Germany: Three New Interdisciplinary Research Units Established

Three new Research Units, located in Bochum, Constance and Berlin, were approved for funding by the Joint Committee of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) at its meeting on 20 October 2005. The DFG’s Research Units programme promotes interdisciplinary cooperation between outstanding scientists and researchers working on a specific research topic. The programme, which provides funding for a period of six years, is also intended to contribute to the establishment of new areas of research at universities. The DFG currently funds 126 Research Units.

The Research Units in detail:

Changes in religiosity are closely interwoven with changes in society. The Research Unit “Transformation of religion in the modern era. Religion and society in the second half of the 20th century” will investigate how processes such as urbanisation, fundamental changes in the education system and communication, as well as changes in consumer behaviour have affected this interaction. Theologians, historians and sociologists at the Ruhr University Bochum will study sources from the post-war era and the 1960s and 1970s.
Coordinator: Professor Wilhelm Damberg
Tel.: +49 (0)234/32-28109, e-mail: wilhelm.damberg@ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Philosophers, psychologists and sociologists from the University of Constance will cooperate closely in the interdisciplinary Research Unit “The boundaries of intentionality”. They will study intentional behaviour, which is important not only for human self-conception, but also for organised social interaction and cooperation. The researchers aim to reconsider and redefine the theoretical and empirical concepts and boundaries of this “intentionality”.
Coordinator: Professor Gottfried Seebaß
Tel.: +49 (0)7531/88-2596, e-mail: gottfried.seebass@uni-konstanz.de

About a third of the German population suffers from high blood pressure. About half of these people develop secondary diseases such as heart attacks or strokes. Recent research findings have shown that disruption of renal transport processes plays a crucial role in causing high blood pressure. Scientists in the Research Unit “Epithelial mechanisms in renal volume regulation”, based at the Charité Hospital in Berlin, will study this topic. Their work will help to uncover the root causes of this endemic disease.
Coordinator: Professor Sebastian Bachmann
Tel.: +49 (0)30/450-528001, e-mail: sbachm@charite.de