode to Joy" in the setting by Beethoven.

Jacobs University welcomes a group of 20 guests from the US, who arrived yesterday and will join the campus community for the upcoming spring semester. The visit is based on the well-established cooperation with Lafayette College, a university with excellent undergraduate teaching located in Pennsylvania. The 18 Lafayette students, who are accompanied by their professor Anne Marie Raich, will be staying until June 2. In addition, a visiting student from the College of William and Mary and an exchange student from Rice University will be joining the Lafayette group.

Jacobs University’s spin-off company Phytolutions GmbH has just been elected an ambassador of Germany as a place of innovation. Among more than 2200 further applicants the Biotechnology company had competed in a nationwide contest to become one of “365 Selected Landmarks 2010” and succeeded. A public event to present the innovative concept Phytolutions was awarded for, was held on November 7th, 2010. It involved a guided tour around Phytolutions’ production and development sites as well as a live hookup to their external production sites.

On January 13, 2010, Jacobs University, the University of Bremen and “unifreunde” hold their traditional New Year’s reception at city hall. All newly appointed professors of Bremen’s two universities will introduce themselves on this occasion. An overview of the previous year as well as an outlook of 2010 will be given by Jacobs University’s president Joachim Treusch, the University of Bremen’s president Wilfried Müller and Bengt Beutler, chairmen of “unifreunde”. Bremen’s mayor Jens Böhrnsen will use the opportunity of the reception to give his regards to the assembled scientific community.

Creative arguments, ingenious objections and a good deal of played up turmoil – this is what the British Parliament is notoriously famous for. Equally entertaining rhetorical pyrotechnics, presented in the so called ‘British Parliamentary Style’, can be expected from this year’s participants of the Jacobs Open 2010. From January 29 to 31, 2010, about 70 students from all over Europe will take part in the debating tournament, which Jacobs University’s student debating society has been organizing annually since 2005. The tournament, including the Grand Finale in the Bürgerschaft Bremen, is open to the public.

In December 2009, Jacobs University signed its latest co-operational agreement with the University of Aberdeen, one of Scotland’s oldest and most respected universities. Aberdeen will be Jacobs University’s first exchange partner in the United Kingdom, opening up many new academic opportunities for students from both institutions. The first cohort of Jacobs students will leave for Aberdeen in fall 2010. The cooperation is particularly intended for undergraduate students interested in the social sciences and the humanities. Moreover, the new agreement also holds exchange possibilities for faculty and staff.

Jacobs University will participate in a new research unit of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG) under the lead of the University of Bonn. The group’s main objective is to explore the origin and structure of cosmic magnetic fields and their impact on galaxy development. Funded for an initial three-years-period with a total of 1.9 million Euros, the researchers will employ the world’s first digital and at the same time largest telescope “LOFAR” as well as supercomputer simulations to analyze the telescope observations. The Jacobs research team under the lead of Marcus Brüggen, Professor of Astrophysics, receives about 200,000 Euros of the project money.

As of Fall 2010, Jacobs University will offer two new Bachelor programs - The Bachelor program inIntegrated Environmental Studies and the Bachelor program in Global Economics and Management.

The decision in the final round of the international student competition impact³ by Jacobs University and Vodafone Foundation Germany is made: The smartest and at the same time most successful social entrepreneurs-to-be are four students from WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management and Zeppelin University. They won the jury’s favor with their project “Spread the Word” that markets prison made products as a social rehabilitation measure for juvenile delinquents. Runner-up was the project of the Danish Aarhus School of Business: “Fair Innovation” mobilized fitness studio users to support energy supply for underdeveloped regions in Bangladesh. “Algae-Energy” by Jacobs University students was ranked third: They designed and ran a feasibility study to evaluate the usability of algae for fuel production, CO2 degradation and simultaneous sewage purification.

Die Entscheidung im großen Finale des internationalen Studentenwettbewerbs impACT³ von Jacobs University und Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland ist gefallen: Die pfiffigsten und zugleich erfolgreichsten Nachwuchs-Sozialunternehmer sind vier Studierende der WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management und der Zeppelin University. Sie überzeugten mit ihrem Projekt „Spread the Word“, das Gefängnisprodukte jugendlicher Straftäter als Reintegrationsmaßnahme vermarktet. Platz zwei ging an ein Projekt der dänischen Aarhus School of Business: „Fair Innovation“ mobilisierte Fitnessstudiobesucher für die Stromversorgung von unterentwickelten Regionen in Bangladesh. „Alga-Energie“ von Studierenden der Jacobs University errang Platz drei: In einer Machbarkeitsstudie evaluierten sie den Einsatz von Algen als Treibstofflieferanten und CO2-Killer bei gleichzeitiger Reinigung von Abwässern. 

A year long development phase has today culminated in the re-launch of the website of Jacobs University Bremen.  The last re-launch was completed in November 2004. 

