GCRI realizes its mission through awide range of activities, such as:Convening workshops, symposia, and conferences to showcase cutting-edge research and. explore collaborative solutions to global problems. Providing a“one-stop shop” for information aboutthe German research landscape and. funding sources. Promoting German contributions to research, development, and innovation. Creating opportunities for graduate students and other young researchers to connect with. German institutions and support themin their careers. Supporting North American universities as they develop strategies to enhance collaborations with. Germanyin science,the humanities, technology, and industrythe German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) New York facilitates. transatlantic collaboration by bringing together leadersin science,the humanities,and technology. The GCRI provides aplatform to foster creativity and enhance. innovationin arapidly changing world.
Contact Information. German Center for. Research & Innovation. 871 United Nations Plaza. New York, NY 1***
Tel: +1 212 339 ***
Fax: +1 212 339 ***
http://www.**rmaninnovation.org
GERMAN CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND INNOVATION. New York. Funding provided byThe German Center for Research and Innovation(GCRI) New York isthe most accessible and visible. portalin North America tothe German researchand innovation landscape, bringing together key. stakeholdersinthe public and private sectors.
How to Engage withthe GCRI:Find jobsin Germany. Discover funding resources. Locate research opportunities. Access support for entrepreneurs. Attend an event. Sponsor an event. Learn about German technology. parks and centers of innovation. Subscribe tothe newsletter. E-NNOVATION GERMANY
Areas of Focus:Health and nutrition. Climate and energy. Security. Mobility.communication
Emerging Technologies, e. g. :Nanotechnology. Biotechnology. Medical technology
http://www.**rmaninnovation.org
ICTthe GCRI was created as acornerstone ofthe German government’s initiative to internationalize science and research and is one of five centers worldwide.
The other centersare locatedin Moscow, New Delhi, São Paulo, and Tokyo.
ANNUAL REPORT
2015Preface. Since its launchin 2010,the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) has become amultidisciplinary forum. bringing together leadersin academia, industry, and. government to foster strong public-private partnerships, facilitatethe authorship of new publications, and addressthe global. challenges ofthe 21st century. The GCRI, with its robust online. presence and its extensive networkin North America and. Germany, is uniquely positioned to help Germany maximize. leverage of its intellectual capital and entrepreneurial creativit***
Our 2015 Annual Report summarizesthe activities ofthe GCRI. duringthe past year and provides articles on cutting-edge.developmentsin German research and innovation. The report. also highlightsthe role ofthe GCRIin science diplomacy, an. area that has grownin importance overthe past decade.
One ofthe highlights ofthe past year was GCRI’s participationinthe German Chancellor’s Second International German. Forum, which brought together approximately 120 innovators. from aroundthe world to discuss future developmentsin social. innovation. Followingthe Forum,the GCRI initiated atwo-day. symposium on social innovation atthe German Housein New. York City, which brought together leading social innovators from. Germany,the United States, and Canada and resultedin new. collaborative activities among thought leadersinthe feld of social innovatio***
The GCRI Foundation launched two pilot programsin
The GCRI Foundation/DAAD-RISE summer scholarship program. for university sophomoresin science and engineering is.designed to foster academic relationships with Germany for. promising students earlyin their careers and, ideally, encourage. future scientifc engagement. The second initiative,the GCRI. Foundation Engineering Prize, will recognize outstanding. engineering students at universitiesinthe United States and. Canada. Both of these initiatives aim to further enhance. engagementin STEM felds between North American entitiesand their counterpartsin Germany.
I would like to acknowledgethe unremitting and generous. support of Germany’s Federal Foreign Offce,the Federal. Ministry of Education and Research,the German Academic. Exchange Service, andthe German Research Foundation. I. would also like to thank my colleagues atthe GCRI for their. constant commitment and devotion to making our programs thesuccess they have become. Further,
would like to express my. sincerest gratitude tothe GCRI Advisory Council for its expert. guidance and tothe GCRI Foundation as well as our partners inNorth America and Germany for their thoughtful input into our. governance and programming.
Dr. Joann Halpern. Director ofthe German Center. for Research and Innovationthe German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI)in New York has become an essential component of our. country’s science policy. The Center, which opened inFebruary 2010, has rapidly established itself as acornerstone. ofthe German government’s internationalization strategy. theGCRI is ajoint initiative of Germany’s Federal Foreign Offceand its Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). It. has successfully strengthened transatlantic collaboration inscience and technology since its inception. One of thehallmarks of GCRI’s success is its ability to foster. interdisciplinary collaborations by presenting cutting-edge. German research to adiverse, highly educated audience.
