New Perspectives for Communication Technology: A German-Japanese Partnership
A delegation from the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology (NICT) in Japan visited RWTH Aachen University for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding. © RWTH Aachen University
RWTH University has started an exciting cooperation in the field of 5G/6G mobile communications technology with the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology (NICT) in Japan. This was sealed by a memorandum of understanding that Professor Ulrich Rüdiger and Professor Hideyuki Tokuda, President of NICT, signed together in June. They received a delegation from NICT at RWTH Aachen University.
The Memorandum of Understanding is intended to strengthen and expand academic cooperation between both partner institutions. This includes the exchange of scientists and students, collaborative research projects, publications and the transfer of knowledge on 5G/6G mobile communications technology.
The cooperation was initiated as part of the BMBF-funded research programme “6GEM Research Hub”, which is coordinated by Professor Haris Gačanin from the Chair of Distributed Signal Processing at RWTH. In this project, RWTH Aachen University, Ruhr University Bochum, Dortmund University of Technology and the University of Duisburg-Essen, as well as the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics, the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems, the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques and the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy are researching future communication technologies in 6G mobile communications technology.
Source: RWTH press release: Research Partnership With NICT in Japan – RWTH AACHEN UNIVERSITY – English (rwth-aachen.de)
Energy Park Herzogenrath: Chair of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems is involved in research
© Michael Förtsch by Unsplash
The project for CO2-neutral energy supply in Herzogenrath, the first city in NRW to strive for this goal, is accompanied by a consortium of four chairs and institutes, including the Chair of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Technology.
Herzogenrath wants to achieve CO2-neutral energy supply by 2030. A consortium of Siemens Energy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen University of Applied Sciences and the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences is conducting research on the project “Energy Park Herzogenrath Research & Development”, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection with 2.7 million euros. The project is also closely interlinked with other ongoing research and funding projects: at the local flat glass manufacturer Saint Gobain, CO2-free production is being researched, in which the Chair of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Technology at the E.ON Energy Research Center (ERC) of RWTH Aachen University is involved. The aim is to recycle the heat generated during glass production in Herzogenrath and Kerkrade in the Netherlands as green heating energy.
The project uses a digital twin that virtually maps and simulates the energy supply. In this way, different scenarios can be tested and optimised. The project looks at generation, consumption and marketing options across sectors. RWTH is receiving around 918,000 euros in funding for this.
More information on the project can be found at Energiepark Herzogenrath – Strukturwandel Rheinisches Revier (revier-gestalten.nrw) and at CO2-neutral bis 2030: Forschungsprojekt Energiepark Herzogenrath mit rund 2,7 Millionen Euro gefördert | Wirtschaft NRW.
Climate protection through electrical engineering – Professor Dirk Uwe Sauer’s lecture at the Children’s University
Kinder im Hörsaal. ©RWTH Aachen University
Whether drought, floods or forest fires – the consequences of global warming are dramatic for nature and people. The countries of the global south are being hit particularly hard, but the effects are also being felt here. We experienced this at the latest with the devastating floods in July 2021. That is why we urgently need to address the issue of climate change.
This is also what Dirk Uwe Sauer, Professor of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Technology at RWTH Aachen University, is doing. He has been researching new energy systems for over 30 years and advises politicians on the energy transition.
„We see in all places that climate change is happening – with many negative consequences. And we urgently need a radical change in the way we have supplied ourselves with energy so far.“
This does not only affect us adults, but especially the children and young people of today. They will have to live with the limitations that climate change will bring. “I don’t think we should underestimate what children know and what they are capable of,” says Professor Sauer.
It is not too late to make a difference
In his lecture, the physicist not only explained the dangers of climate change, but also made the necessary changes understandable. He used various materials such as videos, slides and interactive presentations to show the physical basics and the possibilities through timely action: “I also want to spread optimism and show that things can also get better than they currently are. Because if we still grab the wheel in time, then we still have the possibility to avoid worse things.” For this to happen, however, society must overcome its fear of new technologies. The professor said that there is too much talk about the risks instead of seeing the opportunities. “And we simply can’t afford that now either.” A ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court in 2021 has obliged politicians, and thus the population, to act more quickly. The slower progress is made, the more the living conditions of the next generations are restricted. That is why the previous federal government tightened the climate protection targets and the Climate Protection Act. “We have the opportunity to achieve these goals. We have the necessary technologies to supply all eight billion people in the world properly with renewable energy,” Sauer said.
Climate change is an important issue that concerns us all. But what does it actually mean and how can we work against it? Professor Sauer explained this to the children in his lecture at the Children’s University on 16 June 2023. He showed them how the earth is warming up and what consequences this has for nature and people. He also presented solutions on how we can protect the climate with renewable energies and new technologies. For example, with solar cells that generate electricity from sunlight, or with electric cars that emit no exhaust gases. Professor Sauer showed the children not only the problems of climate change, but also the opportunities that arise from it. He showed them that we can not only influence the climate with our energy supply, but also promote biodiversity.