“Break the cliché – discover Social Entrepreneurship” – this is the motto of tonight’s theme night on campus, hosted by Jacobs University and Vodafone Foundation Germany. The event takes place on the occasion of the final round of the international student competition impACT³, in which 24 teams set out to found and run community-oriented entrepreneurial projects with a seed asset of 16 Euros at max. In addition to the live election of the three winning teams, further highlights will be a lecture by Günter Faltin, laureate of the German Gründerpreis 2009, a high level expert panel discussion, and a video message from the contest’s patron, the laureate of the Nobel Prize for Peace, Muhammad Yunus. The English-language event starts at 5 p. m. in the Conference Hall. All are welcome!

Am Dienstag, den 8. Dezember 2009, laden die Jacobs University und die Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland ein zu einem Themenabend unter dem Motto „Break the cliché – discover Social Entrepreneurship“. Anlass ist das Finale des Studentenwettbewerbs impACT³, bei dem 24 Studententeams mit maximal nur 16 Euro Startkapital sozialunternehmerische Projekte entwickelten und in die Praxis umsetzten. Highlights des Abends, neben der Ermittlung der Wettbewerbssieger, sind ein Vortrag von Günter Faltin, dem Träger des Deutschen Gründerpreises 2009, sowie eine hochkarätig besetzte Expertendiskussionsrunde zum Thema „Social Entrepreneurship“. Der Eintritt für die englischsprachige Veranstaltung ist frei.

On December 3, 2009, in Zurich, the Jacobs Foundation for the first time awarded its two annual Klaus J. Jacobs Awards: The Research Prize for Productive Youth Development and The Best Practice Award for Productive Youth Development.

Am Donnerstag, den 3. Dezember, hat die Zürcher Jacobs Foundation erstmals Ihren Forschungs- und Praxispreis für aussergewöhnliche Leistungen in der Jugendforschung und -förderung verliehen. Die feierliche Preisverleihung fand in der Aula der Universität Zürich statt. Unter den rund 300 geladenen Gästen war viel Prominenz aus Wissenschaft und Politik, so auch der frühere Schweizer Bundesrat Pascal Couchepin oder Professor Günter Stock, Vizepräsident der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft.

The laureates of the Mercator Award 2009 are 19-year-old Tariq Tobias Omarshah from Zimbabwe and the 21-year-old German Turk Suna Turhan, who have distinguished themselves through outstanding social commitment and excellent academic achievements. Endowed with 5,000 Euros each, the prize is awarded annually to one 2nd year and one 3rd year undergraduate student resident at Mercator College. This year’s Mercator Awards were bestowed on December 2, 2009.

Tariq Tobias Omarshah und Suna Turhan sind die Preisträger des Mercator Award 2009. Der 19-Jährige aus Zimbabwe und die 21-jährige Deutsch-Türkin können sich über jeweils 5000 Euro Preisgeld freuen. Der Mercator Award wird jährlich an je einen Studierenden im zweiten und im dritten Studienjahr verliehen, die sich durch besonderes soziales und interkulturelles Engagement sowie hervorragende Studienleistungen auszeichnen und im Mercator College auf dem Jacobs-Campus leben. Die diesjährige Auszeichnung wurde in einer Feierstunde am Abend des 2. Dezember 2009 an die Preisträger übergeben.

Dr. Jenny Verena Bittner, PostDoc for Organizational Behavior at JCLL receives the research award 2009 of the Industrie- und Handelskammer Kassel (IHK, german chamber of commerce) for her Dissertation "Motivational consequences of comparison standards: Assimilation and contrast of performance towards goals". With the award the IHK acknowledges Bittner’s outstanding and innovative research and her contributions to both science and practice. Since 2000 this award has been complimented on a yearly basis to researchers working in the fields of natural sciences, law, business and economics at the Philipps-University Marburg and the University of Kassel. This award honours scientific research projects with excellent theoretical and practical implications.

An ever-increasing world population demanding food, water, energy, health care, and education puts unprecedented pressure on both, the “Earth System” that is its natural environment and resource, and the institutions that design the framework organizing access to and distribution of resources and education. Successful sustainable management of these global challenges, therefore, requires an integrated approach which combines elements from the natural and engineering sciences with those from social and political sciences and economics.

Economic decisions are shaped by a rich environment of political, social and cultural forces. Understanding these forces requires studying a variety of political challenges, including financial crises, resource depletion, social exclusion, and ethical questions.

Was gibt es besseres als am Weltkindertag mit jungen Leuten aus aller Welt zusammen zu sein? Möglich wird das für alle Kindergarten- und Grundschulkinder am 21. November 2009, wenn der studentische Unicef Club der Jacobs University den „Universal Children’s Day“ veranstaltet.

Is there anything better than being together with young people from all over the world on World Children’s Day? This is made possible for all kindergarten and primary school children on November 21, 2009, when the student-led UNICEF Club of Jacobs University hosts the Universal Children’s Day.

The Admissions Office of Jacobs University welcomes 30 counselors of English-language international schools coming from cities such as Accra, Hong Kong, Houston, Istanbul, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Mexico City, Moscow, Shanghai and Tbilisi. These university advisors will be introduced to Jacobs academic and residential life programs as well as to the city of Bremen.