Through its manifold panel discussions, symposia, and. workshops,the GCRI provides aplatform to enhance. innovation between North America and Germany. Last year’s. topics ranged from cyber security and e-health to sustainable.development and renewable energy. The Consulate General. ofthe Federal Republic of Germanyin New York and. consortium leaders,the DAAD andthe DFG, have. collaborated withthe GCRI fromthe outset, resultingina. fruitful relationship. The Consulate General was honored to hostthe GCRI’s Fifth Anniversary Celebration on March 18,2015, and is proud to continue to supportthe highly. successful center.organizing joint events, hosting scientifc.delegations, facilitating mutual introductions to avariety of stakeholders, and sharing ideasare just afew aspects that. contribute to our successful collaboration.
hope this report. will inspire you to actively engage withthe German Center for. Research and Innovationinthe future.
Brita Wagener. Consul General ofthe Federal. Republic of Germanyin New York. 3Table of Contents. Preface 3
First Point of Contact for German. Science & Technologyin North. America 7
Building Bridges Through Science 8
GCRI Events. 2015 Calendar of Event***
Selected Event Participant***
2015 Conferences & Symposi***
2015 Speakers & Guest***
Keeping Wisdominthe Workplace:Germany’s Older Workforce. Creates aNew Paradig***
Interview with Univ. -Prof.
Dr. Claudia Voelcker-Rehag***
Fighting Cybercrime: Joining Forces. Against aMoving Targe***
Interview with Prof. Dr. Michael. Waidne***
Turningthe Tide on Ocean.destructio***
Interview with. Prof. Dr. Martin Visbec***
Social Innovation: aNew Path. for Creating Social Chang***
Interview with. Prof. Dr. Jürgen Howald***
Interview with Prof. Dr. Andreas. Meyer-Lindenber***
Patient, Monitor Thyself:Risks & Revolutionin Personal Health. Monitorin***
GCRI onthe Webthe GCRI Website
http://www.**rmaninnovation.org
E-NNOVATION GERMANYthe GCRI Newsletter
German Innovations ofthe Mont***
GCRI Interview***
GCRI Twitter - **[ta]**i_n***
Aboutthe GCRI. German Houses of Research. & Innovation.deutsche Wissenschafts- &. Innovationshäuser (DWIHs***
GCRI Advisory Counci***
GCRI Tea***
GCRI Foundation Boar***
GCRI Partner Institution***
Imprin***
5The German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) is ajoint initiative of Germany’s Federal Foreign Offce and its. Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
Established as an information and networking. platform, GCRI provides information and. support forthe realization of cooperative and. collaborative projects between North Americaand Germany.
Since its openingin February 2010, GCRI has.organized more than 150 eventsinthe U. S. and Canada with leading experts from scienceand industry, including three Nobel Prize. laureates and 16 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Prize recipients.
To date, GCRI has participatedin***
conferences, published 74 editions of its. newsletter E-NNOVATION GERMANY
signifcantly enhanced its website reach and. social media presence, and appeared over. 1,035 timesinthe media.
GCRI’s areas of focus mirror those of Germany’s High-Tech Strategy and include. climate and energy, health and nutrition,mobility, security, and communication. GCRI. has also ledthe transatlantic dialogue inemerging and evolving areas, such as e-health,smart cities, artifcial intelligence, and medical. technologie***
The center was created as acornerstone of theGerman government’s initiative to internationalize science and research and is. one of six German Houses of Research and. Innovation worldwide (Deutsche. Wissenschafts- und
Innovationshäuser,DWIHs). It is underthe joint leadership of theGerman Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
andthe German Research Foundation (DFG)
and receives its funding fromthe German. Federal Foreign Offce.
First Point of Contact. for German Science and. Technologyin North America. Presents Germany tothe North American market. as aland of ideas and innovation. Enhances dialogue between academia and. industry. Creates aforum forthe initiation and enhancement of transatlantic projects. Acts as an information platform forthe German. research landscape. Withthe goal of strengthening transatlantic.communication onthe critical challenges ofthe 21st century, GCRI:6 7Many ofthe great challenges ofthe 21st century have rootsin thesciences. Climate change, global healthand epidemics, food supply, energy,and information security, to name buta. few,are far-reaching matters of both. science and policy. In an increasingly. globalized world, those who speak thelanguage of scienceare apowerful. forcein building international. cooperation to address these issues.
