“With the €2,500 Publication Awards, we are recognizing researchers whose outstanding publications have significantly enhanced the visibility of our university,” emphasized Prof. Manfred Bischoff, Vice Rector for Research and Sustainable Development. “Today, we want to give something back and help you gain the recognition you deserve,” said Prof. Manfred Bischoff, emphasizing the quality and diversity of the award-winning contributions. He also underscored the importance of academic freedom, stating: “Only in a climate of academic freedom can creative research ideas truly flourish—benefiting not only universities, but society as a whole.”
The publications were introduced through brief presentations by both the laudators and the researchers themselves. From cardboard cut-outs to comics and videos, the presenters used a wide range of stylistic devices to explain their research in a brief and engaging way.
Faculty 1: Construction log of Strasbourg Cathedral
Cathedral construction huts are specialized workshops that take care of the construction, preservation, restoration and maintenance of large cathedrals. There is currently a lively debate about the role of these "Dombauhütte" (cathedral construction huts) in the European cultural heritage. A Franco-German research project led by Prof. Christiane Weber (Institute of Architectural History, ifag) and Alexandre Kostka (University of Strasbourg) is making a significant contribution in this area. The project explores the restoration of Strasbourg Cathedral in the early 20th century, bringing together perspectives from civil engineering history, cultural history, and the history of monument preservation. As part of their work, the researchers transcribed the original construction site diary – written in old German cursive script – translated it into French and provided detailed commentary. The publication thus makes a valuable historical source accessible to today's researchers and does fundamental work for French heritage conservation.
Publication: Kostka, Alexandre und Weber, Christiane (Hrsg.), La restauration des fondations du pilier de la tour de la cathédrale de Strasbourg. 2 volumes, Innsbruck University Press, 2024. DOI: 10.15203/99106-124-3-1 and 10.15203/99106-124-3-2.
Faculty 2: Computers without electronics
Completely mechanical computers do not require any electronics or electricity and can be used in soft robotics, for example. Dr. Aniket Pal, junior professor at the Institute of Applied Mechanics, and his team are developing systematic design principles for the construction of such computers. The researchers have developed materials that use tiny mechanical “impulses” to execute logic - similar to the way digital computers use ones and zeros. These mechanical impulses can pass through a network of spring-like components that function like switches and make decisions based on the impulse patterns. This principle was demonstrated on soft, autonomous machines in which mechanical inputs control the calculations and trigger hydrogel-based actuators.
Faculty 3: Protecting against unwanted DNA activity
Thyagarajan T. Chandrasekaran, a doctoral researcher at the Institute of Biochemistry, used a puppet theater featuring characters like Barack Obama, Mickey Mouse, and others to illustrate how epigenetic proteins take on different roles. In cooperation with other researchers from the Universities of Stuttgart and Ulm, he has discovered that a specific region of the enzyme SETDB1, the so-called 3TD domain, plays an important role in binding this enzyme to the DNA structure. This work deepens our understanding of how cells protect their DNA from unwanted activity and permanently deactivate certain sections. This could explain diseases caused by defective DNA inactivation (for example certain types of cancer or genetic disorders) and contribute to the development of new therapies and drugs.
Faculty 4: How tumors evade growth control
Lisa Brenner, a former doctoral researcher under Prof. Monilola Olayioye at the Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology, Dr. Cristiana Lungu, Prof. Albert Jeltsch and other researchers have uncovered an unexpected interplay between the binding mechanisms of cells and epigenetic regulation. A cell's perception of its environment plays a crucial role in this process. “Contact with the neighboring cell changes the cell internally,” explained the researchers. Her work shows how epithelial tissue prevents uncontrolled cell growth, a process that plays a central role in the development of cancer.
Faculty 5: Quantum computations with fewer qubits
During his research stay at the IBM Quantum Research Center in the USA, Sebastian Brandhofer - at the time a doctoral student under Prof. Ilia Polian at the Institute of Computer Architecture and Computer Engineering - co-authored a publication focused on the partitioning of quantum circuits. The central question was: How can a quantum computation run on a platform with fewer qubits than it actually needs? To this end, Brandhofer considered so-called gate and wire cuts (two different types of separation) together for the first time and integrated them into a formal model. This has enabled an increase in efficiency of 40 to 60 percent compared to previous approaches, resulting in a significant reduction in costs.