On November 18 and 19, 2009, the Association of German Foundations’ task force on science and research holds its annual fall meeting at Jacobs University.

Am 18. und 19. November 2009 tagt der Arbeitskreis Wissenschaft und Forschung des Bundesverbandes Deutscher Stiftungen an der Jacobs University in Bremen. Knapp 100 Experten aus dem deutschen Stiftungswesen diskutieren vor dem Hintergrund der internationalen Wirtschaftskrise aktuelle Strategien und Trends in der Stiftungsarbeit.

 Today, Katja Windt, Bernd Rogge Professor of Global Production Logistics at Jacobs University, received the Alfried Krupp Prize for Young Professors 2008, which is endowed with one million Euros. The Bremen researcher was presented with the award by North-Rhine Westphalian Prime Minister Jürgen Rüttgers during a ceremony in Essen in the Villa Hügel. The Alfried Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach foundation’s board of trustees, headed by the renowned patron and former montan industry leader Berthold Beitz, decided unanimously for the young scientist, who prevailed over 39 further candidates.

 On November 6, 2009, Dr. Heather Bell, Director of International Strategy at the University of Oxford and Fellow of the university’s Merton College, visits Jacobs University. Dr. Bell, who is responsible for developing a coherent corporate strategy to promote Oxford’s global profile, international competitiveness, and relations, will meet with Jacobs University’s leadership as well as faculty members, tour the campus and meet with students to get an insight into life and studying at Jacobs University.

On November 6, 2009, Jacobs University Bremen bade farewell to its fourth successful class of the part-time Executive MBA program in European Utility Management (EUM). Nine graduates from various European countries, working for well-known players in the European utility market received their final degree and are ready to support their home companies with their enriched skills and capabilities.

 On Thursday, November 5, 2009, Jacobs University welcomes Prof. em. Dietmar Rothermund for his public lecture “Nation-States, Wars and Terror in South Asia”. The well known India expert from the South Asia Institute of Heidelberg University and long-time consultant of Germany’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will chart major developments of Indian history from colonial times to the present, and discusses ways and means, by which India has established itself as the hegemon of South Asia. Furthermore, it discusses concepts of the ‘nation’ in an Indian context and provides explanations for the current rise of India as an ‘Asian giant’. The English language Lecture starts at 7.30 p. m. in the Campus Center Conference Room.

 On October 30, 2009, Silja Bellingrath, postdoc in Health Psychology at Jacobs University, received the Bruno-Heck-Science-Award from the alumni of the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation endowed with 5000 Euros. The prize is presented biannually in Hamburg for outstanding academic performances. Bellingrath received the award for her excellent dissertation “The trials and tribulations of teaching- A psychobiological perspective on chronic work stress in school teachers”. The thesis on the topic of chronic psychological stress in the workplace as a source for physical illness, was supervised by Brigitte M. Kudielka, Professor for Health Psychology at Jacobs University.

Today, Jacobs University expanded its rowing fleet by dedicating a coxless four to its future as potential rowing champion. In a ceremony at the local rowing club and cooperation partner, Vegesacker Ruderverein, together with 170 guests, the boat was christened »Lotti« in honor of Lotti Naber. Both, Mrs. Naber and her husband, the well-known Bremen patron of science and culture, Conrad Naber, have been long-term benefactors of Jacobs University.

 Under the motto "Break the cliché – Discover Social Entrepreneurship“ approximately 100 students from universities around Europe have participated in the student competition "impACT3". For 7 weeks they developed business models of innovative, pragmatic and sustainable projects for the good of the community. impACT3 is no theoretical exercise - the particpants were challenged to work together in teams, to realise their ideas from conceptual drafts to a functioning business. Which ten teams are chosen and invited to the award ceremony will be decided with online voting which begins Monday October 26. The three winning teams will be rewarded €9, 000.

 In the context of a research on computational materials science, supported with 1.8 Mio Euro by the EU Framework Programme 7 in cooperation with the Indian Department of Science and Technology, Jacobs University coordinates research of the European partners. The project aims at developing new storage materials for hydrogen to be used in smaller mobile applications. Partners of the three-year-project, which started in June 2009, are renowned universities and research institutes from the EU and India. Project coordinator of the European partners is Thomas Heine, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Jacobs University Bremen. For the kickoff meeting on October 8 to 10, 2009, Jacobs University welcomes the coordinator of the Indian partners, Dr. Sourav Pal, Head of the Physical Chemistry division of National Chemical Laboratory, Pune.

On Tuesday, October 6, 2009, Philip D. Murphy, the new U. S. Ambassador to Germany, visits Jacobs University. As this is his first official visit to Bremen, he will be welcomed by the city state’s Senator of the Interior, Ulrich Mäurer. In addition to meeting the university’s leadership the ambassador will tour the campus and meet with students for dinner to get an insight into life and studying at Jacobs University. Highlight of his visit is a traditional “Town Meeting” on new perspectives of the Foreign Policy of the Obama administration, especially the German-American Relations, which starts at 8 p.m. in the Conference Hall of Jacobs University’s Campus Center. The campus community is cordially invited to participate. A reception afterwards will round out the ambassador’s visit.

