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

TRA Sustainable Futures: Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Futures

TRA6.png
© 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

© Illustration: Clara Bergmann
Diets need more sustainability
There has been a rapid increase in cardiovascular and metabolic conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. What is the link between sustainable diets that are nutritious, environmentally friendly, economically affordable, and socioculturally acceptable, and cardiometabolic conditions? An international research team led by Prof. Dr. Ina Danquah, Hertz Chair for Innovation for Planetary Health in the Transdisciplinary Research Area “Sustainable Futures” and Director at Center for Development Research (ZEF) at University of Bonn, investigated this question among Ghanaian adults who live in various locations.
Sep 01, 2026
© Photo: Barbara Frommann/Uni Bonn
Robots Listening Out for Instructions in the Greenhouse
The greenhouses of the future are set to see ever-greater human-robot collaboration, and a team led by Professor Maren Bennewitz from the University of Bonn together with partners from Taiwan is using artificial intelligence to study the basic principles needed to make this happen. In their project, entitled “Learning Expert-Guided Crop Intervention through Human-in-the-Loop LLM Robotics” (or “AgriLoop” for short), the groups from the two countries are investigating how greenhouse robots will be able to work more closely with agricultural experts with the aid of natural-language interaction.
Aug 24, 2026
© Photo: Volker Lannert/Uni Bonn
Land Degradation Significantly Reduces Crop Yields
Factors such as erosion, dehydration and compaction of the soil are jeopardizing food supplies for broad swathes of the world’s population according to a recent study by the University of Bonn, the University of Minnesota, the University of Basel and Hamburg University of Technology. If human-made soil degradation were to be reversed by 10 percent, the Earth’s arable land could feed an extra 70 million or so people in purely mathematical terms. The findings have now been published in the journal “Nature Food.”
Jul 22, 2026
© Photo: A. Schromm/FZB
Asthma: New Mechanism of Action Curbs Inflammatory Response
A team from the University of Bonn and the Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center (FZB) has discovered a previously unknown mechanism of action for a synthetic peptide that mitigates excessive inflammatory responses in allergic asthma. This mechanism specifically inhibits a key inflammatory switch in the immune system and opens up new avenues for treating chronic inflammatory diseases. The findings have now been published in the journal Advanced Science.
Jul 21, 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