Helmholtz Association - Definition and Overview

The Helmholtz Association (German: Helmholtz-Gesellschaft) is the largest scientific organisation in Germany. It is a union of 15 scientifically, technically, biologically, and medically oriented research centers with altogether some 24,000 employees and an annual budget that exceeds two billion euros. The official mission of the Association is "to answer great and pressing questions of science, society, and economics". The namesake of the association is the German physiologist and physicist Hermann von Helmholtz.

Members

Map of the Helmholtz centres in germany

Members of the Helmholtz Association are:

• Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung (AWI)
• Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
• Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg (DKFZ)
• Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
• Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ)
• Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (FZK)
• Gesellschaft für Biotechnologische Forschung (GBF)
• Geoforschungszentrum Potsdam (GFZ)
• GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht (GKSS)
• GSF-Forschungszentrum für Umwelt und Gesundheit (GSF)
• Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI)
• Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin (HMI)
• Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik (IPP)
• Max-Delbrück-Centrum für Molekulare Medizin (MDC), Berlin-Buch
• UFZ-Umweltforschungszentrum Leipzig-Halle (UFZ)

Programme structure

The works of the centres are categorised into programs, which are divided into six research groups. The Helmholtz centres are grouped below according to which research group they belong to:

• Energy (DLR, FZK, FZJ, GFZ, HMI, IPP)
  • Renewable energies
  • Energy efficient conversion
  • Nuclear fusion
  • Nuclear safety research
• Earth and environment (AWI, DLR, FZJ, FZK, GBF, GFZ, GKSS, GSF, UFZ)
  • Geosystem: The changing earth
  • Atmosphere and climate
  • Marine, coastal and polar systems
  • Biogeosystems: Dynamics, adaptation and adjustment
  • Sustainable use of landscapes
  • Sustainable development and technology
• Health (DKFZ, FZJ, FZK, GBF, GKSS, GSF, GSI, HMI, MDC, UFZ)
  • Cancer research
  • Cardio-vascular and metabolic disease research
  • Function and dysfunction of the nervous system
  • Infection and immunity
  • Environmental health disorders
  • Comparative genomics for human health
  • Medical technology
  • Regenerative medicine
• Key Technologies (FZJ, FZK, GKSS, cooperation of the HMI in single topics)
  • Scientific computation
  • Information technology with nanoelectronic systems
  • Nanotechnology
  • Microsystems technology
  • Functional engineering materials systems
• Structure of Matter (DESY, FZJ, FZK, GKSS, GSI, HMI)
  • Elementary particle physics
  • Astroparticle physics
  • Physics of hadrons and nuclei
  • Condensed matter physics
  • Large-scale facilities for research with photons, neutrons and ions
• Transport and Space (DLR)
  • Transport
  • Aeronautics
  • Space

Funding

The annual budget of the Helmholtz Association amounts to more than two billion euros, of which about 70% is raised from public funds, while the rest is contributed by the members as third-party funds. The public funds are spent 90% by the federal government and the rest by the states.

External link

• Helmholtz association webpage (http://www.helmholtz.de)