Am Dienstag, den 6. Oktober 2009, besucht der neue amerikanische Botschafter in Deutschland, Philip D. Murphy, die Jacobs University. Bei diesem Antrittsbesuch in der Hansestadt wird er von Bremens Innensenator Ulrich Mäurer begrüßt. Neben Gesprächen mit der Universitätsleitung wird er den Campus besichtigen und sich bei einem gemeinsamen Abendessen mit Studierenden über das Studium an der Jacobs University informieren. Highlight des Besuches ist der Vortrag „Barack Obama's Foreign Policy Initiatives – A New Era?", den der Botschafter auf Einladung des Carl Schurz deutsch-amerikanischen Clubs und des Bremen United States Center im Stil eines traditionellen „Town Meeting“ hält. Die Campus Community ist herzlich zur Teilnahme an dem Town Meeting eingeladen, das um 20 Uhr im Campus Center beginnt.

On September 20, 2009, Jacobs University, together with Bremen’s district sports association (Kreissportverband) and the Beluga School for Life, invites the interested public to an open house afternoon themed „Sport meets Culture“. The visitors can expect an attractive mix of sports presentations, choir and dance performances, and lab tours. Not only coffee and cake, but also diverse traditional dishes from all over the world prepared by Jacobs students will tickle the guests’ palate. The event, which is opened by Bremen’s Senator of the Interior and Sports, Ulrich Mäurer, starts at 2 p. m. There is no entrance fee. Participants interested in the charity "Run for Help", which starts at 1 p. m., need to be on campus half an hour earlier.

The yearly campus Red Cross blood drive will be held on Tuesday, September 22. and Wednesday, September 23, 2009 both days from 2.30 p.m. until 7.30 p.m. The venue for the drive will again be the University Club. This year's Red Cross Blood Drive is hosted by the Rotaract Club.

Oscar Wilde is attributed with the famous saying "Football is a gentleman's game played by ruffians and rugby is a ruffian's game played by gentlemen". On September 12, the Jacobs Berserks rugby team will host a Rugby Union Tournament for the first time ever on campus. The match will be held on the sports field in front of Krupp College. Kick-off for the first match of the day (Jacobs University vs. 1860 Bremen) will be at 12pm. Everyone is invited to come out and support the Berserks! “AHOO… AHOO… AHOO "

On Sunday, September 6, the TheaterSpace at Jacobs held it's first open house in the cinema. TheaterSpace is a project by students, the Jacobs Players, to create a small-scale venue by renovating an unused lecture hall, located next to the campus cinema. "TheaterSpace is dedicated to showcasing performing arts of all kinds at Jacobs University." Project organiser and Krupp College office manager Rene Wells is no stranger to managing athletic, theatrical, and other large scale student activities. The TheaterSpace project hopes to create a permanent home for the diverse performing talents represented by students from 99 nations who study at Jacobs. "As Shakespeare said, 'All the world's a stage!' "

Every year, the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) honors foreign students studying at German universities for their excellent academic performance and significant social and intercultural commitment. The DAAD prize 2009, endowed with 1.000 euros, goes to Lidet Tadesse Shiferaw, a 20-year-old Jacobs University student from Ethiopia. The award was presented during the university’s Founders Day ceremony on September 1, 2009.

On September 1, 2009, Jacobs University starts into its ninth academic year with 661 undergraduates and 566 graduate students. With in total 1227 young people from 99 nations, the Jacobs campus again is the most international in Germany, in Europe ever. For the 321 ‘freshies’, this fall semester is their first contact with the multinational Jacobs community.

Porous media are ubiquitous. The sponge in the kitchen, the lung tissue, the human skin, all of them are porous. They are full of holes like a Swiss cheese and they have remarkable properties due to their structure. Mathematicians from Jacobs University and their colleagues from the University of Wroclaw in Poland took a close look at the characteristics of perforated matter and defined a novel criterion for the homogeneity of these systems. According to their findings a large number of old model calculations published so far do not meet this standard and are inaccurate.

Under the motto "Break the cliché – Discover Social Entrepreneurship“ approximately 100 students from universities around Europe have participated in the student competition "impACT3". For 7 weeks they developed business models of innovative, pragmatic and sustainable projects for the good of the community. impACT3 is no theoretical exercise - the particpants were challenged to work together in teams, to realise their ideas from conceptual drafts to a functioning business. Which ten teams are chosen and invited to the award ceremony will be decided with online voting which begins Monday October 26. The three winning teams will be rewarded €9, 000.

Freshmen, returning students, and their families have been arriving on the Jacobs University campus this week as the university's ninth academic year begins. August 25 is the first day for most of the roundabout 320 newcomers, undergraduate freshmen and graduate students, on the campus of their new Alma Mater. Until the official start of term on September 1, the students will get to know their new home territory through a diverse orientation week program. This year 1227 students coming from 99 nations will study and live at Jacobs University.

