News

The European Union is essential for peace and prosperity on the continent. Nevertheless, the EU is increasingly questioned in recent times. Therefore, the TUM School of Management will hold the first „European Week“ from July 3 to 7 to discuss the benefits, but also the weaknesses of the EU – and to revive enthusiasm for the European idea.

Fuel from waste? It is possible. But hitherto, converting organic waste to fuel has not been economically viable. Excessively high temperatures and too much energy are required. Using a novel catalyst concept, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now managed to significantly reduce the temperature and energy requirements of a key step in the chemical process. The trick: The reaction takes place in very confined spaces inside zeolite crystals.

The intensive management of grasslands is bad for biodiversity. However, a study by the Terrestrial Ecology Research Group at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has brought a ray of hope: If different forms of management are optimally distributed within a region, this can lead to higher yields without the loss of insect species. In ideal cases, this will allow even more species to find habitats that are optimal for them. What is crucial here is that management is planned at the landscape level.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a vital role in the start-up scene. A panel of representatives from the sciences, start-ups and major companies will have a look at the opportunities and challenges associated with AI at the Entrepreneurship Day hosted by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and UnternehmerTUM. In addition, young companies will introduce themselves on Friday, June 30 in TUM's Audimax hall, there will be a workshop on rapid prototyping and the Presidential Entrepreneurship Award will be presented.

Energy research at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) now has a home of its own: In the new Research Center for Energy and Information (ZEI), built on the Garching Research Campus at a cost of 17 million euros, scientists will perform interdisciplinary research on topics related to the energy transition. The term "information" in the name of the center has two meanings: It stands for new digital communication technologies that will be essential to the future energy supply, and also to the dialog between science and the public. This concept is a novelty on an international scale.

For democratic elections to be fair, voting districts must have similar sizes. When populations shift, districts need to be redistributed – a complex and, in many countries, controversial task when political parties attempt to influence redistricting. Mathematicians at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now developed a method that allows the efficient calculation of optimally sized voting districts.

This year’s university elections will be held on June 27th, 2017. Called to vote in this election are students of the entire university, if they are entitled to vote, as well as members of the TUM School of Governance, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Architecture.

What and how will tomorrow’s self-driving cars be allowed to decide for themselves? Tasked by the German government, an ethics commission has now drawn up guidelines to regulate these questions. Prof. Christoph Lütge, business ethicist at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and member of the commission, explains in which situations technology should not differentiate between children and adults, and why no one should be forced to give up control of their car.

The start-up Grillido has won the German Entrepreneur Award. The Technical University of Munich (TUM) spin-off has developed a range of sausage products that contain significantly less fat than conventional sausage. The jury in particular praised the start-up's leveraging of online trade and health clubs as unusual sales channels for meat products, bringing new life to a traditional industry.

Today, tracking the development of individual cells and spotting the associated factors under the microscope is nothing unusual. However, impairments like shadows or changes in the background complicate the interpretation of data. Now, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Helmholtz Zentrum München have developed a software that corrects images to make hitherto hidden development steps visible.