Schlagwort: ‘GROW-SBI’
Building an Emerging Research Field: Synthetic Biological Intelligence
Dr Frank Sommerhage demonstrates a bioelectronic system for research in synthetic biological intelligence. © Frank Sommerhage
At the Institute of Materials in Electrical Engineering 1 (IWE1), the pioneering field of synthetic biological intelligence is being further developed, made possible by funding under the DAAD’s “Academic Horizons – Attracting Global Minds” programme. Specifically, the “GROW-SBI” project, led by Dr Frank Sommerhage, aims to attract international academic talent and provide new impetus at the interface of electrical engineering, biotechnology and AI.
Research in this field opens up prospects for adaptive, energy-efficient and learning systems that differ fundamentally from today’s digital architectures. The central question is how biological and technical processes can be integrated to enable novel forms of information processing.
“Unlike in classical artificial intelligence, synthetic biological intelligence does not focus solely on software. Rather, it is about the interaction between modern technology and living nerve cells,” explains Frank Sommerhage.
However, this research also raises new scientific and ethical questions regarding control, stability, and responsibility when dealing with biohybrid systems. This topic therefore brings together researchers from a wide range of disciplines. At RWTH Aachen University, synthetic biological intelligence is currently being actively established, and it has not yet been institutionalised in Germany either.
© Martin Braun
Dr Frank Sommerhage, project leader, has been advancing this field of research in the USA for many years. In October 2025, he returned to RWTH, his alma mater, where he obtained his PhD in 2011 with a thesis entitled ‘Chloride versus Protons – Ion Currents in the Cell-Transistor Junction’. He now wishes to nurture young talent himself.
The first international group will arrive at RWTH for a three-week onboarding programme as early as this summer. This will include laboratory visits and workshops, as well as insights into cell culture, sensor technology, computer-aided analysis, philosophy, and applied ethics. Support services will also be provided to help participants settle into research and life in Aachen.
“With our approach, we are strengthening RWTH’s profile in the field of medical science and technology,” says Dr Sommerhage.
RWTH Aachen will receive funding totalling €750,000 until the end of 2029 under the DAAD programme “Academic Horizons – Attracting Global Minds”. These funds are provided by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space as part of the “Global Minds Initiative Germany”. The initiative aims to support German universities in attracting outstanding talent from around the world to undertake master’s and doctoral programmes in key technologies and strategically relevant fields of research.
Funding will be awarded to interdisciplinary and collaborative research projects that contribute to raising the profile of, and promoting the internationalisation of, the respective university. A total of 20 German universities are receiving funding under the programme.
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is a non-profit organisation funded by German universities and student unions. It is the world’s largest funding organisation for international student and researcher exchange programmes. Since its foundation in 1925, the DAAD has supported over 2.9 million young academics in Germany and overseas.
