Simulation methods for soft matter will be sponsored

The Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research is involved in a Collaborative Research Centre in cooperation with the Universities of Mainz and Darmstadt

Mainz/Darmstadt. The German Research Foundation (DFG) decided to fund a new Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) involving the participation of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz (MPI-P). The DFG will sponsor a joint proposal of the MPI-P, the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), in this case the representative institution and the Technische Universität Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt) with approximately seven million euros at first for the next four years. The new CRC/Transregio (TRR) "Multiscale Simulation Methods for Soft-Matter Systems" deals with the computer-based simulation of processes in soft matter and its properties.
"The funding of this new DFG-CRC/Transregio highlights the good cooperation between the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, the Johannes Gutenberg University and the TU Darmstadt", said the Minister of Science for Rhineland-Palatinate, Doris Ahnen.

Contributing to fundamental insights for the material development

Multiscale modeling is a central topic in materials science. Soft matter, which ranges from ordinary plastics to complex biomolecular systems or materials for organic electronics, is an important subfield. Its properties are determined by a subtle interplay of energy and entropy. Small changes in molecular interactions can result in major changes of the macroscopic properties of a system. The CRC/TRR 146 " Multiscale Simulation Methods for Soft-Matter Systems" will address some of the most pressing issues of multiscale modeling by setting up a collaboration between physicists, chemists, applied mathematicians and computer scientists. In developing new simulation and analysis techniques, we aim not only at modeling systems but also at developing applications to “real world” problems as they occur for multicomponent systems or non-equilibrium processes.

Kurt Kremer’s study group devotes itself to the theoretical and in particular to the computer-based exploration of the physical and chemical characteristics of soft condensed matter. The wide scope of research objects and methods is also reflected by the extensive participation in the CRC/TRR 146: Kurt Kremer and his staff members are involved in a total of five subprojects that range from theoretical physics and chemistry through numeric analysis to software development.
"The successful approval by the DFG shows how very significant the theoretical, computer-based research is. We can now apply our wide expertise and strengthen our long-standing cooperation with our partners at the TU Darmstadt and at the JGU", says Kurt Kremer.

Collaborative Research Centres are long-term DFG projects dealing with fundamental research, where a CRC/TRR is jointly applied for by several universities. During its spring meeting, the Grants Committee of the DFG decided to establish 13 new Collaborative Research Centres. Four of them are CRC/TRR initiatives. This new successful funding perpetuates the success story of the MPI-P when applying for Collaborative Research Centres and similar coordinated projects.