Researchers at the Universities of Augsburg and Groningen have been able to show that the standard picture of magnetisation reversal needs to be expanded. Their findings were published in the journal Nature Communications and not only enrich basic research, but also open up new perspectives for components in the electronics of the future.

The extent to which smartphones reduce memory and attention was the subject of a recent meta-analysis comparing 22 studies published in the journal Behavioural Sciences. The research team led by Prof. Dr Klaus Zierer confirmed the so-called “brain drain effect.” This poses particular challenges for educating children and young people about media use.

 

The animal kingdom has often inspired technical innovation. Swarms of birds, fish, and insects are fascinating natural spectacles, which have for a long time captured the interest of researchers. While the reasons behind natural swarming behaviour are more well understood as a consequence of years of research, the possibilities for the use of swarms in technical systems is less well-known. At the Institute for Software & Systems Engineering, Prof. Dr Wolfgang Reif and his team are researching how swarming behaviour can be used with flying drones.

The universities of Augsburg, Bamberg, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Munich (LMU), and Würzburg have spent four years researching the healthy use of digital technologies and media. ForDigitHealth has presented its findings in academic publications as well as in an online guide accessible to the public.

The digiBRAVE research project, which is dedicated to the early detection, prevention and treatment of depression, is being funded with 1.3 million euros from the Bavarian State Ministry of Health and Care. Minister of State Holetschek handed over the funding cheque yesterday. digiBRAVE is a joint project of the Medical Faculty of the University of Augsburg and Augsburg University Hospital.

As part of its commitment to transparent and proactive communication about animal experiments and experimental animal research, the University of Augsburg together with Augsburg University Hospital has been awarded a seal of quality approval by “Understanding Animal Experiments,” an initiative of the Alliance of Science Organisations. 

The University of Augsburg has received million of euros in support from the Free State of Bavaria for the expansion of the installation of photovoltaics on its campus buildings. From 2023 to 2026, a large part of the campus will be equipped with photovoltaic (PV) systems. The extensive rollout of photovoltaic systems is beginning with their installation on the physics and mathematics buildings and the building housing the lecture theatres of the Faculty of Business and Economics.

As part of the 20th anniversary of the Universität Bayern e.V. held at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, the president of the University of Augsburg, Prof. Dr Sabine Doering-Manteuffel, was awarded the Christoph Mendel von Steinfels Medal. The medal is the highest award conferred by Universität Bayern e.V. and was presented by the association’s chairman Prof. Dr Stefan Leible, who is also president of the University of Bayreuth.

The University of Augsburg aims to provide the best possible environment for early career researchers establishing their careers. The Graduate Centre has been established to bolster support for early career researchers. It acts as an umbrella institute for the individual graduate programmes and graduate support services offered by the faculties.

A major new research project led by the University of Augsburg with the Technical Univer-sity Munich (TUM) as partner is dedicated to a key topic of the future: the research and de-velopment of new types of materials whose properties are characterised by quantum ef-fects. In the long term, they could serve as the basis for very powerful computers. The University of Augsburg is involved in another three Collaborative Research Centres.

Together with Munich, Augsburg is home to a new site of the German Centre for Mental Health. The aim of the new centre is interdisciplinary research into the development and progress of mental illnesses across the lifespan. The Augsburg site of the new centre will focus on researching treatments for depression. Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the new centre (DZPG) consists of five research sites in addition to Munich/Augsburg.

The University of Augsburg has appointed historian Prof. Dr Simone Müller, an expert on global environmental history and environmental humanities, as new DFG Heisenberg Professor. The sought-after historian, who works in an advisory capacity for the Polish National Science Council, the Academy of Finland, and the Swedish Research Council, researches globalisation processes and the relationship between ecology and economy. In 2017, she was nominated by the German Research Foundation as a leading researcher in her field (Academia.net).