researchgerman german research 1 / 2012 Magazine of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Cover: picture alliance / Klaus Rose Everyday life in Mongolia: The “Encoun- 1 /2012 ters of Significance“ exhibition in Ham- Commentary burg‘s Museum of Ethnology provides Matthias Kleiner thought-provoking insight on nomadic From an Idea to Knowledge: Making Science Visible 2 lifestyles. DFG exhibition showcases research potential and successes

Engineering Sciences Christian Holz-Rau, Dennis Guth and Joachim Scheiner The Secret Life of the Commuter 4 Transport scientists and spatial planners examine an everyday phenomenon

In the spotlight Iris Wieczorek A Demonstration of Solidarity 9 German-Japanese research cooperation one year after Fukushima

Science communication Eckhard Fuhr RoboBee and Friends 10 A columnist's view of the DFG exhibition “Von der Idee zur Erkenntnis“

Humanities and Social Sciences Rembert Unterstell Wanderers in a Settled World 14 Nomads past and present: A visit to a Collaborative Research Centre exhibition

Wolfgang Kreft Reborn from the Spirit of Europe 18 Görlitz / Zgorzelec: First volume of the historical-topographical atlas of Silesian towns

In the spotlight DFG Exhibition “General Plan East” in Poland 23 German and Polish partners encourage dialogue with a travelling exhibit

Natural Sciences Julia Gantenberg, Kerstin Schill and Christoph Zetzsche Virtual Worlds in a Computerised Hamster Wheel 24 “VirtuSphere” helps scientists understand how spatial information is processed Nomads: Wanderers in a Settled World | The Essence of Research: From an Idea to Knowledge | Mobility: The Secret Life of the Commuter | Urban Studies: Reborn from Life Sciences the Spirit of Europe | Science Communication: RoboBee and Friends | Travelling Hermann Wagner and Laura Hausmann Perfectly Matched 28 Exhibition: ”General Plan East” in Poland | Spatial Information: The Hamster Wheel Adapting to natural habitats: Barn owls serve as an appropriate model animal 2 Commentary german research 1 / 2012 german research 1 / 2012 3

Matthias Kleiner From an Idea to Knowledge: Making Science Visible

Discussing research often comes down to talking about funding and organisation. It’s easy to lose sight of what matters most: the research itself. That is why science promotion also involves showcasing scientific potential and successes to the public. Ausserhofer y editorials often revolve around two things: be seen as instrumental in solving the challenges of / money and structures, which is not surprising. the future. M How research gets funded is as fundamental All those interested in research therefore do well not to researchers, their scientific communities, and their only to keep in mind and discuss science per se but also Illustration: DFG financial backers, as how it is organised. Both issues to highlight it. This also applies to the DFG. To promote together significantly define the framework for research science and scholarship also means to make visible its and its promotion. And they are among the key indica- potential and successes. tors of just how advanced a research system is. And indeed, the DFG is already doing a lot along Be it the DFG showcase “Von der Idee zur Erkennt­ Die Welt, who was asked by german research to take a These parameters can also be used to track the most these lines. Each issue of german research, where DFG- nis” (From an Idea to Knowledge), which presented tour of the show as a well-known outside writer, saw recent developments, both good and bad, in Germany’s funded researchers report on their projects, helps to throughout the month of March ten exemplary projects on display the “originality and wilfulness” that are so science and research system: on the one hand, there provide such visibility. And each award of the Gottfried from the DFG’s Individual Grants Programme in the essential to science and the “playful free spirit that ani- are the Excellence Initiative and billions of euros in in- Wilhelm Leibniz Prize shines a light on what makes Paul-Löbe-Haus of the Bundestag, and which is now mates researchers”. vestments; on the other hand, there are shrinking core research and researchers great: the power of an idea, a on tour through the German states; or “Brisante Begeg- support for universities and the unreasonable ban on passion for asking questions, the courage to take risks, nungen” (Encounters of Significance) at the Hamburg hat is precisely what we want to continue to make cooperation between federal and state governments. the desire to succeed, and a little bit of luck as well. Museum of Ethnology, where a Collaborative Research visible again and again. This is not to downplay With good reason, we at the DFG are among those That’s not all: How much science the institutions of Centre presents its findings on nomads past and present; T the DFG’s role as funding agency and organiser who continue to focus on finances and structures: in the Excellence Initiative have to offer, even though they or “MenschMikrobe”, our joint exhibit with the Robert of science, a role in which we will continue to face criti- our many discussions with policymakers, in our joint may have garnered more attention for their structures Koch Institute on infection research, which recently cism. It does not mean that we are softening our com- efforts with other research organisations, but also in our and money, can be seen online on our video portal arrived in Lübeck and has already attracted more than mitment to advocating better financial and structural public positions, our press releases, and in our maga- www.excellence-initiative.com. With the Communica- 70,000 visitors since its launch in 2010 – these are all conditions for research and its funding. Nor are we try- zine’s editorials. tor Award, we honour researchers who present their attempts to present, with scientific as well as visual ap- ing to take credit for the achievements of others. It is Yet this focus, important though it is, also poses a work to the media and the public in original and diverse peal, the questions research can ask and the answers the scientists and scholars themselves who come up with danger: the more our conversations and thoughts on ways. And our recently modularised grant programmes it can give. ideas and develop them into projects that in turn gener- research and its promotion are dominated by money now allow researchers to request public-relations fund- What and how we present science is also being seen ate the insights made visible in this way. But they, too, and organisation, the easier it becomes to lose sight of ing for their projects. and heard by professional-critical stakeholders and ob- are part of the community which the DFG represents research itself. The topics, substance and results then fail servers, which is especially gratifying. The words said and tirelessly supports. to receive the attention and ultimately the appreciation ut particularly in recent weeks, the Deutsche For- by Bundestag president Norbert Lammert and by rep- they deserve. Such disregard does a double injustice schungsgemeinschaft has helped to make science resentative and committee chair Ulla Burchardt at the to science and scholarship, selling short the riches of B and research visible and tangible in a different opening of the exhibition in the Paul-Löbe-Haus were research itself as well as its benefits to society’s welfare and very special way: by lending its support to several a paean, rarely heard in this form, to science in general

and future viability. Science and research should not be major exhibitions, about which you can read more in and especially to basic research and its social value. And Prof. Dr.-Ing. Matthias Kleiner viewed as part of our financial problems, but instead this issue. Eckhard Fuhr, chief correspondent of the newspaper is President of the DFG. 4 Engineering Sciences german research 1 / 2012 german research 1 / 2012 5

Christian Holz-Rau, Dennis Guth and Joachim Scheiner The Secret Life of the Commuter

From home to work: Commuting has become an established part of city life. From a scientific perspective, it’s a highly complex phenomenon which is only now being explored.

t’s Monday morning in the Ruhr male, aims to use data to trace and I region, and the traffic broadcast is analyse the changes in commuting. reporting only those tailbacks over Two of them are commuters them- five kilometres in length. Mention- selves, working in Dortmund and ing all the smaller ones would take living outside the city. One of them too long. As usual, the regional has never moved to Dortmund. Trav- train from Dortmund to Düsseldorf elling from Essen to Dortmund for is extremely overcrowded – and it’s work has become the norm – and in late, yet again. Thousands upon more conurbations than this one. thousands of workers are travel- One researcher moved to Braun- ling to work from one Ruhr town schweig for family reasons – she to another, or are coming in from now commutes long-distance to the Sauerland and Münsterland re- Dortmund. Internal commuters, gions. All of these people are regular regional commuters, long-distance commuters. Working close to home commuters … the factors affecting and walking or biking to work is, them personally and their own ex- nowadays, nothing to sneer at. In- periences provide a solid basis for a stead, it’s something to be envied. research project that involves close Regular commuting for work has cooperation with a parallel project long been a part of everyday life in at the ETH Zurich. many areas, not just the Ruhr. Until One of the key spatial develop- now, however, it has scarcely been ments affecting Germany’s com- studied, making it the perfect re- muter traffic was, for a long time, search topic for the transport scien- the suburbanisation of the residen- tists and spatial planners at the TU tial population. Households moved Dortmund University. from the major cities to smaller The subject poses a variety of ques- neighbouring communities, into tions. Why, for example, is commut- what’s known as the “hinterland”.

clipdealer.de ing considered such a normal part of Most of the working members of / life nowadays? And how have com- those households kept their jobs, muter flows and structures changed travelling to the city every day. This since the 1970s? The Dortmund- phenomenon is one that has long

Illustration: Paha L. based project team, which comprises been recognised in spatial planning three male researchers and one fe- and is also apparent in our analysis. 6 Engineering Sciences german research 1 / 2012 german research 1 / 2012 7