The groups of Sebastian Springer and Matthias Winterhalter at Jacobs University, together with scientist from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces and collaborators from the United Kingdom have developed micrometer-sized capsules to introduce defined amounts of experimental substances into living cells, which can be opened remotely by laser pulse at a controlled point in time to release the material and follow the biological response by microscopy. To validate the method the scientists released fluorescently labelled peptides inside living cells, thereby successfully triggering and documenting a cellular process known as antigen presentation, which is part of the immune response against viruses. Their findings are reported in the current online issue of Small (DOI: 10.1002/smll.200900809).

 This weekend, from August 14 to 17, 2009, Jacobs University welcomes back its very first graduating class, the Class of 2004, for its 5-year reunion. About 60 alumni from 50 different nations will revisit their former Alma Mater. The pioneers are looking forward to a packed and enjoyable weekend of re-uniting social events as well as professional seminars. During the weekend, every pioneer will share their initial college room in Krupp College with their original “roomie” from 2001. The kick-off event is an informal Barbecue Dinner on Friday evening, after which Krupp College hosts a revival of the traditional "Cheer-Up-Coffee" in the College Office.

From August 13 through 15 Jacobs University Bremen will play host to the International Symposium "The Lives of Form: Abstract Art and Nature". The symposium is being organised by Jaocbs University professors Dr. Isabel Wünsche, Dr. Paul Crowther, and Dr. Birgit Mersmann. In 1942, Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock met Hans Hofmann. Hofmann asked Pollock “do you work from nature?” Pollock’s famous reply was “I am nature.” Hofmann’s response to this is less well known, but just as interesting. He said “Ah, but if you work by heart, you will repeat yourself.” This exchange sets out, implicitly, the two extremes between which abstract art has developed, on the one hand, the desire to tap into the formative power of nature itself, and on the other hand, allowing this drive to be regulated by reference to natural form.

From August 9-22, 2009 Jacobs University will host the Summer School "Structures in Lie Representation Theory - Crystals, Derived Functors, Harish-Chandra Modules, Invariants, & Quivers". The event, which has drawn together almost one hundred ínternational participants, is being organised by Jacobs University professor of Mathematics Dr. Ivan Penkov, Dr. Anthony Joseph (Rehovot) and Dr. Anna Melnikov (Haifa), and is being funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. Opening speaker and lecturer is Dr. Gregg Zuckerman, professor of Mathematics at Yale. Dr. Zuckerman discovered Zuckerman functors and translation functors, and with Anthony Knapp classified the irreducible tempered representations of semisimple Lie groups.

After 10 days of challenges and highlights such as excursions to the world nature heritage reserve of the German Wadden Sea, this year’s IMO ended today with the absolute highlight for the 565 participants: The awarding ceremony in Bremen’s concert hall “Die Glocke”, at which 282 medals were bestowed to their respective winners in the presence of Germany's Federal Minister of Education and Research Annette Schavan. In this year’s ranking of nations, China achieved the top rank, followed by Japan, and Russia. Germany ranked ninth among the 104 participating countries. During the ceremony, Kazakhstan was officially named as IMO host country 2010 and the Kazakh delegation received the IMO flag. In the evening the IMO community will celebrate a farewell party on Jacobs University’s campus, which had been their home during their stay in Bremen.

For the 573 participants in this year’s International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) the immediate tournament pressure ended on July 16 after finishing the second of the two exams, on which the championship’s evaluation is based. While it is the jury’s turn now to sweat over result grading and medal placements, the students have started to enjoy the organized leisure time program. One highlight, alongside excursions to explore the region and the celebration of IMO’s 50th anniversary, is the 64-nation soccer tournament on campus. In the true spirit of all Olympic Games as well as of the IMO host Jacobs University, the tournament is marked by extraordinary combinations in the mixed nationality teams, which ignore longstanding political conflicts of the participants’ home countries.

New supercomputer simulations have revealed that turbulence created by jets of material ejected from the disks of the Universe's largest black holes is responsible for halting star formation. The simulations have been made by Marcus Brüggen, Professor of Astrophysics at Jacobs University, and Evan Scannapieco, Assistant Professor at Arizona State University and Professor. The results have been published in the latest issue of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (DOI: arXiv:0905.4726v1).

From July 2 to July 4, 2009, Jacobs University is hosting a workshop with all members of the CyberEmotions consortium and its advisory board. Over 30 participants from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Ireland, and the UK will attend the second meeting of the consortium after its kick-off in February 2009. Apart from progress reports and discussions on practical matters, the meeting is targeted at addressing the issue on how the social sciences can contribute to the concepts and methods used and developed within the CyberEmotions project. The four-year-project, which aims at contributing to the development of socially intelligent information and communication technology and includes nine partner institutions in six European countries, is funded with a total of 3.6 million Euros. 

 On July 1, 2009, the Bremen Chamber of Commerce holds its second economics night at Jacobs University, at which company representatives of the region meet with representatives of science and cultural institutions. Keynote speaker is Christian Wulff, State Governor of Lower Saxony, who will present a talk on »The economic perspectives of the metropolitan region Bremen-Oldenburg and the North-West of Germany«. Greetings will be presented by Lutz H. Peper, President of Bremen’s Chamber of Commerce, and Jacobs University President Joachim Treusch.

