Annual Report 2013 by Forschungszentrum Jülich

Annual Report 2013

Das Forschungszentrum Jülich auf einen Blick Das Forschungszentrum Jülich betreibt interdisziplinäre Spitzenforschung und stellt sich drängenden Fragen der Gegenwart. Mit seinen Kompetenzen in der Materialforschung und Simulation und seiner Expertise in der Physik, der Nano- und Informationstechnologie sowie den Biowissenschaften und der Hirnforschung entwickelt es die Grundlagen für zukünftige Schlüsseltechnologien. Damit leistet das Forschungszentrum Beiträge zur Lösung großer gesellschaftlicher Herausforderungen in den Bereichen Energie und Umwelt sowie Information und Gehirn. Das Forschungszentrum Jülich geht neue Wege in strategischen Partnerschaften mit Hochschulen, Forschungseinrichtungen und der Industrie im In- und Ausland. Mit mehr als 5.000 Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeitern gehört es als Mitglied der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft zu den großen interdisziplinären Forschungszentren Europas.

Gründung 11. Dezember 1956 Gesellschafter Bundesrepublik Deutschland (90 Prozent) Land Nordrhein-Westfalen (10 Prozent) Stammkapital 520.000 Euro Erlöse 617 Millionen Euro Fläche 2,2 Quadratkilometer Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter Gesamt 5.534 Darin enthalten: Wissenschaftler 1.924 (davon Doktoranden 498) Technisches Personal 1.700 Auszubildende & Praktikanten 335 (Stichtag 31.12.2013)

Vorstand Prof. Dr. Achim Bachem (Vorsitzender) Karsten Beneke (Stellvertretender Vorsitzender) Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt (Mitglied des Vorstands) Prof. Dr. Harald Bolt (Mitglied des Vorstands) Aufsichtsrat Ministerialdirektor Dr. Karl Eugen Huthmacher (Vorsitzender) Wissenschaftlicher Beirat Dr. Heike Riel, Schweiz (Vorsitz) Wissenschaftlich-Technischer Rat Prof. Dr. Hans Ströher (Vorsitz)

Gastwissenschaftler 995 aus 39 Ländern

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Forschungszentrum Jülich at a Glance Forschungszentrum Jülich pursues cutting-edge interdisciplinary research addressing the pressing issues of the present. With its competence in materials science and simulation, and its expertise in physics, nanotechnology, and information technology, as well as in the biosciences and brain research, Jülich is developing the basis for the key technologies of tomorrow. In this way, Forschungszentrum Jülich helps to solve the grand challenges facing society in the fields of energy and environment, information, and brain research. Forschungszentrum Jülich is also exploring new avenues in strategic partnerships with universities, research institutions, and industry in Germany and abroad. With more than 5,000 employees, Jülich – a member of the Helmholtz Association – is one of the large interdisciplinary research centres in Europe.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Founded 11 December 1956 Partners Federal Republic of Germany (90 %) Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia (10 %) Share capital € 520,000 Revenue € 617 million Area 2.2 km2 Staff Total 5,534 Including: Scientists 1,924 (inc. PhD students & scholarship holders 498) Technical staff 1,700 Trainees & students on placement 335 (As of: 31.12.2013)

Visiting scientists 995 from 39 countries Board of Directors Prof. Dr. Achim Bachem (Chairman) Karsten Beneke (Vice-Chairman) Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt (Member of the Board) Prof. Dr. Harald Bolt (Member of the Board) Supervisory Board Ministerialdirektor Dr. Karl Eugen Huthmacher (Chairman) Scientific Advisory Council Dr. Heike Riel (Chairman) Scientific and Technical Council Prof. Dr. Hans Ströher (Chairman)

Annual Report 2013 Contents

17 Highlight: Information and the Brain Understanding how the brain works and the processes within it is a huge challenge for science. For this task, Forschungszentrum Jülich utilizes its expertise in two areas: in brain research and in supercomputing.

25 Knowledge Management Creating knowledge, imparting it, sharing it, and using it – these are the elements of effective knowledge management at Forschungszentrum Jülich. As part of this process, the sustainable campus project encompasses the aim of sustainable development targeting both science at large and each individual’s everyday work.

This annual report is also available as an e-book: http://issuu.com/fz_juelich/stacks

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Forschungszentrum Jülich at a Glance

Preface by the Board of Directors

Chronology

Highlight

• Digital 3D Atlases of the Brain

• How the Brain is Wired

• “Operating the Computer that Will Simulate the Brain as a Whole”

• Rules for Reorganization in the Brain

Knowledge Management

Sustainable Campus on Open Day

Our Business: Knowledge

Creating Knowledge Achieving and Publishing New Insights

A Vision Becomes Reality: Electrically Controllable Qubits

How Aerosols that Affect the Climate are Formed

Accolades

Third-Party Funding

Work at Other Locations

Project Management Organizations

Excellent Platforms

Personnel and Professors

Imparting Knowledge Training with Prospects

The Next Generation of Scientists

Sharing Knowledge Knowledge Worldwide

Collaborations

Commercial Airliners Serving Atmospheric Research

Europe Accelerates Development of Exascale Computer

Jülich Aachen Research Alliance

JARA-FIT: Nanoswitches for Tomorrow’s Information Technology

Using Knowledge Jülich Know-How in Industry and Society

Research for Practical Applications

Appendix

Finances

Bodies and Committees

Organization Chart

Contact Information

Publication Details

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Preface by the Board of Directors

nderstanding the human brain, uncovering how some 100 billion neurons with their trillion connections function when humans think and act – this is an enormous scientific challenge. The EU’s Human Brain Project aims to get closer to this goal. It kicked off in 2013 and Forschungszentrum Jülich is an important partner. The EU and its member states are investing more than € 1 billion in this large-scale research project in order to learn bit by bit how the

human brain works at the cellular and molecular levels. Forschungszentrum Jülich’s expertise in the areas of brain research and supercomputing is invaluable for this endeavour. As both of these scientific fields are becoming increasingly intertwined, we have combined them in a new research priority at Jülich: information and the brain. This annual report highlights examples from this field of work. For example, neuroscientists at Jülich are working on increasingly detailed maps of the human brain,

Prof. Dr. Achim Bachem (right), who had been Chairman of the Board of Directors of Forschungszentrum Jülich since 1 October 2006, has since retired. He hands over to Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt, former Chairman of the German Council of Science and Humanities and professor of process systems engineering at RWTH Aachen University. From 1 July 2014, he will set the course for Forschungszentrum Jülich together with his colleagues on the Board of Directors.

evaluating information on structure and function as they proceed; researchers at Jülich are developing simulations that are as true to reality as possible of individual areas of the brain using supercomputers and have thus learned, for instance, how the brain re-organizes itself following injuries. Work on the second research priority at Jülich – energy and environment – was successfully expanded in 2013 with the foundation of the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg Renewable Energy Production (HI ERN) in August. This institute merges the expertise of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Forschungszentrum Jülich, and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin in the areas of photovoltaics and chemical energy storage, expertise that is essential for the widespread and cheap use of renewable energy and for the successful transformation of the energy sector in Germany. Another new external subinstitute – the Helmholtz Institute Münster – will concentrate on the area of battery research. It was officially opened in June 2014 and has since begun work. This centre of excellence pools expertise from the University of Münster, Forschungszentrum Jülich, and RWTH Aachen University and focuses on energy storage, which is critical for the transformation of the energy sector and for the expansion of electromobility. More than 20,000 visitors got a taste of the wide range of research at Jülich when Forschungszentrum Jülich opened its doors to the public on 29 September. The theme of Open Day this time around was sustainability as Forschungszentrum Jülich has taken on a responsibility for the world of tomorrow – in research, for example, by developing a climatesmart energy supply, and in the way we

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

The Board of Directors of Forschungszentrum J端lich: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Bolt, Prof. Dr. Achim Bachem, Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt, and Karsten Beneke (from left to right)

work everyday, such as by using energy-efficient lighting on our campus. The concept of a sustainable campus, which also includes a master plan for the sustainable construction and renovation of buildings as well as smart energy use, defines how such measures should be

Prof. Dr. Achim Bachem (Chairman of the Board of Directors)

strategically planned and implemented. As one of only a few non-university research institutions, Forschungszentrum J端lich recently published its first sustainability report. It complies with the internationally accepted standards defined by the Global Reporting Initiative

Karsten Beneke (Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors)

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum J端lich

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Bolt (Member of the Board of Directors)

(GRI) in its Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and is the first of its kind within the Helmholtz Association.

Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt (Member of the Board of Directors)

Chronology April 2013 to March 2014

Measuring Clouds 2 April 2013 | Start of the three-month HOPE campaign. In an area measuring 100 km2 around Forschungszentrum Jülich, swivel-mounted units are using laser light, radio waves, and microwaves to measure the three-dimensional structure of clouds up to an altitude of 10 km. The base station is the cloud observatory JOYCE on the Jülich campus. HOPE is part of the HD(CP)2 project which involves 120 researchers from 16 institutions. It aims to improve our understanding of cloud formation and thus improve weather and climate models.

Energy-Saving Data Storage 23 April 2013 | Novel nanoelectronic components based on resistive memory cells can, in principle, store considerably more data on less space than today’s FLASH devices and hard drives. They also require far less power. Jülich scientists publish their fundamental and practically important findings in the journal Nature Communications. They conclude that a certain type of resistive memory cell must be described as a type of nanobattery and that its circuitry must be modelled accordingly (see “JARA-FIT: Nanoswitches for Tomorrow’s Information Technology”, p. 66).

Molecular Chaperone 14 May 2013 | “Chaperones” are what the experts call substances in the body that assist proteins in adopting their complex spatial structure. How this occurs in detail was a mystery up to now. In Cell, a team including Jülich scientists report on how they analysed a transition state of protein folding in the cavity of the common chaperone GroEL for the first time. Such insights into protein folding are important because scientists have already identified incorrectly folded proteins as a factor in several illnesses. 8

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Oxide Cluster Laboratory Opened 24 May 2013 | The requirements that computer processors and data storage must fulfil are becoming increasingly complex, while simultaneously their energy consumption must not increase excessively. “The Oxide Cluster will enable researchers at Jülich to work on both challenges at the same time,” said Thomas Rachel, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Education and Research, at the official opening of the laboratory. The Oxide Cluster is the first laboratory to make it possible to investigate sensitive oxide layers for new logic and storage elements during growth and directly after various switching processes.

Setting Course for the Bioeconomy 27 May 2013 | The German federal government and the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) agree two important measures aiming to consolidate research for a sustainable bioeconomy. Firstly, they decide that the field of biotechnology at Jülich’s Institute of Bio- and Geosciences will be permanently funded by the Helmholtz Association. Secondly, the Bioeconomy Science Center, which is run by Forschungszentrum Jülich, RWTH Aachen University, and the universities of Bonn and Düsseldorf, will receive in excess of € 58 million over the next ten years.

Less Platinum, Cheaper Catalyst 16 June 2013 | Researchers from Jülich and Berlin have developed a catalyst for the formation of water from hydrogen and oxygen that only needs one tenth of the amount of platinum usually required. This makes it cheaper and could foster the breakthrough of fuel cells as an environmenntally friendly alternative to combustion engines. In Nature ure Materials, the researchers report that the geometric shape hape of the nanometre catalyst particles is essential forr their performance. Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

3D Brain Atlas 21 June 2013 | In the high-impact journal Science, neuroscientists from Jülich and Montreal present Big Brain: a three-dimensional virtual atlas that visualizes the complicated structure of the brain on a microscopic scale. It provides insights with a resolution of 20 micrometres, which is about the size of a neuron. The freely accessible atlas will help researchers to learn more about both the healthy and diseased brain (see “Digital 3D Atlases of the Brain”, p. 18).

Crowds Converge for Research 22 June 2013 | How can large-scale events be made even safer? A four-day experiment run by researchers from Jülich, Siegen, and Wuppertal addressing this very issue is successfully completed. In a trade fair hall in Düsseldorf, some 2,000 people moved about in pre-defined areas where paths purposely crossed and bottlenecks were artificially created. The routes taken by each individual pedestrian were recorded using specially developed video technology and important data were generated for analyses and computer simulations.

Drug Production Made Easy 24 June 2013 | Scientists at Jülich publish a new procedure in the journal Angewandte Chemie that enables the efficient and sustainable production of norephedrine and norpseudoephedrine. Both substances are used as appetite suppressors and in drugs for cardiovascular disease. The researchers successfully fabricated them from cheap starting materials in just two steps using the targeted application of enzymes. The process occurs in a single reaction vessel.

Electricity Power plant

Evaluation of Carbon Storage transportation

27 June 2013 | Under the coordination of Forschungszentrum Jülich, a group of scientists publishes a comprehensive evaluation of technologies aiming to capture and store carbon dioxide (CO2). These technologies are one option of making coal and gas power plants more environmentally friendly. The evaluation concludes that the technologies fare badly in terms of societal acceptance and cost effectiveness. The experts believe that these very points will decide whether they succeed or fail.

Coal

storage

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

How Neurotransmitters are Picked Up 9 July 2013 | Neurotransmitters transfer signals between two neurons. After transmission, transport molecules remove the amino acid glutamate and other neurotransmitters from the tiny space between the cells, the synaptic cleft. This prevents the downstream neuron from becoming permanently excited. Jülich scientists report on how they clarified the binding mechanism of a transporter to the glutamate. Using fluorescence spectroscopy, they were able to observe the two-stage process in real time.

External flap open

Neurotransmitter

Weak bond

External flap closed

Flap closed/strong bond

10.4 Trillion Synapses Simulated 2 August 2013 | Scientists from Jülich and Japan announce that they have simulated a network comprising 1.73 billion neurons connected randomly to each other via some 10.4 trillion contact points known as synapses. The simulation imitated the activities of the neurons that occur within a second and was also intended to reveal the possibilities and limitations of today’s computer technology: all 82,944 processors of the fourth-fastest supercomputer in the world – K in Kobe, Japan – were needed.

Hormonal Disorder Causes High Blood Pressure 4 August 2013 | Nature Genetics publishes new findings on a form of high blood pressure that is caused by an overproduction of the hormone aldosterone. An international research team including scientists from Jülich verified that mutations of the gene CACNA1D alter the switching behaviour of calcium channels in the cell membrane, which fully explains the overproduction of aldosterone. This will pave the way for new methods of treating hyperaldosteronism, which affects an estimated 12 % of all patients with high blood pressure.

Helmholtz Institute Established 20 August 2013 | Renewable energy will play a key role in successfully transforming the energy sector in Germany. In order to address the grand research challenges in this field, Forschungszentrum Jülich, the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin join forces and found the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg. The three partners sign a cooperation agreement at an event attended by Federal Research Minister Prof. Johanna Wanka (see p. 41).

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Solvent-Free Paint Remover 26 August 2013 | Paint manufacturer Alfred Clouth Lackfabrik launches a novel environmentally friendly paint remover on the market that was developed by Jülich scientists in cooperation with the medium-sized enterprise Bernd Schwegmann. The liquid cleans paintbrushes just as well as conventional products but is solvent-free and has no odour. An additive that was optimized in neutron experiments is what makes it possible to remove paint. The total amount of surface-active agents – surfactants – can thus be considerably reduced.

Triplet Qubit Realized 1 September 2013 | In Nature Nanotechnology, scientists report on how they produced a qubit – the information unit in quantum computers – comprising three “quantum dots” for the very first time. Their experiment confirms a prediction made back in 2000 by Jülich scientist Prof. David P. DiVincenzo, who was also involved in these experiments. DiVincenzo predicted that triplet qubits would be easier to control than qubits comprised of one or two quantum dots (see “A Vision Becomes Reality: Electrically Controllable Qubits”, p. 32).

Research Minister Visits 18 September 2013 | Distinguished visitor from Berlin: Federal Research Minister Prof. Johanna Wanka visits Forschungszentrum Jülich, accompanied by Parliamentary State Secretary Thomas Rachel, to learn about Jülich brain research and Jülich’s supercomputer JUQUEEN, Europe’s fastest supercomputer.

Counting on Neodymium 24 September 2013 | Magnetic molecules are regarded as promising switching elements for future, energy-efficient information processing. Scientists from Jülich and Aachen report in the journal Nature Communications about fabricating a particularly robust molecule that enables the direct electrical readout of magnetic information. This was made possible by using the rare earth metal neodymium as the central building block of the molecule.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Jahresbericht 2013

Open Day 29 September 2013 | More than 20,000 visitors took Forschungszentrum Jülich up on its invitation to experience science hands-on and talk to scientists face-to-face. The focus was on sustainability and Sustainable Campus, with which Forschungszentrum Jülich hopes to position itself permanently as an attractive science location equipped for the future. Following its official opening in the morning, the Helmholtz Nanoelectronic Facility also opened its doors to visitors as one of the most modern nanoelectronic laboratories in Europe (see “Sustainable Campus on Open Day”, p. 26).

Recycling OH Radicals 6 October 2013 | According to their article in Nature Geoscience, Jülich researchers successfully showed that during the degradation of the most important natural hydrocarbon in the atmosphere – isoprene – more hydroxyl (OH) radicals are regenerated than was previously thought. This is important because OH radicals can cleanse the air of pollutants and trace gases. In order to demonstrate this, the scientists recreated the conditions they came across during measurement campaigns in China in the SAPHIR atmospheric simulation chamber at Jülich.

Nanomagnets on Surfaces 6 October 2013 | Nanomagnets comprising a few atoms are considered candidates for future data storage. They could considerably reduce the size of bits, which magnetically code information and currently require one million atoms. In Nature Physics, Jülich physicists propose affixing nanomagnets to the surface of ferromagnetic materials such as iron or cobalt. Their calculations show that this stabilizes the magnetism of the nanoparticles along a preferred direction.

Keratin Function Demonstrated 28 October 2013 | Scientists from Jülich, Leipzig, and Aachen used mouse embryos to fabricate genetically modified epidermal cells containing no keratin (a group of structural proteins). They then measured the stiffness and inner stability of these cells and compared the characteristics to those of non-modified cells. In this way, they succeeded for the first time in verifying what had been assumed for years: keratins are essential in cells and tissue for withstanding mechanical stress. Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Insights into the Protein Factory 3 November 2013 | Ribosomes in biological cells produce proteins – based on blueprints which are coded in DNA. The online edition of Nature Structural & Molecular Biology publishes videos on the processes in these protein factories. The videos, which were produced by a team of researchers from Göttingen, Jülich, and Düsseldorf, comprise highresolution electron micrographs linked to each other with the aid of computer simulations. They reveal how certain molecules move through the ribosome and what molecular forces are involved.

