Resolv
Background information on RUB activities in the Excellence Initiative
As one of seven new competitors, the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) is on the home stretch to reach its goal – to become one of the German universities funded by the Excellence Initiative. Today, 1st September 2011, RUB submitted full proposals in all three funding lines of the Excellence Initiative of the federal and state governments to promote science and research. These are the Cluster of Excellence EXC 1069 RESOLV, the Graduate School GSC 98 RUB Research Schoolplus, and the overall Institutional Strategy Research Campus RUB (RCR).
Research Campus RUB: an interdisciplinary, cosmopolitan space for teaching and research
While RUB was the shooting star in the first Excellence Initiative in 2007, it now presents its RCR Institutional Strategy, which was developed further – not least by involving a large number of individuals and groups from the university in this process.
With its Institutional Strategy, RUB highlights its leading position among Germany’s top research universities.
The major new measure of RUB’s Institutional Strategy is the International Faculty (IF). It is designed to build a community
of globally active researchers at all stages of their careers and to promote interdisciplinary, research-oriented teaching. It
will comprise eminent researchers from RUB and their international partners. The IF is set to play a decisive role in shaping the face of RUB. It will thrive on research projects with a distinctive international focus and bring excellent researchers from
all over the world to the RUB. In this way, it will not only strengthen research and teaching, but also enhance the public
appeal for our campus.
The proposal for a Cluster of Excellence ”RESOLV”: Solvents as active units 
With 18 active collaborations with international universities, the Cluster Excellence of RESOLV (Ruhr Explores Solvation, Speaker: Prof. Dr. Martina Havenith-Newen) is a very good example what the overall RCR strategy wants to achieve, demonstrating the link between the International Faculty and the RUB-Research School.
To gain deeper insights into this research area is long overdue. However, it was only possible over the past decade to develop methods and technologies to investigate chemical reactions, industrial processes or biological processes in the liquid phase (in solution). A profound understanding of solvation processes grounded on fundamental research in chemical, physical and engineering sciences however is the prerequisite to develop vital key technologies for preventing environmental pollution, for improving energy efficiency and for understanding corrosion processes and for explaining biological functions.
The aim of this Cluster of Excellence proposal is to develop “Solvation Science” on the basis of a molecular and rational approach. The researchers in this project view solvent molecules as functional units that play an active role in solvent-mediated and controlled reactions, and not just as passive onlookers.
Further details you find on this web page “Solvation Science @ RUB”
and in the press release
262 of RUB “Excellence Initiative: Ruhr-Universität Bochum on the finish line”.
Further links:
Die RUB in der Exzellenzinitiative. (in German Language)
The Research Departments are one of the building blocks of The Research Campus RUB.
The Research Department Interfacial Systems Chemistry (RD IFSC).