20 years of TUM-IAS

In 2005, the TUM Institute for Advanced Study was established as a key cornerstone of a new institutional strategy: To place cutting-edge research within TUM on a new, expanded basis, to attract international guests from all over the world, and to bring new knowledge in the natural sciences, engineering, life sciences and medicine to the world.

There are as many Institutes for Advanced Study as there are different concepts and working methods. But they all have one thing in common: bringing something new into the world.

Like all other IAS, the TUM-IAS is based on the idea that an atmosphere of creativity, inspiration, freedom, and support without a lot of bureaucracy is the most productive basis for outstanding scientific achievements for excellent researchers. 

This Institute for Advanced Study aims to establish new fields of excellence at TUM, support pioneering research, and attract outstanding international scientists for collaborations with TUM research groups. Therefore, the TUM-IAS gives scientists from TUM and abroad the time and resources to focus on new, cutting-edge research, which is a key to fostering scientific excellence. At the same time, essential, but must be firmly anchored in technological feasibility, requiring an environment that leads to multidisciplinary experimentation and realization.

For this reason, TUM-IAS has embraced a unique operation model: its foremost ambition is to support and attract top-level scientists to engage in new, advanced research fields. These Fellows form the basis of our Institute. A key feature, however, is that these top scientists are integrated into the active environment of the university and are primarily based at TUM groups (rather than in a remote IAS building), so that they have direct access to experimental facilities and can deliver the best possible technological performance in their fields. 

The laboratories that host our Fellows and their projects play an essential role in the strategy and pioneering research of TUM-IAS. We consider these hosts to be a constitutive part of our organization. They provide much-needed and appreciated scientific leadership and the means to achieve our goals. Their groups are also home for the IAS-funded doctoral candidates that are co-advised by the host and the Fellow. TUM-IAS actively promotes knowledge transfer between generations by creating unprecedented opportunities for early-career and even more experienced researchers from inside and outside our university.