Through a grant from the German Academic Exchange Service and in conjunction with Conruhr USA and TuDortmund University , a group of 29 students and faculty members from Universities in Virginia visited the Ruhr area. The goal of the visit was to learn more about German-American technology transfer. 

On April 13, 2011 NanoArt New York opened. This exhibition features art taken directly from the labs of German research institutions and brings it to the gallery. These images show the ways in which materials have completely different and widely variable properties on the nano scale (one nanometer = one billionth of a meter). A kaleidoscope of textures and colors, NanoArt New York brings order and chaos, mountains and valleys, the heavens and hedgehogs, all invisible to the naked eye to life - in liquid, solid, luminescent, multi-colored atom arrangements and patterns.

The exhibition contained 60 nano images, taken directly from the labs of Center Fro Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CeNIDE), the Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM), the Center for NanoScience (CeNS) Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, the University Alliance Metropolis Ruhr, the Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences (ISAS e.V.), and the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, will remain on view until June 2011.

On April 13, 2011, ConRuhr organized in collaboration with the German Center for Research and Innovation and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CeNIDE), a panel with German and U.S. experts discussing nanotech’s impact in the fields of energy, electronics, medicine, and science as well as in the business sphere, bridging the gap between research, development, and application.

The discussion drew a diverse crowd to listen to speakers Axel Lorke, Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany; Cherie Kagan, Associate Professor in the Departments of Electrical and Systems Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania; Stefan Strauf, Assistant Professor of Physics and Engineering Physics at the Stevens Institute of Technology; and Vincent Caprio, Founder and Executive Director of the New York NanoBusiness Alliance.

On April 13, 2011 from 3pm – 6pm the following people met to discuss collaboration ideas: Axel Lorke, Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany; Cherie Kagan, Associate Professor in the Departments of Electrical and Systems Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania; Stefan Strauf, Assistant Professor of Physics and Engineering Physics at the Stevens Institute of Technology; and Henry Hess, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, USA.

On April 4, 2011 UAMR signed a cooperation agreement with the New Jersey Institute of Technology in the field of engineering.

Piero Armenante (Distinguished Professor Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering), Lisa Axe (Professor and Associate Dean of Administrative Affairs Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering), Carlo Ontaneda (Assistant Director for EOP), Dr. LeeAnn Renninger (Assistant Director Conruhr), Prof. Rolf Kinne (Director Conruhr), Prof. Ulrich Radtke (Rector of University of Duisburg-Essen), Provost Ivan Gatley, Norman Loney (Chair and Professor Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering), Don Sebastian (VP Research & Development), Dr. Olivia Jazwinski (Assistant of the Rector's office, University of Duisburg-Essen) and Skarlett Brune-Wawer (Chief of Staff, Rector's Office, University of Duisburg-Essen)

German photographer Manfred Vollmer’s exhibit ‘Essen for the Ruhr - European Capital of Culture 2010’ has found a new home for the next few months and warm welcome at the Goethe Institute Boston, Massachusetts, where 85 friends of the Ruhr Area gathered to celebrate the opening exhibit, April 12^th 2010. The exhibit is shown in cooperation with RUHR.2010 GmbH, the ConRuhr Consortium of the Ruhr Area universities and Alumniportal Deutschland. Read full story...

Opening Event | © Photo: Manfred Vollmer

Have you ever been to a 30 mile long Autobahn picnic table, seen an opera in a steel mill or gone swimming in an old coking plant?

In 2010 all this is possible, as the Ruhr area is the center of European Culture! The city of Essen bears the title of European Capital of Culture as the representative of the 53 cities of the Ruhr with around 5.3 million residents. That makes the region the European Union’s third largest urban agglomeration behind Paris and London. The grand opening event brought RUHR.2010’s motto to the point: an impressive industrial setting for an artistic and musical tale of change through culture and culture through change. The Ruhr area, once the heart of Germany's mining and steel industries, is now a vibrant cultural centre. In 2010 there will be 300 projects with more than 2,500 events in the area.

This year's "Meetings of the Mind's" event took place at the Zeche Zollverein, followed by a concert at the Jahrhunderthalle, Bochum. To see photos, click here.

May 2009: Thirty-Three RISE students in the Ruhr area this summer

This summer the Ruhr area will host 33 of DAAD's RISE scholars (Research Internships in Science and Engineering), coming from across the USA, Canadan and UK. RISE students complete a hands-on research internship with Ruhr Area PhD students. For more information: www.daad.org