German Research Foundation (DFG) to Fund Collaborative Research Centers at Freie Universität Berlin

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Three Transregional Collaborative Research Centers (CRC/TRR) to receive funding

Freie Universität Berlin has been highly successful in the German Research Foundation’s (DFG) latest round of funding approvals, with three major international research associations being allocated funding. The university is a co-applicant for a new Transregional Collaborative Research Center (CRC/TRR) approved by the DFG Grants Committee in Bonn, which also signed off on funding extensions for two existing Transregional Collaborative Research Centers, whose spokespeople are based at Freie Universität Berlin. CRCs are long-term university-based research institutions, established for up to twelve years, in which researchers work together within a multidisciplinary research program. CRC/TRRs are proposed and carried out by a number of applicant universities in cooperation with each other.

CRC/TRR 388 "Rough Analysis, Stochastic Dynamics and Related Fields" was among the newly established centers. Professor Nicolas Perokowski of Freie Universität Berlin is co-spokesperson, with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Technische Universität Berlin serving as co-applicant institutions. The research center will incorporate basic scientific research as well as applied approaches from fields such as financial mathematics. The mathematicians involved in the research will connect rough analysis to stochastic dynamics and combine this with adjacent areas in mathematics such as geometry and algebra. A key aspect of this work will be "rough paths theory," which is not only important in mathematics, but could also pave the way for new approaches in modeling dynamic processes in the natural sciences, engineering, economics, and social sciences.

CRC/TRR 388 "Entangled States of Matter," which was founded in 2016, has also been approved for its third and final funding period. Professor Piet Brouwer of Freie Universität Berlin is vice spokesperson, and the Weizmann Institute of Science and University of Cologne are also involved in the research center. The scientific mission of the CRC 183 "Entangled States of Matter" is to exploit the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics to engineer condensed matter systems that materialize entanglement in a tangible manner. Complex quantum systems can become entangled, meaning they exhibit simultaneous superpositions of different states of their subsystems. The theoretical investigations aim to make such entanglements usable in macroscopic systems, thereby ultimately laying the groundwork for new forms of information processing.

CRC/TRR 186 "Molecular Switches: Spatio-temporal Control of Cellular Signal Transmission," another research center that was founded in 2016, will also continue into its third and final funding period thanks to the DFG’s approval. Professor Christian Freund of Freie Universität Berlin is its spokesperson, with Heidelberg University serving as a co-applicant institution. Biological signals are generated by molecular switches, which allow temporal and spatial coordination of a wide range of cellular processes, including membrane traffic, membrane remodeling, cell signaling, and cell differentiation and development. The overarching goal of the research center is to analyze how molecular mechanisms allow dynamic protein complexes to scaffold membranes and control cellular functions.

Freie Universität Berlin is also contributing to two other research centers that have received funding approval from the DFG. Professor Christine Knaevelsrud from the Department of Education and Psychology is a member of CRC/TRR 289 "Treatment Expectation," which aims to gain a better understanding of the impact that expectations have on the efficacy of medical treatment and to utilize these findings to optimize said treatments. Professor Bettina Rentsch from the Department of Law at Freie Universität Berlin is also contributing to the new CRC 1671 "Home(s): Phenomena, Practices, Representations," which is dedicated to the task of examining the current and always controversial phenomenon of "home" - particularly as it relates to the concept of "homeland" - for its historical and global relevance.

 Contact:

  • CRC/TRR 388: Nicolas Perkowski, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin,


  • CRC/TRR 183: Piet Brouwer, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Freie Universität Berlin,

    CRC/TRR 186: Christian Freund, Department of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin,



The Latin words veritas, justitia, and libertas, which frame the seal of Freie Universität Berlin, stand for the values that have defined the academic ethos of Freie Universität since its founding in December 1948.