„I would like to show the children that, for example, large photovoltaic systems on open fields not only generate electricity, but also create space for extensive agriculture, for insects that can live and flourish in these areas again.“
Climate change is a major challenge that we can only overcome together. For this, we need an awareness of the connections between energy and the environment that starts with children. Another goal of the Children’s University event was to get the children excited about scientific topics. “Physics has the great advantage that it can illustrate things very vividly and also show connections,” said Sauer. Using simple means, Professor Sauer showed where research starts and what possibilities can arise through technical progress.
Source: Aachener Zeitung, 16 June 2023
Neuroscience simulators of the future: How a new approach is taking research to the next level
©Chair of Integrated Digital Systems and Circuit Design
A new type of framework called “neuroAIˣ” has been developed by the group of RWTH professor Tobias Gemmeke. This framework is highly flexible and makes it possible to better understand and model the brain and its information processing.
The brain is one of the most fascinating and complex organs, raising many questions. How does it work? How does our consciousness and behaviour emerge from the activity of billions of neurons? How can we learn from the brain to build more powerful and efficient computers?
To answer these questions, neuroscientists are studying the structure and function of microcircuits in the brain, which consist of groups of neurons. These microcircuits are responsible for processing information in different regions of the brain. By analysing how neurons in these circuits work together, they can develop models that explain how the brain processes information and how behaviour results. To test and improve these models, computer simulations of artificial neural networks are essential.
The “neuroAIˣ” framework provides a platform to perform such computer simulations. It is highly flexible and allows different types of neural networks to be created, trained and analysed. Both biologically plausible and artificial neural networks can be considered. The framework is also scalable and can be used on different hardware platforms, from conventional CPUs to specialised chips for brain-inspired computing.
neuroAIˣ FPGA cluster is ten time faster and ten time more energy efficient than today’s best neuroscience simulators at running of biological neural networks. ©Chair of Intrinsic Digital Systems and Circuit Design
The framework consists of two components: a software tool that can rapidly evaluate neuromorphic architectures and a hardware cluster composed of 35 FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) cards. The hardware cluster has two functions: It can be used as a test platform to calibrate the software tool and test the proposed architectures for efficiency. It can also act as a neuroscience simulator, beating the best existing platforms by a factor of ten in terms of speed and energy efficiency.
“We are pleasantly surprised by the high speed-up and energy efficiency achieved by our system, as the focus of our work was on the flexibility and reproducibility of the simulator system,” explains Kevin Kauth, PhD student in Tobias Gemmeke’s group and one of the main developers of the project.
A possible future vision of Gemmeke and his team is to build a high-capacity FPGA cluster and develop a web platform that will allow neuroscientists and AI experts from all over the world to use the cluster via the cloud.
You can find more information about this exciting project at neuroaix.de.
A detailed description of the neuroAIx framework has been reported in the open-access journal Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience.
Outstanding student feedback in university rankings
Students at RWTH Aachen University are particularly satisfied with their studies in industrial engineering, specializing in electrical engineering and information technology. This is the result of the annual university ranking by the Center for Higher Education Development (CHE). Among other subjects, the current edition evaluated interdisciplinary courses of study in industrial engineering, which is offered at RWTH in no less than four disciplines.
Based on a survey of around 120,000 students using a 5-star scale, prospective students receive first-hand information about the study conditions at the universities, as well as facts about studies, teaching and research.
In the most important category, the evaluation of the overall study situation, the rating of the Electrical Engineering and Information Technology department stands out particularly above the national average. It also belongs to the top group when it comes to supporting its students at the beginning of their studies. Finally, the student community is highly satisfied with many other study-related advantages, such as a very good IT infrastructure and the digital teaching elements.
Overall, almost all subjects at RWTH Aachen achieve above-average results.
The ranking results are also displayed in HeyStudium directly on the details page of the Electrical Engineering and Information Technology subject.
Project Sacred Sound: a long-gone sense of life in long-lost spaces.
Ray tracing simulation in the acoustic 3D model of Cluny III (Image: Lukas Aspöck, CC-BY 4.0).
What was it like back in the Middle Ages? Experiencing history and feeling the spirit of the times – musicologist Professor Stefan Morent from the University of Tübingen, together with his project team and in cooperation with the Institute for Hearing Technology and Acoustics at RWTH Aachen University, is reconstructing the soundscape of this era. At the center of the music-historical experiment is the monastic church of Cluny III between 1130 and 1790.
