News
Chemistry wins funding for its Cluster of Excellence RESOLV
The research field "Solvation Science" will be strongly enforced by the Cluster of Excellence RESOLV ("Ruhr Explores Solvation) - Solvents as active units". On May 15th 2012 the decisions of the German Excellence Initiative were announced. Bochum's Cluster of Excellence is one of the only two Clusters of Excellence in the field of Chemistry. This success will support innovative research in the new research field "Solvation Science" with about 28 Mio €.
The aim of the Cluster of Excellence RESOLV is to develop methods and technologies to investigate chemical reactions, industrial processes or biological processes in the liquid phase. “The researchers in this project view solvent molecules as functional units to be employed as active species in solvent-mediated and solvent-controlled processes, rather than being just inert and passive spectators." explains Professor Dr. Martina Havenith-Newen, speaker of RESOLV.
More than a bystander
The tendency of hydrophobic surfaces to aggregate in water is often invoked to explain how biomolecules recognize and bind to each other. Water seems to have a much more active role in these processes than had been thought.
"News & Views" article written by PHILIP BALL (Nature 478, 467-468; 2011
Excellence Initiative: RUB on the finish line
Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) submits full proposals for all three funding lines.
With 18 active collaborations with international universities, the Cluster Excellence of RESOLV (Ruhr Explores Solvation, Speaker: Prof. Dr. Martina Havenith-Newen) stands out with respect to internationalization on the research campus.
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.