Keynote Lecture at End-of-Year Ceremony 20 November 2013 | Prof. Dieter Willbold and Jun.-Prof. Birgit Strodel explain to 300 guests from politics, science, and industry how protein molecules work like little machines in the cells of our bodies. Using striking images and animations, they demonstrate what happens when these molecular machines are damaged. The work of the two scientists focuses on Alzheimer’s dementia. Their research findings could pave the way towards new methods for the diagnosis and treatment of this neurodegenerative disease.

New Era of Fusion Research 4 December 2013 | Nuclear fusion is considered an environmentally friendly and practically inexhaustible energy source for the future. After 30 years of advancing international fusion research, the last plasma discharge in Jülich’s largescale device TEXTOR heralds the end of an era. However, on the way towards continuous operation of a fusion reactor, Jülich know-how continues to be in demand. For example, a team headed by Jülich researcher Prof. Yunfeng Liang used radio waves to confine a plasma for a record 30 seconds in the Chinese fusion experiment EAST.

Nanoparticles and Cells 2 January 2014 | Jülich researchers have used computer simulations to systematically calculate what effect the shape of nanoparticles has on whether these particles are incorporated by a cell or not. The findings are important because nanotransporters are being investigated throughout the world as a way of introducing drugs directly into diseased cells – thus leaving healthy tissue unaffected.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Sharp Images of Cell Structure 16 February 2014 | Conventional 3D cryo-electron microscopy provides scientists with unique insights into the structure of biological samples. Researchers from Jülich and Israel describe an even more advantageous variant of this technique in the journal Nature Methods. It enables intact cells and other aqueous objects to be visualized with high resolution and contrast, even when the samples are thick.

Atmospheric Chemistry Mystery Solved 27 February 2014 | Aerosols in the atmosphere influence cloud formation, the Earth’s radiation balance, and thus the climate. It was unknown until now exactly how these particles form from the volatile organic substances emitted naturally into the air by trees. In cooperation with international partners, Jülich researchers solved the mystery. As they report in Nature, they characterized extremely lowvolatile vapours which cause the aerosols to grow to sizes of 50–100 nanometres at which they start to influence the climate (see p. 34).

The Ins and Outs of Memory 2 March 2014 | An international team including Jülich researchers presents its findings in Nature Neuroscience on signal transduction in the hippocampus – a brain region involved in learning and memory processes. Here, the membrane protein connexin 30 plays a decisive role in transmitting excitatory stimuli. It influences the mobility of fine extensions of astrocytes, which along with neurons are crucial components of the brain.

The Iridescence of the Bird-of-Paradise 3 March 2014 | Physicists from Jülich and Groningen in the Netherlands have used computers to simulate the complex optical properties of the neck and breast feathers of a species of bird-of-paradise. As they report, the results of the simulation are in excellent agreement with previously measured light-scattering patterns and reflectance spectra. The researchers can therefore explain exactly how the colours of the feathers are produced by light reflected on nanostructures in the feathers.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Highlight 18 Digital 3D Atlases of the Brain 20 How the Brain is Wired 21 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Operating the Computer that Will Simulate the Brain as a Wholeâ&#x20AC;? 23 Rules for Reorganization in the Brain

Digital 3D Atlases of the Brain Scientists working with Prof. Katrin Amunts are mapping how the human brain is constructed in detail. In 2013, together with Canadian colleagues, they unveiled Big Brain: a digital spatial model of a brain based on more than 7,400 tissue slices. In addition, the Jülich scientists are creating another 3D atlas – JuBrain – that accounts for the individual differences between human brains.

n 1909, Korbinian Brodmann published a schematic map of the human cerebral cortex, which he split into 43 areas. Using microscopic investigations, he had discovered that the densities and distribution of neurons differed in these brain areas and he used these differences as the basis for his brain map. The scientists headed by Prof. Katrin Amunts and Prof. Karl Zilles – today senior professor in the BRAIN section of the Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) – are working on a common project grounded in the Brodmann tradition. But from the very beginning, this was about much more than just revising his map. The researchers wanted to move away from a two-dimensional map towards a three-dimensional representation of the brain. In addition, this computer-assisted representation should make it possible to integrate and spatially assign other digital data, such

as those on the molecular structure or the function of specific areas. This development leap is comparable with the transition from maps to today’s geospatial information systems used by freight companies and emergency services to plan their routes or by the authorities to analyse environmental data. Unique in the world In 2013, Amunts’ research group published an article together with scientists from the McConnell Brain Imaging Center in Montreal in the high-impact journal Science on the world’s first digital 3D atlas: Big Brain. “Thanks to a very high resolution of 20 micrometres, Big Brain makes the complicated structure of the brain visible right down to the level of individual neurons,” says Amunts. Twenty micrometres or 20 thousandths of a millimetre is thinner than the diameter of a hair.

Prof. Katrin Amunts is director at the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine at Forschungszentrum Jülich and head of the C. and O. Vogt Institute of Brain Research at Düsseldorf University Hospital.

The brain that the Jülich researchers used to create ultrathin tissue slices in a complex multistage process ten years ago was from a 65-year-old female body donor. However, work on Big Brain only really started about five years after this when the necessary computing power became available for the next stage when the tissue slices – a total of 7,404 – were scanned individually. Following this, the scientists postedited around 30 % of all images using special software, removing tears, creases, and other errors present in the images of the tissue slices. In the final step, the supercomputer pieced all of these images together to create the three-dimensional Big Brain. Using this atlas, the scientists can gain new insights into the normal structure of different functional areas of the brain – for example, of those that are important for controlling movements or for memory. This will help the scientists to better appraise changes in the brains of patients in future. More than an atlas Big Brain is not just a 3D atlas but also an anatomical brain model. The concept of a model here is twofold. On the one hand, it refers to the everyday concept of a model in the sense of a reproduction, for example, of a ship or an aircraft – only that Big Brain is a model on the computer. On the other hand, it refers to the concept of a model used specifically by physicists, computer scientists, and climate researchers: for them, a model is a mathematical description and the basis for computer simulations of natural phenomena or

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Creating the tissue slices of the brain demands dexterity and patience: the almost transparent slices are much thinner than the diameter of a hair and they curl up easily or tear at the edges.

processes. In this sense, Big Brain is a mathematical model of organizational principles at the level of neurons. “Big Brain will become a sort of navigation system for the simulation of the brain in the Human Brain Project,” says Amunts. The Human Brain Project aims to develop a model as a dynamic reproduction of the “thinking” brain (see p. 21). According to Amunts, “Big Brain will also provide the data required as starting parameters for simulating the brain.” Ten brains provide information The medical scientist and her team are also working on another 3D brain atlas.

In contrast to Big Brain, JuBrain is based on image information from ten different brains. In order to make the images of these brains with their different sizes and shapes comparable, they are superimposed on each other, aligned in the same manner, and their size and shape adjusted accordingly. The resulting atlas indicates, for example, the probability with which an activity signal measured during the examination of a patient’s brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has come from a certain area of the brain. However, the signal cannot be traced back to a cell layer or even to individual neurons be-

cause the resolution of JuBrain is one millimetre, the most common resolution in fMRI. It is thus much lower than that of Big Brain. To date, the Jülich scientists have reconstructed around 70 % of the areas in the brain in JuBrain.

From real brain slices to the virtual BigBrain model The ultrathin brain slices were scanned individually and the digital images roughly pieced together on computers (left screen). Researchers then postedited the digital images of damaged brain slices using supercomputers and special image processing software. They then combined all of the slices to form the virtual brain model known as Big Brain (right screen).

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

How the Brain is Wired Neural fibre tracts connect the areas of the brain and transmit information. A Jülich technique known as 3D-Polarized Light Imaging (3D-PLI) visualizes the fibre tracts much more clearly than any other. In 2013, it was improved even further.

he starting material for the 3D-PLI method comprises ultrathin slices of the brain – about 3,000 per organ. A team of scientists headed by Markus Axer at the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM) examines these slices using polarized light. These light waves only oscillate in the one direction or shift their direction of oscillation in a predictable manner. When polarized light hits the neural fibre tracts, it changes its direction of oscillation. The brain researchers measure these changes and subsequently transfer the measurement signals of each brain slice to a computer, which then puts the in-

formation together in the form of a three-dimensional model of the neural fibre tract network. In 2013, the Jülich scientists improved the calculation rules – algorithms – which are used to detect and process measurement signals. The computer program generates images even faster and with a particularly high quality. The 3D-PLI method clearly distinguishes structures of neural fibre tracts even when they are only a few thousandths of a millimetre apart from each other. This high spatial resolution is what makes 3D-PLI so valuable and unique. In principle, doctors and scientists could also visualize neural fibre

tracts using a technique known as diffusion imaging. This provides images of the living brain, but with a resolution no better than around two millimetres. This means that scientists cannot say with certainty whether they really have correctly identified all processes within the information network in the brain or whether, for example, they have overseen neural pathways that turn off or cross each other. 3D-PLI images of the neural fibre tracts perfectly complement the 3D brain atlases on which Jülich brain researchers are also working (see “Digital 3D Atlases of the Brain”, p. 18).

The step from real to virtual tissue: ultrathin brain slices are scanned separately and then processed on the computer.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

“Operating the Computer that Will Simulate the Brain as a Whole” The Human Brain Project, which is being funded by the EU and its member states to the tune of around € 1 billion, involves scientists from 23 countries. Dr. Boris Orth, head of High Performance Computing in Neuroscience, explains the role played by the Jülich Supercomputing Centre.

What is the vision behind the Human Brain Project? We want to create a virtual brain, to render realistic simulations of the human brain feasible on the supercomputer. Medical scientists and other scientists should be able to explore this virtual brain model interactively in order to gain a better understanding of how the human brain works at all levels – from the molecules, cells, connections, and the areas right up to the organ as a whole. It should put the researchers in a position to perform experiments on the efficiency of drugs, for example, or on learning processes using this virtual brain. And most importantly, it should enable experiments to be conducted that could never be performed on real brains for ethical or practical reasons. How much supercomputing power is required for this? For the simulation of the brain as a whole, you would need an exascale computer, in other words a computer that can perform one quintillion (1018) arithmetic operations per second. Such a computer will probably be available at

Dr. Boris Orth in the computer room at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

the end of this decade. However, a special characteristic of the Human Brain Project is the additional request from scientists for interactivity. This desire to be able to intervene in ongoing simulations places particular demands on working memory, resource management, and visualization. In addition, it affects how the computer is operated. Why is interactivity so special when it comes to supercomputers considering that today every games console and every PC can be used interactively? A supercomputer with its hundreds and thousands of processor cores does not generally allow for interactivity today. Usually, several users share the computer, running very different simulations or “jobs” simultaneously. Operating software distributes the computing time fairly in such a manner that the machine is utilized optimally. The task that this “job scheduler” must perform is a bit like what you have to do when you play the classic computer game Tetris: you have to arrange the blocks as they fall so as to create rows with as few gaps as possible. The width of the blocks is like the number of processors used for a particular job and the length of the blocks is the time span for which the processors are needed. But because it’s difficult to predict the actual duration of a simulation, the scientist doesn’t know when the job scheduler will automatically start his job. And most importantly, he can’t intervene in the simulation. Why the desire for interactivity? There are situations where it would be interesting to influence the course of a simulation depending on an interim result. And it would be nice to be able to observe what effect an intervention in the network structure would have on the functioning of the virtual brain. This demands new visualization techniques that would allow the user to alternate between different “powers of magnification”, a bit like a microscope.

The 3D visualization of the brain shows not only anatomical information but also the functionalities of individual regions as well as their connections. Another objective is interactive intervention in simulations. Today, brain simulations are already being run on supercomputers in Jülich and elsewhere. Apart from interactivity, how far are we away from the vision described at the beginning? The group headed by Jülich professor Markus Diesmann, for example, recently set a world record when it simulated a network with a billion simplified neurons. But this is still several orders of magnitude away from the brain as a whole, which contains some 100 billions neurons. It’s said that not only will brain research benefit from supercomputer simulations but that supercomputing will also benefit from findings in brain research. In what way? Added computing power is mainly achieved today using an ever-greater number of processors. This goes hand in hand with increasing energy consumption. In addition, as the number of processors increases so too does the risk that one of these will fail, which usually causes the program to crash. The human brain in contrast requires no more than the energy of a weak light bulb to function. And on top of that, it tolerates errors. If we should one day understand how the real brain works with the aid of the virtual brain, then we may be able to apply these principles to construct computers that are particularly energy-efficient, reliable, and capable of learning.

What does the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) hope to achieve in the Human Brain Project (HBP)? To begin with, the most pressing objective of HBP is not to further neuroscience. Instead, it aims to build an appropriate European infrastructure for the simulation of the human brain that will be available as a tool to science and industry. This is why the EU is funding the HBP as a Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Flagship, in other words within a funding programme for information and communications technologies. JSC will design and operate the computer that will be used to simulate the brain as a whole in 2023 or thereabouts. The leading role of JSC among supercomputing centres is reflected in the fact that it is heading the subproject dealing with the construction of the HBP supercomputer and data infrastructure. Forschungszentrum Jülich as a whole also plays a prominent role in the HBP: it is not just outstandingly well represented in supercomputing but also in neuroscience.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Rules for Reorganization in the Brain The brain is the most complex organ in a human – and yet much of what goes on in the brain adheres to really simple rules, as was found in the Simulation Laboratory Neuroscience at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC).

hat happens if neurons in the brain are shut off from the outside world? Using the visual cortex as an example, Jülich neuroscientist Dr. ButzOstendorf and his colleague Arjen van Ooyen from VU University Amsterdam investigated how neurons reorganize themselves when they are deprived of signals from the eye. The journal PLOS Computational Biology reported on their results in October 2013. “From animal experiments, we know that damage to the retina leads to reorganization in the visual cortex,” explains Butz-Ostendorf. “The brain is astonishingly versatile. This provides the basis for learning and for many healing processes. But until now, nobody knew the rules governing these processes.” Using a network of simulated neurons on the supercomputer, the researchers succeeded in demonstrating that this flexibility is paradoxically based on the tendency of neurons to remain stable. They strive to maintain their normal level of electrical activity. When there is a lack of impulses from the outside world, the cells establish new con-

Before damage Model

Experiment

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

nections with their neighbours in order to obtain additional stimuli. The neurons form new branches off their axons (long extensions that send electrical signals from one cell to another) and off their dendrites (shorter projections that receive these signals). At the point where these meet, new contact points – synapses – are formed between the cells allowing them to receive more electrical signals again. As soon as the usual activity level is reached, synapse formation is discontinued and a balance is re-established. When the researchers allowed the dendrites of the simulated neurons to grow at a lower electrical activity but waited until the electrical activity was slightly higher to allow the axons to grow, new connections were established starting from the edge of the disturbed zone, a bit like how a wound heals from the outside in. “This corresponds to what was observed in animal experiments,” says Butz-Ostendorf. In his opinion, it is therefore highly likely that the rewiring of neurons does indeed function in the same way as in this theoretical model.

Shortly after damage

Dr. Markus Butz-Ostendorf studies the permanent construction site that is the brain.

The researcher hopes that these findings will benefit people with retinal damage in future. “In these patients, new connections are formed in the visual cortex when the cells are stimulated electrically,” says Butz-Ostendorf. “In the past, it was assumed that the more stimulation, the better. But we now know that it comes down to providing the right amount at the right time.”

Long time after damage If the retina is damaged in one spot, the associated cells in the visual cortex are deprived of input – this is illustrated here by the “hole” in the middle. But bit by bit, new connections are formed with neighbouring neurons. The hole closes from the edge in. The process was the same in the theoretical model (top) as that previously observed in animal experiments (bottom). The different colours correspond to different areas of the retina which are connected to the brain cells.

Knowledge Management 26 Sustainable Campus 29 Our Business: Knowledge 30 Creating Knowledge 50 Imparting Knowledge 56 Sharing Knowledge 67 Using Knowledge

Sustainable Campus on Open Day Open Day on 29 September attracted more than 20,000 visitors to Forschungszentrum Jülich in the lovely autumn sunshine. They got a taste of research and spoke to the scientists – above all about the key topic of the day, namely sustainability and the sustainable campus.

n a dialogue forum organized by the Sustainable Campus staff unit, experts made it clear that science and society have a responsibility for sustainably shaping the future. The forum was accompanied by an exhibition with over 100 participants: 40 exhibitors, 60 poster presentations, and 10 exhibits showcased information from the fields of research, people, and work, as well as construction and operations. The topics ranged from energy research and bioeconomy right up to the changes we must make in our behaviour.

“Our aim is to turn Forschungszentrum Jülich into an attractive and forward-looking place for sustainable research.” Prof. Achim Bachem, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Forschungszentrum Jülich, on the objectives behind the concept of a sustainable campus

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

“Research opens up huge opportunities – a sustainable bioeconomy needs research for the real world.” Prof. Ulrich Schurr, Forschungszentrum Jülich, executive managing director of the Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC) and coordinator of the European Plant Phenotyping Network (EPPN)

“I regard the protection of our natural environment as an ethical obligation. However, I am also convinced that for purely economic reasons, it is imperative to use natural resources sustainably.” Prof. Karin Holm-Müller, Institute for Food and Resource Economics at the University of Bonn and Vice Chair of the German Advisory Council on the Environment

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Prof. Ulrich Schurr (right) in discussion with Prof. Karin Holm-Müller at the dialogue forum organized by Sustainable Campus. The forum was moderated by Dr. Peter Burauel, head of the Sustainable Campus staff unit.

Sustainable Campus

“We all need to be educated in sustainable development – and there are already good examples in all fields of life – from kindergartens to universities or even mayors who have made plans for the sustainable future of their communities.” Prof. Ute Stoltenberg, Institute of Integrative Studies at Leuphana University Lüneburg and member of the German National Committee for UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme

“The more complex the system, the more dangerous the desire for action and decisions at all costs, and systems analysis without mathematics is like French cuisine with no wine.” Prof. Jürgen Hake, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Chairman of the Economic Council NRW, Regional Committee for Energy Policy

“Making room in our own lives for new necessities sometimes means shifting our ingrained habits around a bit.” Prof. Georg Müller-Christ, University of Bremen, Sustainable Management, spokesperson for the working group for sustainability in higher education institutions

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Our Business: Knowledge Creating Knowledge Jülich scientists performed outstandingly once again in 2013. In order to make Jülich even more attractive for executive employees, Forschungszentrum Jülich developed new guidelines for joint professorial appointments with universities, aiming particularly to increase the proportion of highly qualified women at Jülich. A tremendous accolade was the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, which the German Research Foundation awarded to Prof. Rainer Waser, director at the Peter Grünberg Institute. With this, the most important German prize for research went to a Jülich scientist in 2013.