3D model of Cluny III. Black and dark gray parts show the still existing remains of the church (Image: Lukas Aspöck, CC-BY 4.0)
The Benedictine Abbey of Cluny was one of the most influential religious centers in Europe until the destruction of significant parts of the imposing building. Clergymen practiced their faith in its rooms: “Only through music and if the liturgy was performed flawlessly could a connection to God be established,” Professor Morent explains the monks’ conviction. But how did their singing sound in the spacious and magnificent halls?
Ensemble Ordo Virtutum during the recording session in the anechoic half-room of the institute (Photo: Lukas Aspöck, CC-BY 4.0)
Cluny III is a virtual version of the historical original, which enables a room-acoustic computer simulation. For this purpose, medieval choral songs of the ensemble Ordo Virtutum were recorded in IHTA’s laboratory – an anechoic room without reverberation. In real time, the singers experienced the reflections of the virtually constructed church space via headphones. This auralization makes it possible to embed the musical compositions in the architectural-historical context of their creation. But what role does the interaction of architecture and sound play for future spatial concepts? To answer this question, the recordings will be analyzed from a musicological point of view in further project steps in order to investigate the influence of architecture on the musical performance.
Excellent placement in global university ranking
© Kurt Beyer
In electrical engineering, RWTH Aachen is one of the three best German universities. This is the result of the internationally highly regarded QS Ranking by Subjects of the British information service provider Quacquarelli Symonds. Presented in its latest version, the subject ranking is based on various criteria that are weighted according to subject. An online reputation survey among university graduates and employers accounts for between 40 and 100 percent of the total points and is considered the most important indicator. Citations, which scientific papers from universities receive on average, account for up to 60 percent. For some engineering and natural science subjects, international research networks are also taken into account.
The Aachen University of Excellence was able to place itself on the winner’s podium in many subjects throughout Germany and is also convincing in an international comparison. In ten subjects, it placed among the 100 best worldwide. RWTH did particularly well in the subjects of mining engineering with 15th place and mechanical engineering with 19th place.
For more information: www.topuniversities.com
“Hex-Hex”: Text – Thesis written!
The right magic formulas are taught in the courses of the “Schreibwerkstatt E-Technik”. The face-to-face course offers bachelor’s and master’s students at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology customized preparation for writing their upcoming seminar papers or dissertations. Participants benefit from acquired basic knowledge and writing strategies, which can be further developed in an individual online consultation. Upon successful participation, students earn a certificate and 3 CP, which can be credited towards elective credits.
International students must prove a German language level of at least C1.2 as a participation requirement for the course. The online writing consultation takes place in either German or English.
Registration deadline: March 27 – April 3, 2023
Dates:
| Group 1 02.84000 |
Group 2 02.84000 |
| Wednesdays April 19, 2023 Mai 3, 2023 Mai 17, 2023 June 6, 2023 each from 2.30 to 5.30pm |
Wednesdays April 26, 2023 Mai 10, 2023 Mai 24, 2023 June 21, 2023 each from 2.30 to 5.30pm |
Registration is via user account at Language Center.
Contact for inquiries: schreibzentrum@sz.rwth-aachen.de
Top placements in international ranking
The portal Research.com informs in the newly published ranking that the Electrical Engineering and Information Technology of the RWTH achieved the 2nd place in the Germany-wide comparison. Internationally, RWTH ranks 65th in this discipline.
Research.com evaluates the frequency of citations of scientific articles and other publications for the ranking. Data from the OpenAlex and CrossRef databases are used for the evaluation. Researchers are ranked using the D-index, a variation of the H-index, which measures citations to their scientific papers within a discipline. All those who achieve a D-index of at least 30 are included in the rankings. The sum of the D-indexes of all listed scientists of a university is then decisive for its placement in the university ranking.
Accordingly, the following RWTH Electrical Engineering and Information Technology professors have qualified for the ranking:
- Dirk Uwe Sauer from the Chair of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Engineering.
- Rik W. De Doncker from the Chair of Power Electronics and Electrical Drives
- Heinrich Meyr from the Chair for Distributed Signal Processing
- Antonello Monti from the Institute for Automation of Complex Power Systems
- Max Lemme from the Chair of Electronic Components AMICA – Advanced Microelectronic Center Aachen
- Steffen Leonhardt from the Chair of Medical Information Technology
- Petri Mahönen from the Chair and Institute of Networked Systems
- Rainer Leupers from the Chair of Software for Systems on Silicon
Into 6G era with innovative measurement technology
The team from the Chair of Distributed Signal Processing around Prof. Dr. Haris Gačanin will provide insights into the world of tomorrow at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 27. Together with industry partner Rohde & Schwarz, they will present the interactive and immersive visualization of measurement technology using augmented reality. The “XR-Wireless” technology developed as part of the 6GEM research project is used for this. The partners are meeting the challenge of developing innovative test and measurement technology that masters the acceleration of new technology towards 6G.