For some time, however, this subur- of the “decoupling of the hinterland outbound commuter rates should From the country to the city: Major cities banisation seems to have halted. The from the city itself” has been proved decline over time. Due to the dif- act as magnets for commuters, attracting current buzzword in urban studies in several US regions. Shorter jour- ferent data bases, these analyses workers from the hinterland. is “reurbanisation” – a term which neys to work may also be a result of require some additional assump- describes the renewed growth of the the trend towards reurbanisation. tions and data alignment. They do, cities following the urbanisation of however, allow reliable statements more and more workers are trav- the 19th and early 20th centuries. ow can this hypothesis be tested about major trends to be made. elling to Dortmund for work. This The long-dominant phenom- H using the existing data? Firstly, Let’s stay with the Ruhr area for cannot be described as a decoupling; enon of residential suburbanisation the major cities’ changing outbound the moment, and take a look at the instead, it shows an increasing level has been followed by the creation of and inbound commuter flows can city of Dortmund. In 1970, Dort- of interlinking in both directions. more jobs outside the major cities. be analysed. The outbound com- mund’s outbound commuter rate Experts describe this as the “urbani- muter rate describes the percent- was just under 9 percent. In 1987 it or more general analyses, let’s sation” of the hinterland, with the age of people who work outside was around 18 percent; in 1999, it F look at several of Germany’s term “post-suburbanisation” also be- the town or city where they live. was almost 31 percent, and in 2007 major cities. For the time frame be- ing used. This results in the develop- In other words, they commute it was more than 35 percent. In tween 1970 and 1987, we can do this ment of “polycentric urban regions” outwards. The inbound commuter the same time period, the inbound only for the former West German which offer large numbers of jobs in rate, on the other hand, describes commuter rate increased from 14 states. In all the major cities, and for the environs of the major cities. the percentage of people who work percent (1970) to 26 percent (1987) all the time periods researched, the If the working population of the in a major city, yet live outside it. and 37 percent (1999) to 43 percent inbound commuter rates are higher hinterland were to take these “sub- These people commute inwards. in 2007. More and more Dortmund than the outbound commuter rates. urbanised” jobs, this could result in If the hinterland is decoupled residents are, therefore, commuting This is not surprising, given that the shorter commutes. This hypothesis from its core city, these inbound and outwards, while at the same time numerous jobs in the major cities are commuter magnets. In a traffic jam on the way to work: In addition to the high volume of traffic, construction sites (like this one on Bonn’s Kennedy According to the statistics, the Bridge) often prevent commuters from making rapid progress. cities in the Ruhr region have par- ticularly high inbound and outbound commuter rates. In 2007, the out- bound commuter rate was almost 40 percent, with the inbound com- muter rate, at 45 percent, scarcely higher. With an inbound commuter rate of 50 percent (two out of four members), our project team is within the average range for the Ruhr area. The Ruhr area has a distinctive fea- ture: the inbound and outbound commuter rates almost balance each other out. The federal city states, on the other hand, have the lowest out- bound commuter rates – in 2007, these were less than 20 percent. The pixelio.de

other major cities have outbound / commuter rates of approximately 30 pixelio.de / percent for 2007. Their significance for inbound commuter traffic is, on the other hand, considerably higher. Illustration: Rainer Sturm Illustration: M.E. The highest figure, 65 percent, was achieved by Frankfurt am Main. 8 Engineering Sciences german research 1 / 2012 In the spotlight german research 1 / 2012 9

next most important working des- households, both partners are em- arthquakes, tsunami and melt- tinations for Berlin residents are ployed, and, in most cases, one of E down – on 11 March 2011 Ja- Hamburg, Frankfurt am Main and them must commute. This is usually pan was hit by a devastating series of A Demonstration Munich. Within eight years, from the man. Calls from politicians for tragedies. One year after this three- 1999 to 2007, the commuter flow increased mobility add to this issue, fold catastrophe, everyday life has to Hamburg increased by more than with people’s willingness to com- returned. However, the job of recon- of Solidarity 60 percent from an admittedly low mute being taken for granted. struction will require years and may One year after Fukushima: German-Japanese scientific level, while the number of commut- The stronger a person’s career cost more than 200 billion euros. 20 ers travelling to Frankfurt am Main orientation is, the more likely it is million metric tonnes of debris still cooperation shows the way forward

pixelio.de and Munich have increased by a that long-distance commuting will lie scattered, and it will take 30 to 40 / third. Most of these commuters do come into play, often as a tempo- years to clear up Fukushima. not, of course, make the homeward rary solution. Long-distance com- Nobody expected an earthquake journey every day. Instead, many of muting, in particular, is supported of this strength at this location. In

Illustration: sparkie them spend periods of time living in by improvements to long-distance places, the tectonic plates shifted up two places. public transport options (such as to 50 metres eastwards, and the sea No doubt there is a link between Intercity Express trains, federal mo- floor rose by up to 5 metres. Many When bus and rail operators strike, spatial developments like the sub- torways and low-cost flight connec- of the mechanisms that caused this commuters have difficulty travelling any urbanisation of residential locations tions). These social factors involved remain poorly understood today. The distance. Job mobility depends on reliable and workplaces and the increase in in commuting cannot, however, be Tohoku earthquake is a call to inves- transportation connections. commuter flows. This is, however, examined using the existing data. tigate these fundamental processes in not the most important explanation; Instead, they serve as a backdrop order to comprehend them better. Myra Bauersachs let alone the only one. It is clear that to understanding a highly complex Consequently, the earthquake / Over the last 40 years, the in- the increase in commuter flows phenomenon, one which is worthy region has been the focus of inten- bound and outbound commuter is considerably greater than the of further investigation. sive research by joint international rates have increased in all areas of changes in spatial structures. Even projects since March 2011. On 8 the old West German states. The in towns (and periods) in which the March 2012, German and Japanese

“decoupling” of the hinterland has number of jobs increased consider- researchers from MARUM, JAM- Illustration: DFG Office Japan been observed in none of the re- ably, the number of internal com- STEC and ERI embarked on an ex- gions. On the contrary, the number muters declines. Even the strong pedition to the area of the epicentre of people living and working in the increase in long-distance commut- in the research ship SONNE. start of the expedition. The German Kyoto attended by 800 participants. same city is decreasing everywhere. ing cannot be explained by develop- Using modern submersibles, they ambassador Volker Stanzel and head The DFG President Matthias Kleiner The era of the greatest increases in ments in urban planning alone. are investigating the traces left by the of MARUM Gerold Wefer hosted the also spoke here on his experiences in commuter numbers does, however, Numerous social trends are earthquake on the sea floor. The ship reception on the ship while docked the German Ethics Commission and seem to be over. The greatest in- contributing to an increase in the has been provided using funds from in Yokohama. Here, Schüth (in the on the switch to renewable sources creases in inbound commuter rates number of commuters, both within the BMBF; the DFG is financing the photo: centre) emphasised: “The of energy. took place mainly between 1970 and and across regions. One prerequisite scientific expedition, which is an journey of the SONNE sends out a What role should research fund- 1987, while the greatest increases in for regional commuting, specifically, example of the DFG’s unbureau- message and is an important dem- ing organisations play in crises and outbound commuter rates occurred is the prevalence of the car. Another cratic support for German-Japanese onstration of solidarity. The expedi- what functions can they perform? between 1987 and 1999. factor is the fact that, as people’s projects “post-Fukushima”. tion shows the enormous potential These questions, like those on the Despite this drop-off, cities have professional qualifications increase, The expedition builds on existing of German-Japanese cooperation.” boundaries and responsibilities of re- become even more interlinked. This it becomes more difficult for them Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Holz-Rau, areas of cooperation and is a contribu- Japan’s nuclear power stations search and science, will not go away. Dipl.-Geogr. Dennis Guth and is particularly noticeable in long- to find an appropriate job close to PD Dr. rer. pol. Joachim Scheiner tion to the planned international drill- are currently undergoing stress The DFG Office Japan in Tokyo re- distance commuter flows. Let’s take home. Jobs “just around the corner” are employed at the Faculty of Spatial Planning ing expedition J-FAST under Japanese tests. Consequently, only two of the mains committed to supporting and Berlin, for example. Most Berlin are often incompatible with resi- at the TU Dortmund University. leadership as part of the International original 54 reactors are connected to promoting German-Japanese coop-

residents work, naturally, in their dents’ training and qualifications. Contact: Fachgebiet Verkehrswesen und Ver­ Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). the net at present. The question of eration in research on the ground home city. The two biggest outbound This problem is exacerbated by short kehrsplanung, TU Dortmund, August-Schmidt- In recognition of the significance power supply is on both the public (www.dfg.de/japan/en). commuter flows travel a short dis- term employment contracts, which Straße 10, 44227 Dortmund, Germany and opportunities of the SONNE’s and the scientific agendas, for exam- tance beyond the city boundary make it scarcely worth moving www.vpl.tu-dortmund.de/cms/de/forschung/ activities, DFG Vice President Ferdi ple at the “Science and Technology Dr. Iris Wieczorek to Potsdam and Schönefeld. The house. In an increasing number of forschungsprojekte/pendler/index.html Schüth came to Japan to attend the in Society” forum in October 2011 in is head of the DFG Office Japan in Tokyo. 10 Science communication german research 1 / 2012 german research 1 / 2012 11