Imparting Knowledge The integrated strategy supporting young talent “juelich_ horizons” established a framework of support for young people in 2013 – from introducing teenagers to research through innovative concepts for vocational training right up to offering excellent conditions for early-career scientists including the opportunity to set up their own research group at an early stage. Summer and spring schools and periods of study in Germany bring young researchers from all over the world to Jülich. Forschungszentrum Jülich fared better than average in 2013 in the call for applications for Helmholtz young investigators groups.

Sharing Knowledge Forschungszentrum Jülich cooperates closely with partners from science and industry both at the national and international level. Many international collaborations were successfully continued in 2013. Examples include those with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), with Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the USA, and with the Shanghai Institute of Microsystems and Information Technology (SIMIT). Cooperation with India was expanded, particularly in the fields of energy and environmental science.

Using Knowledge Jülich’s expertise in central fields of research combined with its outstanding infrastructure and know-how in key technologies make Forschungszentrum Jülich a much sought-after partner in industry. Current examples show that Jülich scientists are involved in very application-relevant research: they are working on developing sensors for efficient biocatalysis, enabling the diagnosis of illnesses and diseases using smartphones, finding new ways of introducing genes into cells, and optimizing rubber mixtures for tyres.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Achieving and Publishing New Insights When scientists achieve new insights by means of their research, they share this new knowledge with their colleagues in specialist journals. Scientific publications are therefore an extremely important way of demonstrating the achievements of a scientific institution. In 2013, the number of publications by scientists at Forschungszentrum Jülich continued to grow. Naturally, it’s not just quantity but also quality that counts, as explained in the article on page 31. Jülich publications in the last five years In peer-reviewed journals (of which co-authored with researchers from other institutions)

Total

Books, other publications

PhD theses, habilitations

2009

1,720

1,133 (837 = 73.9 %)

526

2010

1,834

1,048 (770 = 73.5 %)

686

100

2011

2,115

1,363 (1,013 = 74.3 %)

651

101

2012

2,233

1,452 (1,100 = 75.8 %)

688

2013

2,414

1,485 (1,175 = 79.1 %)

825

104

Journals in which Jülich researchers published most frequently (as of 31.12.2013) Journal

Number of publications in 2013

Journal

Physical Review B

Journal of Nuclear Materials

Applied Physics Letters

Journal of Applied Physics

Geophysical Research Abstracts

Innovatives Supercomputing in Deutschland

Physical Review Letters

PLOS ONE

Physical Review D

Nature

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Science

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Creating Knowledge

What the Impact Factor and J Factor Tell Us

he more frequently articles in a journal are cited by other scientists, the more attention is obviously paid to this journal. This is the principle behind the impact factor. It indicates how frequently articles in a journal are cited on average in the subsequent year by other publications. It is often assumed that individuals who publish many articles in a journal with a high impact factor are particularly able. However, this measure is not really suitable for evaluating the scientific achievements of a job applicant according to the bibliometrics experts at Jülich’s Central Library. They developed the J factor specifically for this purpose. For libraries, knowing which journals have the highest impact factor in their respective field is an important criterion for deciding which journals should be subscribed to. As the citation habits of medical scientists and astrophysicists, for example, are so different, comparing journals only makes sense within similar fields. Libraries should, for example, also take account of the divergent interests of their users in different locations. A publication in a wellrespected journal contributes to the reputation of a scientist or a research institution. However, not every publication is

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

important just because it has been published in a journal with a high impact factor. Such journals also contain many articles that are rarely cited or not cited at all. In all science journals, the citation rates are distributed unequally. This even applies to Nature – the journal with the highest impact factor. In 2010, 68 % of the articles in Nature had a citation rate below average and only 32 % had a rate above average. As a result, the “cumulative impact factor” – the sum of the impact factors of all journals in which a scientist or an institution publishes – gives an inaccurate picture. For this reason, the bibliometrics experts in Jülich’s Central

Library advise against using it in application procedures for example. In 2009, they proposed the J factor as an alternative and today it is used by others working in the field. The J factor tells us how often the individual publications of a certain scientist or institution are cited and thus heeded regardless of what impact factor a journal has. This attention is compared to the attention paid to all publications in the journals in which the scientist or institution has published (the “benchmark”). The benchmark is assigned the neutral value of 100 %. If an applicant achieves more than 100 %, then their publications have had a greater impact.

J(I,R) S ccpI

ccpR

pI(S) pI, ges

J factor of institution I in relation to standard R journal average citation rate of the publication by institution I in journal S average citation rate of the publication of standard R in journal S number of publications by institution I in journal S total number of publications by institution I

A Vision Becomes Reality: Electrically Controllable Qubits In 2000, Prof. David P. DiVincenzo deduced theoretically that qubits – the unit of information in quantum computers – comprising three quantum dots would be easier to control than qubits that only comprise a single quantum dot for example. And he was right, as reported in Nature Nanotechnology in September 2013. In an article, an international research team which also included the Jülich physicist described how a qubit comprising three quantum dots functions in reality.

Prof. David P. DiVincenzo heads subinstitutes at the Peter Grünberg Institute and the Institute for Advanced Simulation at Forschungszentrum Jülich.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Spin direction encodes information Particularly promising candidates for qubits are quantum dots – disk-shaped structures that measure no more than a few nanometres (millionths of a millimetre). Such quantum dots can be fabricated particularly easily from semiconductor material. The structures expand to such a small extent that the electrons can no longer move freely and quantum-mechanical rules reign. The angular momentum of the confined electrons functions as the information carrier. The spin that gives the electrons their magnetic moment exists in two forms: “up” and “down” or “zero” and “one”.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

What a qubit looks like 500 nm Lithographically structured gallium-arsenide layer with an electrically controllable qubit. Three quantum dots illustrated as small red dots represent the qubit, which can be electrically controlled via contacts (bottom of image). The large red dot indicates the position of the sensor used to read out the qubit.

The spin direction encodes the information. To set the direction, former concepts utilized electrical or magnetic fields. This process requires a lot of space and is imprecise: because quantum dots are physically identical to each other, it can easily occur that fields also unintentionally influence neighbouring quantum dots. Quick read-out of spin orientation This was the reason why the American David DiVincenzo proposed constructing qubits from three quantum dots back in 2000. The Jülich Aachen Research Alliance appointed DiVincenzo a JARA professor in 2011. With one electron spin per quantum dot, theoretically eight different states can be generated in such a qubit. That this actually works in reality was recently proven by a team of researchers from Europe and the USA that also included DiVincenzo. The researchers managed to carefully and quickly control and read out the position and orientation of the spins in three quantum dots using nothing but electric voltage. They did not require any external electrical fields or magnetic fields. They constructed the necessary current-conducting structures on the surface of a semiconductor measuring a good square micrometre using lithography – a technique that forms the basis for the fabrication of computer chips today and which is being refined with a

view to further miniaturization of electronic devices. As a JARA professor, DiVincenzo heads subinstitutes at Jülich’s Peter Grünberg Institute and Institute for Advanced Simulation as well as an institute at RWTH Aachen University. In 2010, he was awarded the most prestigious international accolade for research in Germany: the Alexander von Humboldt Professorship. Together with his colleagues in Jülich and Aachen, DiVincenzo is exploring different concepts and materials for the realization of quantum computing. Nature Nanotechnology (DOI:10.1038/nnano.2013.168)

Creating Knowledge

uantum computers will one day be able to perform calculations that would take today’s computers many years to complete if at all. All conventional smartphones, PCs, and supercomputers use bits as the smallest unit of information. Bits can only have a value of “zero” or “one” – a bit like a switch that is either “on” or “off”. A quantum computer in contrast is based on the special laws of quantum mechanics. It uses quantum bit – qubits for short – to perform calculations. These qubits can contain multiple states of “zero” and “one” simultaneously and thus exist in superposition. In addition, they can exhibit entanglement. This allows qubits to work together as if they were a unit regardless of how far apart they actually are from each other. This property means that in contrast to conventional processors, quantum computers can basically perform numerous operations simultaneously in one switching process. There are many suggestions as to how solid matter and liquids could be used to construct quantum computers to which the logic used by normal computers to add, multiply and calculate in general could then be transferred. The role of qubits could be taken over by single particles of light, electrons, atoms, or molecules for example. In laboratories around the world, quantum systems comprising a few qubits already exist – but with too few qubits to actually be able to speak of a powerful quantum computer.

How Aerosols that Affect the Climate are Formed Scientists at Jülich working together with international research partners report in the science journal Nature on how they solved an important mystery of atmospheric chemistry. They discovered how volatile organic substances emitted into the air by trees and other plants form aerosols in the atmosphere. Such aerosols impact on cloud formation, the Earth’s radiation balance, and thus the climate.

erosols in the atmosphere reflect solar radiation or cause cloud droplets to form. They are partially composed of inorganic materials such as desert sands that have been blown up and sea salt that has risen into the air, as well as of sulfuric acid particles which are formed in the air from gaseous sulfur dioxide and water vapour. In addition, organic

aerosols exist which are found in much greater quantities above densely wooded regions of the Earth than inorganic aerosols. We know that forests emit large amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). One example is 움-pinene, with which every forest visitor is familiar in the form of the typical pine smell. In air, VOC molecules and other highly reactive

substances can be converted into aerosols. But how such particles in the atmosphere grow to dimensions that can impact on the climate was unclear in the past. A team of researchers from Germany, Finland, and the USA have now discovered that extremely low-volatile organic compounds (ELVOCs) are responsible for this growth. And the team

Forests emit volatile organic substances from which aerosols are formed in the atmosphere.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Innovative assay techniques The scientists found a plausible explanation supported by experimental findings as to how ELVOCs form rapidly when plant emissions escape into the atmosphere. After emission, the vapours can condense, for example, on sulfuric acid particles, which are suspended in the air and are typically smaller than three nanometres. This causes the particles to grow to around 100 nanometres – a size at which they act as condensation nuclei for cloud formation or reflect incident sunlight into the atmosphere. The researchers’ findings have bridged a major gap in knowledge in atmospheric and climate research. “Thanks to our much improved understanding of the role that naturally occurring substances in the atmosphere play in the formation of organic aerosol particles, we will in future be able to make more reliable assessments of their impact on cloud formation and sunlight scattering, and thus on climate,” says Dr. Thomas F. Mentel from Jülich’s Institute of Energy and Climate Research – Troposphere. The findings are based essentially on measurements performed at Forschungszentrum Jülich in a special 1,450 litre glass chamber. The researchers used a new and particularly efficient mass spectrometry analysis method: APi-TOFMS (atmospheric pressure interface time-of-flight mass spectrometry). This makes it possible to measure compounds under atmospheric conditions immediately after they have formed. The molecules therefore have no opportunity to avoid detection by attaching themselves to surfaces. APi-TOF-MS also enables extremely precise measurements of the mass of the resulting ions, allowing the scientists to derive the exact atomic composition of the particles.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Using experiments and measurements in this special glass chamber at Jülich, researchers detected extremely lowvolatile vapours which condense in the atmosphere on aerosols causing them to grow.

Telling signals In a preliminary study performed in the chamber, the scientists had investigated how 움-pinene as the substance most often emitted by trees is converted in the air in the presence of ozone and water vapour. During the study, they had identified signals in the APi-TOF mass spectra that indicated clusters of large, oxygen-rich molecules, which had bonded with the nitrate ions that occur naturally in the air. Almost identical signal patterns had been observed in APi-TOF measurements taken in a densely wooded region of Finland. “For the measurements we reported on in Nature, we added artificially produced nitrate ions to the APi-TOF. Under these conditions, all extremely low-volatile organic molecules aggregated with the nitrate ions and could thus be detected in full,” explains Mentel. First author Dr. Mikael Ehn, who has since returned to the University of Helsinki, adds: “Our findings were only made possible thanks to state-of-the-art mass-spectrometric methods and the cooperation and expertise of all international partners involved.” Experts consider a good understanding of the relationship between the increase in soil temperature, plant emissions, aerosol formation, and cloud formation to be essential for predicting future climate development correctly. “The research findings we published in Nature will help to improve computer models of the atmosphere and reduce existing uncertainties in climate forecasts,” says Prof. Andreas Wahner, director at IEK-8. Nature (DOI:10.1038/nature13032)

Helped to solve an important mystery in atmospheric chemistry: Dr. Thomas F. Mentel

Creating Knowledge

characterized ELVOCs using innovative assay techniques. According to the team’s results, the vapours are composed of relatively large molecules which contain almost as many oxygen atoms as carbon atoms and are also rich in hydrogen.

Accolades Prof. Rainer Waser, director of the Peter Grünberg Institute 7 (PGI-7), was awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The award is considered the most important German prize for research. Waser can use the prize money of € 2.5 million for his scientific research as he chooses. “The majority of it will go towards financing personnel because ultimately, it’s the team that defines a scientist’s success,” says Waser, who is not only head of PGI-7 but also of the Institute of Materials in Electrical Engineering II at RWTH Aachen University. He conducts research into the physical and chemical phenomena in electronic materials which could be used in future information storage systems, novel logic devices, sensors, or for energy conversion. He is convinced that a better fundamental understanding of these phenomena is essential for the development of new or optimized electronic components and devices. He purposely combines approaches from physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, and information technology, exploiting descriptions that apparently have nothing to do with each other or are even contradictory in order to gain new insights. Decisive impulses have arisen out of this, particularly for research on resistive switches. In resistive switches, the resistance can be altered permanently and reversibly by electrical signals. “Today, all of the big semiconductor compa-

1 | Leibniz Prize winner 2013 – Prof. Rainer Waser 2 | Recipient of the Frontiers of Knowledge Award – Prof. Knut Urban nies such as Intel, HP, Samsung, or Toshiba are exploring the phenomenon of resistive switching, often in cooperation with Prof. Waser,” said DFG President Prof. Peter Strohschneider in his congratulatory speech. “It is therefore not improbable that notebooks or USB flash drives that we buy in a few years will contain the results of research by Prof. Waser.” (see “JARA-FIT: Nanoswitches for Tomorrow’s Information Technology”, p. 66). Prof. Knut Urban, senior professor at Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University, was a joint recipient of the Frontiers of Knowledge Award with Prof. Maximilian Haider from CEOS GmbH, Heidelberg, and Prof. Harald Rose, senior professor at the University

of Ulm. The physicists were honoured for developing a new generation of electron microscopes which enable atomic structures to be visualized right down to the picometre range (billionth of a millimetre). They developed correction methods for electron optical lenses and computerassisted quantum physics techniques of image calculation and interpretation. This facilitated new insights into the atomic world and revolutionized materials science. The award was sponsored by Spanish banking group Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA and is worth € 400,000.

Other accolades Name

Accolade

Prof. Tilmann Beck Institute of Energy and Climate Research

Medal of honour from the Faculty of Metals Engineering and Industrial Computer Science at AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, Poland

Cornelius Berger Institute of Energy and Climate Research

Young Author Award for a publication for the 13th Symposium on Energy Innovation in Graz, Austria

Dr. Stephan Binder Institute of Bio- and Geosciences

Innovation Award from the German BioRegions

Prof. Nicolas Brüggemann Institute of Bio- and Geosciences

Erwin Schrödinger Prize from Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft and the Helmholtz Association together with four other members of a German-Chinese research group

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Creating Knowledge

Dr. Danilo Bzdok Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine

Hans Heimann Prize from the German Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (DGPPN), Friedrich Wilhelm Prize from RWTH Aachen University, and Grünenthal Prize from the Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University for his PhD thesis

Dr. Svenja Caspers, Prof. Simon Eickhoff, Prof. Karl Zilles, and Prof. Katrin Amunts Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine

Poster prize at the workshop on “Imaging the brain at different scales: How to integrate multi-scale structural information?” from the International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility

Prof. Simon Eickhoff Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine

Niels-A. Lassen Prize from the German Society for Clinical Neurophysiology and Functional Imaging (DGKN) and Hans Heimann Prize from the DGPPN

Wolfgang Frings Jülich Supercomputing Centre

Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Supercomputing (ICS) 2013, Eugene, USA, 10–14 June 2013

Dr. Carolin Huhn Central Institute of Engineering, Electronics and Analytics

Prize from the Special Interest Group for Analytical Chemistry within the Society of German Chemists (GDCh)

Andreas Havenith Institute of Energy and Climate Research

Karl Wirtz Prize from the German Nuclear Society (KTG)

Dr. Holger Janssen, Prof. Werner Lehnert, Prof. Detlef Stolten, and Jen Supra Institute of Energy and Climate Research

2012 Best Paper Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

Prof. Chunlin Jia Peter Grünberg Institute

Hatsujiro Hashimoto Medal from the International Federation of Societies for Microscopy

Carsten Karbach Jülich Supercomputing Centre

Young scientist award from the PARS-GI group within the German Informatics Society

Dr. Andrei Kulikovsky Institute of Energy and Climate Research

Alexander Kuznetsov Prize for Theoretical Electrochemistry from the International Society of Electrochemistry

Prof. Ulf G. Meißner Institute for Advanced Simulation and Nuclear Physics Institute

Beller Lectureship Award from the American Physical Society

Dr. Giuseppe Mercurio formerly Peter Grünberg Institute Dr. Felix Plöger Institute of Energy and Climate Research Dr. Chao Zhang formerly German Research School for Simulation Sciences

Excellence Prize from Forschungszentrum Jülich

Dr. Vadim Migunov Peter Grünberg Institute

Young scientist award from the Heinz Bethge Foundation for Applied Electron Microscopy for his PhD thesis

Prof. Syed M. Qaim Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine

Medal of honour from Rajshahi University in Bangladesh

Dr. Georg Schendzielorz Institute of Bio- and Geosciences

Innovation Award from the German BioRegions

Anna Westhoff Jülich Supercomputing Centre

Medal of honour from Aachen University of Applied Sciences for her master’s dissertation

Dr. Chao Zhang formerly German Research School for Simulation Sciences

2012 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students from the Chinese Scholarship Council

Four excellent scientists nominated by Forschungszentrum Jülich received the Helmholtz International Fellow Award in 2013: Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Czyrska-Filemonowicz, AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, Poland; Prof. Dr. Andrew A. Maudsley, University of Miami, USA; Prof. Dr. Dani Or, ETH Zurich, Switzerland; Prof. Dr. Yuehui Yu, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. Each prize winner receives € 20,000.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Third-Party Funding Almost a third of the research budget in 2013 was acquired as third-party funds supplementing Forschungszentrum Jülich’s regular budget. The German federal and state governments, the German Research Foundation (DFG), and commercial companies are investing larger and larger sums in research at Jülich. This reflects their conviction that Jülich will deliver sustained benefits for society and important innovations for industry.

