ACalNet 2.0

   

The international exchange program ACalNet 2.0 builds on the existing network ACalNet, a program supported by the DAAD from 2013 to 2018. Within this network, between the RWTH Aachen University and Californian partner universities (UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara und UC Los Angeles) as well as other renowned research institutes (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Forschungszentrum Jülich, CAT Catalytic Center, and Schlumberger Doll Research), project-related lump-sums are awarded to doctoral students of RWTH Aachen University from medical, technical or scientific disciplines, within the framework of ACalNet 2.0, to support a research stay at one of the renowned Californian partner institutions. New research groups are always very welcome.

Under the patronage of the speaker Univ.-Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Regina Palkovits (Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University), ACalNet 2.0 aims to further consolidate the excellent transatlantic collaboration and initiate new cooperative projects between German and Californian partners.

The continuation model is based on close cooperation between the International Office of RWTH Aachen University, the Center for Molecular Transformations and the Profile Area - Energy, Chemical & Process Engineering (ECPE).

 

History of the ACalNet network

The Aachen-California Network (ACalNet) was founded in 2013 to promote scientific exchange and to build an international research network. The first four-year funding period was supported by the DAAD program "Strategic Partnerships and Thematic Networks", the funding was provided by the BMBF. Follow-up funding for two years by the DAAD enabled the continuation until 2018, during this time ACalNet supported the mutual exchange between German and Californian partners (RWTH Aachen, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, UC Los Angeles, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Forschungszentrum Jülich, CAT Catalytic Center, and Schlumberger Doll Research). Funding was provided during this period for students, doctoral candidates, and teachers from the natural and engineering sciences and medicine. From 2017 to 2019, the American IRES program: Training Next Generation Researchers in Advanced Magnetic Resonance at Chemistry Interfaces supported research stays of Californian PhD students at the RWTH Aachen University.

Today, the successful network can look back on a remarkable history of success and international attention. It has grown dynamically in recent years and has been able to expand its professional horizon without losing its thematic focus. It has provided outstanding scholarship holders with a valuable opportunity to supplement their personal profile in terms of an excellent education by a stay abroad and to establish academic contacts at the renowned partner institutes.