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Submitting an application for a grant from the European Research Council (ERC) can sometimes present a challenge. Therefore, from November, the University of Münster will be offering an EU Mentoring Network in which a 14-strong team of advisors will be providing support for researchers in making such applications. The deadline for joining the Class of 2026 is September 1.

What remains after six months of the ‘Energy for the future’ dossier? Primarily the impression that, at best, we have examined a few grains of sand in the desert – because the energy transition is a massive undertaking. Where do we stand in Germany and internationally? An assessment that can only be a snapshot in the face of rapid developments.

Ten years ago, the Zivile Seenotrettung, ZSNR (Maritime Search and Rescue Service) was set up as a rection to the end of state rescue measures such as Italy’s Mare Nostrum. In this interview, political scientist Dr. Mareike Gebhardt talks about the research project entitled “Search and Rescue Missions and the Dissensus on Democracy (ZivDem)”.

At the end of the “Energy for the future” dossier, national and international experts provide insights into their research and ideas on climate-neutral energy supply and more sustainable consumption.

Dr Selidji Todagbe Agnandji has held the new professorship for geographical-epidemiological medical microbiology since the end of 2024. This is the first joint professorship between the University of Münster and an African university, a scientific bridge project that will initially run for five years. The focus is on research into tropical infectious diseases such as malaria, an area in which Selidji Todagbe Agnandji is a leading expert.

The social psychologist Prof Dr Gerald Echterhoff has been appointed Theodor Heuss Professorship at the “New School for Social Research” in New York, starting in September. The New School stands for the long tradition of German-American academic co-operation. Gerald Echterhoff is the first academic from the University of Münster to receive the honour of this visiting professorship.

Water is essential for life and at the same time a fascinating molecule. In the “Centre for Molecular Water Science”, a European research network, scientists are investigating its molecular properties. Prof Dr Stephan Klemme and Prof Dr Carmen Sanchez Valle from the Institute of Mineralogy at the University of Münster are studying water in the extreme environments of the Earth's interior, known as supercritical fluids.

A team from the Universities of Münster and Heidelberg has developed a new method of producing waveguides in which spin waves can propagate particularly far. They have thus created the largest spin waveguide network to date.

Fifteen years ago, the MEET Battery Research Center was launched. Five years later, the Helmholtz Institute Münster moved into the immediate neighbourhood. Both institutions are celebrating their double anniversary on 7 July. On this occasion, Prof Martin Winter provides insights into current battery research, trends and market strategies.

Whether people become religious or non-religious depends very much on the family. An international study by the University of Münster shows that religion is passed on to the younger generation primarily when the family cultivates a religious self-image, engages in joint religious practices such as prayer or singing, and when both parents belong to the same denomination – the most important role in religious socialization is played by mothers.

Worker ants increase their reproductive success by caring for their siblings instead of producing their own offspring. An international research team, including Dr. Lukas Schrader from the University of Münster, has now revealed the genetic basis of ant evolution.

The distribution of halogens like chlorine reveals much about the formation of the lunar crust. An international research team has now shown in laboratory experiments that rocks with surprisingly high chlorine content formed on the near-side of the Moon. The results were published in "Nature Communications."