Eckhard Fuhr Berlin, the exhibition will tour the signals they were sending out. They German federal states. therefore developed a mini robot The focus is not the larger Col- which can do everything a bee can, RoboBee and Friends laborative Research Centres and Pri- including fly, emit scents, generate ority Programmes. Instead, the ex- sounds and vibrations – and do the A columnist’s view of the DFG exhibition “Von der Idee zur Erkenntnis” – an outsider’s hibition showcases what one might waggle dance, whose movements call the “grass roots” of science: are digitally programmed into the insight into the originality and playful spirit of basic research individual researchers or groups of robot. The bees understood their researchers who take an often risky artificial counterpart, even when hen zoologist Karl von ­Frisch sibly reign inside beehives – after to Knowledge) provides a stage for – and consequently freer – path. The she offered nothing more than the W published his decades of re- all, any beekeeper knows how effec- ten successors – in both the broader DFG funds 20,000 such individual dance. Its symbolic content, there- search on the communicative dance tive this collective organism is – he and narrower sense – of maverick sci- projects, which make up more than fore, carries the greatest weight in of the honeybee in 1946, it was re- made a revolutionary discovery. His entist Karl von Frisch. The building’s a third of their funding. bee communication. It is, in fact, a ceived by the scientific community hunch that there must be a bee lan- long foyer incorporates ten “research “language”. Proof of this was fur- with astonished disbelief. Some con- guage was, however, far removed islands” – compact, neatly arranged arl von Frisch’s direct legacy is nished because researchers pushed sidered the researcher a fantasist. from what people considered com- stations which showcase examples Kthe “RoboBee” project. At the the boundaries between life sciences How could a creature with such a mon sense. In this respect, those of individual projects funded by the Free University of Berlin, neurobiol- and technology. tiny brain be capable of communicat- who called him a fantasist were not DFG. A poster at each station pro- ogist Randolf Menzel and computer It would be impossible to describe ing with its fellow creatures through entirely wrong. But science needs vides information on the underlying scientist Raúl Rojas have joined all ten of the research projects ex- signs and abstract symbols? this type of fantasist. concept, the issues involved, and the forces to discover how honeybees hibited here in detail. Based on the In 1973, the same year as the be- In the Paul-Löbe-Haus of the project’s aims. Interactive elements process the messages of the waggle bee project, however, it is possible to havioural scientist Konrad Lorenz, German Bundestag, in whose con- provide insights into the specific re- dance. How do the female worker discern a pattern common to all of Frisch received the Nobel Prize. He ference rooms the representatives search undertaken. Thus, political bees learn the direction and distance them. When one thinks of bees, one devoted his life to studying bees and (hopefully) battle with passion and representatives and visitor groups of a feeding ground from the mes- immediately thinks of collective in- discovered their secrets through pa- sound judgement for the greater are invited to consider the types of sengers? While Frisch discovered telligence. This is a great misconcep- tient observation. Based upon his good, the DFG’s exhibition “Von der projects made possible by public re- that they understand these mes- tion. When one studies the videos of suspicion that chaos could not pos- Idee zur Erkenntnis” (From an Idea search funding in Germany. From sages, he did not, however, manage dancing bees at the RoboBee Project’s to decode the interplay of the indi- “lab bench”, it becomes clear that this vidual factors in bee communication, dance is an extremely intimate proc- and the weight afforded to each one. ess. Individual bees in the seething What role is played by smell, sound swarm on the comb become attentive and body temperature, for example? and observe the dancer’s movements. What is the significance of the pat- It could almost be described as an in- terns followed in the dance? What, tensive exchange of ideas. then, is the relationship between im- The bees also fly out individu- mediate sensory impressions and the ally to search for food. Bee swarms interpretation of signs? serve an entirely different purpose. The Berlin-based researchers had That swarm intelligence is not the the idea of using an artificial bee to driving force of scientific discovery communicate with real bees. This is a fact evidenced by every one of would enable them to control the the individual projects showcased in this exhibition. Without independ- ent thinking and originality, there Left: The bee language is deciphered, would be no innovation. Ausserhofer step by step: The RoboBee project helps It is, for example, possible to / us to understand how honeybees process have original and independent ideas the messages communicated through the while driving in the rain. One asks

waggle dance. Right: A glimpse into the oneself whether the diligent back- Illustrations: DFG exhibition at the Paul-Löbe-Haus. and-forth motion of the windscreen 12 Science communication german research 1 / 2012 german research 1 / 2012 13

wipers could, perhaps, be good for the simple windscreen wiper? This Being able to expand and ag- something other than keeping the question was posed by hydrologists gregate this data would be of tre- windscreen clear. Windscreen wiper and GIS experts at the Gottfried Wil- mendous benefit to agriculture and technology is mechanically mature, helm Leibniz University of Hanno- flood protection agencies. The wide- cars are ubiquitous – could there po- ver working to improve the predic- meshed network of fixed measuring tentially be a useful side benefit of tion of precipitation quantities. stations would need to be expanded by adding a large number of mobile rain sensors. This is where the wind- screen wipers come in. Computer simulations have shown that if just one percent of all vehicles were used as mobile measuring stations, the precision of precipitation prognoses could be considerably improved.

redicting and estimating natu- ral processes is also part of the Ausserhofer

P / “MANDY” project, or, to give it its May I Have This Dance ... RoboBee? Saving Lives in 3D? full name, “Modelling gap dynamics, A biomimetic bee robot helps research the Quantification of the morphology of hu- succession, and disturbance regimes

waggle dance man blood vessels using 3-D tomographical Illustration: DFG of mangrove forests”. This project is Project Managers: Prof. Dr. Raúl Rojas, Prof. image data (QuantVessel) Dr. Dr. h.c. Randolf Menzel Project Manager: PD Dr. Karl Rohr being carried out by forestry research- www.robobee.eu www.bioquant.uni-heidelberg.de/bmcv ers from the Dresden University of At the display entitled “Mit Gitarrensaiten Moleküle fangen?”: Ulla Burchardt, Chair, Bundestag Committee on Education, Research and Technology. They are examining how Technology Assessment; Matthias Kleiner, DFG President; Norbert Lammert, Bundestag President; Jörg P. Kotthaus, Project Manager. Welcome Disturbances? Quo vadis, Democracy? tropical mangrove forests, which have Modelling gap dynamics, succession, and Voting dynamics: A long-term study on a key ecological function, regenerate history methods to show researchers and 2017. This long-term study is We can only hope that the exhi- disturbance regimes of mangrove forests change and stability in the electoral process (MANDY) in Germany after various types of disturbance. For from all disciplines historical patterns intended to record the extent of po- bition will, on its tour of Germany, Project Manager: Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Uta Berger Project Managers: Prof. Dr. Hans Rattinger, a long time, foresters were concerned in the way they visualise their re- litical and social change. communicate some of that playful www.forst.tu-dresden.de/SystemsAnalysis Prof. Dr. Rudiger Schmitt-Beck, Prof. Dr. with keeping order and peace in the sults. Chemists and restorers at the and free-spirited character with Sigrid Roßteutscher, PD Dr. Bernhard Weßels forest. Some time ago, however, a Bavarian State Picture Collections’ n his opening speech at the cer- which the researchers are blessed. What Do Images Know? www.gles.eu paradigm shift took place, and their Doerner Institute are investigating Iemony in Berlin, DFG President It is a truism to state that knowledge Visual Strategies in Science and Technology Does This Picture Have the Right Chemistry? focus is currently on disturbances and the synthetic pigments which have, Matthias Kleiner made reference to is the most important raw material Project Manager: Prof. Dr. Horst Bredekamp Pigments through the ages – Artists’ colours catastrophes as catalysts of natural since the 20th century, increasingly the fact that, while individual projects our country possesses. But truisms www.kulturtechnik.hu-berlin.de of the 20th and 21st centuries and options processes. It shows that well-intended replaced natural dyes and made it receive 35 percent of DFG funding, are also true, and sometimes we for their minimally destructive analysis and Counting Against Oil Pollution? protection mechanisms are often not more difficult to distinguish between they remain in the shadows of pub- need to be reminded of them. “Von identification Analysis of oil separation in oil skimmer entirely expedient. In the reforested original works and fakes. lic perception compared to projects der Idee zur Erkenntnis” does this Project Manager: PD Dr. Heike Stege systems in sea states I + II mangrove forests of Vietnam, de- In addition to these research carried out by major research asso- in an impressive manner. www.doernerinstitut.de Project Manager: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Günther structive lightning strikes increase the projects, which appear specialised ciations, clusters of excellence and Clauss Capturing Molecules with Guitar Strings? vitality of the forests by generating only at first glance, researchers are graduate schools. Repeatedly, he www.marsys.tu-berlin.de Nanoelectromechanical Resonators “healing chaos”. also tackling the big picture: the continues, even in the scientific com- (NEMRES) Can Windscreen Wipers Prevent Flooding? Readers should not, however, future of our democracy and the munity, the fear is being voiced that Project Managers: Prof. Dr. Jörg P. Kotthaus, Rainfall estimation using moving cars as get the impression that DFG fund- changes in its sovereignty. Election small-scale research is being placed Dr. Eva M. Weig rain gauges (RainCars) ing is available only for the natural research is usually carried out in the at a disadvantage when it comes to www.nano.physik.uni-muenchen.de Project Manager: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Uwe Haber- sciences. “Von der Idee zur Erken- immediate environs of elections. competing with the “research giants” landt und Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Monika Sester Seeing with our Ears? ntnis” also showcases research from Political scientists from Mannheim, for funding. With the “Von der Idee www.ikg.uni-hannover.de/raincars Sound localisation in the barn owl in virtual the humanities and social sciences. Frankfurt and Berlin are now using zur Erkenntnis” exhibition, the DFG environments Art researchers at the Humboldt empirical surveys and media analy- aims to “contribute to increasing Further Information: Project Manager: Prof. Dr. Hermann Wagner Eckhard Fuhr www.dfg.de/idee_erkenntnis University of Berlin are focussing on ses to examine the German parlia- awareness of the creativity and po- www.bio2.rwth-aachen.de is a cultural and social correspondent for the “technical images” and aim to use art mentary elections of 2009, 2013 tential of individual projects”. Berlin-based WELT Group. 14 Humanities and Social Sciences german research 1 / 2012 german research 1 / 2012 15