Three production systems for algae were compared with each other at Jülich.

Project funding Project funding overview 2013* Thousands of euros

The number of projects funded by DFG at

Federal government • of which in research fields

44,574 23,735

State government • of which in research fields

14,997 14,914

DFG • of which in research fields

6,879 6,867

Other national sources • of which in research fields

12,609 12,179

Total national • of which in research fields

79,059 57,695

EU • of which in research fields

19,459 16,402

2009

3,297

Sum total • of which in research fields

98,518 74,097

2010

4,166

2011

5,472

2012

6,592

2013

6,879

Note: • Federal government project funding includes € 20,292,000 for the operating costs of ILL. • DFG funding does not include DFG earnings amounting to € 300,000 as these were generated within the framework of private service contracts and therefore do not count as operating income of Forschungszentrum Jülich. • In contrast to “Income from subsidies: of which DFG” in the profit and loss statement, DFG project funding includes the share of personnel. • The total sum of EU funding (€ 19,459,000) under “Revenues” (p. 76) includes work in progress amounting to a total of € 641,000. * For project funding, see also p. 76.

Jülich increased in 2013 to

44, incl.

Research training groups DFG priorities Collaborative research centres

3 5 30

DFG project funding (thousands of euros)

Project funding from national and international public sources (thousands of euros) 2009*

14,873

2010

7,932

2011

20,518

2012

15,137

2013

19,459

139,785

124,912

75,346

67,414 71,239

91,757 International

71,537 79,059

86,674 98,518

National

Total

* In 2009, national project funding was significantly higher because it included funds for the installation of a petaflop computer.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Creating Knowledge

There was also a considerable increase in third-party revenues in 2013 in the research field of earth and environment.

Third-party funding for Jülich’s research field of earth and environment (thousands of euros) 2010

8,739

2011

10,295

2012

9,217

2013

12,039

Exemplary projects in environmental research funded by third parties

Manure can be used to produce biogas and fertilizers. ManureEcoMine – Sustainable use of manure | How the 1.27 billion tonnes of manure produced every year in Europe can be turned into useful products is what Jülich plant researchers are currently investigating together with ten European partners in cooperation with industry. When the manure is fermented, biogas is produced and the “digestate” left over provides important constituents for fertilizer production like phosphorus, nitrogen compounds, and potassium, as well as other mineral substances. The nutrient availability of fertilizer mixes produced from these substances is being tested at Jülich on food and energy crops as well as on ornamental plants. The EU has granted ManureEcoMine funding worth € 3.8 million over a period of three years. BioSC – Research cluster in NRW for a sustainable bioeconomy | In the NRW strategy project BioSC, the four partners of the Bioeconomy Science Center –

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Forschungszentrum Jülich, RWTH Aachen University, and the universities of Bonn and Düsseldorf – are developing and working on research projects that will be essential for an integrated bioeconomy. The aim is the resourceconserving, sustainable production of foodstuffs, plant biomass, energy, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and materials on the basis of biological raw materials, processes, and principles. The federal state of NRW has granted the project € 58 million over a period of ten years to develop the structure and content of research within BioSc. AUFWIND – Kerosene from algae | Algae, which comprise up to 70 % oil, can be used to produce aviation fuel. How the production of kerosene from biomass can be technologically and economically optimized is what scientists are investigating in the collaborative project AUFWIND, which is coordinated by Forschungszentrum Jülich. At the moment, twelve partners from research and industry are working together including the aeronautic company Airbus Group and the international oil and gas company OMV. In Jülich, facilities for cultivating algae manufactured by three companies are being tested and compared under real conditions in order to ascertain which bioreactors deliver the best results. The German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) has granted the project, which has a total volume of € 7.4 million, funding of € 5.75 million over a period of two and a half years.

Data Assimilation for Improved Characterization of Fluxes Across Compartmental Interfaces – The Neckar river on supercomputers | A new DFG research unit is investigating water and energy flows between the groundwater area, the surface of the Earth, and the atmosphere in virtual reality. In this way, the team of scientists from the universities of Augsburg, Bonn, Hamburg, Hannover, and Tübingen as well as from the Helmholtz centres in Jülich and Leipzig aim to understand these processes better and to optimize weather forecasts and flood predictions. Using the Neckar catchment area as an example, the complex exchange processes that occur over a period of several years will be simulated on the Jülich supercomputer JUQUEEN. The German Research Foundation (DFG) has granted the research unit funding of € 2.1 million over three years.

Empirical data from satellites, rain radar, and other instruments are integrated into the models calculated by the supercomputer JUQUEEN.

Work at Other Locations Forschungszentrum Jülich provides the research community with access to unique instruments and facilities ranging from the JUQUEEN supercomputer to state-of-the-art tools for nanotechnology. Scientists from Jülich operate topclass research instruments not only on campus but also at several other locations in Germany and throughout the world. In addition, Jülich is active in supporting early-career scientists, and its project management organizations have several branch offices in Germany. Forschungszentrum Jülich is represented as follows: • In Aachen through the German Research School for Simulation Sciences (GRS) and the Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA; for more on JARA, see p. 65). GRS GmbH is an independent subsidiary of Forschungszentrum Jülich. As a joint institution of Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University, each of which has equal shares, GRS offers programmes in computer science and engineering

for master’s students and PhD students; • At the research reactor in Garching near Munich through the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS)*; • At the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), USA; • At the high-flux reactor at Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, France. Forschungszentrum Jülich is a joint shareholder of ILL along with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) in the UK. Jülich has a share of 33 %. This guarantees the participation of the entire German neutron research community in the operation of ILL. • The activities of the Peter Grünberg Institute in the area of synchrotron radiation in Dortmund, Berlin, Trieste (Italy), and Argonne (USA) are coordinated by the Jülich Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (JSRL).

• Project Management Jülich – as a largely independent organizational unit of Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH – has branch offices in Jülich, Berlin, Rostock, and Bonn (see p. 42). • In Düsseldorf, Technology Transfer runs the head office of the biotechnology cluster BIO.NRW. This office initiates cooperation between research institutions, companies, investors, and policy makers at regional, national, and international levels. • The activities of Forschungszentrum Jülich in India are coordinated by an office in New Delhi (see p. 57). As a member of the Helmholtz Association (HGF), Forschungszentrum Jülich is also represented internationally by their offices. The HGF has offices in Brussels, Moscow, and Beijing.

* JCNS is one of the institutes of Forschungszentrum Jülich. It operates neutron scattering instruments at the leading national and international neutron sources FRM II, ILL, and SNS as part of a joint strategy.

JUQUEEN is the first supercomputer in Europe to achieve a peak performance of over 5 petaflop/s. Jülich’s record-breaking supercomputer can be used by scientists from Germany and all over Europe.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Creating Knowledge

New Helmholtz Institute for Renewable Energy Production “Research holds the key to successfully transforming the energy sector and rapidly increasing the share of renewable energy sources,” said Federal Research Minister Prof. Johanna Wanka on 20 August 2013 at the event marking the foundation of the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy Production (HI ERN). HI ERN will be set up as an external subinstitute of Forschungszentrum Jülich and will be run in close cooperation with the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB). The institute’s main office will be on FAU’s south campus in Erlangen. The Helmholtz centres in Jülich and Berlin provide expertise in the fields of materials research for solar technologies and for the production of hydrogen. FAU exploits its materials and process research for the development of renewable energy systems. Commenting on the institute, Johanna Wanka said, “By choosing materials research and storage technologies, the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg has decided to focus on two particularly important topics where we expect new insights. I am delighted that university and non-university expertise is being pooled in this important field.” HI ERN will focus on exploring printable photovoltaics and innovative methods of chemical energy storage using hydrogen technologies. In the medium term, 40 to 50 scientists will work at the new institute. The Helmholtz Association, whose Senate gave the go-ahead at the beginning of June 2013 for the new institute in northern Bavaria, is providing € 5.5 million per annum for personnel, operation, and investments. This budget is intended to finance four professorships and two young investigators groups. During the ramp-up phase of five years, the Free State of Bavaria will provide € 5 million for day-to-day operation and € 32 million for a new research building for the institute. In April 2014, HI ERN hosted its first scientific event – an international symposium on electrocatalysis.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Prof. Peter Wasserscheid is the founding director of the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg Renewable Energy Production.

In order to drive its energy research forward, Forschungszentrum Jülich implemented concrete plans in 2013 for another Helmholtz Institute, which were evaluated by an international panel of experts as “scientifically excellent”. In the Helmholtz Institute Münster, Jülich will cooperate with the University of Münster and RWTH Aachen University in the field of battery research.

Project Management Organizations In addition to its own research, Forschungszentrum Jülich is also active in the area of research management: Project Management Jülich (PtJ) and Project Management Organization Energy, Technology, Sustainability (ETN) implement research and innovation funding programmes on behalf of the public authorities.

In 2013, the two project management organizations joined forces for a common cause: as a consortium, they were contracted to implement what is referred to as the lead market initiative for North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) for the funding period from 2014 to 2020. As part of their innovation strategy, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia centralized funding initiatives instead of awarding individual contracts for each initiative. PtJ and ETN came out on top of the selection procedure. They will organize and implement all funding initiatives in the eight lead markets rele-

vant for NRW, which are jointly financed by the state of NRW and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). These markets cover the areas of mechanical and plant engineering/production technology, new materials, mobility and logistics, information and communications technology, the energy and environmental economy, media and creative industries, health, and the life sciences. As a lead market agency, PtJ and ETN approve funding and will jointly disburse a planned funding volume of some € 930 million on behalf of the state government of NRW.

Project Management Organization Energy, Technology, Sustainability (ETN) and Project Management Jülich (PtJ) were responsible for a large proportion of initiatives between 2007 and 2013 within the scope of North Rhine-Westphalia’s innovation strategy.

Project Management Organization Energy, Technology, Sustainability (ETN) As a project management organization working exclusively for the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia for more than 20 years, ETN covers a wide range of topics. For example, it is responsible for projects in the field of renewables as well as in the health sector and for regional development. 2013 was a particularly eventful year for ETN because the NRW Ziel-2 programme 2007–2013 (ERDF), which had dominated the funding scene, was coming to an end and numerous research projects had to be approved before the end of the programme. ETN successfully expanded and consolidated its position as a project management organization for NRW. ETN looks back at a record year:

In 2013 Project Management ETN coordinated more than

900 projects –

200 projects more than the previous year; the total budget exceeded € 500 million ; of this, the funding sum for projects increased to almost € 375 million ; the number of employees rose from 58 to 70*. * incl. 1 trainee

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

In 2013, Project Management Jülich was again one of the project management organizations in Germany with the highest turnover. Its extensive know-how in the fields of bioeconomy and the life sciences, energy, materials technologies, environment, sustainability and climate change mitigation, marine and polar research, shipping and marine technology, technology transfer, and start-up companies, as well as regional technology platforms and clusters saw

PtJ assert itself against the competition. In 2013, it was awarded new contracts and successfully re- acquired existing large contracts. With offices in four locations, PtJ works on behalf of the Federal Ministries of Education and Research (BMBF), of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMU), and of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), as well as on behalf of the

In 2013 Project Management Jülich

1.42 billion of funding; approved 5,731 new projects, and managed a total of 16,097 invested €

federal states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and the European Commission. At the federal state level, for example, PtJ was charged with managing bioeconomy projects in Baden-Württemberg. At the national level, BMUB and BMWi re-commissioned PtJ with the management of projects within energy research. And at the EU level, PtJ continued to be an important player: with its national contact points in the fields of life sciences, environment, materials, energy, and shipping and marine technology, it supported German applicants preparing for the EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020, which starts in 2014.

ongoing projects. The number of employees rose from

710 to 817*.

Number of employees at the different locations

459 in Jülich, 320 in Berlin, 29 in Rostock, and 9 in Bonn. * incl. 5 trainees and 4 employees not on Forschungszentrum Jülich’s payroll.

Although project funding is important for the German research community, little is known by the general public about the activities of project management organizations. During Open Day at Forschungszentrum Jülich, employees at Project Management Jülich set up a circuit on research and innovation funding so that visitors could play out the daily work of a project management organization. At five stations, children and adults could slip into the role of researchers and act out the process from the idea behind a project right up to the exploitation of research results.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Creating Knowledge

Project Management Jülich (PtJ)

Excellent Platforms The instruments at the J端lich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS) JCNS operates neutron research instruments at leading international neutron sources. JCNS is also responsible for the construction and operation of the J端lich instruments at the Heinz MaierLeibnitz research neutron source (FRM II) in Garching near Munich. These instruments are also available to external scientists. In addition, JCNS operates instruments at Institut LaueLangevin in Grenoble, France, and at the Spallation Neutron Source in Oak Ridge, USA.

Use of the JCNS neutron instruments by external researchers in 2013 Instrument (Neutron sources)

Beam time (days) at FRM II allocated by JCNS in 2013 Maintenance/ development 104

242 External users:

Internal users 625

401 External users: EU

513 External users: Germany

Utilization (Days)

BIODIFF*

Diffractometer for large unit cells

159

DNS

Time-of-flight spectrometer with diffuse neutron scattering

118

HEIDI**

Single crystal diffractometer on hot source

J-NSE

J端lich neutron spin-echo spectrometer

KWS-1

Small-angle scattering facility 1

KWS-2

Small-angle scattering facility 2

131

KWS-3

Small-angle scattering facility 3

115

MARIA

Magnetic reflectometer

PANDA

Cold triple-axis spectrometer

124

62 124

POLI**

Polarized hot neutron diffractometer

SPHERES

Backscattering spectrometer with high energy resolution

120

ILL

Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble

SNS

Spallation Neutron Source, Oak Ridge

rest of the world Training activities 38

Application

* in cooperation with TU Munich ** operated by RWTH Aachen University

A glimpse into the experimental hall at the research neutron source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) in Garching

Forschungszentrum J端lich | Annual Report 2013

Creating Knowledge

Ernst Ruska-Centre (ER-C) Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University jointly operate ER-C as a centre for atomic-resolution electron microscopy and spectroscopy at the highest international level. It is simultaneously the first national user centre for ultrahigh-resolution electron microscopy. Around 50 % of the measurement time on the four Titan microscopes (HOLO, PICO, STEM, and TEM) at ER-C is made available to universities, research institutions, and industry. This time is allocated by a panel of experts nominated by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Regional affiliation of the users of the ER-C electron microscopy instruments in 2013 Rest of the world 20%

38% Europe

NRW 18%

24% Germany (excl. NRW)

Allocated measurement time (days) on the electron microscopy instruments of ER-C 2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Forschungszentrum Jülich

243

244

298

297

420

480

RWTH Aachen University

128

164

138

161

138

156

External users

203

284

294

266

463

412

Servicing and maintenance

119

132

178

150

220

The supercomputers in the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) The Jülich Supercomputing Centre provides scientists and engineers working at Forschungszentrum Jülich, universities, and research institutions in Germany and throughout Europe, as well as the commercial sector with access to computing capacity on the most powerful class of supercomputers, enabling

them to solve highly complex problems using simulation calculations. The John von Neumann Institute for Computing is responsible for the scientific evaluation of projects. At the beginning of 2013, Jülich’s supercomputer JUQUEEN was unveiled and was the first supercomputer in Eu-

User statistics On JUQUEEN,

3.2 billion processor core hours were allocated in 2013, and on JUROPA

154 million processor core hours were assigned (note: the JUROPA processors are more powerful than the JUQUEEN processors).

2 JUROPA

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

JUQUEEN – Research fields of ongoing European projects (PRACE Tier-0) in 2013 Mathematics 2 % Fundamental constituents of matter 52 %

Condensed matter physics 11 %

8 % Medicine and life

sciences

11 % Universe sciences 1 % Computer

science and informatics

15 % Physical and analytical chemical sciences

Based on the periods Nov. 2012–Oct. 2013 and May 2013–April 2014.

Coveted computing time – overbooking factor JUQUEEN

rope to achieve a peak performance of 5.9 petaflop/s with a high energy efficiency. This means that Forschungszentrum Jülich is currently the bestequipped partner in the Gauss Centre for Supercomputing (GCS) and has taken the lead in the supercomputing infrastructure of both Germany and Europe.

In 2013, within the framework of the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE Tier-0), 15 European projects were calculated on JUQUEEN. Most of the computing time – 52 % – was allocated to projects in the field of fundamental constituents of matter, followed by physical and analytical chemical sciences with 15 %.

Relative numbers of users JUROPA GRS 2 %

4 % PRACE Tier-1 (DECI)

Forschungs- 44 % zentrum Jülich

2 % NIC international

48 % NIC national Based on the periods Nov. 2012–Oct. 2013 and May 2013–April 2014.

On the supercomputer JUQUEEN, calculations were also performed for the Human Brain Project. Right: A glimpse into JUQUEEN. Below: Standing in front of the supercomputer is Prof. Thomas Lippert, director of the Jülich Supercomputing Centre.

JUQUEEN Forschungs- 27 % zentrum Jülich

2 % GRS

71 % GCS and PRACE Tier-0

Based on the periods Nov. 2012–Oct. 2013 and May 2013–April 2014.

The Jülich supercomputers are used extensively by users outside Forschungszentrum Jülich. Computing time is allocated by independent science committees. GCS: Gauss Centre for Supercomputing (association of the three national supercomputing centres JSC, HLRS, and LRZ) NIC: John von Neumann Institute for Computing (national allocation body, funded by the three Helmholtz centres FZJ, DESY, and GSI) GRS: German Research School for Simulation Sciences PRACE: Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (European HPC infrastructure) DECI: DEISA Extreme Computing Initiative DEISA: Distributed European Infrastructure for Supercomputing Applications (European HPC infrastructure, forerunner of PRACE)

The MRI scanners at the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM) INM focuses on the structure and function of the healthy and diseased human brain. It aims to understand the structural and functional changes caused by neurological and psychiatric disorders and thus to improve their diagnosis and treatment. Scientists work with imaging techniques, such as structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), as well as with hybrid systems combining both MRI and PET.

