The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres () is the largest scientific organisation in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is a union of 18 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centers. The official mission of the Association is "solving the grand challenges of science, society and industry". Scientists at Helmholtz therefore focus research on complex systems which affect human life and the environment. The namesake of the association is the German physiologist and physicist

Hermann von Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (; ; 31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894; "von" since 1883) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The ...

.Helmholtz Association – About Us
retrieved 24-May-2012. The annual budget of the Helmholtz Association amounts to €5.8 billion, of which about 70% is raised from public funds. The remaining 30% of the budget is acquired by the 19 individual Helmholtz Centres in the form of contract funding. The public funds are provided by the federal government (90%) and the rest by the

States of Germany The Federal Republic of Germany is a federation and consists of sixteen partly sovereign ''states''. Of the sixteen states, thirteen are so-called area-states ('Flächenländer'); in these, below the level of the state government, there is a ...

(10%). The Helmholtz Association was ranked #6 in 2022 by the Nature Index, which measures the largest contributors to papers published in 82 leading journals.

Members

Map of 19 member centers of the Helmholtz association

Members of the Helmholtz Association are: * Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (''Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung'', AWI), Bremerhaven * Helmholtz Center for Information Security, CISPA, Saarbrücken * German Electron Synchrotron (''Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron'', DESY), Hamburg *

German Cancer Research Center The German Cancer Research Center (known as the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum or simply DKFZ in German language, German) is a national cancer research center based in Heidelberg, Germany. It is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German ...

(''Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum'', DKFZ), Heidelberg * German Aerospace Center (''Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt'', DLR), Cologne * German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (''Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen''; DZNE), Bonn * Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) ''Jülich Research Center'', Jülich *

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; ) is both a German public research university in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, and a research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT was created in 2009 when the University of Karlsruhe (), founde ...

(''Karlsruher Institut für Technologie'', KIT), (formerly Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe), Karlsruhe * Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, (''Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung'', HZI), Braunschweig * GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences (''Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam – Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ'', Potsdam * Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, formerly known as ''Gesellschaft für Kernenergieverwertung in Schiffbau und Schiffahrt mbH'' (GKSS), Geesthacht * Helmholtz München German Research Centre for Environmental Health (HMGU), Neuherberg * GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research (''GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung''), Darmstadt * Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin for Materials and Energy (''Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie'', HZB), Berlin * Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (''Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung'', UFZ), Leipzig * Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics (''Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik'', IPP), Garching * Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (''Max-Delbrück-Centrum für Molekulare Medizin in der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft'', MDC), Berlin-Buch * Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) formerly known as ''Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf'' (FZD) changed 2011 from the Leibniz Association to the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers, Dresden * Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) formerly known as Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR), Kiel Helmholtz Institutes are partnerships between a Helmholtz Center and a university (the institutes are not members of the Helmholtz Association themselves). Examples of Helmholtz Institutes include: * Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Würzburg, established in 2017

Programme structure

The works of the centers are categorised into programmes, which are divided into six research groups.Helmholtz Association - Research
retrieved 29-Sept-2015 The Helmholtz centers are grouped according to which research group they belong to: * Energy includes contributions from DLR, KIT, FZJ, GFZ, HZB, HZDR, IPP. Topics are Renewable energies, energy efficient conversion,

nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction, reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nuclei, nuclei/neutrons, neutron by-products. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the rele ...

and

nuclear safety Nuclear safety is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "The achievement of proper operating conditions, prevention of accidents or mitigation of accident consequences, resulting in protection of workers, the public and the ...

. *Earth and environment is studied at AWI, DLR, FZJ, KIT, HZI, GEOMAR, GFZ, HZG, HMGU, UFZ. Topics are ''the changing earth'', ''marine, coastal and polar systems'',

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

and

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

, biogeosystems and the topic ''terrestrial environment''. Helmholtz Earth & Environment unites its research under the program "Changing Earth - Sustaining our Future" and has established the synthesis and communication platform Helmholtz SynCom. SynCom brings together scientific knowledge and connects science, society, and politics to address global environmental challenges. *Health is studied at the DKFZ, FZJ, KIT, HZI, DZNE HZG, HMGU, GSI, HZB, HZDR, MDC, and UFZ. This includes

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

research, cardio-vascular and

metabolic Metabolism (, from ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the ...

disease research,

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its behavior, actions and sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its body. Th ...

infection An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

and immunity, environmental

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

studies, comparative genomics for human health. *Information is studied at FZJ, KIT, HZG,, and in cooperation with the HZB. *Matter is studied at DESY, FZJ, KIT, HZG, GSI, HZB, HZDR. Topics are elementary and astro

particle physics Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...

hadron In particle physics, a hadron is a composite subatomic particle made of two or more quarks held together by the strong nuclear force. Pronounced , the name is derived . They are analogous to molecules, which are held together by the electri ...

s and

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...

, PNI-research (research with

Photon A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are massless particles that can ...

Neutron The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , that has no electric charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. The Discovery of the neutron, neutron was discovered by James Chadwick in 1932, leading to the discovery of nucle ...

s and Ions),

aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design process, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred ...

space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

and

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

research. *Aeronautics, Space and Transport is studied at DLR. Major research topics are mobility, information systems and communication.

The Helmholtz Climate Initiative

Eight of the above-mentioned Helmholtz centers are part of the ''Helmholtz Climate Initiative Regional Climate'' (in German: ''Regionale Klimainitiative''
REKLIM
in order to tackle the interactions between

, sea ice,

ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

and land surfaces. These interactions determine the

of the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. Detailed observations and process studies are combined within the initiative. For the funding period 2009-2013 the REKLIM-initiative has a budget of 32.2 million Euro. In this funding period, the program is divided into seven topics, each of the topics is organized in various work-packages. # Coupled modelling of regional earth systems. Model regions are the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Highly resolved regional model are used to simulate atmosphere, ocean, sea ice, ice sheets, land surface, soil, vegetation, aerosol chemistry and other components on a regional scale. # Sea-level changes and coastal protection. The effects of glacier and ice-stream dynamics, the response of the ocean on heating and melt water run-off are studied in particularly for Greenland. # Regional climate changes in the Arctic Forcing and long-term effects at the land-ocean interface # The land surface in the climate system # Chemistry-climate interactions on global to regional scales # Extreme weather events Storms, heavy precipitation, floods and droughts # Socio-economics and management

Climate change adaptation Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to the effects of climate change, both current and anticipated.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary[Möller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger ...

and mitigation strategies In the second funding period (2011–2015), three additional topics have been added.

Open access

The Helmholtz Association was one of the initial signatories of the 2003 Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. This commitment towards Open Access in Germany, open access publishing of scientific research was then formally approved by its Assembly of Members, an assembly of the directors of the Helmholtz Centers. In a September 2004 Resolution the Assembly adopted the following commitment: "Publications from the Helmholtz Association shall in future, without exception, be available free of charge, as far as no conflicting agreement with publishers or others exists." While the Helmholtz Association has no strict open access mandate. The Helmholtz Association encourages gold open access, while green open access is promoted through institutional repositories of the individual Helmholtz Centers. To further the idea of open science, the Helmholtz Association maintains the Helmholtz Open Science Coordination Office.Helmholtz Open Science Coordination Office
, Helmholtz Association

References

External links

* {{Authority control Organisations based in Berlin Organisations based in Bonn Research institutes in Germany Research institutes established in 1995 1995 establishments in Germany Scientific organisations based in Germany