Rembert Unterstell and proud “gypsy life”, travellers as well as at other, non-university The quantity and variety of the and their extended families are still institutions. Here, researchers from exhibits, which include a few writ- perceived as “threatening”. Their 15 disciplines, including ancient his- ten works, are surprising. Research- business practices, which include, tory, Islamic and Oriental studies, ers and exhibitors had to deal with for example, peddling goods door- geography and ethnology, worked the difficulty of obtaining objects to-door, are considered “dirty”, if not together on over 50 projects. At the and nomads’ inconspicuousness. downright criminal. For the major- opening of the Collaborative Re- Whether camel-riding Bedouins in ity of society, travelling people are search Centre’s concluding exhibi- the Sahara or nomads herding Yak on the fringe. In a cultural history tion, which was funded by the DFG (a type of domesticated grunting ox) of foreignness, negative opinions of at a cost of almost a million euros, on the Tibetan high plains, nomadic nomadic minorities are widespread. Annegret Nippa explained the ex- cultures are almost completely non- The lunacy and racist mania of the hibition’s key points: “The displays literate. Since ancient times, non- Nazis consolidated this resentment have also been designed to reflect nomads have written about them with disastrous results: the Sinti the nomadic way of thinking. Visi- from their settled viewpoints and and Romani gypsies were deprived tors therefore wander through the with differing goals. Their original of their rights and deported. More building, experiencing the topic in traces have, however, been literally than 20,000 lost their lives in con- its flexibility and in its fundamen- lost on the steppes and in the desert centration camps. tal tenet: mobility.” This concept sands. also has the advantage of allowing The exhibition contains four sec- omads past and present are the 400 objects to be displayed. Half of tions: “Exchange and Trade”, “Lead- N topic of the “Brisante Begegnun- them come from DFG field studies, ership and Control”, “Nature and gen” (Encounters of Significance) a quarter are part of the Hamburg Animals – Work and Product”, and exhibition, which is on display at Ethnology Museum’s collection, “Difference and Integration”. No- Uta Schilling

/ the Hamburg Museum of Ethnology and the rest are on loan from other madic societies arise where unculti- until 20 May 2012. It aims to open collections. vable deserts, steppe landscapes and our eyes to a variety of nomadic life- styles, and looks back on 5,000 years

Illustration: SFB 586 of nomadic civilisation in a pano- rama which extends from Morocco to Egypt, Syria, Iran, Kazakhstan and Tibet to Siberia and Lapland. Organ- ised by Leipzig ethnologists Profes- Wanderers in a Settled World sor Annegret Nippa and Dr. Andreea Bretan, it sets out to show “nomads in a settled world”, and thus to illus- Nomads past and present: The “Brisante Begegnungen” exhibition at Hamburg’s Museum trate the interrelationships between of Ethnology opens windows on a wide variety of lifestyles. This thought-provoking exhibi- settled and nomadic societies. tion showcases the findings of a DFG Collaborative Research Centre. The exhibition is based on eleven years of work by the “Difference and Integration” Collaborative Re- here’s your yurt?” asks the sembled and disassembled. These revolves around grazing areas, wa- search Centre at the Universities W shepherd on the steppes. He are then covered with strips of felt. tering holes and marketplaces. of Leipzig and Halle-Wittenberg, means “Where is your home?” This They provide the nomads with a “Berbers”, “travelling people”, Andreas Gruschke

temporary home is a living space, refuge in the dry and hostile steppe “gypsies”: according to research into / family hub and storage area in one. and highland landscapes. For set- the stereotypes, they are all viewed Right: Nomadic grazing lands in the These round tents of Central Asia tled people, the nomad’s tent has as “strange” and “different” by the Nagqu prefecture of the Tibet Autono- (picture above, taken in western always served as an expression and townspeople and villagers of Central mous Region: Motorcycles bring new

Mongolia) consist of flexible trel- symbol for a non-settled life – like Europe. Despite romantic – and ficti- forms of mobility and take the place of Illustration: SFB 586 lis walls, which can be quickly as- that of an animal herder – which tious – 19th century tales of the free horses and other mounts. 16 Humanities and Social Sciences german research 1 / 2012 german research 1 / 2012 17

high karst plains permit only a peri- or Armenian healing earth for skin and regions examined. A display patetic existence. Nomads (literally: conditions. Even more specialised case describes the sources of the re- “people who move with herds”) live are “healing” tortoise dung or the search: finds from grave sites, docu- with and from their livestock, with resin of white vermouth. The dis- ments from archives, an exemplary goats, sheep and yaks providing the plays place items that seem exotic at field studies notebook, and empiri- basic materials for food, clothing first glance in an everyday context. cal data records. This high and wide and trade. (Wild) horses and cam- Rather than attempting to sensa- multidisciplinary umbrella also ena- els serve as pack and riding animals, tionalise the adventurous aspects of bles researchers to discover new no- ensuring the nomads’ mobility. It nomadic life, the exhibition focusses madic settings and phenomena. is no surprise that the stirrup was on everyday life for the nomad. This One multimedia station, for ex- invented by the Turkic peoples. is one of its strengths. ample, showcases Romani palaces. It is, however, also a weakness. These have been found increasingly ince ancient times, trade and While the exhibition does cover in Eastern Europe since the 1990s, S change have created the tradi- the nomads’ attitudes to power most notably in Romanian suburbs tional interface between the no- structures and their boundaries, to and villages. These “castellos” have madic and settled worlds. In the changes in leadership and control, no running water, heating, cellars marketplaces and caravanserais, the it focusses mainly on their coexist- or garages. They are designed not

nomads bartered with wool prod- ence and cooperation with these for living in, but to demonstrate the Illustration: Unterstell ucts, milk products and meat for concepts, describing their conflicts wealth and pride of their builders, grain, sugar and tea, as well as metal with them only as a side note. and are used only on feast days. The and wooden items. They also offered Such meetings really would have façades – and particularly the cupo- A vacant “gypsy palace” in the village of Huedin, in the district of Cluj, Romania. The goods which bore testimony to their been “charged encounters”. In her las – are crucially important for the Romani mainly work as “service nomads”, travelling from job to job instead of from specialist knowledge (handed down guided tour, Andreea Bretan likes family involved: the more ornate, pasture to pasture. They work as gutter makers, tin-platers and smiths.