From June 25 to June 28, 2009, Jacobs University hosts the 22nd annual conference of the German Peace Psychology Association (Forum Friedenspsychologie FFP) with about 100 participants from all over the world. Some 25 scientists from Europe, the Middle East, and the US will present their latest research on the meeting’s general theme “Attitude Formation, Value Change, and Intercultural Communication: Peace Psychology Perspectives”. The conference is supported by the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), a joint project of Jacobs University and the University of Bremen, and by the Division of Social Psychology of the German Psychological Association (DGPs).

From June 28 to July 5, 2009, on the occasion of the International Darwin Year, Jacobs University hosts the interdisciplinary Summer School "Steps in Evolution: Perspectives from Physics, Biochemistry and Cell Biology 150 Years after Darwin". 20 renowned scientists from all over Europe, India, Japan, and Canada will present and discuss relevant and recent research on the theory of evolution with about 60 graduate students and postdocs, who will convene on the Jacobs campus from all over the world. The summer school is supported by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation and organized by Hildegard Meyer-Ortmanns, Professor of Physics at Jacobs University, and Stefan Thurner, head of the Complex Systems Research Group at Medical University of Vienna.

On Sunday June 28, 2009, Jacobs University, the Carl-Schurz-Deutsch-Amerikanische Club and the Bremen United States Center welcome you to a matinee with the Princeton Tigertones. The internationally acclaimed A-Cappella men's choir of Princeton University students will present their "fireworks" during a 90 minute performance on the Jacobs campus. Their complex and precise harmonies are guaranteed to be impressive. Concert admission is free - however reservations are absolutely necessary.

From now on Jacobs University’s university club shows the permanent exhibition "The Making of a Campus: Jacobs University and History" with documents and images of the campus from its origins in the Interwar period to its development as a university in recent times. The exhibition, which was opened on June 4, 2009, will now be part of the language lab area on the lower floor of the Campus Center. The interested public is cordially invited, there is no entrance fee.

On June 5, graduates from 65 countries will attend Graduation 2009. The Class of 2009, 365 young people in total, is the sixth and largest class to date to graduate from Jacobs University. This year, the location of the graduation ceremony is very special: The »Theater am Goetheplatz« is Bremen’s main theatre and located right in the city center. With an excellent passing rate of 94 % the 184 BA and BSc graduates, 90 MA and MSc graduates, and 91 PhD graduates have again secured Jacobs University a top rank among German universities – a fact our university is proud to celebrate in such a prominent venue.

Ursula M. Staudinger, Jacobs University Vice President and Dean of the university’s Jacobs Center on Lifelong Learning and Institutional Development, has been appointed by Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Olaf Scholz to serve on the new political advisory board “Das halbe Leben. Für eine neue Kultur der Arbeit.” (Half your life. For a new culture of work.) With this initiative, the Ministry aims to set up a new program on adapting the world of work to the ever increasing importance of workers’ and employees’ capability to create added value and at the same time fostering decent work conditions. As vice speaker of the Joint Academies’ Initiative “Altern in Deutschland” (Aging in Germany), Dean Staudinger has been invited to stress the demographic angle.

 In May 2009, the German Psychological Society (Deutsche Psychologische Gesellschaft DGPs) elected Dr. Brigitte Kudielka, Professor of Health Psychology at Jacobs University, as a new member of the Ethics Commission. By appointing Prof. Kudielka, the Commission of seven under direction of Prof. Dr. Sigrun Heide-Filipp is complete again. Kudielka replaces Prof. Dr. Melanie Caroline Steffens of the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, who served on the commission for two years.

From May 14th till June 1st, 2009, Suna Turhan, student of Comparative Literature and Culture at Jacobs University Bremen, is playing the female leading role of Zsuzsa/Flieder in the cross-cultural drama production “Flieder & Flagge” (Lilac and Flag) at Neues Schauspielhaus Bremen. The play which is based on the novel of John Berger is shown in six performances and focuses on the difficult subject “homeland” and the question of how it feels to give up home. Actors as well as live-musicians of the production are laymen; most of them have never performed in a play before. The ensemble, citizens of Bremen with Turkish background, had two month for conceptualizing and rehearsing the profound play which deals with the topic immigration within the this year´s country focus Turkey.

 On May 12, 2009, Jacobs University expects about 200 guests from Germany and abroad to participate in its commemoration ceremony for the university’s great benefactor and patron Klaus J. Jacobs. Guests of honor are, besides the closest members of the Jacobs family, the Bremen Mayor Jens Böhrnsen, Volker ter Meulen, President of the German Academy of Science Leopoldina, and former President of the Swiss Confederation Flavio Cotti. Klaus J. Jacobs, who furthered the university’s development right from the beginning and provided sustainable support through the Jacobs Foundation’s unparalleled investment in November 2006, passed away on September 11 last year in Küsnacht after a severe illness.