Utilization of the 3 T MRI-PET hybrid scanner In clinical trials for this instrument, patients are examined in collaborative projects with different external hospitals. In 2013, a total of

60 patients were examined from the neurosurgical

departments of the university hospitals in Düsseldorf and Cologne as well as from the radiotherapy department of University Hospital RWTH Aachen. In addition,

48 patients from the department of neurology at University Hospital Cologne were examined, as were 8 patients from the department of nuclear medicine and 3 patients from the department of nuclear medicine at University Hospital Düsseldorf.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Excellent employees are essential for outstanding achievements in research. Attracting and retaining executive employees is therefore one of the objectives of Personnel at Forschungszentrum Jülich. In support of this objective, a new personnel marketing strategy has been developed for Forschungszentrum Jülich, analysing which professions will have the greatest need for personnel in future, and new guidelines were developed in 2013 for the joint appointment of professors with universities. The priority of the guidelines is to ensure that more women are appointed professors. More weight is also attached to a candidate’s experience in executive positions and their leadership qualities within such appointment procedures. Forschungszentrum Jülich attaches particular significance to promoting equal opportunities for women and men.

Jülich has set itself ambitious targets in this area. By the end of 2017, it is hoped that a woman will be appointed to every third vacant or new scientific position. Several different funding mechanisms are in place to support the scientific and central institutes at Jülich in achieving this self-imposed quota. For example, half of the personnel costs for a new woman employee are covered by central funds for the first year if the institute succeeds in appointing an external female candidate as head of a working group or as a professor in the W2 salary grade. In personnel marketing campaigns, highly qualified women scientists are approached directly and informed about attractive opportunities at Forschungszentrum Jülich. In December 2013, Forschungszentrum Jülich was re-certified in the “berufundfamilie” audit. Existing measures

aiming to improve the reconciliation of work and family life are being consolidated, optimized, and, where necessary, expanded. Ad hoc teleworking, for example, is currently being tested in a pilot project as another method of making work more flexible. In contrast to teleworking, selected tasks that do not require employees to be present on campus can be performed from home on a set number of days without an external workplace having to be equipped and approved. In addition, Forschungszentrum Jülich has also expanded the information available for families and has set up a second fully equipped room for parents who have to bring their children to work in emergency situations.

Forschungszentrum Jülich participates in specialized national and international recruitment fairs. Pictured is Jülich’s stand at the Woman&Work fair in Bonn in 2013.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Creating Knowledge

Personnel

Proportion of women employees at Forschungszentrum Jülich Percentage women

0 2008

Work-life balance – family life and careers can be combined in an increasing number of areas at Jülich.

Overview personnel as of 31.12.2013 Area

2010

2011

2012

2013

Women as a percentage of total employees Women as a percentage of total senior personnel Women as a percentage of scientific personnel Women as a percentage of salary groups E12 to E15Ü, as well as specialist staff paid according to higher salary groups AT, B, C, and W Proportion of young women

Number as of 31.12.2013*

Scientific and technical personnel

3,624

of which scientists incl. scientific training • of which PhD students • of which undergraduates and postgraduates • of which scholarship holders • of which professors (salary grade W)** • of which salary grade W3 • of which salary grade W2 • of which salary grade W1

1,924 498 110 21 104 47 47 10

of which technical personnel

1,700

Project management organizations

877

Administration incl. Board of Directors

698

Trainees and students on placement

335

Percentage women

0 2008

Total

2009

5,534

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Total percentage young women Percentage women trainees Percentage young women scientists

* only employees with a contract paid by Jülich are counted ** without the members of the Board of Directors

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Creating Knowledge

Joint professorial appointments with universities Uni Münster 1

Total number of professors appointed according to the Jülich model*/reverse model**

North Rhine-Westphalia

(as of 31.12.2013) incl. secondary employment of a professor independent of financing

Uni Duisburg-Essen 3 I 2

Number of new professors appointed in 2013 according to the Jülich model*/ reverse model**

Uni Bochum 5 I 1 Uni Wuppertal 5 I 2 HHU-Düsseldorf 12/6 I 2/2

Germany

Forschungszentrum Jülich * Jülich model: Scientists are appointed professor in a joint procedure with one of the partner universities and are simultaneously seconded by the university to Forschungszentrum Jülich. ** Reverse Jülich model: Professors whose primary employment is at their university also work at Jülich (secondary employment).

Uni Cologne 7/1 FH-Aachen 8 RWTH Aachen 37/8 I 2/1

Uni Bonn 7/3 I 1

Uni Regensburg 1 Uni Stuttgart 1

Professorial appointments Prof. Katrin Amunts from the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine accepted an appointment as professor for brain research at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. Prof. Markus Büscher (PGI-6) from the Peter Grünberg Institute was appointed professor for experimental hadron physics with high-power lasers at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. Prof. Paolo Carloni, head of the Institute of Computational Biophysics, received an honorary professorship from Vietnam National University (VNU) in Ho Chi Minh City. Dr. Regina Dittmann from the Peter Grünberg Institute was appointed professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at RWTH Aachen University. Prof. Dr. Norbert Eicker from the Jülich Supercomputing Centre accepted an appointment as professor of parallel hardware and software systems at the University of Wuppertal.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Prof. Dr. Paul Gibbon from the Jülich Supercomputing Centre was appointed professor at KU Leuven, Belgium.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Lehrach from the Nuclear Physics Institute was appointed professor of particle accelerator physics by RWTH Aachen University.

Dr. Xin Guo from the Peter Grünberg Institute was appointed professor at Huazhong University of Science & Technology (School of Materials Science and Engineering), China.

Dr. Martina Müller from the Peter Grünberg Institute was appointed junior professor for experimental solid state physics at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Dr. Moritz Helias from the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine declined a professorship at the Faculty of Biology at the University of Freiburg.

Dr.-Ing. Morris Riedel from the Jülich Supercomputing Centre was appointed associate professor at Reykjavik University, Iceland.

Dr. Erwin Klumpp from the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences was appointed adjunct professor of environmental sciences at the Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences at RWTH Aachen University.

Prof. Sebastian M. Schmidt, member of the Board of Directors of Forschungszentrum Jülich, was appointed visiting professor at the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology (SIMIT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Prof. Karl-Josef Langen from the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine was appointed professor at the Department of Nuclear Medicine at University Hospital Aachen.

Prof. Dr. Robert Vaßen from the Institute of Energy and Climate Research was appointed professor (salary grade W3) of coating technology at Technische Universität Berlin.

Visitors from outer space at the Jülich Schools Laboratory JuLab: three astronauts from Russia and the USA came to Forschungszentrum Jülich in July 2013. Cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Anton Shkaplerov and astronaut Dr. Roger Crouch spoke to around 100 schoolchildren about their experience on the International Space Station (ISS).

Training with Prospects The marks achieved by trainees at Jülich in their final examinations before embarking on their careers were way above average again in 2013, testifying to the consistently high quality of vocational training at Forschungszentrum Jülich. As part of the integrated strategy supporting young talent, “juelich_horizons”, vocational training is being further developed under the title of “juelich_tracks”.

hink outside the box, plan ahead, and be team players – and your future will always be bright.” This is what Ulrich Ivens, head of the Vocational Training Centre, said to the 31 young people about to begin their professional careers after successfully completing their training at Forschungszentrum Jülich in February 2013. Skilled employees trained at Jülich are ideally equipped for a successful future. More than two-thirds of them achieved top marks in their final examinations; and of the 29 trainees who finished in July, 25 were awarded the grades of “good” or “very good”. Six of these trainees were fast-tracked because of their outstanding performance. All of them are among the some 4,500 young people who have completed vocational training at Jülich since the Vocational Training Centre was founded. “Skilled workers trained at Forschungs-

zentrum Jülich are sought after by companies in the region as a whole,” says Heinz Gehlen, director of the Aachen Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK). In 2013, Forschungszentrum Jülich took on 112 new trainees in 20 professions. Jülich also takes over parts of the vocational training from companies in the region. In cooperation with neighbouring universities of applied sciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich offers dual study programmes in six subjects combining vocational training with university studies. In addition, biological and chemical laboratory technicians trained at Jülich can go on to pursue a part-time, fast-track bachelor’s over four semesters at Hogeschool Zuyd in Heerlen, the Netherlands. Starting in 2013, RWTH Aachen University and Forschungszentrum Jülich under the umbrella of JARA are

also offering joint vocational training for electronics technicians for devices and systems. This testifies to the leading role Jülich plays in establishing innovative training structures. Forschungszentrum Jülich cooperates with a total of 27 partners when it comes to vocational training. Jülich is also active internationally in the area of vocational training. For example, Jülich offers around 50 young people from abroad pre-university internships every year in cooperation with Aachen University of Applied Sciences. Trainers also have to be taught! For the first time at the beginning of 2013, a qualification programme was implemented for trainers. In a seven-module course, the aim was to provide continuing professional development for employees in charge of or involved to a greater or lesser extent in vocational training.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Showing school students just how much fun science can be is the aim of “School Meets Science”. In June 2013, Dr. Wilhelm Schäffer, State Secretary to the NRW Minister of Labour, officially announced the decision to provide the JuLab Schools Laboratory with € 120,000 for the project, in which Forschungszentrum Jülich cooperates with three schools in the region. JuLab supports the schools by providing a box of experiments as well as organizing training for teachers and providing classroom assistance. (left to right) Karl Sobotta, head of JuLab; Johannes-W. Stollenwerk, head of the Anne Frank Comprehensive School; Dr. Wilhelm Schäffer; Elisabeth Koschorreck, first deputy of the district’s chief administrator; Dietmar Nietan, Member of the German Bundestag; and Prof. Sebastian M. Schmidt, member of the Board of Directors.

31 Electricians 11 Metalworkers 11 Technical product designers 2 Office staff 15 Laboratory technicians

Advertising the first-rate training opportunities at Forschungszentrum Jülich is the aim of the Vocational Training Centre’s Facebook page. www.facebook.com/fzjuelich.ausbildung

6 incl. dual study 1 incl. dual study 2

incl. dual study (chemistry 5, physics 1)

Math. and techn.

27 Other 15 Total 112

27 incl. study 36

software developers

incl. dual study

(32.1 %)

Dual study programmes – an overview

Duration

IHK examination

Bachelor’s degree

Period between IHK exam and bachelor’s degree

Bachelor of Scientific Programming + mathematical and technical software developer (MATSE), IHK

3 years

End of 3rd year of training

after 6 semesters

approx. 2 months

Chemistry: Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Engineering + chemical laboratory technician, IHK

4 years

after 3 years

after 8 semesters

0.5–1 year

Bachelor of Physical Engineering + physics laboratory technician, IHK

4 years

after 3,5 years

after 8 semesters

approx. 6 months

Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering + industrial mechanic, IHK

4 years

after 2,5 years

after 8 semesters

approx. 1.5 years

Bachelor of Electrical Engineering + electronics technician for industrial engineering, IHK

4 years

after 2,5 years

after 8 semesters

approx. 1.5 years

Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration + office communications specialist, IHK

3,5 years

after 3 years

after 7 semesters

approx. 6 months

Bachelor of Applied Sciences, after IHK examination as biological laboratory technician

2 years part-time beginning after completion of vocational training

Bachelor of Applied Sciences, after IHK examination as chemical laboratory technician

2 years part-time, beginning after completion of vocational training

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Imparting Knowledge

Places for trainees – new trainees 2013

The Next Generation of Scientists Support for young people is a central concern at Forschungszentrum Jülich. Introducing children and teenagers to research, developing innovative structures for vocational training, and providing early-career scientists with the best possible conditions to foster excellent achievements – these tasks were combined in 2013 in the integrated strategy supporting young people “juelich_horizons”. The strategic concept of juelich_horizons is based on four cornerstones:

juelich_impulse

juelich_tracks

juelich_chances

juelich_heads

targets children and young people, starting with children in kindergarten and covering all types of schools. A central element here is the JuLab Schools Laboratory.

is aimed at young people during their training and early-career phase (see “Training with Prospects”, p. 50).

offers university students and postgraduates from Germany and abroad the opportunity to work in an excellent research environment.

aims to attract excellent early-career scientists with appealing research conditions and interesting career prospects.

juelich_chances At Jülich, undergraduates, postgraduates, and PhD students are given the opportunity to work on interesting research projects at an early stage. In 2013, 895 PhD students were supervised at Forschungszentrum Jülich. Of these, 310 (35 %) were women and 297 (33 %) came to Jülich from abroad. In graduate schools, Forschungszentrum Jülich works together with universities.

The German Research School for Simulation Sciences (GRS) is a legally independent subsidiary of Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University; it offers postgraduates and PhD students the opportunity to learn the basics of simulation science and

conduct top research. 25 PhD students were supervised by 7 scientists (as of 31.12.2013) in addition to 54 master’s students. 17 master’s dissertations and 6 PhD theses were completed in 2013. GRS produced 22 publications involving PhD and master’s students.

The International Helmholtz Research School BioSoft provides excellent opportunities for PhD theses in fields where biology, chemistry, and physics intersect. 35 PhD students were supervised by 19 scientists (as of 31.12.2013); 6 PhD theses were completed in 2013. BioSoft produced 18 publications involving PhD students. Almost all PhD students at Jülich working in the field of energy and environment are enrolled in the Helmholtz graduate school HITEC. 155 PhD students were supervised by 39 scientists (incl. external PhD supervisors; as of 31.12.2013). 20 PhD theses were completed in 2013. On course for a master’s degree or PhD – young researchers at the German Research School for Simulation Sciences.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Further involvement of Forschungszentrum Jülich in structured PhD training with partner universities Lead institution

Graduate school/ research training group

Cooperation/funding

Aachen

International research training group: Brain-behavior relationship of emotion and social cognition in schizophrenia and autism

RWTH Aachen University, Forschungswww.irtg1328.rwth-aachen.de zentrum Jülich, Philadelphia (USA), DFG

Aachen

Biointerface – detection and control of interface-induced biomolecular and cellular functions (GRK 1035)

DFG-funded research training group, RWTH Aachen University, Forschungszentrum Jülich, University of Liège, University of Maastricht

www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/ rph

Aachen

Selectivity in Chemo- and Biocatalysis (IRTG 1628 SeleCa)

RWTH Aachen University, Forschungs zentrum Jülich, Osaka University Japan

www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/ uzx

Aachen

BioNoCo – Biocatalysis (GRK 1166)

RWTH Aachen University, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich

www.bionoco.rwth-aachen.de

Düsseldorf

International Graduate School for Plant Science (iGRAD-Plant)

Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Michigan State University, East Lansing www.igrad-plant.hhu.de (USA), Forschungszentrum Jülich, DFG

Düsseldorf

Communication and systems relevance for liver damage and regeneration; graduate training within DFG SFB

Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology

www.dfg.de/foerderung/ programme/listen/ projektdetails/index.jsp?id= 190586431

Düsseldorf

Research training group (iGRASP seed)

Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich

http://igrasp.lwdb.de

Düsseldorf

Interdisciplinary Graduate School for Brain Research and Translational Neuroscience (iBrain)

Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine Düsseldorf

www.forschung.uni-duesseldorf.de/exzellenzinitiative/ graduiertenschule-ibrain.html

Dortmund

NRW Research School: Research with Synchrotron Radiation in Nano- and Biosciences

TU Dortmund, University of Bochum, University of Wuppertal, University of Siegen, Forschungszentrum Jülich

www.tu-dortmund.de/uni/ Forschung/Nachwuchs/ NRW-Forschungsschulen/ index.html

Bonn

Research training group: Bionics – Interactions across Boundaries to the Environment

University of Bonn, RWTH Aachen University, Forschungszentrum Jülich, DFG

www.bionik.uni-bonn.de/ bionik-graduate

Bonn

Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy

University of Bonn, University of Cologne, DFG

www.gradschool.physics. uni-bonn.de/index.php?id=10

Bonn

Patterns in Soil-VegetationAtmosphere Systems: Monitoring, Modelling and Data Assimilation (TR 32) (IRTG, Graduate School)

RWTH Aachen University, University of Bonn, University of Cologne, Forschungszentrum Jülich, DFG

http://tr32new.uni-koeln.de/

no lead institution

Geoverbund ABC/J PhD programme

RWTH Aachen University, University of Cologne, Forschungszentrum Jülich

Imparting Knowledge

More information

http://icg4geo.icg.kfa-juelich. de/willkommen

Scientists at Jülich also work together with the following graduate schools and research training groups: Aachen Institute for Advanced Study (AICES); Manchot Graduate School “Molecules of Infection” (GS MOI); Research training group 1033/2: Molecular Targets of Aging Processes and Strategies for the Prevention of Aging; NRW Research School Biostruct; DFG research training group 1203: Dynamics of Hot Plasmas; CLIB Graduate Cluster Industrial Biotechnology.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Young scientists from abroad

Outstanding young scientists honoured With the Jülich Excellence Prize, which is worth € 5,000, Forschungszentrum Jülich honours its early-career scientists who have proven that they are among the best in their field internationally and whose ideas have provided decisive stimulus in their respective area of research. A jury of recognized experts comprising four internal and four external professors review and evaluate the PhD theses and scientific achievements of candidates during a postdoc phase of one to two years. The winners in 2013 were: • Dr. Giuseppe Mercurio, who investigated the geometry of molecules using X-rays at Jülich’s Peter Grünberg

Institute. He studied the interaction between organic molecules and metal surfaces in greater detail. • Dr. Felix Plöger, who analysed transport mechanisms in the atmosphere and their effects on the global climate at Jülich’s Institute of Energy and Climate Research. Plöger examined the vertical transport of air masses in atmospheric and climate models. • Dr. Chao Zhang, who studied the underlying principles of proton transport on a cell membrane at GRS. These principles play an important role in the processes with which cells generate energy.

Undergraduates, postgraduates, and PhD students from abroad can gain international experience in a focused research environment at Jülich. In 2013, as part of the China Scholarship Council (CSC) programme 33 PhD students and postdocs came to Forschungszentrum Jülich for periods between 6 months and 4 years. The DAAD-RISE internship programme for undergraduates from the US, Canada, the UK, and southern Europe funded internships at Jülich for eight university students. Spring, summer, and winter schools at Jülich were also a resounding success internationally in 2013. More than 300 of the 586 participants came from abroad.

Winners of Forschungszentrum Jülich’s Excellence Prize: (left to right) Giuseppe Mercurio, Felix Plöger, and Chao Zhang.

