In the Cluster of Excellence 3D Matter Made to Order (3DMM2O), we pursue the vision of turning digital blueprints into reality using scalable 3D additive manufacturing. This form of shaping matter, in which one locally adds material rather than subtracting it, has become a powerful tool at the macroscale. Our unique selling point is that we bring this technology towards the molecular scale, to answer previously inaccessible questions in the life and engineering sciences and enable new applications.

Founded on more than forty years of experience at the University of Bayreuth in conducting Africa-focused research, the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence is designed to develop new responses to the theoretical, methodological and structural challenges facing African Studies. Since its inception in 2019, Africa Multiple has spearheaded innovative approaches and forms of collaborative research, with the objective of reconfiguring African Studies on both the conceptual and the structural level.

The health and well-being of humans, animals and plants, and a stable climate, are major concerns of our time. The functioning of all ecosystems on Earth depends critically on finely balanced interactions among microorganisms thriving in interconnected habitats like soil, water, and the human body. The balance of these microbiomes is constantly challenged by environmental and anthropogenic disturbances, leading to ecosystem degradation, severe crop losses, or disease. Current therapeutics often target symptoms rather than root causes, using disruptive agents like non-specific antibiotics that can worsen conditions. Although these issues are of utmost societal importance, there is a critical gap in our knowledge of the molecular factors that control microbiome dynamics.

The Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS) investigates well-known forms of de-pendency – such as Roman, transatlantic or Mamluk slavery, forced labor and debt bondage – as well as less visible forms, such as human trafficking and domestic servitude.

The Cluster of Excellence Biosystems Design Munich (BioSysteM) is dedicated to the creation of a vivid, interdisciplinary research environment that will enable the transition to a constructional design approach towards the life sciences. Designing complex molecular and cellular systems with programmable properties resembling those of living organisms will enable us to better understand life as a phenomenon, create living or life-like materials with unprecedented capabilities, and build the foundation for a revolutionary next generation of applications in the life sciences and biomedicine.

Biological materials achieve an exquisite diversity and functionality through just a small number of abundant chemical elements. While engineering materials primarily use specific, often unsustainable, chemical compositions to realize their functions, nature achieves unparalleled functionality through optimized architectures that span multiple length scales. Water, with its ubiquity and unique structural dynamics, plays a pivotal role as a “working fluid” in shaping the properties and functionality of nature’s materials.

The construction sector consumes vast amounts of energy and resources, and is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. It also suffers from low productivity and strenuous working conditions, while facing labor shortages and having a severe impact on the environment in terms of waste, noise, and other emissions. To mitigate global warming while still providing people with affordable homes and infrastructure that are resilient to the consequences of climate change, the construction industry requires a disruptive transformation.

In recent years, cyberspace has embraced an ever-larger share of our lives, and the notion of the digital society has become a reality. At the same time, we observe massive qualitative and quantitative shifts in the cybersecurity landscape. The attack surface has expanded dramatically, with adversaries targeting a broad range of entities, including hospitals, government services, higher education institutions, and critical infrastructure. This is further aggravated by the evolution of nation-state attackers pursuing geopolitical goals such as election interference. Finally, the emergence of disruptive technologies like generative AI, quantum computing, and the growing popularity of blockchains and cryptocurrencies further amplifies the digital risks. This dramatic change in the cybersecurity landscape poses a fundamental threat to our society, jeopardizing democratic processes, critical infrastructures, and citizens’ privacy and well-being alike.

Today’s world is witnessing an ever-increasing number of older people. Aging is the primary risk factor for diabetes, cardiac, kidney, neurodegenerative, and skin diseases – among others. This dramatic demographic change poses enormous health and socio-economic challenges for societies, highlighting the urgent need to foster a healthy aging agenda.

Chirality, the property that makes an object distinct from its mirror image, is ubiquitous in nature. It is found in elementary particles, in molecules and biological structures, and manifests itself in many physical phenomena. In particular, it gives rise to a remarkable intrinsic stability against external perturbations that has spurred a strong worldwide interest in chiral materials.