through oral traditions) and their to talk of “similarities in the differ- Illustrations: Unterstell higher and more artistically orna- familiarity with regional flora and ences”. This includes the (possibly mented they are, the more presti­ cal slurs like “renter nomads”, job research. The alphabet of nomad- fauna. These included, for example, unique) second-century custom of gious. The concept of settlement is nomads and “relationship nomads” ism is one in which it is worth be- the finely curled karakul fleece of giving nomads in the Roman prov- “Tabula Banasitana”, a bronze tablet given form as a fantasy. speak for themselves. coming literate. the Persian lamb for coats and hats, ince of North Africa Roman citizen- found in Banasa, Morocco, which The Romani, too, are masters of marmot fat to protect against cold, ship rights. This is borne out by the contains three emperor’s letters on mobile life. The exhibition supports ut what can we learn from no- Dr. Rembert Unterstell the matter to the province’s gover- the concept that nomadic commu- B madic lifestyles? If we perceive is Publishing Executive Editor of german Masters of a sustainable economy (top): Nomads learned early on how to dye wool using nor. Integration through citizenship! nities represent a separate and inde- the nomad as “a vanguard of glo- research.

natural substances. Everything is used (below): Half a reindeer skull becomes a salt con- Drawing a contemporary parallel, a pendent way of living, rather than balisation” as the Leipzig-based SFB “Brisante Begegnungen” will be on display tainer; a reindeer’s stomach is used to store dried milk. naturalisation certificate from today the remnants of an archaic precur- coordinator Professor Jörg Gertel, at the Hamburg Museum of Ethnology until and German citizenship rights are sor to settlement. “For millennia, an expert on the economy and so- 20 May 2012. Since February, it has been displayed beside the historical docu- nomads have been part and parcel cial geography of the Near East, expanded to include the special exhibition “Wahlverwandtschaften. Imaginationen des ments in a display of socio-political of civilisation in the Old World dry does, it becomes clear that mobility Nomadischen in der Gegenwartskunst” finger-pointing. Conflict and con- belt which extends from Morocco and flexibility can overcome hos- (Elective Affinities. Portrayals of Nomadic Life frontation, and, in particular, war- in the west to northern China in the tile living conditions and existential in Contemporary Art). like skirmishes – the Bedouin wars east,” explains Arabist and Islamic uncertainties, that scarce resources www.voelkerkundemuseum.com/306-0- spring to mind – take a back seat. scholar Professor Stefan Leder, the can be creatively used and that peo- Brisante-Begegnungen-Nomaden-in-einer- Andreea Bretan emphasises “the first coordinator of the Collabora- ple can live sustainably in harmony sesshaften-Welt.html high potential for peaceful coexist- tive Research Centre. In the modern with nature and the environment. A companion volume ence”. In the eye of the beholder, world, nomadic cultures – which The “Brisante Begegnungen” to the exhibition is however, “possibility” can trump have long since adopted the mobile exhibition presents visitors – of available. The “Kleines abc des Nomadismus” “reality”. phone, motorbike and camper­van which there have, so far, been (Nomadic Primer) by The exhibition traces the route – are a current, if repressed, way more than 25,000 – with a new and Annegret Nippa is pub- taken by the centre’s work. A corner of life. In a culture shaped by ur- multifaceted image of the nomadic lished by the Verlag Mu- seum für Völkerkunde, of the first exhibition room contains banisation, the nomadic lifestyle lifestyle. It also shows that “refin- Hamburg 2012, ISBN: a world map showing all the places receives little support: metaphori- ing” this image requires intensive 978-3-9812566-5-9. 18 Humanities and Social Sciences german research 1 / 2012 german research 1 / 2012 19

Wolfgang Kreft Reborn from the Spirit of Europe

Moving map: The first volume of the historical-topograph- ical atlas of Silesian towns looks at the border town of Görlitz / Zgorzelec. The project is intended to create a basis for comparative city research.

t the intersection of Upper Lu- 1833, Görlitz was granted Prussian A satia, Lower Silesia and North city status, and subsequently expe- Bohemia, in what is today the rienced a sustained boom. Euroregion Nysa-Nisa-Neisse, Eu- The economic basis for Görlitz’s ropean vision is becoming reality. rapid urban development in the Although, as is widely known, the 19th century was created by the tex- twin city of Görlitz/Zgorzelec was tile industry, as well as by plant and not named the 2010 European Cap- railroad construction. In 1847, the ital of Culture, its goal remains to town was connected to the Prussian build bridges across space and time and Saxonian railway networks. By – based on facts and topography. 1869, the Görlitzer Maschinenbau­ Görlitz/Zgorzelec’s European vi- Anstalt, which was founded at the sion has its roots in the city’s history. same time, already employed almost Since its forcible division in 1945, 600 people. It later became one of the political events of 1989/90, and the German Reich’s leading wagon its proclamation as a City of Europe construction companies, and it still in 1998, the town on the Lusatian exists today. Neisse has striven to achieve a new Between 1825 and 1871, the local and regional identity. Although population increased fourfold, from traces of its long-ago Bohemian, 10,700 to 42,200. It had doubled Brandenburg and Hungarian rulers again by 1905, to 84,700. This rapid are still part of its history, this city on population increase led to dramatic the Via Regia was an Electoral Saxo- urban development, a process lent nian provincial town for over 180 impetus by the removal of the city years until the Congress of Vienna in walls, which began in 1848. Accord- 1815. It was then Prussian (as part ing to contemporary reports, the of Lower Silesia) until 1945. development plans of around 1848 In particular, the two most recent and 1866/71, which were modelled – and still very much alive – centu- on major cities like Paris, Berlin and ries see Görlitz becoming a model Vienna, enabled Görlitz to become town in many respects, beginning Germany’s most charming provin-

Illustration: Herder Institute with its integration into the Prus- cial town during the last third of the sian province of Silesia in 1815. In 19th century. 20 Humanities and Social Sciences german research 1 / 2012 german research 1 / 2012 21

he expansion which took place Mecca for retired people. The town’s habitants in 1939. It was character- – A Joint Approach to the Görlitz/ T during the Gründerzeit ex- amenities included numerous green ised by the construction of coopera- Zgorzelec City of Europe). tended initially from the railway areas, good connections to Dresden, tive housing and garden-city-style station, which was located to the Breslau and Berlin, and proximity residential areas. Also in 1938, the he model city of Görlitz has an southwest of the town, and gradu- to attractive excursion destinations renovation of the Old Town began. T eventful history. The first vol- ally shifted the town’s functional in the neighbouring mountainous As Görlitz was spared the bom- ume of a new historical and topo- centre to an axis between the Old regions of the Zittau Mountains and bardments of the Second World graphical atlas of Silesian towns, Town and the station. Until the Krkonoše to the south. War, the town’s historic sector has which was published in the summer turn of the century, it encroached After the First World War, the been preserved almost in its entirety. of 2010, provides a balanced view of upon the district to the south of the town’s population growth slowed, The Neisse bridges were blown up, Görlitz/Zgorzelec. The aim of the re- railway station while, after 1990, it and it was not until 1934 that it re- however, which severely affected search project, which began in 2008, incorporated more of the districts attained its highest pre-war level of the town’s transport infrastructure. is to document the development of east of the Lusatian Neisse. Closed 94,600. The amalgamation of other The division of the city in 1945 had thirty-four selected towns in the his- perimeter blocks were a very typi- communities caused the town’s area far-reaching consequences for the toric region of Silesia and the struc- cal construction feature, and these to grow to 30.5 square kilometres. city’s internal structures. The Polish tural changes which took place there were later built partly in the ornate This area was distributed equally municipal authorities governing between the 19th and 21st centuries. Art Nouveau style. east and west of the Lusatian Neisse. Zgorzelec were faced with the diffi- This period covers both the Prussian

It was during that period that The major part of the building activ- cult task of creating an independent Illustration: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz province of Silesia and the Austrian Görlitz’s favourable municipal in- ity in the period between the wars town, with all its attendant func- dukedom of Silesia as defined in the frastructure earned the town its focussed on the area east of the river, tions, from what was previously the 19th century. The project will both reputation as a “pensionopolis” – a which had approximately 8,800 in- Neißevorstadt suburb. In the end, The Lusatian Neisse Viaduct, completed in 1847, was one of Silesia’s largest rail bridges. document the town’s development and place it in a geographical context. Town atlas online: Historical maps and aerial photographs illustrate Görlitz’s growth phases and development. the two towns developed very dif- multi-storey residential buildings It covers the beginning of the Indus- ferently, with their planning axes was added. In the 1980s, builders trial Age in Silesia and continues via running either side of the Lusatian in Zgorzelec’s new sector, opposite the expansion of the town during Neisse, from north to south. the Old Town, began using the in- the Gründerzeit era and the develop- In the period between the town’s dustrial panel-construction method, ment of its modern transport infra- division and its reunification, it whereas the existing old buildings structure, right through to the crea- faced additional challenges. Due to in the Neißevorstadt suburb initially tion of residential areas in the period its strong population growth, these remained uncategorised by urban between the two World Wars. began with residential restructuring. planners. During this period, the The period after 1945 is exam- This was followed by initiatives to population of both towns rose, over ined primarily in terms of the dif- deal with the Old Town’s cultural several years, to its highest level to ferent forms of redevelopment and legacy, which had been neglected by date at just under 116,000. the changing functions of the areas town planners for decades and was, In 1991, the town was accepted cited, including the towns’ current in some cases, literally falling apart. into the Arbeitsgemeinschaft his- transformations. Using the historic By the mid-1980s, three ma- torischer Städte (Working Group of region of Silesia, therefore, the jor new residential areas had been Historic Towns). Görlitz became a project team has produced a work created in Görlitz. A competition model for historic town centre reno- of reference for use in comparative held in 1976 “as a sign of friend- vation and is once more considered urban research in Europe. This work ship” between the people of the one of Germany’s most beautiful will also appeal to those studying the GDR and the People’s Republic of towns. The town’s Gründerzeit-era history of town planning and con- Poland and aimed at remodelling expansion is now a protected mon- tributes to the current discussion on the Gründerzeit-era city centre ument. It is flanked by an integrated general principles. In addition, the in the socialist modern style, was, town development concept which team’s transnational examination of however, not pursued further. In- will be further stepped up as part of the city’s development after 1945 is stead, Zgorzelec’s garden city, which the current “Stadt 2030 – Gemein- groundbreaking.

