Inauguration of the TUM Institute for Advanced Study – President Herrmann: “BMW has set a laudable example as patron” – Center for the exchange of know-how and spirited dialog

Campus address for top researchers

21.10.2010, Press releases

The scientists of the TUM Institute for Advanced Study (TUM-IAS) now have a new address on the Garching campus. The new TUM-IAS was officially inaugurated today by the President of the Technische Universität München (TUM), Prof. Wolfgang A. Herrmann, together with the Bavarian Minister of Science, Dr. Wolfgang Heubisch, and Chairman of BMW AG, Dr.-Ing. Norbert Reithofer. BMW made a donation to the value of € 10 million to the new building.

The TUM-IAS enables top scientists from universities and research institutions as well as leading experts from industry to carry out extended periods of research at TU München. Together with their guests, researchers at TUM pursue interdisciplinary projects in new research fields that are particularly pioneering – and therefore often extremely risky. During their fellowships, they have the opportunity to concentrate entirely on their research. The IAS is a central component of the “TUM. THE ENTREPRENEURIAL UNIVERSITY” future concept, with which the TUM was successful in the Excellence Initiative in 2006. In the first years of its work alone, the TUM-IAS managed to bring leading experts to Munich on 25 different occasions, including researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.

As President Wolfgang A. Herrmann emphasized: “BMW has set a laudable example as patron, which testifies to the company's great confidence in the potential of our university. This building radiates entrepreneurial spirit, and intellectual creativity is set to unfold within its walls.” According to Hermann, the TUM Institute for Advanced Study is an elite institution par excellence. However, he also added that its efforts to strive for excellence were not for the sake of the university, but rather they were a fundamental part of its role as a servant of society. “The best people must also deliver the best performance, both quantitatively and qualitatively,” said Hermann. “This is why we promote and encourage them more than others." He underlined the importance of having the courage to venture into the unknown when selecting fellows, and stated that the fruits of this special academy's work can already be seen after just a few years.

“This building is a good investment in the future,” Norbert Reithofer, CEO of BMW stated, explaining the company’s decision to finance the building. “Here, young scientists and engineers are carrying out fundamental research and working on future topics that concern us all. Industry and research – both can profit if they are closely interlinked.”

Bavarian Minister of Science Wolfgang Heubisch commented: “With the construction of the new TUM Institute for Advanced Study, BMW has set new benchmarks in terms of corporate support for science and research. In doing so, they have become patrons of a premium object of scientific excellence. There is no doubt in my mind that the state-of-the-art new building will lend wings to the work of the TUM-IAS, and will reinforce the institute’s presence and image. This is particularly important in light of the upcoming second round of the Excellence Initiative.”

Enabling the TUM Institute for Advanced Study to serve as a location where top scientists from around the globe can work together and exchange ideas, the new building offers work stations, a function room on the top floor designed along the lines of the Faculty Clubs of U.S. elite universities, a café and an auditorium. The building’s architecture, designed by TUM alumni Rüdiger Leo Fritsch and Aslan Tschaidse, complements the urban concept of the Garching campus. The building is designed in such a way that it visually completes the so-called new center, but could also serve as the hub if the campus were to be extended at a later point. The base of the building links harmoniously to the cafeteria and its open terrace.

TUM-IAS Director Prof. Patrick Dewilde ventured a look to the future: “Besides providing a home to our most creative scientists and their collaborators from abroad, the TUM-IAS building will induce multi-disciplinary cooperation, and establish a preeminent intellectual center on campus, engaging the entire university community, from young students to the most experienced and world renowned scientists.”

Facts about the TUM Institute for Advanced Study:

• Founded in 2005 as a result of a decision by the University Council, funded since 2006 by the Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments.

• 54 fellows conduct research at the TUM-IAS.

• 24 fellows are scientists of the TUM, 30 are guest scientists.

• 7 fellows come from industry.

• 14 fellows are junior scientists.

• The fellows come from 16 different countries.

Kontakt: presse@tum.de

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