EDUCATION AND RESEARCH MINISTRY SHOWCASES GERMAN

UNCLAS BERLIN 000494 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR INR, OES, EEB, EUR PLEASE PASS NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO TNGD TPHY TRGY TSPL SENV ENRG PREL GM SUBJECT: EDUCATION AND RESEARCH MINISTRY SHOWCASES GERMAN RESEARCH INSTITUTES ¶1. (SBU) Summary: There are four major scientific research institutes in Germany, each with tens of affiliated research centers. The institutes are entirely funded by the German federal and individual state governments. The German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) sponsored a two-day study tour for science attaches of foreign missions in Berlin. Participants visited six research institutes in Leipzig and Dresden. This cable includes general information about the structure, funding and staffing of the four major research associations in Germany. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) There are four major scientific research institutes in Germany: the Max Planck Institute, the Leibniz Institute, the Helmholtz Association and the Fraunhofer Institute. Max Planck focuses on basic research. Leibniz handles both basic and some applied research. Helmholtz also does both basic and applied research. Fraunhofer focuses more on application: about two-thirds of its work is contract research on behalf of industry and one-third is market-oriented basic research. ¶3. (SBU) The Helmholtz Association consists of 15 research centers with 250 institutes. It has an annual budget of 2.4 billion euros. About 90 percent of this funding comes from the federal level and 10% of funding comes from the state government. In contrast, the funding structure for the other three institutes is 50% federal and 50% state and overall budgets are also much lower. There are 56 Fraunhofer Institutes in Germany with an annual budget of nearly 1.3 billion euros, including 38 million euros annually for defense and security research. Max Planck has 80 locations with an annual budget of 1.45 billion euros. Leibniz has 83 centers and a budget of 1.1 billion euros per year. ¶4. (SBU) ECONOFF visited the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig on April 16. Georg Teutsch, the scientific director of UFZ, said no tax money is spent on wind research (since technologies are already in the market) but money is spent on developing biofuels and photovoltaics (solar cells). Teutsch also noted that no BMBF money is spent on nuclear energy research, "there is research going on but it is not funded by the (BMBF) ministry". UFZ works with "seven sisters" (including institutes in Finland, Denmark, England, Holland, Italy and France) as part of the European Environmental Research Network. ¶5. (SBU) Teutsch highlighted three UFZ projects: ALARM, SMART and Risk Habitat Megacities. ALARM is a European project that focuses on the impact of the loss of natural pollinators like honeybees and the impact on the food supply. SMART works with developing nations to build decentralized waste water treatment and reuse plants. The Megacities project studies cities in the global south with populations over 10 million people. The same day, ECONOFF visited the Leibniz Institute for Meteorological Research, where German scientists are using dust particles to form and study clouds. The group then visited the Leipzig Zoo and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology to speak with animal behavior experts there. The researchers explained the tests they are doing with chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas to distinguish between individual mental capabilities and socially-learned skills. ¶6. (SBU) On April 17, ECONOFF visited the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems in Dresden. Scientists there are developing non-metallic materials for a range of practical uses. The Institute for Material and Beam Technology, located in the same compound, uses laser precision cladding to repair industrial tools. The Electron Beam and Plasma Technology Institute focuses on plasma activated high rate deposition and pulse magnetron sputtering. The Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research has many projects investigating the macromolecular and physical chemistry of polymers. The study tour continued with a trip to the Dresden International Graduate School for Biomedicine and Bioengineering where significant genetic and stem cell research is taking place. The trip finished with a quick tour of the VW car factory that produces the high-end Phaeton vehicle. TIMKEN JR