From sustainable agriculture to particle research and astrophysics – scientists at the Lamarr Institute are shaping the future with Artificial Intelligence at the University of Bonn and TU Dortmund University on the basis of strong Computer Science and interdisciplinary expertise:
As part of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments, the Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn was awarded funding for eight Clusters of Excellence on May 22, 2025 – more than any other university. The Technical University of Dortmund received two Clusters of Excellence. As part of the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, researchers from Bonn and Dortmund are contributing pioneering methods to four of these research projects receiving excellence funding – focusing on autonomous robotics, basic mathematical research, astroinformatics and particle physics. In addition, Lamarr researchers are involved in a Cluster of Excellence at Ruhr-Universität Bochum on the topic of cyber security.
In the PhenoRob Cluster of Excellence, autonomous robotic systems for sustainable agriculture are being developed in which the interplay of Computer Science, agricultural and engineering sciences creates concrete solutions for global challenges. The following professors are involved as “Principle Investigators” (PI) of the Lamarr Institute: PhenoRob spokesperson Prof. Dr. Cyrill Stachniss (PI Embodied AI), Prof. Dr. Sven Behnke (Area Chair Embodied AI), Prof. Dr. Maren Bennewitz (PI Embodied AI), Prof. Dr. Jürgen Gall (PI Embodied AI) and Prof. Dr. Stefan Wrobel (Lamarr Co-Director); as Associate Member Prof. Dr. Christian Bauckhage (Lamarr Co-Director) and as Member JProf. Dr. Herman Blum (PI Embodied AI).
The Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM) provides the theoretical stage for algorithmic excellence that is recognized worldwide. The close connection between mathematical modeling and computer science methods enables new approaches in combinatorial optimization, e.g. for improved network design or new solutions in logistics. Members of the HCM are the Lamarr scientists Prof. Dr. Anne Driemel (PI Hybrid ML), Prof. Dr. Thomas Kesselheim (PI Resource-aware ML) and Prof. Dr. Petra Mutzel (PI Hybrid ML).
In the newly funded cluster Our Dynamic Universe (Dynaverse), AI-supported astrophysics is set to usher in a new era of data-based basic research. In the field of astroinformatics, scientists Prof. Dr. Lucie Flek (Area Chair NLP) and JProf. Dr. Zorah Lähner (PI Hybrid ML) from the University of Bonn will contribute their expertise in data science, large language models and Machine Learning in relation to geometry and physics. Prof. Dr. Michael Kramer (PI Physics) from TU Dortmund University is contributing his expertise in the field of data-intensive radio astronomy.
In the Color Meets Flavor cluster’s search for the deepest building blocks of matter, Artificial Intelligence methods are also becoming indispensable tools for discoveries at the frontiers of existing knowledge. The aim is to answer some of the biggest unanswered questions in modern physics – about the origin of matter, fundamental forces and possible new particles. Prof. Dr. Petra Mutzel (PI Hybrid ML) and Prof. Dr. Christian Bauckhage (Lamarr Co-Director) from the University of Bonn and Prof. Dr. Johannes Albrecht (PI Physics), Prof. Dr. Jian-Jia Chen (Area Chair Resource-aware ML) and Prof. Dr. Jens Teubner (PI Resource-Aware ML) from TU Dortmund University are involved on the part of the Lamarr Institute.
The fact that AI can also provide significant support in cyber security is demonstrated by Prof. Dr. Matthew Smith (PI Human-Centered AI Systems) at the Cluster of Excellence CASA (Cyber Security in the Age of Large-Scale Adversaries) at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. The aim of CASA is to make the digital world a safer place.
Nationwide funding
The Clusters of Excellence are part of the Excellence Strategy of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space. The aim is to strengthen cutting-edge research at German universities and thus Germany as a science location in international competition. Since 2016, internationally competitive research fields at universities and university alliances have been supported on a project basis. From January 2026, a total of 70 clusters of excellence at 43 universities will be funded for the next seven years. A total of 539 million euros will be available each year.