5 years of Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft with founding member AMO
On the occasion of the 5th anniversary of Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft (JRF) AMO GmbH presented itself as a founding member to the interested public from science, society, economy and politics.
JRF brings together a total of 15 practical and private research institutes financially supported by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia consolidated under one roof. The community’s 5th anniversary was celebrated with 400 guests at the headquarters of the JRF office in the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Düsseldorf on April 2.
In an accompanying exhibition according to the motto “Research and Cooperation within JRF”, the successful cooperation of the 15 JRF members were showcased to the guests, trying out exhibits and engaging in lively exchange with the scientists. AMO presented its current research focus as well as two research projects in cooperation with other JRF members. One project called HyperSol (Hybrid plasmonically reinforced photocatalyst for the production of solar fuels) funded by LeitmarktAgentur.NRW, is a joint project in cooperation with the two Duisburg-based JRF members IUTA (Institut für Energie- und Umwelttechnik e.V.) and ZBT (Zentrum für Brennstoffzellentechnik GmbH). As a second project the BMWi funded project PROTONLY (Development of improved membranes for regenerative energy systems using 2D-materials) was successfully presented in cooperation between AMO and ZBT.
The numerous guests were offered a varied program. At the event, greetings were given by the political side and short lectures were held by scientists from JRF institutes on the four main JRF topics. A panel discussion with practical representatives emphasized the social and economic importance of the JRF and the accompanying exhibition invited the guests to participate. The subsequent reception offered the opportunity for a birthday cake dinner and further exchange.
The keynote speeches on the four JRF topics “Cities & Infrastructure”, “Industry & Environment”, “Society & Digitisation” and “Globalisation & Integration” were given by JRF institute directors. Using the triad “Challenges, Approaches to Solutions and JRF-Relations”, they demonstrated the areas of tension in which the topics are involved, how socially, economically and politically relevant they are, as well as the relationship to NRW. The possible contributions the JRF institutes can offer solving such major challenges and the added value of cooperations under the umbrella of JRF were illustrated by concrete cooperation projects between the JRF institutes. The panel discussion participants argued the possible contributions of application-oriented research solving major societal challenges.
Please find more information about JRF and its members at the following web links:
Jubilee Publication “5 years JRF!”
About Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft:
Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft (JRF) has 15 scientific institutes financially supported by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with around 1,400 employees in NRW and an annual turnover of around 100 million Euros. The non-profit association was founded in 2014 as an umbrella organisation for legally independent, non-university and non-profit research institutes. The JRF institutes work together on an interdisciplinary basis, conduct joint public relations work, promote young scientists and are evaluated by external experts. In addition to the scientific members, the State of NRW is a founding member, represented by the Ministry of Culture and Science.
