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

© Photo: Volker Lannert/Universität Bonn
Brilliant minds connect disciplines
The University of Bonn has been a University of Excellence since 2019 and is committed to transdisciplinary research collaboration. With eight Clusters of Excellence, the University is now the most successful Universities of Excellence in Germany. As part of its excellence strategy, it has expanded six complementary Transdisciplinary Research Areas in which important social, technological, and scientific topics of the future are addressed from a variety of perspectives. At the heart of this are professorships for brilliant minds at the interface of different disciplines, which anchor this concept across faculties. 
Sep 15, 2025
© Photo: Lisa-Marie Mayer
Food delivery apps: Nudges can reduce CO2 emissions
Can small changes in the design of food delivery apps encourage people to choose more climate-friendly meals? Researchers at the Institute for Food and Resource Economics (ILR) at the University of Bonn investigated this question. Their findings have now been published in the journal “Appetite.”
Sep 09, 2025
© Source: EU/STRENGTH2FOOD/Gregor Hübl/University of Bonn
EU Organic Label: Better When It Says “Organic”
To positively influence purchase decisions, sustainability labels must convey a clear signal rather than remain abstract. Using the EU’s “Green Leaf” organic logo as an example, researchers from the universities of Bonn, Newcastle (UK) and Corvinus (Hungary) demonstrate that simple design tweaks reduce consumers’ uncertainty, bolster their trust in the products, and thus increase their willingness to buy. The two‑study-paper appears in the journal "Agribusiness" and is already available online.
Aug 06, 2025
© Adobe Stock/AI
Fending Off Cyberattacks in Healthcare
Artificial intelligence (AI) is designed to make our health system even more efficient. Yet cyberattacks are capable not only of jeopardizing patient safety but also impairing medical devices and hindering the work of emergency responders. With the “SecureNeuroAI” project, researchers from the University of Bonn, University Hospital Bonn and FIZ Karlsruhe – the Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructure are aiming to develop secure, AI-powered methods for detecting medical emergencies in real time using the example of epileptic seizures, although their findings should be applicable to many other areas. The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) is providing almost €2.5 million in funding over a three-year period.
Jul 31, 2025

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