uni.news

» Published on 2. November 2010

CHE-Ranking: Mathematics at Bielefeld University – One of Europe's leaders

The Faculty of Mathematics at Bielefeld University belongs to the "Excellence Group" of European mathematics departments according to the ExcellenceRanking published today by the CHE Centre for Higher Education Development in Gütersloh. The Faculty ranked particularly strongly in the number of publications, the number of citations, and in student mobility. A further important criterion was having an Erasmus Mundus Masters Course. According to CHE, this makes Bielefeld University one of the 130 European higher education institutes offering excellent departments and an international orientation to Masters and postgraduate students.

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» Published on 25. Oktober 2010

Bielefeld University to the Host Largest German Psychology Congress

The German Psychological Society is to hold its 48th Congress at Bielefeld University. "In 2 years, we shall be welcoming something between 2,600 and 3,000 psychologists to Bielefeld. Although most are engaged in scientific work, the German Psychological Society's congress is also becoming increasingly important for practitioners as well" says the upcoming President of the congress Professor Dr. Rainer Riemann from the Psychology Department at Bielefeld University.

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» Published on 14. Oktober 2010

Marbles on the horizon

Scientists make new discoveries about the nature of natural fine aerosol particles

An international team of scientists from Finland, the United States, and Germany – with important contributions from the Bielefeld chemist Professor Dr. Thomas Koop – has made some remarkable new discoveries about natural fine aerosol particles. In their article published in Nature, the authors describe experiments showing that, contrary to previous assumptions, the aerosol particles produced by forests are not liquid but solid. This makes it necessary to rethink and reevaluate how they impact on atmospheric processes and Earth's climate.

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» Published on 11. Oktober 2010

Award for Bielefeld's BASE search engine

On Wednesday 6 October at this year's SuMa Awards in Berlin, the Association for Free Access to Knowledge gave a special prize to the "Bielefeld Academic Search Engine" (BASE) for its exceptional contribution to indexing open-access documents.

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» Published on 7. Oktober 2010

Martin Carrier, Professor of Philosophy joins the Academia Europaea, The Academy of Europe

Dr. Martin Carrier, Professor of Philosophy at Bielefeld University's Faculty of History, Philosophy, and Theology, has been appointed to the Academia Europaea, The Academy of Europe in the Section Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Studies. Founded in Cambridge in 1988, the Academia Europaea aims to promote learning, education, and research in Europe and to strengthen interdisciplinary and international academic exchange.

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» Published on 7. Oktober 2010

Songbirds do have a sense of smell after all!

Biologists at Bielefeld overturn accepted opinion

Songbirds can't smell. At least, that's what everybody thought up to now. However, the truth looks different: Two biologists at Bielefeld University, Dr. Barbara Caspers and Tobias Krause, have found out that young zebra finches can distinguish their own nest from other nests by the way it smells. You can read their study in the online version of the journal Biology Letters published by the renowned British Royal Society.

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» Published on 17. September 2010

"Times Higher Education" Ranking: Bielefeld is the Best University in North Rhine-Westphalia

In the 2010–2011 Higher Education Ranking of the prestigious British magazine Times Higher Education,  Bielefeld University is the best of all the higher education institutes in  North  Rhine-Westphalia. Bielefeld is the eighth best university in Germany, holds the 67th place in Europe, and 173rd place in the whole world.

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» Published on 23. August 2010

Continued Funding for the German-Chinese Research Training Group

DFG grants a further four and one-half years of funding The Research Training Group Stochastics and Real World Models, a joint project involving academics from Bielefeld University and colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, has been granted an immediate four and one-half years of further financial support from the German Research Foundation (DFG). The core of the project is the joint training of young researchers within the framework of a structured doctoral degree programme. Starting this autumn, 15 doctoral students in Bielefeld and 20–25 in Beijing will receive joint training in stochastics and its applications, and their doctoral theses will be supervised jointly by Chinese and German academics. Up to the present, more than 30 young researchers have completed their doctorates within the framework of this German-Chinese exchange programme. Many of them are now working on their further academic careers in either Europe or China.

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» Published on 4. August 2010

Intensive and far-reaching cooperation agreement signed by Bielefeld and Osaka Universities

High-ranking delegation comes to Bielefeld University

The President of Osaka University, Professor Dr. Kiyokazu Washida, and the Rektor of Bielefeld University, Professor Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Sagerer, have signed a cooperation agreement between the two universities. The signing took place when the Osaka University delegation came to Bielefeld. This cooperation agreement formalizes the many years of good relations between academics from the two universities and will allow even closer and more productive cooperation over research and teaching in the future.

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» Published on 28. Juli 2010

Robots as Fitness Coaches for Astronauts

New Research Project at Bielefeld University

As part of a new project funded by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), scientists at Bielefeld are studying new ways of reducing the physical and psychological stress facing astronauts spending a long time in space. The idea is to use so-called artificial intelligent robot systems. The 3-year project is located in the Research Institute for Cognition and Robotics (CoR-Lab) at Bielefeld University and is receiving a grant of 2.2 million Euros .
"Mens sana in corpore sano." – The best way for astronauts to keep mind and body "in shape" is fitness training. Particularly during long periods in space, it is necessary to counter not only the negative effects of weightlessness on the muscles, but also mental complaints such as depression. The new project at Bielefeld University will study whether a robotic fitness coach can help astronauts to overcome their natural human laziness and run through regular training units in order to minimize muscular atrophy.

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