Faculty 6: Transparent decisions for AI
Why does artificial intelligence (AI) sometimes make such strange decisions? The question of AI transparency lies at the core of the research conducted by doctoral researcher Hannes Mandler and Prof. Bernhard Weigand at the Institute of Aerospace Thermodynamics (ITLR). Mandler investigated which input variables neural networks underlying AI applications consider important and compared different definitions of importance. He found that some of these definitions do not align with the human intuitive understanding of importance. Consequently, different methods yield different explanations for the same model – often including fallacies, as users tend to favor pleasant explanations over accurate ones.
Faculty 7: Autofocus for endoscopes
Finer than a human hair: Photonic 3D printing enables the fabrication of extremely small objects—such as a magnetic microactuator capable of generating precise movements at the microscale, used for motion control in medical technology. Florian Rothermel, doctoral researcher at the Institute of Applied Optics, developed novel solutions for the use of two-photon polymerization (2PP) to produce such a magnetic microactuator. The technology is intended to enable micro-optical applications produced by 3D printing with the aim of achieving mechanical functions such as autofocus, zoom or scan in endoscopic applications.
Faculty 8: Less energy loss in complex systems
Complex systems such as molecular motors operate under non-equilibrium conditions and therefore inevitably lead to losses of free energy - and the more precisely the system works, the greater the loss. Dr. Julius Degünther, Dr. Jann van der Meer and Prof. Udo Seifert from the Institute of Theoretical Physics II have developed a theory that, for the first time, enables the localization of these losses in both space and time - even when only unspecific information about the complex system is available. In the paper, the authors developed this theory for time-dependent driving and illustrated it using the example of the force-induced unfolding of a protein.
Faculty 9: Concealment as an aesthetic category
Previous research on Pierre Corneille's tragedy Pompée (1641) has concentrated primarily on questions of political legitimation, character psychology and the classical adaptation of material. Selina Seibel at the Institute of Literary Studies is the first to focus on dissimulatio artis in Corneille's work, i.e. deliberate and artful deception as an expression of power. The relationship between Caesar, Ptolemy, and Cleopatra reveals a complex interplay of rhetorical strategies, where the lines between political calculation and personal morality become increasingly blurred. Seibel demonstrates how the principle of dissimulation not only shapes the dramatic action, but also operates as an aesthetic category—thus serving as a constitutive principle in the genesis of early modern theater.
Faculty 10: More realistic organ models for smooth muscles
How much stretching can a full bladder tolerate, and what occurs at the muscular level during this process? Julian Geldner's work at the Institute of Sports Science illustrates this question in a simplified way. Together with his co-authors, he investigated the mechanical properties of the urinary bladder wall both uniaxially and, for the first time, biaxially – i.e. in two directions – to gain a better understanding of how the tissue responds to stretching. The results provide a more detailed understanding of the relationship between deformation and active tension generation and help to create more realistic organ models for smooth muscle. The researchers developed a fiber-reinforced material model that accurately replicates the properties of bladder tissue. On this basis, replacement organs could be created with the help of 3D bioprinting, which should one day reduce the consumption of donor organs.
Prima! prize for outstanding female Master's graduates
The Prima! Prize was once again awarded on the Day of Research. The award, endowed with a total of 1,000 euros, honors female graduates at the university for their outstanding Master's theses. This year's prize is sponsored by the “University of Stuttgart Foundation” and went to two young women from Faculty I, who each received 500 euros. The University's Equal Opportunities Officer, Dr. Grazia Lamanna, introduced the award winners. In her Master’s thesis, “Configured Urban Informality – Understanding the Dynamics of Planning: The Case of Ahmedabad,” Nandni Shah examined the ongoing development of informal settlements in Ahmedabad, India’s fifth-largest city. An informal settlement with ghetto-like characteristics has developed there—primarily as a result of religious discrimination. Nandni Shah’s key insight from the case study: “When rehabilitating informal settlements, formal planning concepts cannot simply be imposed on communities – you have to integrate existing informal structures.” Tanzila Ahmed was also recognized for her Master’s thesis, "Women-led Upgrading Processes in Informal Settlements. The Case of Freedom Square, Gobabis". The focus was on the role of women in the upgrading process of informal settlements using the example of the rapidly growing settlement “Freedom Square” in Gobabis/Namibia.
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Lena Jauernig
Editor Research / Early Career Researchers