Screenshot: www.herder-institut.de/staedteatlas had not been completed before the sames Leitbild der Europastadt Gör- The research results are commu- war, was expanded and a series of litz/Zgorzelec” project (City 2030 nicated by 29 authors from Poland, 22 Humanities and Social Sciences german research 1 / 2012 In the spotlight german research 1 / 2012 23

deplorable consequences: Poland. At DFG Exhibition “General the invitation of and in close coop- eration with the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), as well as the Polish Plan East” in Poland Institute of National Remembrance Travelling exhibit, opened in Warsaw, to tour Polish cities / (IPN), the DFG will hold the exhi- bition in Warsaw, Lublin, Wrocław, German and Polish partners encourage dialogue Pozna´n and Gda´nsk. When the DFG, PAN and IPN hen the DFG first presented manisation of the Eastern Territories” opened the exhibition at IPN’s educa- W its exhibition “Wissenschaft in 1942. Over a period of 25 years, tional centre in Warsaw on 17 April, – Planung – Vertreibung: Der Gene­ five million Germans were to have everyone agreed that this is a spe- ralplan Ost der Nationalsozialisten” colonised annexed Poland and the cial project for all involved. Twenty (Research – Planning – Expulsion: western part of the Soviet Union. In years ago the DFG would not have The National Socialists’ General Plan return, millions of Slavic inhabitants­ thought of designing such an exhibi- East) to the public in 2006, it was the of these regions would have been en- tion, let alone bringing it to Poland, organisation’s most visible attempt to slaved, expelled and murdered. The acknowledged Matthias Kleiner. The date to come to terms with its own DFG provided considerable funding DFG President expressed the wish – involvement with the Nazi regime. for the development of this plan. and the hope – that this exhibition

Illustration: Stadtverwaltung Görlitz, Stadtplanungsamt Since 2000, historians Isabel Hei­ The exhibition on the General “will provide an impetus for coming nemann, Willi Oberkrome, Sabine Plan East has been displayed in more to terms with this particularly difficult Schleiermacher and Patrick Wagner, than 20 German cities since 2006, chapter in German-Polish relations A bird‘s-eye view of Görlitz: The historic boundaries of the city’s crowded Old Town are still visible. part of an independent group con- primarily in universities, but also at and enable it to be jointly discussed”. tracted by the DFG to research the his- the concentration camp memorials at The Polish Academy of Sciences feels the Czech Republic and Germany. are particularly valuable resources. structural density, a networked sys- tory of the funding organisation from Bergen-Belsen and Mittelbau-Dora. that the exhibition makes it clear Their contributions to the stories of In many cases, these provide the tem of public spaces, and a spatial 1920 to 1970, have been working to From April to October this year, that “Germans and Poles now share the towns studied cover issues per- last documentary evidence of un- hierarchy with a built-up centre. In reconstruct the plan with which agri- the story of the General Plan East common values”. The Institute of taining to the settlement, transport disturbed historical cityscapes. this sense, the European city is an cultural scientist Konrad Meyer both can be viewed in the country which National Remembrance is convinced and economic geography of each In addition to the publication of expression in stone of its particular advanced and substantiated the “Ger- would have been most affected by its that it “will have a positive effect on town and its hinterland. In addi- the bilingual atlases, a multimedia history. This must be preserved and, Polish-German relations”. tion to written sources, their work is version of the volumes has been where necessary, restored – a chal- Polish rural inhabitants being driven from their villages – one of numerous pictorial The exhibition’s patrons are Bun- based on a series of (partly unique) published online. This has been lenge which few towns in Central documents from the “General Plan East” exhibition, which is now on display in Poland. destag President Professor Norbert maps and aerial photographs. These done with an eye to the additional Europe are tackling as thoroughly Lammert and his Polish colleague, have been scaled to 1:25,000 and evaluation options offered since as Görlitz/Zgorzelec. Marshall of the Sejm Eva Kopacz. date from key years around 1830, 2009, which include the ability to Petra Pau, one of the vice presidents 1900, 1940, 1975 and 2000. They continually update the material. of the Bundestag, travelled to Poland are taken from the map collections This medium speaks to a wider au- for the opening where she met her belonging to the Herder Institute in dience, one which prefers to have Polish Counterpart, Vice-Sejm mar- Marburg and the cooperation part- maps, images and text information shal Eugeniusz Grzeszczak. At the be- ners involved. displayed simultaneously and inter- ginning of April, Warsaw also played The maps and aerial photo- actively on-screen. The animated host to an international scientific con- graphs selected clarify the changes urban development maps are par- ference which places the General Plan

in the town’s landscape over the ticularly noteworthy. Dipl.-Ing. Wolfgang Kreft East in the wider context of forced past two centuries and enable re- Current discussions of the town’s is an architect and town planner. He is also migration and of “Social Engineering searchers and practical users to future are focussed on reviving the head of the map collection at the Herder in the 20th Century”. make insightful comparisons of past European city model, taking into Institute in Marburg. and present land use, including its account local historical develop- Contact: Herder-Institut, Gisonenweg 5–7, 35037 Marburg, Germany www.dfg.de/dfg_magazin/wissenschaft_ consequences. Evaluated vertical ments. This model includes a de- Illustration: Bundesarchiv Koblenz oeffentlichkeit/ausstellungen_veranstaltungen/ aerial photographs from 1944/45 fined layout with a relatively high www.herder-institut.de/staedteatlas generalplan_ost/index.html 24 Natural Sciences german research 1 / 2012 german research 1 / 2012 25

Julia Gantenberg, Kerstin Schill and Christoph Zetzsche Exploring Virtual Worlds in a Computerised Hamster Wheel

A new experimental platform called “VirtuSphere” is helping scientists to understand how we perceive and process spatial information. Their findings will help scientists to develop the next generation of assistive devices and robotic systems.

inding our way through a house and which movements and senses and displays images of a dynamic F or apartment is something that we employ in the process, a group of virtual environment. The sphere it- comes naturally to healthy people. researchers has been studying how self is also equipped with an array We can identify our location, dis- humans navigate in virtual environ- of sensors that track the user’s mo- tinguish between the living room ments. The advantage of using com- tions inside the sphere and transmit and the bedroom, and get from the puter-simulated environments lies data to the researchers’ computer kitchen to the bathroom with ease. in their configurability. However, in displays. Healthy individuals generally have previous studies test subjects were The VirtuSphere enables re- strong spatial cognition abilities and usually unable to physically move searchers to study the movements of are able to recognise the position of in spatial environments, and experi- the test subject’s legs, head and body various objects within a given space. ments were limited to the observa- in conjunction with their visual per- Moreover, they can explore and tion of their visual perception. From ception of the virtual environment. learn to “navigate” a seemingly end- the comfort of a chair, test subjects The experience of movement within less series of new environments. navigated computer-simulated en- this virtual environment is not re- This remarkable cognitive ability vironments on a monitor using a stricted to the visual level; instead – the perception of spatial environ- joystick or keyboard. test subjects must actually perform ments and their representation in The VirtuSphere will add a new the corresponding motion to move the human brain – is highly inter- dimension to research in this area forward or turn corners. Research- esting from a basic research perspec- and could deliver new findings. As ers are keen to understand how the tive. Improving our knowledge of an ideal experimental platform for interplay of body motion and visual how humans perceive and interact the systematic study of human spa- perception, also known as sensori- with spatial environments would tial perception, reasoning and ac- motor coupling, affects the process- enable researchers to develop new tion, the VirtuSphere looks like an ing of spatial information. technical systems – such as robotic oversized, spheroid hamster wheel Until now, a predominant sci- systems capable of assisting disabled for humans. Nearly three metres entific hypothesis was that hu- or elderly persons in their house- high, the sphere is mounted on roll- mans record spatial information in holds. ers which allow it to rotate freely in a cognitive map. In other words, In order to learn more about how any direction according to the user’s according to this hypothesis the we navigate in spatial environments, steps, enabling researchers to create human brain integrates spatial in- TR 8 / experiments in which test subjects formation into a metric representa- can move around in a virtual world tion of an environment, similar to Spatial cognition in a virtual space: re- by actually walking. A special head­ a geographic map. However, there

