Research 1/2009

german research 1/2009 In this issue Commentary Dorothee Dzwonnek Secrets of the Universe A Forum for Research Management . p . 2 How the DFG responds to the increasing complexity of scientific work research Atomic nuclei, photons and Magazine of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft neutrinos rain down continu- Natural Sciences ously on the Earth from space. Bianca Keilhauer and Johannes Blümer At the Pierre Auger Observa- tory in Argentina research- Cosmic Intruders under Observation . .p . 4 ers examine these particles, Studying high-energy particles with unprecedented precision gaining new insight at a level never before attained. Humanities Page 4 Herbert Uerlings and Iulia-Karin Patrut “Warning! Gypsies!” . p . 9 Art and Ideology Fascination and destruction: Society’s way of dealing with the “Travellers” Portrait The work of Winfried Zillig german and other notable German Rembert Unterstell musicians after 1933 was Adoptive Relationships in West Africa . .p . 13 characterised by contradic- Erdmute Alber investigates family networks on the “Dark Continent” tions that are hard to fathom: Ambitious modernism co- Humanities existed side by side with the Ulrich Konrad mindless currying of favour to propaganda. The Janus-faced Composer . p . 14 Page 14 Creating music in the Third Reich: The example of Winfried Zillig Life Sciences Science as a Pioneer Alexander Henke, Caroline Michel and Jörg Gromoll Although there is still a long Reproduction – A Delicate Balance . p . 18 way to go, a very promising How the molecular mechanisms of hormones are being deciphered start has been made in bring- Interview ing Russian and European researchers together. This The Excellence Initiative and its image abroad was apparent at an interna- “A Murmur of Amazement” . .p . 22 tional conference in Moscow, Marco Finetti speaks with Annette Schmidtmann and Hans-Georg Kräusslich organised by the DFG. Page 26 On tour with german research Eva-Maria Streier Building Bridges Expansion and Excellence . p . 24 India, as a research country, faces great challenges Establishing a new form of cooperation: Dr. Harald Leisch has been working at the German Embassy in Hanoi – on behalf of both the How Stereotypes Influence 1/2009 . "Warning! Gypsies!" . Cosmic Intruders under DFG and the German Foreign the Perceptions of a Minority . Office. In an interview, he Carmen became a symbol of the proud, danger- Observation The Janus-faced Composer Reproduction shares his first impressions. ous Gypsy, who rejects society’s norms. Images – A Delicate Balance . A Forum for Research Page 27 such as this affected the way people viewed the Management . "Murmur of Amazement" Cover: MHVL / Private Collection Sinti and Roma for centuries. Page 9 german research 1 / 2009 Commentary eceiving mail from the Deut- flatter hierarchies and freedom This fact automatically makes to individual creativity, intuition and in their careers in order to bring an offer for professionalisation, sche Forschungsgemeinschaft that is given to them on an insti- the topic of management a concern, ability to improvise in areas where modern approaches to the institu- but also a promising approach for R (DFG) is always interesting. tutional level through the with- even a responsibility, of a funding there is a much greater need for so- tions. breaking down the increasing ten- Recently, some one thousand sci- drawal of the state from university organisation the size of and with lid knowledge and strategies. sion between science and adminis- entists and academics, as well as administration, a process that has the standards of the DFG, which Against this backdrop, the ith the new “Forum Hoch- tration. Already 15 years ago, then research administrators across Ger- already commenced. For the indi- now supports more than 20,000 re- DFG, together with the Center for schul- und Wissenschafts- DFG President Wolfgang Frühwald many, received a brochure from vidual researchers, larger research search projects per year with fund- Science and Research Manage- W management” (University stated, “We must restore the bal- the DFG Head Office in Bonn. In networks and more freedom bring, ing exceeding two billion euros. ment (ZWM) in Speyer, started and Research Management Forum), ance between research organisa- the brochure, the DFG presents above all, more responsibility. two training series in 2004, which the DFG is now taking a big step fur- tion and research activity.” This its new programme for university There are other issues as well: for he DFG accepted this respon- have proven themselves for five ther. This event series, also offered mission is even more important and science management – under example, knowledge of funding op- sibility early on. In doing so, it years now. One, with lectures, together with the ZWM, is directed today – and is good reason for the the well-founded assumption that portunities in times of stagnation or T wanted not only to meet the seminars and workshops, targets at the two target groups who bear DFG to become intensely involved the more than one dozen events and modules on topics