Spring, summer, and winter schools at Jülich in 2013 (selection) Title

Summer School Renewable Energy th

Number of participants

Number of international participants

Total

Of which women

Total

Of which women

44 IFF Spring School

277

101

133

JSC Visiting Students’ Programme

CECAM Tutorial Fast Methods for Long-Range Interactions in Complex Particle Systems

CECAM Tutorial Multiscale Modelling Methods for Applications in Materials Science

JCNS Laboratory Course Neutron Scattering 2013

Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Summer School

Joint European Summer School on Fuel Cell, Battery, and Hydrogen Technology JESS 2013 (Athens)

11th Carolus Magnus Summer School on Plasma and Fusion Energy Physics

n. d.

JARA-FIT Practical Training Course in Nanoelectronics

n. d.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

PhD in the bag – what now? The Helmholtz Association’s postdoc programme helps early-career scientists with excellent potential kick-start their career after a PhD. Two to three years of funding enables young high-flyers to pursue a research topic defined by them and to establish themselves in their field of research. Candidates receive € 100,000 annually for a period of up to three years. A stay abroad is also part of the programme, as is continuing professional development at the Helmholtz Management Academy, and guidance from a mentor. It comes as no surprise that the programme is popular. In 2013, 18 Helmholtz centres submitted 66 applications. Of these, 20 were successful, including three Jülich groups. Funding was granted to Michael Owen from Canada (research group headed by junior professor Birgit Strodel at the Institute of Complex Systems), Dr. Daniel Schwarz (research

group headed by Prof. Christian Kumpf at the Peter Grünberg Institute), and Dr. Nina Siebers (field of biogeochemistry at the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences).

Chemistry on a computer – that’s Prof. Birgit Strodel’s research field in a nutshell. She calculates the involvement of amyloid molecules in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and how these molecules cause the death of neurons. She aims to pave the way towards new treatments with her research group within the Computational Biology cluster. An international team of experts were so impressed by her achievements that they recommended the 40-year-old head of a working group be given a permanent contract in December 2013. Strodel is also junior professor at the University of Düsseldorf. “After several years of uncertainty, having a permanent position is quite nice,” says the chemist, who came to Jülich in 2009 after a postdoc period in Cambridge. The mother of a nineyear-old son thinks that many people still underestimate how difficult it is to combine a career in science with a family. For her, it’s not just the good working conditions that make research at Jülich so enjoyable: “The atmosphere here really is terrific.”

Support for young leaders Heading a young investigators group offers scientists early independence and superb career opportunities. In the call for applications for Helmholtz young investigators groups in 2013, Forschungszentrum Jülich fared better than average. Of the 19 groups approved for funding, five were in Jülich (beginning of funding period: 2014). In 2013, there were 21 young investigators group at Jülich, 14 of which were Helmholtz groups; eleven of the young team heads also had a junior professorship. Women headed eight of these young investigators group and twelve were headed by scientists from abroad. In 2013, five young investigators groups were evaluated by internationally respected experts. The experts recommended that the heads of all of these groups be given tenure (permanent positions). In 2013, the fourth round of the TANDEMplus programme was launched – a support programme for young women

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

scientists run by Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University – and once again five women scientists from Jülich were selected. Number of young investigators groups at Jülich 2004–2013 The figures include Jülich’s young investigators group, Helmholtz young investigators groups, and research groups with other third-party funding. 25

0 2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Imparting Knowledge

juelich_heads

Knowledge Worldwide – Activities 2013 France The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and Forschungszentrum Jülich continue their successful cooperation with a new framework agreement. The agreement signed in September 2013 follows on from the first framework agreement in 2007. It expands cooperation to cover new joint fields of research such as renewables and neuroscience as well as continuing existing activities.

USA With Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a cooperation partner, a BMBF-funded project on high-temperature and energy materials began last year. PhD students from Jülich’s Institute of Energy and Climate Research are working with the American partner on six subprojects. The aim of the collaboration is to contribute significantly to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and to improve the sustainability of the energy supply, primarily in Germany and the USA.

Belgium With Katholieke Universiteit (KU) Leuven in Belgium, a new Helmholtz International Research Group was set up last year, expanding research cooperation in the Euregio. The research project entitled Scalable Kinetic Plasma Simulation Methods headed by Prof. Paul Gibbon (JSC) and Prof. Giovanni Lapenta (Centre for Mathematical Plasma Astrophysics, KU Leuven) was granted an annual budget of around € 50,000 for three years by the Helmholtz Association. The group is exploring simulation methods on supercomputers for use in fusion and solar research.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

China The research fields of superconductivity, bioelectronics, and graphene, as well as quantum materials and devices were on the agenda at the 5th Sino-German Workshop of Cooperation, which took place in October at Jülich. Scientists from the Shanghai Institute of Microsystems and Information Technology (SIMIT) and their colleagues from the Peter Grünberg Institute discussed their recent research findings. In a parallel meeting of the steering committee of the joint laboratory set up by Jülich and SIMIT in 2010, the framework agreement signed in 2007 with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Shanghai Branch was extended by three years until May 2016.

Visiting scientists 2013 Total 995

Number of countries 39

Other 1 % America 3 % Asia 17 %

13 % Western Europe excl. Germany

Sharing Knowledge

Eastern Europe 5 %

61 % Germany

Jülich@India In 2013, Forschungszentrum Jülich’s India Office focused its activities on the areas of energy and environmental science. Examples include a neurobionics workshop in Pondicherry under the aegis of the German House for Research and Innovation New Delhi, the Indo-German Meeting on Atmospheric Chemistry and Climatic Change in March 2013, and two energy workshops in November, which also involved the Indian Ministries of New and Renewable Energy and of Science and Technology. The highly respected agricultural expert Prof. M. S. Swaminathan gave the 7th Jülich Lecture on 28 June 2013 entitled “Feeding 10 Billion with Less”. In March 2014, the Jülich Office moved into new premises in New Delhi. Mr Ashwani Arya and energy expert Prof. Narendra K. Bansal are the office’s two competent contacts.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

International Collaborations on Information and the Brain Impact of top-down influence on visual processing during free viewing – Understanding sight | The Japanese-German collaborative project analyses the interactions in neural networks in the cerebral cortex under natural conditions. During behavioural experiments, the activities of neurons in the visual pathway are measured and analysed with specially developed statistical methods. Prof. Sonja Grün from Jülich’s Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM) is working on this with scientists from the universities in Osaka and Kyoto. The three-year project is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to the tune of € 533,000 as well as by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). Neural understanding of learning – Learning from experience | Is the brain in a position to produce neural signals to appraise good or bad experiences and adjust behaviour accordingly? This

question is being explored in a German-Japanese cooperation. The team headed by Kenji Morita at the University of Tokyo provides expertise in modelling signal transduction to individual neurons, while researchers at INM in Jülich model networks of neurons. The research team headed by Prof. Abigail Morrison is being funded by BMBF, the German Research Foundation (DFG), and JST to the tune of some € 190,000 over three years. EU BrainScaleS – The brain in space and time | Scientists from 18 working groups in ten European countries are participating in the EU project BrainScaleS (Brain-inspired Multiscale Computation in Neuromorphic Hybrid Systems), a forerunner of the Human Brain Project (HBP). The project aims to understand neural processes in their spatial and temporal dimensions. Neurobiological in vivo experiments, modelling and theory, the development of neuro-

morphic hardware, and simulation technology for supercomputers are combined. On the Jülich side, Prof. Sonja Grün and Prof. Markus Diesmann, both from INM and the Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS), are involved. The EU has granted the project funding totalling € 9 million for the duration of four years. Postnatal Development of Cortical Receptors and White Matter Tracts in the Vervet – An atlas of the brain of a long-tailed monkey | The project, in which Jülich scientists from INM working with Prof. Katrin Amunts and Prof. Karl Zilles are cooperating with the Brain Mapping Center at the University of California in Los Angeles, is investigating the development of the brain in long-tailed monkeys. Histology, receptor autoradiography, polarization light imaging (PLI), and magnetic resonance imaging are used to collect data and produce a 3D atlas. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have granted the project funding worth US$ 1.2 million for the period 2011–2016. Meta-Analyses in Human Brain Imaging – Using databases to gain insights into the brain | Scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf are cooperating with the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio on modelling the functional map of the human brain. Together, they are developing methods of gaining new insights into the organization of the brain using large databases from functional imaging studies. The lead scientist on the German side is Prof. Simon Eickhoff from INM. The project, which started in 2008 and will run until 2016, has received US$ 600,000 from NIH to date.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Collaborations Whoever shares their knowledge wins in many ways. Forschungszentrum Jülich works with numerous national and international partners from science and industry and it does so to the benefit of all involved. In many projects, Jülich scientists are responsible for the coordination.

National Collaborations Nationally funded collaborative projects with a funding volume in excess of € 2 million, projects where Jülich is coordinator (grey) Funded by

Construction of a petaflop computer, federal state funding

MIWF

€ 44,200,000

Construction of a petaflop computer, funding through the Gauss Centre

BMBF

€ 42,423,000

High-Energy Storage Ring (HESR) of the future international Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR)

BMBF

€ 38,220,000

German Plant Phenotyping Network (DPPN)

BMBF

€ 18,342,495

BioSC

State of NRW

€ 17,872,137

Expansion of a petaflop computer, federal state funding

MIWF

€ 16,000,000

Development and testing of prototype components for ITER at Forschungszentrum Jülich

BMBF

€ 11,659,446

Contributions of the Helmholtz Association centres and TU Munich to the ESS Design Update Phase

BMBF

€ 8,989,980

Characterization of the local microstructure and spatially resolved composition of structural and functional materials for novel energy conversion and storage systems

BMBF

€ 6,506,553

German Research School for Simulation Sciences (GRS)

HGF

€ 6,200,000

High-temperature electrochemical energy storage systems based on metal-metal oxides for central and decentralized stationary applications (MeMO)

BMBF

€ 4,421,590

HGF Systems Biology Initiative; health network The Human Brain Model: Connecting neuronal structure and function across temporal and spatial scales (Network 7; Human Brain)

HGF

€ 4,348,800

Algae production and conversion into aviation fuel: cost effectiveness, sustainability, demonstration – AUFWIND

BMEL

€ 3,070,952

Virtual Institute for Topological Insulators

HGF

€ 2,900,000

Molecular Interacting Engineering (MIE)

BMBF

€ 2,588,276

Materials and components for high-energy-density batteries (MEET Hi-EnD)

BMBF

€ 2,516,692

Helmholtz Interdisciplinary Training in Energy and Climate Research (HITEC)

HGF

€ 2,400,000

CROP.SENSe – Competence Networks in Agri-Food Research; subproject: Complex Sensors for Crop Research, Breeding and Inventory Control (PhenoCrops) BMBF (Ziel-2 EFRE)

€ 2,252,739

IAGOS-D pilot phase

BMBF

€ 2,224,595

Nanostructured Ceramic and Metal-Supported Membranes for Gas Separation in Fossil-Fuelled Power Plants (METPORE II)

BMWi

€ 2,029,906

Extensive light trapping in silicon-based thin-film solar-cell technology (LIST); subproject: Optical functional layers and transparent contacts

BMU

€ 1,956,628

In 2013, Jülich was involved in 381 nationally funded projects, including 175 with several partners. 29 of these alliances were coordinated by Forschungszentrum Jülich.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Sharing Knowledge

Contract value Jülich

Title

ITER will demonstrate the technological feasibility of fusion energy on the power-plant scale.

International EU Collaborations EU-funded projects involving Jülich in 2013 – funding volume in excess of € 1 million, projects coordinated by Jülich (grey) Acronym

Project title

HBP

Human Brain Project

Contractual volume Jülich € 3,618,200

HPC for FUSION A Dedicated European High-Performance Computer for Fusion Applications (JU-EUROPA-FF)

€ 3,600,000

ESMI

European Soft Matter Infrastructure

€ 2,774,539

FASTTRACK

Accelerated Development and Prototyping of Nanotechnology-Based High-Efficiency Thin-Film Silicon Solar Modules

€ 2,178,251

IMAGINE

Imaging Magnetism in Nanostructures using Electron Holography

€ 1,984,340

PRACE1IP

First Implementation Phase of the European High-Performance Computing Service

€ 1,715,996

RECONCILE

Reconciliation of Essential Process Parameters for an Enhanced Predictability of Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Loss and its Climate Interactions

€ 1,635,728

EPPN

European Plant Phenotyping Network

€ 1,615,852

POLPBAR

Production of Polarized Antiprotons

€ 1,509,900

PEGASOS

Pan-European Gas-Aerosols-Climate Interaction Study

€ 1,329,993

PRACE-3IP

PRACE – Third Implementation Phase

€ 1,284,042

DEEP-ER

Dynamical Exascale Entry Platform – Extended Reach

€ 1,247,449

GREEN-CC

Graded Membranes for Energy-Efficient New-Generation Carbon Capture and Storage Process

€ 1,178,580

DEEP

Dynamical Exascale Entry Platform

€ 1,108,495

NMI3

Neutron Scattering and Muon Spectroscopy (Integrated Infrastructure Initiative)

€ 1,078,820

PRACE-2IP

Second Implementation Phase of the European High-Performance Computing Service

€ 1,037,155

CARBOWASTE

Treatment and Disposal of Irradiated Graphite and other Carbonaceous Waste

€ 1,003,757

MAO-ROBOTS

Methylaluminoxane (MAO) Activators in the Molecular Polyolefin Factory

€ 1,001,862

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

p ow e r p l a

Metal-supported ceramic membranes for gas separation

Energy and Environment

r g y s t or ag

MEMO

Metal-metal oxide high-temperature batteries

l e a r p hy s i c

C N

t r on

r e s ea

RECONCILE

a nt Pl

Petaflop computer

German Plant Phenotyping Network

l e a r p hy s i c

HESR

oelectronic

a nt Pl

Storage ring for FAIR accelerator facility

VITI

os c ie nc e

Human Brain Model

re sea r c

AUFWIND

Virtual Institute for Topological Insulators

Construction and expansion

Algae production and conversion into aviation fuel

r es e ar c ant h

CROP.SENSe Si

u la m

tion scie

GRS

an Pl

n ce

Helmholtz Alliance on Systems Biology

Information and the Brain

ercomputin

ur Ne

re sea r c

DPPN

Redesigning the European Spallation Source

European supercomputing infrastructure

MEET Hi-EnD

ESS

PRACE 1IP-2IP-3IP

Predicting ozone depletion in the polar stratosphere

Materials and components for highenergy-density batteries

a t e r e s e ar c lim

y s t or a

er g

comput

Key Technologies

ESMI

Dynamical Exascale Entry Platform/ Extended Reach

er up

PEGASOS Pan-European Gas-AerosolsClimate Interaction Study

for energy converters and storage systems

l e x sy s t e

a t e r es e a r c lim

European Soft Matter Infrastructure

ercomputin

DEEP/ DEEP-ER

Material characterization

p om

HITEC

German Research School for Simulation Sciences

t re sea r c

EPPN

Competence network for agricultural and nutrition research

European Plant Phenotyping Network

Involvement of Forschungszentrum Jülich in EU programmes within the Seventh Framework Programme EU programme Health

Number of approved projects

Coordinated by Jülich

Funding volume Jülich (euros)

2,190,000 3,087,000

Food

Information and Communications Technologies

Nano – Materials and Production

10,895,000

Number of approved projects

Coordinated by Jülich

Funding volume Jülich (euros)

ERA-NET

4,410,000

Joint Techn. Initiatives

3,205,000

EURATOM

4,000,000

EU programme

COST 3

9,022,000

Energy

6,750,000

Environment

4,889,000

6,000

EU-RUSSIA

Science in Society

325,000

315,500

Research for the Benefit of SME

280,000

Space

ERC

4,077,000

Regions of Knowledge

72,000

People

4,725,000

Transport

62,000

Infrastructure

24,527,555

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

1,420,000

Total

179

84,258,055

Sharing Knowledge

HPC for Fusion

High-performance computing for fusion research applications

nd c l i m

M at e r i a l s

Experimental setup with polarized antiprotons

gy a

comput

POLPBAR er up

Helmholtz Graduate School for Energy and Climate Research

Components for the international fusion experiment

e at

ITER

Cost-effective silicon thin-film solar modules

METPORE II ma physic las

otovoltaics

FASTTRACK

n ee

Collaborations in Germany and abroad

Collaborations with Industry Number of industrial collaborations 363 325

313

103

123

228 222

325

334

264

260

324

274

294

284

218

Total

190

International

151

National The year 2008 is not shown due to a change of data system.

2005

2006

2007

2009

2010

2011

2013

2012

Important industrial collaborations of Forschungszentrum Jülich in 2013, projects and industrial partners

Evonik Degussa GmbH

Solar cells based on printable liquid Si and/or Ge compounds

Astrium GmbH

Measurement campaigns – planning, design, performance

IME Metallurgische Prozesstechnik und Metallrecycling

Assessment and optimization of the sustainability of rare earths

Siemens AG

High-temperature crack propogation tests

COGEMA

Product control and qualification

V & M Deutschland GmbH

Long-term steam oxidation

BASF SE

Computing time on the cluster system JUROPA

Federal-Mogul Nürnberg GmbH

Development of an image analysis system

Lufthansa-Technik AG

Technology development near-net shape coatings (HEBe)

Von Ardenne Anlagentechnik GmbH

Evaluation of ZnO substrates

MAN Turbo AG

Oxidation tests on samples

GeoS4 GmbH

Pyrolysis measurements

MTU Aero Engines GmbH

Development of an oxidation lifetime model

Gasunie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG

Ground-radar-supported location of tree roots

Aixtron AG

XRF measurements

Research Instruments GmbH

Metal-ceramic joints

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

he atmosphere can be explored from a distance in two ways. The first of these is with instruments on the ground and the other is with satellites. However, particularly for the atmospheric layer at an altitude of between 9 km and 20 km, which reacts most strongly to climate change, remote sensing instruments provide insufficient data. The instruments cannot clearly distinguish between the differences that exist at the various altitudes within the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere – experts speak of poor altitude resolution. In addition, these instruments cannot record small-scale fluctuations, for example of trace gases. The long-term observation system IAGOS, which is short for In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System, remedies

this: it utilizes civil airliners to record high-resolution and precise measured values over long periods of time. Commercial airlines usually fly in the upper troposphere. IAGOS was initiated by the Troposphere subinstitute at Jülich’s Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK). A research collaboration comprising 17 European partners, which is jointly coordinated by IEK and the CNRS Laboratoire d’Aérologie in Toulouse, supports the observation system, which involves airlines such as Lufthansa, Air France, and Iberia. As part of the preceding project MOZAIC, devices such as water vapour and ozone detectors have been travelling on long-haul flights free of charge since 1994. These detectors have helped to create a unique global

Between 2011 and 2014, measuring instruments for climate research were on board 3,246 flights operated by different airliners.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

data set. Today, five IAGOS airliners record information on water droplets and ice particles in clouds, for example, using instruments that have been refined. “The data we record will help us to improve our scientific understanding of atmospheric chemistry and climate change, and thus enable us to make more precise predictions on both the global and regional scale,” says IAGOS coordinator Prof. Andreas Wahner, director at IEK. Included in BMBF’s roadmap In 2013, IAGOS was given a boost: following an outstanding evaluation by the German Council of Science and Humanities, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) included the observation system in its Roadmap for Research Infrastructures. The roadmap functions as an aid for policy decisions on long-term research infrastructures – such as extensive experiments, resources, and service facilities for large-scale research – at the national and international level. Inclusion in the roadmap means that BMBF is generally willing to provide long-term funding for important measures. On this basis, those responsible for IAGOS can continue to expand the infrastructure and sustain its operation.