Illustration: SFB searchers are using VirtuSphere to study mounted display (HMD) worn by are signs that the humans do not fundamental spatial orientation. the test subject tracks their motions rely on a map-like representation 26 Natural Sciences german research 1 / 2012 german research 1 / 2012 27

Left: Data generated by the VirtuSphere ronment based on the actions we will be able to interact with their is transmitted to the researcher’s monitor. perform within this space together spatial environments in a more Right: The research findings will help in with incoming sensory data. In its human-like manner, and operate the development of robots with cognitive most basic form, this sensorimo- using the same type of spatial in- abilities similar to humans. The robot in tor representation would consist telligence. this image is equipped with a spatial of elements such as: “If I walk for- A robotic head has already been cognition system. wards and turn right at the corner, developed that uses movements I will see the church tower ahead to guide its spatial orientation. Its of me.” This representation of our programme is based, among other and there are no noticeable bridges surroundings is generated by com- things, on insights gained through or tunnels. According to the physi- bining data provided through our the observation of human behav- cal laws that hold sway in our real various actions with sensory input, iour. Equipped with arms and legs, world, these two corridors should i.e. visual, aural, haptic and olfac- this robot might one day be used intersect at some point. And yet tory input, together with informa- to assist elderly or disabled persons TR 8 they never meet in this man-made / tion about the manner and direction in everyday life. This development virtual world. of our movement. This information would enable the use of robots in a If the human mind did generate forms the basic units of the spatial whole range of settings. a map of its surroundings, this envi- Illustrations: SFB representation. ronment would defy its ability to do The findings from these ex- of environments with which we adoxical virtual worlds that could so. In other words: as the brain at- This raises a number of fundamen- periments show that the brains of are already sufficiently familiar, not exist in our physical world. One tempts to generate a map of this im- tal questions: do test subjects notice the test subjects did not refer to a and the VirtuSphere is being used of these worlds, for example, con- possible environment, test subjects that this environment is anomalous? cognitive map in performing these to test this hypothesis in a special sists of a circular passageway. Two should become aware of this spatial And how do they cope, for instance, tasks. However, these findings do experiment. other corridors branch off from this discrepancy as it is simply impossi- when asked to perform spatial tasks not detract from the fact that we In order to refute the hypothesis circuit and dissect the centre of the ble to create a map of this particu- such as identifying the shortest route are obviously capable of generating of “the map in the mind”, research- ring. The corridors in this virtual lar virtual world without distorting between a given destination and a maps of our surroundings and use ers are sending test subjects into par- world are open to the skies above the information on a massive scale. starting point? these to retain and pass on spatial The preliminary findings of information. The question remains, Researchers have built virtual worlds to help them understand how the human brain processes spatial data. these studies show that instead of however, as to whether this ability noticing this anomaly, test subjects is rooted primarily in our spatial move around within this spatial en- cognitive abilities or in something vironment as if nothing was amiss. altogether different. The alterna- Oblivious to the missing intersec- tive – sensorimotor representation tion, test subjects are able to solve – clearly requires further investiga- the tasks presented to them with- tion and researchers have planned a Julia Gantenberg out any problem whatsoever. Con- series of further experiments utilis- is the Public Relations Officer at the Colla­ borative Research Centre SFB/TR 8 “Spatial fronted with an anomalous virtual ing the VirtuSphere platform. Cognition”. environment, the test subjects were anything but perplexed, and were esearch into the cognitive Prof. Dr. Kerstin Schill is the head of the Cognitive Neuroinformat- able to navigate this physically im- R processing of spatial informa- ics Group at the University of Bremen. She is possible world with ease. The ques- tion in humans is particularly im- a principal investigator and member of the tion is: how? portant as findings in this area will board of the Collaborative Research Centre SFB/TR 8 “Spatial Cognition”. The current hypothesis is that provide valuable insights for the a sensorimotor representation of development of suitable technical Dr. Christoph Zetzsche the environment generated by assistance systems. Next generation is a member of the project and is responsible for signal statistics and non-linear modelling. the brain is behind these amazing robotic systems will be equipped feats of spatial orientation. To put with a dynamic orientation system Contact: SFB/TR 8, Enrique-Schmidt-Straße 5, it another way: our brain creates a similar to that used by humans. Re- 28359 Bremen, Germany representation of the spatial envi- searchers hope that these systems www.sfbtr8.spatial-cognition.de 28 Life Sciences german research 1 / 2012 german research 1 / 2012 29

Hermann Wagner and Laura Hausmann Perfectly Matched

Seeing, hearing, navigating – when it comes to adapting to a habitat, the barn owl is a model animal. Learning from nature with these nocturnal birds not only leads to new fundamental discoveries, it might also bring innovative technical applications closer to reality.

arn owls (Tyto alba) are famil- can expect to survive in the long and many people therefore sense an B iar to most people only from term. As part of this process, through affinity to this creature. The birds nature films. Few have seen the mutation and selection, evolution can in fact be tamed by hand-rear- shy, nocturnal creatures in for- finds solutions that are continually ing. This makes the birds very trust- ests or fields. And yet, owls evoke surprising not only to biologists, but ing towards humans, which we see huge fascination in human beings also to engineers. Particularly good in their playful disposition. From a and provide material for all sorts of solutions are found in the case of scientific point of view, the frontally legends. Owls are a symbol of wis- animals that are specialised in spe- placed eyes allow the birds to see dom to some. With the Latin genus cific tasks. And it is therefore useful the world (just like humans) with name Athene, the bird is often de- to study such “specialists”. sharp depth perception, facilitated picted in illustrations alongside its Anyone who has observed a by the overlapping fields of vision of divine namesake. To others, owls barn owl killing its prey has to mar- the two eyes. Since the spatial depth are the prophets of doom. Why? vel at its precision. It is so effective perception arises from the slightly The tawny owl performs its court- at hunting that, while breeding, it different image information arriv- ship display in February with the returns to the nest every 10 to 15 ing at the two eyes, this is known loud call “kuwitt, kuwitt”. To some minutes with a mouse which it has as “stereo vision”. Germans, this resembles the sound caught within its roughly five square The stereo information comes of the words “kommt mit, kommt kilometres of territory. This is a job about from the fact that the eyes mit!” (“come along, come along”), it must perform up to 25 times per are laterally separated in the head. and as it is heard towards the end of night. No human being would man- The scene is therefore projected on winter, at a time when the mortality rate is highest, it is interpreted as a death call. From the scientist’s perspective, the barn owl is a highly interesting model animal and a gold mine for new discoveries. As a night-time hunter, this species has developed

a number of specialisations which Illustration & montage: Bachmann are very exciting both from the Left: A barn owl in a lattice of sound localisation coordinates. Above: The wing has a point of view of basic research and toothed structure on its leading edge, which is presumed to be used for noise suppression. in terms of “natural applications”. In this article we will look at some of age that – even if he or she were not slightly different retinal positions these adaptations, or evolutionary afraid of mice. of the left eye compared with the inventions. With its forward facing eyes and retinal position of the right eye. Firstly: evolution is an optimi- its facial ruff, the barn owl appears These spatial displacements of the

Foto: Johnen / Montage: Poganiatz sation process. Only those species to us as if it has human features, a images contain information about adapted to a specific ecological niche face even. This has a bonding effect the distance relative to the point on 30 german research 1 / 2012 german research 1 / 2012 31

The barn owl has an astounding sense of accurately than humans. But that is Elegant and noiseless – a barn owl com- tect them against water. Given their hearing. The facial ruff collects sounds not the case. ing in to land. Below: A bird wearing high body temperature of almost 40 and acts like an amplifier. On the horizontal plane, humans stereo glasses, taken in various positions. degrees (which, incidentally, is the and the barn owl localise sound The visual depth system of the birds is reason for the birds’ low suscepti- sources approximately equally well, highly effective. bility to most bacterial infections), For hunting in twilight, the barn whereas on the vertical plane the this is crucial to their survival as in- owl mainly uses its highly specialised barn owl actually achieves a higher gressive moisture would inevitably hearing. The ruff collects sounds in a accuracy than a human being. This prove useful in improving cochlear lead to massive heat loss. The secre- similar way to a parabolic dish, and is due to another special feature: the implants and hearing aids. We are tion produced by the preen gland Tierphysiologie, RWTH Aachen Tierphysiologie,

