In the Funding Atlas 2018 of the German Research Foundation (DFG), Leibniz University Hannover achieved excellent results regarding the acquisition of public funding. Published every three years, the DFG Funding Atlas presents comprehensive key figures relating to publicly funded research in Germany. The ranking presents data on third-party funding acquisition not only from the DFG but also in the form of direct research and development funding from the federal government and through Horizon 2020 from the European Union.
From 2014 to 2016 (DFG assessment period), Leibniz University Hannover acquired a large amount of public third-party funding in its internationally visible key research areas. Especially noteworthy is the success of the scientific disciplines Production Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) and Physics with the key area Optics and Quantum Optics. Across Germany, Leibniz University Hannover came in second regarding the highest DFG grants awarded in the scientific disciplines Mechanical Engineering and Production Engineering, with a total of 37.3 million euros. With 29.7 million euros, Production Engineering received the lion''s share. In Engineering, Hannover altogether took an excellent eighth place behind Technical University of Munich.
In Physics, LUH came in ninth with a total of 19.1 million euros, regarding the highest DFG grants across Germany. This includes the research field of Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas, which acquired the largest share of this sum with 15.3 million euros, resulting in an excellent first place in the ranking for this subdomain of physics. Leibniz University Hannover is particularly strong in the research area of Optical Technologies - which is underlined by the fantastic victory at this stage of the Excellence Initiative. In spring, the draft proposals for the clusters PhoenixD (Photonics, Optics and Engineering Innovation - Across Disciplines) and QuantumFrontiers (Light and Matter at the Quantum Frontier: Foundations of and Applications in Metrology) were assessed positively and it was therefore possible to submit a full written proposal. The QUEST-Leibniz Research School, which evolved from the excellence cluster QUEST - Centre for Quantum Engineering and Space-Time Research, has been an outstanding research institution for years.
The DFG ranking also confirms stronger visibility for the research field Geophysics and Geodesy, which is equally successful. Earth Sciences took a strong sixth place.
Overall, Leibniz University Hannover ranked twenty-fifth among the 40 universities with the highest DFG grants (research field average). With respect to Engineering, LUH came in eighth across Germany. In Natural Sciences, LUH finished fifteenth.
Apart from DFG funding, Leibniz University Hannover achieved a particularly good result with regard to funding by the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AiF). Here, LUH is in the top five of the highest funding grants. With a total funding grant of approximately 10 million euros, LUH finished fourth together with TU Darmstadt. This programme funds commercial research cooperations (mainly small and medium-sized enterprises).
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