On May 9th, Jacobs University Bremen and the Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA) met a second time at the "Hanse Rowing Cup" in Hamburg. The coxed eight from Jacobs University easily won the race by one and half boat lengths, capturing the trophy which will remain in Bremen at least until next year's race. 500 spectators and supporters followed the teams from the banks of the Alster between Krugkoppel- und Kennedybrücke - cheering on the victorious Jacobs Buccaneers at the Hamburger und Germania Ruderclub finish line .

On May 6, the CHE (Center for Higher Education Development) and the renowned weekly German newspaper DIE ZEIT published their university ranking 2009. Jacobs University received top assessments for overall study conditions as well as mentoring and supervision for five out of six fields of study newly ranked this year. Moreover, facilities and equipment received top marks. In the fields of Biology and Geosciences, Jacobs University is front runner of all ranked universities.

On April 29, 2009, Jacobs University celebrated with 200 invited guests the official opening of its fourth and largest college. The student residence was named "College Nordmetall" in honor of the employers’ association NORDMETALL, whose donations of in total 15 million Euros in 2000 and in 2007 made the realization of the project possible. The city state of Bremen was also involved in the financing of the new college. The completion of the 16 month long project offers living space for more than 250 students and allows for the planned increase in total student numbers from 1200 to 1500 students by 2011 to be realized.

On Tuesday, April 28, 2009, Jacobs University invites the interested public to the lecture “Wissenschaftliches Schmuggeln durch Buch und Bühne” (Scientfic Smuggeling through Book and Stage) by Prof. Dr. Carl Djerassi. The Vienna-born American scientist gained worldwide renown by developing the first contraceptive pill in 1951 together with his colleagues Gregory Pincus und John Rock. As a novelist and playwright he later on focused on the popular conveyance of science through literature and stage – which is also the topic of his talk. The German- language lecture starts at 7 p. m. in the Campus Center, admission is free. A reception after the talk will provide an opportunity for some personal talk with the guest.

In the context of the Cognitive Systems EU Program, Jacobs University heads a 3.27-million-Euro-project for the development of intelligent computer-based speech recognition designed according to neural structures and processes of speech comprehension in the human brain. Partners in the three-year-project, which started in April 2009, are five European research teams and one industrial associate. The interdisciplinary consortium is looking for entirely new solutions to this particular problem in the field of Artificial Intelligence, which to a large extent remains unsolved in spite of 20 years of intensive research efforts worldwide. Project coordinator is Herbert Jaeger, Professor of Computer Science at Jacobs University.

Visiting the campus is often times the best way to get a complete picture of a university and its programs. Jacobs University therefore invites prospective students and their families as well as teachers and career advisors to visit the campus for the 2009 Open House on Saturday, April 25th, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and see what makes Jacobs University one of the premier institutions in Germany. During the event, guests will have the opportunity to interact with Jacobs students, faculty, and staff. Questions and concerns will be addressed as invaluable information about the admission process is provided and numerous opportunities available at Jacobs University are highlighted.

For the retrieval and analysis of especially large amounts of geo-spatial data the international standardization committee Open GeoSpatial Consortium (OGC) now published the "Web Coverage Processing Service" (WCPS) as a worldwide standard. WCPS defines a computer language, which for the first time ever can retrieve sensor, image, and statistics raster data from remote geo data servers, independently of data format and server programming. In addition, WCPS allows the selection, linkage and analysis of the data directly with each inquiry. Developer of the intelligent geo data retrieval service is Peter Baumann, Professor of Computer Science at Jacobs University.

On Sunday, 5th of April, the Jacobs University Cricket team was the winner of the cricket tournament in Oldenburg. There were three teams present; Oldenburger Cricket Club, Jacobs University Bremen and Cricket Club Hamburg. The teams played two six-over games against each other, and the best two teams then qualified for the final.

From April 5 to 9, 2009, the 6th “Bremen International Model United Nations“ (BRIMUN) will be held at Jacobs University Bremen. Organized by the Model United Nations student society, BRIMUN will bring together over 120 students from more than 25 nations who will simulate the work of the United Nations for five days. Under the overarching theme “democracy” six UN-committees will deal with different topics ranging from development issues to security crises.

From April 5 to 9, 2009, the 6th “Bremen International Model United Nations“ (BRIMUN) will be held at Jacobs University Bremen. Organized by the Model United Nations student society, BRIMUN will bring together over 120 students from more than 25 nations who will simulate the work of the United Nations for five days. Under the overarching theme “democracy” six UN-committees will deal with different topics ranging from development issues to security crises.

On Monday, March 30, 2009, Prof. Dr. Terence Kealy, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham, the only degree awarding private university in the United Kingdom, visits Jacobs University. Kealy will round out his stay with a lecture advocating the independence of research and teaching in higher education from public governance. The informative and entertaining English-language talk starts at 6 p.m. in the Campus Center Conference Room and is followed by a discussion and a small reception. All are welcome!

