Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft funds new Research Training Group in Particle Physics

For the first time, all particle physicists at the University of Münster have cooperated on the planning of a large-scale project. The extensive preparation has now been rewarded: The German Research Foundation (DFG) will fund the joint Research Training Group on "Strong and weak interactions - from hadrons to dark matter", where theoretical and experimental nuclear, particle and astroparticle physicists will collaborate. The project will be funded initially for a period of 4.5 years with 3.4 Million Euros. In total, the DFG will create 17 new Research Training Groups, as has been announced on May 11, 2015.

"We are very happy about this approval. In this Research Training Group, we cover a broad spectrum of topics and integrate theory and experiment there in an unprecedented way. The DFG's approval confirms the quality of our concept", explains experimental physicist Prof. Christian Weinheimer from the Institute for Nuclear Physics, spokesman of the Research Training Group. Prof. Michael Klasen from the Institute for Theoretical Physics, deputy spokesman, adds: "Also the education of our PhD students in this Research Training Group will be more ambitious than is usually the case. The students have to demonstrate a broad interest for theory and experiment and must work for some time during their doctoral studies also in the other field." The in total eleven PhD positions will now be advertised internationally.