forsch: Reconnecting Pathways

What influence do endogenous cannabinoids have on neurodegenerative diseases? Bolanle Fatimat Olabiyi is investigating this question in her doctoral thesis at the ImmunoSensation2 Cluster of Excellence. Her big goal for the future is to continue boosting research in her home country of Nigeria. An article from forsch 2021/01

Teeth are the toughest and most durable parts of a mammal’s body and are often the only bits of fossils left after millions of years. We join Prof. Dr. Thomas Martin to explore the secret of teeth.

“Economics is a human thing,” says a convinced Michael-Burkhard Piorkowsky. The researcher, who held the Professorship for Household and Consumption Economics at the University of Bonn before his retirement, has written a book that takes this statement as its title. Johannes Seiler asked him some questions about it. An article from forsch 2021/01.

What influence do individual personalities have on political decisions and the course of history? This question lies at the heart of a new publication entitled Der Faktor Persönlichkeit in der internationalen Politik (“The personality factor in international politics”). It is edited by Dr. Hendrik W. Ohnesorge, a research associate at the Chair in International Relations and Managing Director of the Center for Global Studies (CGS), and Professor Dr. Xuewu Gu, current holder of the chair and Director of the CGS. Bernd Frye talked to Hendrik W. Ohnesorge. An article from forsch 2021/01.

What does a poetics lecturer do? What’s coming up in Bonn this year? What does our language say about us? How does language change us? An interview from forsch 2021/01.

Gigi the eagle is searching for her young. However, the proud bird is not alone – helping her are two children, Ben and Mia. On the pages of a new book created by students, primary school children can read an adventure story while learning about Germany’s fundamental rights at the same time. To understand how this children’s book came about, it is worth rewinding three years. An article from forsch 2021/01.

How can several stakeholders make decisions as one when they possess different information or need to take uncertainties into account? This and other questions are on the plate of mathematician and economic theorist Dr. Florian Brandl, who took up the first Argelander Professorship in the Transdisciplinary Research Areas (TRAs) on April 1 and started work as a Bonn Junior Fellow at the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics at the same time. He is the first researcher to hold such a professorship, one of several new posts created for exceptional early-career researchers who excel in combining several different disciplines. In the case of Florian Brandl’s research, these are mathematics, economics and computer science. An article from forsch 2021/01.

New design: mobile first with clear user navigation: The website of Bonn’s University of Excellence got a facelift in late April, so users and web editors are enjoying a modern, new look and feel. An article from forsch 2021/01.

Franziska Schuster spends her days boning up on molecular biomedicine. In the evening, she ties her running shoes and sprints round an athletics track in Leverkusen. The 19-year-old from Bonn is a member of Germany’s U20 track and field squad for sprint and hurdles, meaning she has a lot on her plate with her sport and her studies. There is not much time left for anything else – so how does one handle the pressure in such a situation? An article from forsch 2021/01.          

Professor Hoch was again named Rector of the Year by the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers (DHV) just as he is assuming his second term of office. The University of Bonn members gave him top marks in the association’s online survey, scoring even higher than in the previous year as 69% of those surveyed said he is “the ideal person” to hold the key leadership position. In an interview, we talked to him about his plans for the four years ahead. . An article from forsch 2021/01.

Determining soil types, looking for outcrops, studying valley shapes ... these activities have been classic elements of geography excursions for students throughout generations. Every semester, some 20 students head off for with a geography field trip guide to explore the Siebengebirge or Seven Mountains, a hill range on the east bank of the Middle Rhine southeast of Bonn that was once volcanically active. This year would have been our turn to go on the excursion, but the pandemic impacted us in the University of Bonn Geography department as well. A report by Julia Feth and Johanna Niedick. An article from forsch 2021/01.

Now it’s in ‘black and white’ for the man at the helm, as in late April, Minister Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen of the Ministry of Arts and Sciences in Düsseldorf personally bestowed Rector Michael Hoch with his certificate of appointment for a second term of office as Rector, from May 2021 on into the year 2025. His goals for this term are ambitious. An article from forsch 2021/01.

After 11 years abroad, Prof. Dr. Franca Hoffmann is bringing her passion for transdisciplinary research and strong ties to Africa with her to Bonn. Her varied career shows how many doors can be opened by the wide world of mathematics. An article from forsch 2021/01.

The Fossil of the Year is a skeleton of a small pterosaur which Georg August Goldfuß discovered in 1831, descriptively naming it Scaphognathus crassirostris. The drawing he made of it marked the inception of ‘paleo art’— defined as any artistic work that attempts to depict dinosaurs or other prehistoric life on the basis of scientific evidence—which remains highly popular today. An article from forsch 2021/01.

Face-to-face versus lockdown: a tension affecting day-to-day academic life at the University of Bonn for well over a year now. “We had to abruptly switch modes and take all formerly face-to-face events digital,” recalls Professor Karin Holm-Müller, who was Vice Rector for Teaching and Student Affairs until May of this year. “It is rare indeed to see one’s everyday reality so dramatically altered in such a short time. It has demanded incredible effort for everyone at the University.” An article from forsch 2021/01.

On the “Kinder IPSTA Bonn” interprofessional training ward at University Hospital Bonn’s Center of Pediatric Medicine, student physicians and trainee healthcare specialists and pediatric nurses are responsible for looking after up to four children with heart conditions. They are being given intensive support from experienced doctors and nurses who are supervising their learning. Constant communication and cooperation in interprofessional teams of two is increasing each member’s understanding of their teammate’s profession. An article from forsch 2021/01.      

Since last year, any 16- to 26-year-olds who are interested have had the opportunity for the first time to complete a Voluntary Ecological Year (FÖJ) at the University of Bonn’s Wiesengut or Frankenforst teaching and research units. Amongst other things, they help researchers set up and conduct their field tests and assist with various agroecological projects. As a result of the positive feedback from everyone involved, FÖJ places are set to be offered this year too. An article from forsch 2021/01.