Sharing Knowledge

Commercial Airliners Serving Atmospheric Research

Europe Accelerates Development of Exascale Computer

y 2020, supercomputers that can perform more than a quintillion (1018) arithmetic operations per second should be a reality. On the way towards these “exascale” computers, which would be around a hundred times faster than today’s supercomputers, a series of technical issues must first be addressed. Two important challenges are being tackled by the EU project DEEP – Extended Reach (DEEP-ER): improved protection from hardware failures and the growing gap between processing speed and fast data transfer. Forschungszentrum Jülich is coordinating the project, which was launched in October 2013. It involves 14 partners from seven EU countries. The kick-off meeting for scientists was held in Jülich. Around € 6.4 million in funding has been earmarked for DEEP-ER until 2016 within the European Union’s 7th Framework Programme for Research. Accessing data faster DEEP-ER supplements the ongoing EU project entitled Dynamical Exascale En-

try Platform (DEEP), which commenced almost two years ago and is one of the European research projects on developing future exascale computers. A new exascale-capable computer architecture is also being developed in DEEP, which will be improved in DEEP-ER using innovative hardware and network components combined with new storage technologies. It is hoped that an efficient input and output system will enable applications to run faster and improve their scalability. “We want to see programs access and save data faster. Only when this becomes possible will the applications benefit from the fast new processors,” says project leader Dr. Estela Suarez from the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC). The scientists also want to integrate a mechanism that will augment the computer’s reliability. Nextgeneration computers will comprise so many components that today’s experts predict several hardware failures every hour. To ensure that the application programs do not lose their interim results or any data, simple tools will be devel-

oped in DEEP-ER to enable programs to continue running. The partners are developing and constructing a new prototype computer to test the benefits of the DEEP-ER extensions for the computer architecture conceived within DEEP. Seven applications will be run on this computer from different scientific disciplines: medicine, geophysics, radio astronomy, quantum physics, superconductivity, oil exploration, and space weather. These disciplines are representative of the requirements for simulation-based and data-intensive applications on future computer generations.

Scientists involved in the European project DEEP-ER met at Jülich in October 2013.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Jülich Aachen Research Alliance

JARA-FAME focuses on basic research in nuclear and particle physics. The scientists focus on the asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the universe which cannot be explained by the Standard Model in physics. The new project JEDI aims to verify the permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) of protons and deuterons which could explain the asymmetry. Experiments at the COSY accelerator in Jülich resulted in new findings in 2013 which are important for future high-precision measurements. The search for antimatter with the aid of the AMS experiment on the International Space Station (ISS) resulted in information on the composition of cosmic rays. JARA-HPC makes the know-how for parallel computing on high-performance computers available for many scientific disciplines. Simulation laboratories (SimLabs) address topics in interdisciplinary research. In the SimLab Neuroscience (SLNS) – a cooperation between JARA-HPC and JARA-BRAIN – neuroscientists and computer scientists work

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

together to optimize simulations of the brain for supercomputers. In autumn 2013, the SimLab for Ab Initio Methods in Chemistry and Physics also began work. JARA-BRAIN concentrates on exploring the structure and functioning of the human brain. A triumph here is the involvement of JARA-BRAIN and JARA-HPC scientists in the Human Brain Project (HBP; see p. 21). The aim of the HBP is to use a supercomputer of the future to produce a detailed simulation of the human brain as a whole, from genetics and the molecular level right up to the interaction of entire cell clusters. JARA-FIT aims to explore the physical limits of today’s semiconductor technology and to develop it further going be-

yond the currently prevailing limits. Scientists from this section are partaking in the Graphene Flagship as one of the EU FETs which has been granted EU funding worth around € 1 billion. Its unusual properties could see graphene as a novel material revolutionize display technology for example. JARA-ENERGY provides access to an online Energy Landscape database with a comprehensive overview of the research competences of institutes at RWTH Aachen University and Forschungszentrum Jülich within the field of energy research. The database developed in cooperation with E.ON Energy Research Centre helps scientists throughout the world identify interesting partners and projects at RWTH Aachen University and Forschungszentrum Jülich.

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lose cooperation between Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University dates back to the first round of the Excellence Initiative in 2007 and is moving forward within the second round of the Initiative which began in 2012. This form of collaboration between two strong partners from research and education is unique in Germany. In Jülich and Aachen, scientists research in the sections: • JARA-BRAIN (Translational Brain Medicine) • JARA-ENERGY (Sustainable Energy Research) • JARA-FIT (Fundamentals of Future Information Technology) • JARA-HPC (High-Performance Computing) • JARA-FAME (Forces and Matter Experiments)

JARA finances

500 million Investment totalling € 60 million Budget €

Funds from the Excellence Initiative approx. €

13.6 million

The number of joint professorial appointments rose from

11 in 2006 to 45 (as of 31.12.2013).

In 2013, JARA members produced a

1,276 peer-reviewed publications. The number of joint publications in 2013 was 724 at the total of

time of data collection (May 2014).

JARA-FIT: Nanoswitches for Tomorrow’s Information Technology In the German Research Foundation’s (DFG) Collaborative Research Centre SFB 917, scientists from the JARA-FIT section (Fundamentals of Future Information Technology) are developing and testing nanoelectronic devices made of special materials that could make computers and smartphones even more powerful and energy-efficient in the near future.

n recent decades, we have come to expect that smaller and smaller computer chips can process and store more and more information. Up to now, the IT sector has succeeded in developing processes for the industrial fabrication of downsized device structures. Minimizing flaws or defects in the material, which cause deviations from the ideal structure of the device, is one of the most important tasks here.

The miniaturization of devices, however, is limited because interfering defects eventually become uncontrollable. This is why scientists from JARA-FIT are adopting an almost paradoxical strategy in the DFG collaborative research centre: they want to utilize the defects measuring no more than a few nanometres as functional units or basically as devices. The researchers are concentrating on a specific class of materials,

namely chalcogenides. These are compounds in which one of the components is oxygen, sulfur, selenium, or tellurium. In these chalcogenides, the phenomenon of resistive switching occurs: resistive storage and logic elements based on nanometre defects allow the electrical resistance to be switched rapidly back and forth between a high and a low value or even between several values. Their energy consumption is several orders of magnitude smaller than that of devices used today. “We want to thoroughly investigate three related mechanisms of resistive switching and develop strategies to reliably control switching processes,” says Prof. Rainer Waser, director of PGI-7 at the Peter Grünberg Institute in Jülich (see “Accolades”, p. 36). He is the vice-spokesperson of SFB 917, which began in mid-2011: Resistively Switching Chalcogenides for Future Electronics – Structure, Kinetics, and Device Scalability. A noteworthy finding in 2013 was the discovery that a certain type resistive switch must be described as a small electrochemical cell and thus as a type of nanobattery and that the principles of circuit engineering must be applied to modelling this cell.

In this laboratory worth € 3.7 million, JARA researchers fabricate and assess material layers for resistive switches.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Jülich Know-How in Industry and Society Jülich research provides answers to fundamental questions. It also yields innovations that are literally worth their weight in gold and benefit both industry and society. A steady flow of new patent applications and numerous licensing agreements testify to this.

Patents Total number of protective rights in 2013 (Patents, patent applications and utility models in Germany and abroad) 2003

8,705

2004

13,301

2005

17,054

2006

17,710

2007

15,625

2008

16,276

2009

15,377

2010

14,793

2011

16,159

2012

16,892

2013

17,559

Patents 2013 * Patent applications Germany

Priority applications Germany (incl. utility models)

of which priority applications

50 1

Total patents granted

Patent applications abroad

incl. technologies for which a patent was granted for the first time Patents granted Germany Patents granted abroad

Total number of protective rights in 2013

36 13 85

17,559

Licences Revenues from licensing and know-how agreements in 2013 Total of which new of which expiring Total share foreign Share USA (most important partner country) Share SMEs

104 5 3 30 11 69

€

1.001 million Using Knowledge

Number of licences in 2013

* By filing a patent application, the applicant obtains a right of priority, which allows them to file subsequent applications (e. g. abroad) claiming the right of priority within one year of filing the original application. The number of priority applications here includes the sum of first applications filed in the period under review.

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Research for Practical Applications New Routes into the Cell With a novel approach for introducing substances into living cells, the startup project “Beniag” headed by Jülich researchers Dr. Bernd Hoffmann, Dr. Agnes Csiszár, and Nils Hersch have carved themselves a niche in a highly competitive market. In many biotechnological laboratories, scientists are attempting to smuggle substances into animal cells – whether it’s genes, marker dyes, or molecules that could, for example, prevent the growth of cancer cells. And there are many established procedures for this. “But all of these methods have significant disadvantages,” says Bernd Hoffmann. He explains that they are either not very effective, reaching only a small portion of the cells, or that a large proportion of the cells perish.

At the Institute of Complex Systems, the team of three developed an alternative: to infiltrate the cell, the Jülich scientists utilized liposomes – tiny bubbles comprising molecules with a lipophilic and hydrophilic end. In addition, the Jülich researchers incorporated special molecules into the liposomal membrane. These molecules ensure that the tiny bubbles can easily attach themselves to cell membranes and fuse with them. An electrostatic effect is what causes this. What these fusogen substances are made of remains a mystery – “a trade secret,” says Hoffmann with a smile. The researchers incorporate whatever is to be smuggled into the cell using one of two techniques: either they incorporate the substance into the liposomal membrane – allowing it to fuse with the cell membrane and become part of it – or they pack the goods to be smuggled inside the liposome so that they land in the intracellular fluid, the cytosol.

“When we developed the technique in 2010, we had not yet thought about marketing it ourselves,” says Hoffmann. “We were basic researchers and continuously optimized the method.” When the potential of the technology became clear, however, Forschungszentrum Jülich filed patent applications. After all, the technique makes it possible to smuggle any desired molecule into cells in a highly efficient manner without damaging the cells. The three researchers subsequently took part in the regional competition for entrepreneurs AC2, and made it to the final round at the beginning of 2013. In December 2013, they took the plunge and set up their own company as a “GmbH” (limited company). The new company Beniag rented rooms from Forschungszentrum Jülich, met with professional marketing specialists, and began production. “We received great support from Technology Transfer,” says Hoffmann. Customers in the biotechnology and medical sector appear to be satisfied with Beniag products, and Hoffmann hopes that many of those who try out the new technique will soon become regular customers.

Products made by Beniag are used to label animal cells. Almost any desired molecules (shown in different colours) can be smuggled into the cell membrane and the inner cell in a highly efficient manner.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Developing Tyre Material on the Computer

Developing tyres used to involve countless experiments with hundreds of rubber mixtures. The research findings of Jülich scientists Dr. Bo Persson and Dr. Boris Lorenz will make it possible for tyre manufacturers to identify the perfect material for the desired tyre characteristics on the computer in future. Big tyre manufacturers began to show an interest in the work of the two scientists following the introduction of an EU regulation: tyres must bear a label enabling consumers to identify at a glance the tyres’ wet grip, fuel efficiency, and external rolling noise. “Tyre manufacturers are therefore investing more effort in optimizing their products with respect to these criteria – the key to this is being able to calculate the static friction of rubber from basic data,” says mechanical engineer Lorenz. Years ago, Persson proposed a theory about how big the actual contact area is between tyres and the road. His credo: to calculate the actual contact area, the roughness of each of the surfaces must be taken into account on numerous length scales – from a thousandth of a millimetre to a centimetre. Later, Persson expanded his theory and produced a computer model that calculates the static friction in dependence on factors such as “slip”. Braking causes the tyre to turn slightly slower than would correspond to the speed of the vehicle. The tyre therefore glides across the road surface, and this gliding part is referred to as slip. For

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

its calculations, Persson’s computer program only requires data on the roughness of the road as well as the elasticity and temperature behaviour of the rubber mixture. In 2013, the Jülich researchers published the results of measurements they performed with their own specially de-

Using Knowledge

Using this equipment to determine rubber friction, the results of computer simulations can be verified.

veloped apparatus in cooperation with a tyre manufacturer. The values measured substantiated Persson’s theory. The most important finding from theory and practical measurements: “Below a slip velocity of about one centimetre per second, tyre grip is primarily determined by the actual contact area. At higher velocities, in contrast, the viscoelasticity and thus a material property of the rubber dominates,” says Lorenz. When the anti-lock braking system (ABS) is actuated, which in the initial braking phase causes the wheels to rotate around 10 % slower than the speed at which the car is travelling, the tyres first grip the road with the least slip before they begin to glide at a velocity of up to one metre per second and their viscoelasticity becomes the decisive factor.

Dr. Boris Lorenz and Dr. Bo Persson are working together to facilitate the development of tyres without the need for complex experiments.

Glowing Bacteria Light the Way Towards a New Company

Two scientists, one business idea: Stephan Binder and Georg Schendzielorz (right) from the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences are among the winners of the GO-Bio competition for business spinoffs. On the “flower plates” (large image), the bacteria are cultivated and analysed. Microorganisms are the workhorses in industrial biotechnology. They produce base chemicals, active ingredients for drugs, foodstuffs, and other important substances from renewable raw materials. Biotechnological production processes are a climate-smart, resource-conserving alternative to the chemical conversion of crude oil and other fossil sources. However, the processes will only become economically competitive if the microorganisms perform their work efficiently. “Depending on the substance to be produced, increasing the productivity of bacteria by a mere one or two percent would increase the annual turnover of a manufacturer by millions of euros,” says Dr. Georg Schendzielorz, biotechnologist at Jülich. In developing such high-performance bacterial strains, individual bacteria must be separated from millions of other, genetically different variants – a time-consuming process referred to in the jargon as screening. Schendzielorz and his colleague Dr. Stephan Binder are members of a Jülich

research team that developed a method known as high-throughput screening and recombineering (HTSR), which makes it possible to identify and separate particularly productive bacteria much faster than was previously possible. The two scientists used this method as a basis for a business concept which proved so compelling that it has received € 260,000 from the Helmholtz Association within the Helmholtz Enterprises programme since the end of 2013. Since then, they have also competed successfully in the GO-Bio competition for business spin-offs run by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and were awarded an additional € 2.6 million to develop their technology to market maturity and set up their own company. “The interest from industry is indeed already overwhelming; we’ve spoken to companies such as Bayer, Evonik, and BASF,” says Stephan Binder. The HTSR technique is based on a simple trick. A circular DNA molecule is inserted into each bacterium. This ge-

netic addition causes the cells that produce the desired substance to glow or “fluoresce”. The more productive they are, the more they fluoresce. A device used to analyse blood continuously flushes individual microorganisms – 50,000 bacteria per second – past a laser beam that separates the brightest cells onto a microtitre plate. Here, each selected bacterium multiplies and is then examined further. The Jülich biotechnologists have already demonstrated how well the technique works when developing bacterial strains for the production of amino acids, which are required for applications such as drip solutions for the seriously ill or as fodder supplements.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Diagnosing Infections Using Smartphones The Jülich researchers aim to produce the nanosensors using an automated industrial printing process. This would cut production costs considerably. The use of sensors is not strictly limited to malaria. LIVEcheck could also be used with modified antigen-antibody combinations to diagnose other diseases. Furthermore, printable nanosensors could be used not only to determine the type of infection but also to check its course and adapt treatment accordingly.

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A team of researchers from Jülich headed by Alexey Yakushenko is developing a new diagnostic tool to test blood for malaria and other infectious diseases quickly and cheaply wherever required. This diagnostic technique is called LIVEcheck and it could prove particularly beneficial in developing countries and in areas with an inadequate medical infrastructure that are difficult to reach. The Helmholtz Association has granted LIVEcheck funding from its Validation Fund. The Helmholtz Validation Fund aims to bridge gaps between scientific findings and their commercial applications, as well as between public research and private investment. The decision to grant LIVEcheck funding in October 2013 was based on recommendations from external experts. The project team will receive up to € 600,000 from the Validation Fund and funds from Forschungszentrum Jülich. To determine whether a patient has malaria today, doctors analyse a blood sample under the microscope for the single-cell parasites that cause malaria. In this way, doctors can rule out other causes of symptoms such as fever. LIVEcheck in contrast does not require an optical blood analysis. Instead, it utilizes tiny sensors that transmit electronic signals. These signals can be read out directly on the spot with a smartphone. The sensors identify the pathogen based on the reaction of specific molecules on its surface (the antigens) with antibodies (proteins that serve the immune system). The sensors, the individual parts of which measure only a few nanometres (millionths of a millimetre) are made of electrically conducting inks.

An illustration of the aim of the LIVEcheck project: diagnosing malaria using a smartphone

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Appendix 74 Finances 78 Bodies and Committees 80 Organization Chart 82 Contact Information 83 Publication Details

Finances Investments in science and research secure our future. Financing from public funds makes it possible for Jülich to conduct the independent preliminary research that is essential to ensure sustainable development. In addition to this, Forschungszentrum Jülich also generates income from licences with its industrially oriented research. Balance sheet Subsidies from the German federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia make up by far the largest part of Forschungszentrum Jülich’s income. In addition, Jülich receives third-party funding from industry, project funding from federal and state governments, and research funds from the European Union.