In modern biotechnology, biocatalysts are crucial in the industrial scale synthesis of ultrapure chemicals. The performance of such enzymes in terms of efficiency and product quality can be significantly improved by modifying their genetic code. SeSaM-Biotech GmbH, a company newly founded by biochemical engineering experts and Jacobs University’s investment company JCBS Holding GmbH, for the first time markets a patent developed on-campus for enzyme optimization by “Directed Evolution.” In addition to the patented SeSaM (Sequence Saturation Mutagenesis) technology Jacobs University’s second spin-off offers contract research and numerous biochemical engineering services.

On March 18, Jacobs University hosted the Second Annual Logistics Chain Gathering on campus. On the occasion Jacobs University invited businessmen, executives, students and faculty from the logistics field to come together and discuss current business issues and exchange ideas and visions.

Have you ever dreamed of having an original Ottoman style Turkish meal? Or your computer is badly in need of competent servicing, your bike of cleaning and repairing? Do you hate ironing, shopping or window cleaning? You are a sweet tooth and would like to eat a freshly baked cake every week until mid May? Babysitting, drumming lessons, a DJ for your next party? Now is your chance to address these issues and desires by participating in Jacobs University’s first service auction. In total 50 useful, imaginative and fun services provided by students, staff and faculty members are up for bidding. The auction, which was initialized by the Class of 2009 Graduation Committee as a fundraiser for this year’s graduation ball, has already begun online. It will culminate in a final live auction on Monday, March 23, 1 p. m. – 2 p. m. in the Reimar Lüst Hall Lobby.

On Monday, March 2, 2009, the internationally renowned art historian and art critic James Elkins will present his analysis of the development of visual studies as a research field within this year’s SHSS lecture series on visual communication and expertise. The English-language lecture starts at 7 p. m. in the Conference Room of the Campus Center. All are welcome!

Asianisms in Chinese historiography of Asia in the 20th century: The 1928 history book „Outline of the weak and small nations of Asia“ portrays Asia as the victim of Western imperialism.

Jacobs University receives about 320,000 Euros from the German Research Foundation DFG for research on „Asianisms“, which are cultural, political or societal concepts of Asia defined by Asians since the 19th century. The focus of the project lies on the analysis of data and sources from various countries, among them China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand and India. The aim is a history based insight into Asia’s tremendous integration potential today as an economic and cultural region. The project, which starts this spring, is initially funded for a two-year-period with a prolongation option. Project leaders are the historians and Jacobs professors Marc Frey and Nicola Spakowski.

 On February 19, 2009, Laurenz Thomsen, Professor of Geosciences at Jacobs University and head of the university’s Ocean Lab, together with his team gave an exciting insight into the life under water for a group of school children from the Lessing School in Bremen. The presentation was the first prize of the 2nd “Beluga School for Life Bremen Dance Contest” of the “Chang Song”, which took place in July last year. The contest is open to all Bremen pupils and aims at facilitating an insight into the Asian and Thai culture in particular.

Jacobs University receives about € 630,000 in the context of two international research projects on the development and optimization of industrial methods for the production and retrieval of biosynthetic substances. Coordinated by Jacobs University, a European Union (EU) research consortium with a total volume of € 1.4 million will focus on developing a novel, highly efficient extraction method for yeast-produced bio-pharmaceuticals. Furthermore, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funds a project on the optimization of biosynthetic enzyme production by fungi cultures for the application in the wine industry with a total of € 1.7 million. Project leader at Jacobs University is Marcelo Fernandez-Lahore, Professor of Biochemical Engineering. Funded for a two-year-period each, both projects started in January 2009.

On Saturday, February 14, about 80 athletes from Hamburg, Bremen, and the Bremen region will participate in either the 4 x 500 meter relay race or the 2000 meter single race set up by Jacobs University’s second indoor rowing cup on ergometers. Amongst the participants are Bastian Seibt, member of last year’s German Olympic team, former vice world rowing champion Mark Schreyer and world championship participant Thorsten Prepa. The Jacobs Ergocup starts at 2 p.m. in the Campus Center. The interested public is cordially invited; there is no entrance fee.

Today, Katja Windt, Bernd Rogge Professor of Global Production Logistics at Jacobs University, received the Alfried Krupp Prize for Young Professors 2008, which is endowed with one million Euros. The Bremen researcher was presented with the award by North-Rhine Westphalian Prime Minister Jürgen Rüttgers during a ceremony in Essen in the Villa Hügel. The Alfried Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach foundation’s board of trustees, headed by the renowned patron and former montan industry leader Berthold Beitz, decided unanimously for the young scientist, who prevailed over 39 further candidates.

From January 30 to February 1, 2009, Bremen will again be the stage for the international rhetoric contest which has been organized annually by Jacobs University’s Debating Society since 2005. Approximately 100 students from all over Europe registered for the Jacobs Open 2009. As in the previous years, the Grand Final on Sunday will be a public event, for the first time taking place in the Bremen parliament, the “Bremische Bürgerschaft”. To demonstrate the dynamic of the tournament with its formalities, rules and serious to facetious motions, the public for the very first time is also invited to attend the preliminary rounds on Saturday in the Interfaith House and Conference Hall on the Jacobs Campus. The entrance is free of charge for all events.