such as research association management, finances and controlling, personnel recruitment and management, project management and conflict management or science marketing and press and public relations will be met with keen interest. Dorothee Dzwonnek The fact that the DFG has become involved in this area at all – let alone its degree of involvement – may come as a surprise. At first glance, research management may not appear to be among the duties on which the DFG, as the central A Forum for research funding organisation in Germany, should be concentrating. But it is only logical that it do so; in fact, it is imperative because management issues have become more Research Management important in recent years at universities and in research, and this importance will continue to grow. Naturally, to be successful in re- From planning to personnel management, from governance to search one first needs outstanding technical knowledge paired with self-evaluation: why the DFG responds to the increasing complexity creativity and the enthusiasm to perform research, the courage to take risks, scepticism of what ap- of scientific work – and how it sets its own course in doing so pear to be final answers, patience and the famous bit of luck. oreover, managerial skills, Illustration: Lichtenscheidt such as planning, organi- M sation and administration, play an increasingly important reductions in governmental funding, concerns associated with the in- young leading professionals at the brunt of the management re- and set its own course in the area role, both a sign and a conse- as well as in international competi- creased importance of the manage- universities, non-university responsibility: at the chief researchers of research management. quence of a far-reaching change: tion, is of ever-greater importance, ment aspect, but also to eliminate a search institutions and funding in research associations of all types research takes place in larger as- as is the ability to communicate in conspicuous discrepancy: although organisations and, thus, in the and at the research administrators sociations in which up to several light of the growing interest of the managerial competence is essen- DFG itself. That, too, is logical, who, in addition to the tradition- hundred people work, such as in public and the media in research tial for those working in research, since management knowledge is al academic professions, are now the Collaborative Research Cen- and the results it produces. few are actually trained in this area. increasingly important for the re- present in many projects and who tres of the DFG and the institutes It is certainly not an overstate- Management topics do not gener- view, supervision and funding of have come to embody the increased of the Excellence Initiative. These ment to say that apart from the ac- ally play a role in technical educa- research projects. importance of management issues. The author is Secretary General of the DFG. associations in particular, but also tual research work, management tion. Even in the academic training The second training series is fo- With the considerably expand- The brochure on the DFG’s research manage- the universities and other research of this work is, in many cases, just programmes, which themselves are cussed on young researchers who ed topics and content and its two ment programme can be requested from the institutions, enjoy more freedom as important for the success of a re- very limited, there are few offerings need to become acquainted with target groups, the DFG considers DFG Head Office, Human Resources, Kennedy- 2 that they give themselves through search project. in Germany. Thus, it is often left up management knowledge early on the new programme to be not only allee 40, 53175 Bonn, Germany. 3 german research 1 / 2009 german research 1 / 2009 Cosmic Intrud ers un der Observation Atomic nuclei, photons and neutrinos rain down continuously on the Earth from space. At the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina researchers study these high-energy particles with unprecedented precision – and hope to uncover some of the universe’s secrets By Bianca Keilhauer 4 5 and Johannes Blümer Centre Illustration: Karlsruhe Research german research 1 / 2009 german research 1 / 2009 Natural Sciences nyone who drives through the kind of energies recorded and quired for the observed accelera- Inside the “Los Leones” telescope station: the Argentinian Pampas, the galaxy itself cannot capture tions. Light enters the detector building from along the foot of the An- such particles magnetically. Above the mid-energy range cos- the right, falls onto the large, spherical A mirror and is then bundled onto the des Cordillera, and approaches It was not until November 2007 mic ray events are too rare for direct camera. The fluorescence detector of the the small town of Malargüe in the that the Pierre Auger Observatory observation using balloon or satel- Pierre Auger Observatory comprises four Mendoza Province from the north, managed to recognise a relation- lite experiments.

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