Balance sheet 2013 (millions of euros) Assets

2013

A. Fixed assets

526.4

510.4

3.2

3.4

523.0

506.8

I. Intangible assets II. Tangible assets

2012

III. Financial assets

0.2

B. Current assets

939.0

852.8

I. Inventories

38.2

39.9

II. Accounts receivable and other assets

20.8

30.9

III. Government equity to balance the books

862.2

760.6

IV. Cash on hand and on deposit with Deutsche Bundesbank, deposits with credit institutions, cheques

17.8

21.4

C. Accruals and deferrals

18.7

13.6

1,484.1

1,376.8

Total assets Liabilities A. Equity capital

2013

2012 0.5

0.5

B. Special items for subsidies

591.5

585.9

I. for fixed assets

525.8

509.9

65.7

76.0

C. Provisions

831.0

725.5

I. Decommissioning and disposal of nuclear installations

491.7

432.2

61.9

61.6

277.4

231.7

59.7

63.8

1.4

1.1

1,484.1

1,376.8

II. for current assets

II. Pensions and miscellaneous III. Provisions for taxation D. Accounts payable E. Accruals and deferrals Total liabilities

Profit and loss account The profit and loss account compares the income and expenses of Forschungszentrum Jülich. The difference normally corresponds to the company profit or loss. In the case of Forschungszentrum Jülich, the partners are obliged to balance the books. Like institutional funding, any extra revenues required count as additional subsidies. The profit and loss statement is therefore always balanced. Forschungszentrum Jülich generates significant revenue through project management activities, a large number of research and development projects, and the provision of research facilities. Other operating income consists mainly of income from the provisions put aside for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Proﬁt and loss account 2013 (thousands of euros) 2013 Income from subsidies

562,612

Other subsidies from federal government from state government

2012 513,534

465,171

427,829

417,279

377,142

47,892

50,687

Third-party project funding

97,441

85,705

from federal government

44,574

44,949

from state government

14,997

8,640

from DFG

6,444

6,592

from others

12,609

11,356

from EU

18,817

14,168

Revenues and other income Revenues from research, development, and use of research facilities Revenues from licensing and know-how agreements Revenues from project management organizations Revenues from infrastructure services and the sale of materials Revenues from the disposal of ﬁxed assets Increase or reduction in the inventory of work in progress and services (of which EU € 641,000; prev. year € 968,000) Other own work capitalized

181,558

116,179

11,556

9,623

1,001

1,118

75,688

57,843

9,551

8,409

610

487

-2,352

2,314

793

602

Other operating income

21,456

31,645

Other interest and similar income

63,255

4,138

Allocations to special items for subsidies

-66,220

-98,082

Transferred subsidies

-44,235

-45,057

Income from subsidies, revenues, and other income available to cover expenses

633,715

486,574

Personnel costs

291,159

272,285

Operating costs

54,815

49,190

Material costs

28,056

23,728

Costs for energy and water

19,692

20,099

7,067

5,363

273,562

155,104

Other interest and similar costs

11,694

9,995

Taxes on income and earnings

2,485

Costs for external research and development Other costs

Non-recurring expenses

0.0

Depreciation on ﬁxed assets

0.0

Depreciation on ﬁxed assets

58,990

54,463

Income from liquidation of special items for subsidies

-58,990

-54,463

Total expenditure

633,715

486,574

0.0

Result of normal business activity/Annual result

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Revenues 2013 without changes in provisions (thousands of euros) Research fields Area

Structure of Matter

EU funding National project funding (excl. DFG)

Energy

Key Technologies

Research fields

Total

561

8,260

4,578

16,402

3,057

19,459

1,645

7,225

870

15,725

25,363

50,828

21,352

72,180

1,187

953

2,230

20,292

22,522

430

1,489

120

1,825

3,003

6,867

6,879

2,869

10,923

1,551

25,810

32,944

74,097

24,421

98,518

601

513

907

263

2,325

227

2,552

2,670

603

584

4,523

1,829

10,209

10,860

21,069

75,689

111,197

197,828

Contracts, abroad Project management Subtotal third-party funding

Other revenue

2,209

DFG funding

Contracts, Germany

Health

Total

794

incl. transferred subsidies Subtotal project funding

Earth and Environment

6,140

12,039

2,176

31,240

35,036

86,631

Subsidies from federal and state governments

419,504

incl. dismantling projects

57,404

Total

617,332

National project funding excl. DFG (thousands of euros) Total

72,180

• from federal government

44,574

• from state government

14,997

• from other sources (in Germany)

12,609

incl. • transferred subsidies

22,522

• national project funding excl. DFG adjusted for transferred subsidies

49,658

The lack of agreement between the figures in the profit and loss statement and the overview of revenues from third-party project funding from the EU and federal and state governments as national funding agencies can be explained as follows: The total sum of EU funding (€ 19,459,000) under revenues includes work in progress totalling € 641,000 for all areas. When this work in progress is subtracted from the total, we get the figure (€ 18,818,000) that appears in the profit and loss statement under “Third-party project funding: from EU”. The total national project funding from the federal and state governments and other sources (in Germany, not including DFG funding) amounts to € 72,180,000. In the profit and loss statement, the total comprises the itemized figures from the federal government, state government, and others (also see table “National project funding excl. DFG”). In contrast to “Income from subsidies: of which DFG” in the profit and loss statement, DFG project funding includes the share of personnel.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Revenues 2013 Third-party funding € 197.8 million | 32.0 %

68.0 % | € 419.5 million Subsidies from federal and state governments without changes in provisions, of which dismantling projects: € 57.4 million

In 2013, Forschungszentrum Jülich’s third-party funding totalled € 197.8 million, representing an increase of € 25.6 million compared to 2012 (€ 172.2 million). Most of this thirdparty income resulted from research and development activities for industry, the acquisition of funding from Germany and abroad, plus project management on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany and the federal state of North RhineWestphalia. In 2013, Forschungszentrum Jülich also received subsidies from the federal and state governments (including

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

changes in provisions) amounting to € 465.2 million to cover expenses (i. e. for day-to-day operation) and to finance fixed assets (i. e. for investments). Without the changes in provisions, subsidies from the federal and state governments amount to € 419.5 million. In the table on p. 76 and in the diagram, this figure is referred to as “Subsidies from federal and state governments”. These subsidies include € 57.4 million for dismantling projects.

Bodies and Committees Forschungszentrum Jülich was established on 11 December 1956 by the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. On 5 December 1967, it was converted into a GmbH (limited company) with the Federal Republic of Germany and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia assuming the role of shareholders. The task of Forschungszentrum Jülich is • to pursue scientific and technical research and development at the interface between mankind, the environment, and technology, • to undertake or participate in further national and international tasks in the field of basic and application-oriented research, especially precautionary research, • to cooperate with science and industry in these fields of research and to communicate know-how to society as part of technology transfer. Bodies The Partners’ Meeting is the principal decision-making body of Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH. The Supervisory Board as a body supervises the lawfulness, expedience, and economic efficiency of the management board. It makes decisions on important research-related and financial issues of the company.

Partners’ Meeting The Partners’ Meeting is chaired by the German federal government, represented by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Supervisory Board MinDir. Dr. Karl Eugen Huthmacher (Chairman) Federal Ministry of Education and Research State Secretary Helmut Dockter (Vice-Chairman) Ministry of Innovation, Science and Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia

The Board of Directors conducts Forschungszentrum Jülich’s business pursuant to the Articles of Association. It reports to the Supervisory Board. Councils The Scientific and Technical Council (WTR) and the Scientific Advisory Council (WB) are committees of Forschungszentrum Jülich. WTR advises the Partners’ Meeting, the Supervisory Board and the management board on all issues associated with the strategic orientation of Forschungszentrum Jülich and on all scientific and technical issues of general importance. The Scientific Advisory Council advises Forschungszentrum Jülich on all scientific and technical issues of general importance. This includes Jülich’s strategy and the planning of research and development activities, promoting the optimal use of research facilities, and issues related to collaborations with universities and other research institutions. The Scientific Advisory Council comprises members who are not employees of Forschungszentrum Jülich. The chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council is a member of the Supervisory Board.

Prof. Dr. Ulrike Beisiegel University of Göttingen Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Berens University of Münster MinDirig. Berthold Goeke Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety

MinDirig. Prof. Dr. Diethard Mager Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology Prof. Dr. Uwe Pietrzyk Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine Dr. Heike Riel IBM Research – Zürich

State Secretary Peter Knitsch Ministry of Climate Protection, Environment, Agriculture, Nature and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia

MinDirig. Dr. Beatrix Vierkorn-Rudolph Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Dr. Arnd Jürgen Kuhn Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences

www.fz-juelich.de/portal/EN/AboutUs/ organizational_structure/CompanyBodies/SupervisoryBoard/_node.html

Dr.-Ing. Manfred Bayerlein Entrepreneur

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Management Board (Board of Directors) Prof. Dr. Achim Bachem (Chairman) (as of 1 July 2014: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt) Karsten Beneke (Vice-Chairman) Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt (Member of the Board of Directors) Prof. Dr. Harald Bolt (Member of the Board of Directors) www.fz-juelich.de/portal/EN/AboutUs/ organizational_structure/CompanyBodies/BoardOfDirectors/_node.html

Scientific Advisory Council* Prof. Dr. Heike Riel IBM, Switzerland Prof. Barbara Chapman University of Houston, USA Dr. Frank-Detlef Drake RWE AG, Germany Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Knoll AIT, Austria Prof. Dr. Toni M. Kutchan Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, USA Prof. Dr. Karen Maex University of Amsterdam, Netherlands Prof. Dr. Eva Pebay-Peyroula ANR, France

Scientific and Technical Council* Prof. Dr. Hans Str旦her (Chairman) Nuclear Physics Institute Prof. Dr. Rudolf Merkel (Vice-Chairman) Institute of Complex Systems Prof. Dr. Markus B端scher (Vice-Chairman) Peter Gr端nberg Institute www.fz-juelich.de/portal/EN/AboutUs/ organizational_structure/committees/ ScientificAndTechnicalCouncil/_node. html

Prof. Dr. Thomas Roser Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA Prof. Dr. Elke Scheer University of Konstanz, Germany Prof. Dr. Horst Simon Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA Prof. Dr. Metin Tolan TU Dortmund University, Germany Dr. Peter Nagler Evonik AG, Germany www.fz-juelich.de/portal/EN/AboutUs/ organizational_structure/committees/ scientific-advisory-council/_node.html * in accordance with Articles of Association

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum J端lich

Organization Chart Partners’ Meeting Partners: Federal Republic of Germany, represented by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research; North Rhine-Westphalia, represented by the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Research

Supervisory Board Chairman MinDir. Dr. K. E. Huthmacher

Board of Directors

Science; External Relations Prof. A. Bachem (Chairman of the Board of Directors)

Scientific Division I Prof. S. M. Schmidt (Member of the Board of Directors)

Information and Communications Management

Institute of Complex Systems

A. Bernhardt

Prof. J. K. G. Dhont, Prof. C. Fahlke, Prof. J. Fitter (acting), Prof. G. Gompper, Prof. R. Merkel, Prof. A. Offenhäusser, Prof. D. Richter, Prof. D. Willbold

Corporate Development Dr. N. Drewes

Nuclear Physics Institute Corporate Communications Dr. A. Rother

Prof. A. Lehrach (acting), Prof. U.-G. Meißner, Prof. J. Ritman, Prof. H. Ströher

Staff Units

Ofﬁce of the Board of Directors and International Affairs Dr. T. Voß

Institute for Advanced Simulation Prof. S. Blügel, Prof. P. Carloni, Prof. M. Diesmann, Prof. D. DiVincenzo, Prof. G. Gompper, Prof. Th. Lippert, Prof. U.-G. Meißner

Sustainable Campus Dr. P. Burauel

Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine Prof. K. Amunts, Prof. A. Bauer (acting), Prof. P. Carloni, Prof. H. H. Coenen, Prof. M. Diesmann, Prof. G. R. Fink, Prof. N. J. Shah, Prof. D. Sturma, Prof. P. Tass

Jülich Centre for Neutron Science Prof. D. Richter, Prof. T. Brückel

Peter Grünberg Institute Prof. S. Blügel, Prof. Th. Brückel, Prof. D. DiVincenzo, Prof. R. E. Dunin-Borkowski, Prof. D. A. Grützmacher, Prof. A. Offenhäusser, Prof. C. M. Schneider, Prof. S. Tautz, Prof. R. Waser

IT Services F. Bläsen

As of: 1 June 2014

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Scientiﬁc Advisory Council

Scientiﬁc and Technical Council

Chairman Dr. H. Riel

Chairman Prof. H. Ströher

Board of Directors

Scientiﬁc Division II Prof. Dr.-Ing. H. Bolt (Member of the Board of Directors)

Infrastructure K. Beneke (Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors)

Institute of Bio- and Geosciences

Personnel

Prof. W. Amelung, Prof. M. Bott, Prof. K.-E. Jaeger, Prof. J. Pietruszka, Prof. U. Schurr, Prof. B. Usadel, Prof. H. Vereecken, Prof. W. Wiechert

Dr. M. Ertinger

Finance and Controlling R. Kellermann

Institute of Energy and Climate Research Prof. H.-J. Allelein, Prof. D. Bosbach, Prof. R.-A. Eichel, Prof. O. Guillon, Prof. J.-Fr. Hake, Prof. A. Kiendler-Scharr, Prof. Ch. Linsmeier, Prof. U. Rau, Prof. M. Riese, Prof. U. Samm, Prof. L. Singheiser, Prof. D. Stolten, Prof. B. Thomauske, Prof. A. Wahner, Prof. P. Wasserscheid

Purchasing and Materials R.-D. Heitz

Law and Patents Ch. Naumann

Central Institute of Engineering, Electronics and Analytics Dr. S. Küppers, Dr. G. Natour, Dr. S. van Waasen

Organization and Planning A. Emondts

Technology Transfer Dr. R. Raue

Central Library Dr. B. Mittermaier

Technical Infrastructure Dr. G. Damm

Nuclear Services Dr. G. Damm/R. Printz

Project Management Organizations

Safety and Radiation Protection B. Heuel-Fabianek

Project Management Jülich Dr. Ch. Stienen

Building and Property Management M. Franken

Project Management Organization Energy, Technology, Sustainability

Planning and Building Services

Dr. B. Steingrobe

J. Kuchenbecker

Staff unit

Auditing A. Kamps

Annual Report 2013 | Forschungszentrum Jülich

Contact Information Would you like more information? If so, please do not hesitate to contact us … Corporate Communications Head: Dr. Anne Rother Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH 52425 Jülich Germany Tel. +49 2461 61-4661 Fax +49 2461 61-4666 info@fz-juelich.de www.fz-juelich.de

… come and visit us … We organize guided tours of Forschungszentrum Jülich for interested groups. Please contact our Visitor Service for more information. Tel. +49 2461 61-4662 besucher_uk@fz-juelich.de

… or request a copy of our free brochures: You can order our publications free of charge or download them online at: www.fz-juelich.de/portal/EN/Press/Publications/_node.html Our magazine app for tablets: www.fz-juelich.de/portal/EN/Service/app/_node.html

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How to Find Us By car Coming from either Aachen or Düsseldorf on the A 44 motorway, take the “Jülich-West” exit. At the first roundabout, turn left towards Jülich, and at the second roundabout (“Westring”), turn right towards Düren (B 56). After about 5 km, turn left onto the L 253 and follow the signs for “Forschungszentrum”.

Hamburg Hannover Berlin

NL 52

Cologne Dresden B

Mönchengladbach

Düsseldorf 3

Frankfurt 57

Munich F

Jülich East

Jülich West

Cologne

Jülich

Coming from Cologne (Köln) on the A 4 motorway, leave the motorway at the Düren exit and turn right towards Jülich (B 56). After approx. 10 km, turn right and continue until you reach Forschungszentrum Jülich.

Düren/Jülich

Aachen

Using navigation systems Enter your destination or street name as “Wilhelm-Johnen-Strasse”. From there, it is only a few hundred metres to the main entrance of Forschungszentrum Jülich – simply follow the signs. Forschungszentrum Jülich itself is not part of the network of public roads and is therefore not recognized by navigation systems.

Düren

Bonn 1

By public transport Take the train from Aachen or Cologne (Köln) to Düren train station. From there, take the local train (“Rurtalbahn”) to the “Forschungszentrum” stop. The main entrance is about a 15-minute walk from this stop.

Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2013

Publication Details

Published by: Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH | 52425 Jülich, Germany | Tel: +49 2461 61-4661 | Fax: +49 2461 61-4666 | Internet: www. fz-juelich.de Editors: Dr. Wiebke Rögener, Annette Stettien, Dr. Anne Rother (responsible under German Press Law) Authors: Dr. Frank Frick, Dr. Wiebke Rögener, Translation: Language Services, Forschungszentrum Jülich Graphics and Layout: SeitenPlan GmbH Corporate Publishing Printed by: Schloemer Gruppe GmbH Photos: Bernd Struckmeyer (1, 4, 10 bottom left, 16-17, 24-25, 77), FZ Jülich/Ralf Eisenbach (10 top left.), Nataliia Melnychuk/Shutterstock.com (10 bottom right), Riken (11 top left), wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com (11 bottom right), Juho Aalto/ University of Helsinki (15 top left), CLIPAREA Custom media/Shutterstock.com (15 bottom right), Justin Marshall (15 bottom left), Boris Shevchuk/ Shutterstock.com (19 bottom monitor/PC), PLoS Computational Biology (23 bottom), FZ Jülich/Ludwig Kroefer (26 bottom, 28 bottom), FZ Jülich/ Kurt Steinhausen (28 top and middle), Rob Wilson/Shutterstock.com (30 top), Vitaly Korovin/Shutterstock.com (31 bottom), FZ Jülich/Nature Nanotechnology (33), Paul Aniszewski/Shutterstock.com (34), Knut Urban private (36 right), hjschneider/Shutterstock.com (39 left), Kurt Fuchs/ www.fuchs-foto.de (41), Istockphoto.de (42), Project Management Jülich (43), W. Schürmann/TU Munich (44), SeitenPlan GmbH (49), German Research School for Simulation Sciences (52), Composing vladgrin/Fotolia and adimas/Fotolia (58), ITER Organization (60), McCarthy’s PhotoWorks/Shutterstock.com (63 top), IAGOS (63 bottom), DEEP-ER (64), beniag GmbH/FZ Jülich (68), RAJ CREATIONZS/Shutterstock.com (71 malaria pathogen), Denys Prykhodov/Shutterstock.com (71 mobile), all other images: Forschungszentrum Jülich. Excerpts from this publication may be reproduced without special permission provided that Forschungszentrum Jülich is referred to in any publication. A reference copy is requested. All other rights reserved. As of: July 2014

In August 2010, Forschungszentrum Jülich became certified as part of the “audit berufundfamilie” initiative. Jülich has thus committed itself to continuously defining and implementing measures for improving the reconciliation of work and family life.