Cutting-Edge Research on Sustainability
© Volker Lannert/ Uni Bonn

TRA Sustainable Futures: Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Futures

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© Uni Bonn

Sustainability means using resources in a way that the needs of today are met without neglecting or even disregarding the needs of future generations. This raises questions in a wide range of areas: poverty, hunger, food security, demographic change, health, protection of the environment, climate change and the responsible use of resources pose a global challenge for us all. To achieve progress with regards to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, our researchers apply an interdisciplinary approach focused on solutions combined with basic research, actively engage in global networks and collaborate with Bonn-based UN organizations.

Research

Research profile, topics and projects from our members 

About us

Organisation of the TRA, network, team

Offers

TRA calls and grants as well as events

Transfer & Outreach

Innovative applications, science communication and the press review

News from the TRA

Notifications

© Gregor Hübl / University of Bonn
AI with Locality Awareness
The University of Bonn is hosting a new Emmy Noether Group devoted to AI methods. Junior Professor Marc Rußwurm is developing AI methods for fusing different types of geodata to arrive at a uniform geospatial representation. The German Research Foundation (DFG) will be providing up to 1.4 million euros in funding for the research group over the next six years. The Emmy Noether Program is a framework designed to enable selected postdocs and assistant professors on fixed-term contracts to obtain the qualifications necessary to hold a university professorship.
Apr 13, 2026
© Barbara Frommann / Uni Bonn
University of Bonn Researchers Showcase Projects as Supercomputer Marvin Turns Two
Two years after Marvin was switched on, the University of Bonn celebrated its supercomputer with a community event at the Research and Technology Center for Detector Physics. Researchers from various disciplines presented projects realized with the aid of high-performance computers and took the opportunity to chat with their counterparts from different fields.
Mar 23, 2026
© University of Bonn
Bonn’s Domestic Service Robots Defend Their Title
The University of Bonn´s NimbRo team convincingly defended its @Home League championship title at the RoboCup German Open, finishing well ahead of the runner-up. From March 10 to 14, the service robots demonstrated their capabilities in everyday environments. They understood complex voice commands, navigated safely through a simulated apartment and an unfamiliar restaurant, delivered orders, and removed laundry from the washing machine.
Mar 16, 2026
© Photo: Barbara Frommann/University of Bonn
Researchers develop a ChatGPT for Portuguese
Large language models, such as ChatGPT, perform significantly less well in Portuguese than in English despite both languages being spoken worldwide. This gap has now been closed with "GigaVerbo". The team led by Dr. Nicholas Kluge Corrêa from the Center for Science and Thought at the University of Bonn is now presenting the project in the journal "Patterns". The researchers were among the first to utilize the new "Marvin" supercomputer at the University of Bonn. Nicholas Kluge Corrêa and his colleague Aniket Sen are both members of the Transdisciplinary Research Area "Sustainable Futures" at the University of Bonn.
Mar 06, 2026

Highlights and Announcement

Get Involved in the TRA

© Christina Schiegl

Become a member of TRA Sustainable Futures!

As TRA member, you will have access to TRA funding and opportunities for networking beyond the borders of your own discipline.

Members

The TRA Sustainable Futures currently has more than 220 members whose research is focused on the four priority areas of TRA Sustainable Futures.

Meet our Researchers

Inter- and transdisciplinary research actively pursued at the University of Bonn and is promoted across faculty boundaries. The faces of TRA Sustainable Futures are our Hertz-Chair, our Argelander-Professor and the numerous dedicated scientists.  

© Gregor Hübl/Uni Bonn

Transdisciplinary Research on Climate Change and Health

Prof. Dr. Ina Danquah

Hertz-Chair "Innovation for Planetary Health"
Research professorship in the Transdisciplinary Research Area "Sustainable Futures" of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn.

© Gregor Hübl/Universität Bonn

Collective Action for Sustainable Development

Jun.-Prof. Dr. Wolfram Barfuss

Argelander-Professorship "Integrated System Modelling for Sustainability Transitions" 
Research professorship in the Transdisciplinary Research Area "Sustainable Futures" of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn.

Contact

Avatar Zimmermann

Hanna Zimmermann

+49 228 73 54469

TRA Manager | Strategic Development and Quality Assurance Unit

Dechenstraße 3-11

53115 Bonn

© Jürgen Hofmann

Further information

The TRAs

In the TRAs top researchers work together across faculty boundaries on key academic, scientific, technological and societal issues relevant to our future.

Learn more

Excellence Strategy

We want to create an ideal environment for outstanding researchers that fosters creative scientific work and promote talented researchers at all stages of their careers.

Learn more

Cluster of Excellence

PhenoRob, the only Cluster of Excellence in Germany in agricultural sciences, brings together researchers to investigate how technology can enable sustainable crop production.

Learn more