Project overview

The interdisciplinary NEOSPEK project team is researching how an assistance system consisting of cameras, sensors and artificial intelligence can support surgeons during operations.

Production tools are often made from tungsten carbide and cobalt. Both minerals are scarce materials and highly critical from a social point of view. The "FairTools" project is researching how these minerals can be replaced or saved in production.

The "Next Generation Energy Experience" (NGEE) will take place for the second time in 2026. The aim is to use a variety of outreach measures to make key issues relating to energy and sustainability understandable and tangible for middle and high school students. The focus is particularly on the use of renewable energy in buildings.

Immunotherapies are promising approaches to fighting cancer. The project aims to develop human models of the immune system in order to research personalized cancer therapies and vaccines. Organoids and organ-on-chip technologies are used for this purpose.

"Noble Talks" is a public lecture series at the Beutenberg Campus in Jena. Internationally renowned scientists, including Nobel Prize winners, present current topics from science and technology twice a year.

Prof. Philipp Heßler, Professor of Optometry and Visual Aids Technology at the EAH Jena, is investigating ways of objectively measuring accommodation parameters, the ability of the human eye to see objects sharply at different distances.

Prof. Darko Katic, Professor of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at HfT Stuttgart, is developing an AI-supported assistance system for surgery. The system uses large language models and retrieval augmented generation and uses medical ontologies to make surgical procedures understandable.

Pollen-related respiratory allergies affect up to 30% of the world's population. Climate change is further exacerbating the problem. However, forecasting pollen fields is extremely difficult. PollenNet aims to provide a more accurate and up-to-date forecast of local pollen loads.

The Physician Scientist Program at HI-TAC trains research-based physicians in vascular biomedicine, systems biology and cardiac research. The Helmholtz Institute is a cooperation between the University of Heidelberg and the Max Delbrück Center in Berlin.

Prof. Antje Muntzinger, Professor of Computer Vision at HfT Stuttgart, is investigating the development of a multimodal AI system for the robust detection and tracking of vehicles on highways. She combines AI with prior physical knowledge to compensate for sensor errors.