/ acts as an amplifier. This allows the ear flaps of the barn owl are not ar- working on sound-localising “au- contains fatty acids which are also bird to hear sounds that are ten times ranged symmetrically on a horizontal tonomous agents”, for example, suitable for use as lubricants. This quieter than the quietest sounds per- plane, but the left ear flap is higher based on the kinds of computational gave rise to the idea of expressing ceptible to humans. A crucial role than the right, and faces downwards operations that also take place in the the genetic sequence of these fatty in this is played by the outer ring while the right one faces upwards. brain of the owl. acids in plants, cultivating them in of ruff feathers, which is made of a The ruff and the aural asymmetry While hunting, the sensitive au- a field and then extracting the oils. dense border of stiff, sound-reflect- interact to produce differences in ditory system would be of no use In the future, then, there may be ing feathers. The interior of the ruff, loudness due to changes in the po- to the barn owl if the sounds of a a lubricant for sale that is derived

Foto & Montage: Lehrstuhl für Zoologie by contrast, consists of finely barbed sition of a sound source not only on potential prey were drowned out by from owls.

auricular feathers (from the Latin the horizontal plane, but also on the Illustration: Hausmann the noise of its own flight. In fact, All these examples show not ­auris = ear), which due to their struc- vertical plane. While humans use the barn owl’s flight is almost silent. only why we find a graceful creature ture are “transparent” to sound and differences in both interaural time But how does the owl avoid flight like the owl so beautiful and attrac- relay it to the ears with virtually no and level to determine the horizon- signal is analysed. However, there is noise? In order to answer this ques- tive, but also why the bird can serve attenuation. Work has therefore be- tal angle, the owl uses the interaural a significant problem here. The tiny tion, biologists and aerodynamicists as an extremely fascinating animal gun on simulating the ruff, to obtain time differences to determine the time differences which the sound have joined forces. The aim of this model in basic research. After some clues which may help in improving horizontal angle, and level differ- requires to travel the distance be- research is not only to decipher the 50 years of research on and with the the spatial resolution of directional ences to determine the vertical. tween the ears are only a few hun- mechanism used by the owl, but, in barn owl, a good many secrets have microphones, for example. If the barn owl with such a dred millionths of a second, and are the long term, perhaps also to ex- now been revealed, while others small head achieves equally good in fact too small to be detectable by ploit it for designing noise-reducing still wait for solutions and answers. which the gaze is currently fixed. ust like its eyes, the ears of the or even better localisation accuracy unspecialised nerve cells. aeroplane wings. This is another area This is a source of motivation to us Anyone can experience this when J bird are also laterally separated than a human being, then it must We suppose that further speciali- where specific adaptations in the in our research. they look at pictures formed using on the head. The sound from a be better able to evaluate the direc- sations in the form of the molecules plumage and wing shape play their the “magic eye” principle. In these sound source arrives at the ear tional information contained in the which generate the neural signals, part. The comparatively large wings images, such displacements of the facing away from the sound later sound. The brain of the barn owl and the interaction of many sensory are elliptical in shape, and due to image are hidden. When the brain than it does at the other ear facing is highly specialised for processing and nerve cells, are what make such their super-fine elongated barbules, manages to correctly associate the towards the sound. Analogous to acoustic signals. Its hearing organ a precise temporal resolution possi- the individual feathers form a vel- dots, a 3-D effect is produced. the spatial displacements found in is greatly enlarged in comparison ble. A deeper understanding of the vety surface. All this ensures good We constructed similar images vision, this results in propagation- to other birds. It is in the hearing optimisation at the cellular level is lift even at lower flight speeds, while for experiments with barn owls and time differences between the ears. organ where the arrival time of a of particular interest, because it may at the same time reducing air turbu- were able to show that the birds Differences in loudness occur be- lence which could cause noise. Prof. Dr. Hermann Wagner possess a depth perception system tween the ears because the head The long list of special charac- is Head of the Department of Zoology and similar to that of humans. As a re- reduces the loudness of sounds at teristics of the owl currently being Animal Physiology at RWTH Aachen University.

sult of this work we discovered a the ear facing away from the sound. studied includes another somewhat Dr. Laura Hausmann new analysis principle. This can be These interaural time differences unusual one. Like most bird species, completed her doctoral degree at RWTH implemented – following nature’s and loudness differences are greater barn owls have a preen gland which Aachen University and now works as editor of example – in so-called mobile the further away the sound source is situated on top of the base of the the Journal of Neurochemistry. agents. Researchers in Göttingen is from the direction in which the tail, the rump. The gland produces Contact: Institut für Zoologie, RWTH Aachen, have succeeded in transferring this head is facing. Due to its fairly small an oily secretion which the bird Mies-van-der-Rohe-Straße 15, 52062 Aachen, principle to a video image analysis head, the barn owl should actually typically spreads over its feathers Germany algorithm. be able to localise sound sources less with its bill when preening, to pro- www.bio2.rwth-aachen.de Illustrations: van der Willigen 32 Impressum german research 1 / 2012

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The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Founda- Research Training Groups are university training programmes established tion) is the central self-governing organisation responsible for promoting for a specific time period to support young researchers by actively involv- research in Germany. According to its statutes, the DFG serves all branches ing them in research work. This focusses on a coherent, topically defined, of science and the humanities. The DFG supports and coordinates research research and study programme. Re­search Training Groups are designed to projects in all scientific disciplines, in particular in the areas of basic and ap- promote the early independence of doctoral students and intensify inter- plied research. Particular attention is paid to promoting young researchers. national exchange. They are open to international participants. In Interna- Researchers who work at a university or research institution in Germa- tional Research Training Groups, a jointly structured doctoral programme is ny are eligible to apply for DFG funding. Proposals will be peer reviewed. offered by German and foreign universities. Other funding opportunities The final assessment will be carried out by review boards, the members of for qualified young researchers are offered by the Heisenberg Programme and which are elected by researchers in Germany in their individual subject the Emmy Noether Programme. In so called Reinhart Koselleck Projects, the DFG areas every four years. supports especially innovative research undertakings by outstanding scien- The DFG distinguishes between the following programmes for research tists and academics. funding: In the Individual Grants Programme, any researcher can apply for fi- The Excellence Initiative aims to promote top-level research and nancial assistance for an individual research project. Priority Programmes allow improve the quality of German universities and research institu- researchers from various re­search institutions and laboratories to cooperate tions in the long term. Funding is provided for graduate schools,

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to provide scientific and technical services. the role of Scientific Representative to international organisations, coordi- Illustration: XXXXXXXXXX DFG Collaborative Research Centres are long-term university research centres nates and funds the German contribution towards large-scale international in which scientists and academics pursue ambitious joint interdisciplinary research programmes, and supports international scientific relations. research undertakings. They are generally established for a period of twelve Another important role of the DFG is to provide policy advice to parlia- “Exhibition this way”: The sign leading to the “MenschMikrobe” (Humans years. In addition to the classic Collaborative Research Centres, which are ments and public authorities on scientific issues. A large number of expert and Microbes) exhibition – elegantly mounted on the aesthetically aus- concentrated at one location and open to all subject areas, the DFG also of- commissions and committees provide the scientific background for the pass­ fers several programme variations. CRC/Transregios allow various locations to ing of new legislation, primarily in the areas of environmental protection tere pebble-dashed wall of a German university building – could also be co­operate on one topical focus. Cultural Studies Research Centres are designed­ and health care. an invitation to this issue of german research. In addition to the custo- to support the transition in the humanities to an integrated cultural studies The legal status of the DFG is that of an association under private law. Its mary main articles penned by DFG-funded researchers, as well as all the paradigm. Transfer Units serve to transfer the findings of basic research pro- member organisations include research universities, major non-university latest news on funding policies, programmes and prizes, this issue of our duced by Collaborative Research Centres into the realm of practical applica- research institutions, such as the Max Planck Society, the Fraunhofer Soci- tion by promoting cooperation between research institutes and users. ety and the Leibniz Association, the Academies of Sciences and Humanities magazine also features multiple exhibitions. These are either organised DFG Research Centres are an important strategic funding instrument. and a number of scientific associations. In order to meet its re­sponsibilities, or supported by the DFG and showcase scientific material, topics and dis- They concentrate scientific research competence in particularly innovative the DFG receives funding from the German federal government and the fed- coveries. Their success is exemplified by the “MenschMikrobe” exhibition, fields and create temporary, internationally visible research priorities at re- eral states, as well as an annual contribution from the Donors’ Association an interactive display on infection research organised jointly with the Ro- search universities. for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany. bert Koch Institute, which has already attracted well over 70,000 visitors.

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