Sincethe early days ofthe nuclear era,scientists have provided critical expertise to inform policy decisions, and. collaboration between scientists has. since enabled important global. initiatives, includingthe International. Space Station andthe establishment ofthe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate. Change. Increasingly, rather than. advising on or advocating for their own. work, scientistsare being called upon to open communications channels or assistin negotiationsin diffcult circumstances. where traditional diplomacy falls short. ina recent example, scientistsare credited. with playing akey roleinthe high-stakes. negotiations that limited Iran’s nuclear. capabilitiesinThe values of their. training, which centers on transparency,reliance on evidence and impartial. analysis, along with longstanding. traditions of international cooperation,allow scientists to occupy acrucial. middle ground between politics and. society.
Science and Technology (S&T)
cooperation agreements, commonly. forged between major countries, can. accomplish both scientifc and political. objectives. These agreements can. increase collaboration among allies, asinthe case ofthe S&T agreement. betweenthe United States and theEuropean Union, or aim to build trust intimes of crisis, asthe post-9/11
agreements betweenthe U. S. and. several Muslim-majority nations has. shown.
However, few countries have. implemented their own long-term. strategies for cultivating arole for sciencein international relations. Germany isa. notable exception, and aforerunner ininitiating international scientifc. partnerships and establishing best. practices for linking scientifc innovation to policy making.
Germany’s history of building bridges. through science reaches back more than. 65 years, when joint research. partnerships helped reunite Europe afterthe war. Programs such asthe Alexander. von Humboldt Foundation fellowships,originally foundedin 1953 to promote. exchange between Germany and other. countries, continue to flourish, bringing. German researchers together with those. from more than 140 countries. worldwide. in 2008,the German government. establishedthe Strategy for theInternationalization of Science andin July 1975, two men from.competing nations shook handsin zero gravity. As Apollo.commander Thomas P. Staffordand Soyuz Commander Alexei. Leonov reached through theports of their respective. spacecraft, docked together inorbit, they gavethe world themost photo-worthy example ofthe ability of scientists to create. alliances that transcend policy. differences. The term science. diplomacy had yet to be coined,but its potential was clear.
Research, formalizing anew commitment to global science outreach, and creatingthe German Center for Research and. Innovation (GCRI) as acornerstone of this initiative.
Along with its partners, which include. some of Germany’s top research. institutions and scientifc councils, theGCRI is ahub fostering scientifc.communication and cooperation between. Germany and North America. With. support fromthe German Consulate,German Foreign Offce, andthe German. Embassy,the GCRI hosts arobust. schedule of conferences and symposia,bringing cutting-edge research from. German institutions tothe academic and. business communitiesinthe United States,and creating networking opportunities. between science and policy stakeholdersin both countries. In 2015, such events. spanned topics including cyber security,global entrepreneurship, sustainable. ocean development, and dozens more.
“Weare convinced that societies aroundthe world can only flourish when they. make efforts to foster scientifc progressand cultivate academic exchange,” said. Dr. Robin Mishra, Head ofthe Scienceand Technology Section ofthe German. Embassyin Washington, D. C., noting. thatin uncertain times,the common. ground of science also offers an anchor to help establish or regain stability ininternational relations. In 2015, during. Germany’s presidency ofthe G7, theEmbassy hosted apanel discussion onthe importance of science diplomacy inaddressing international challenges. “Asin other areas, many problems that. involvethe sciences cannot be solved. throughthe efforts of one country,”. Mishra said. “There is an urgent need for. global solutions, and astrong strategic. approachin science diplomacy may bemore important now than ever. ”in addition to hosting and participating inscientifc community events, GCRI director. Dr. Joann Halpern frequently lectures onthe importance of cultivating global. scientifc collaboration. In January 2015,Dr. Halpern joined representatives from. UNESCO,the New York Academy of Sciences,the American Academy for theAdvancement of Science, and New York. University faculty as aguest lecturerina. postdoctoral course on science. diplomacy held at NYU. That same. month, she addressedthe BILAT USA 2
0
EU-U. S. Innovation Conference inBrussels, Belgium, an event organized to explore ways to boostthe innovation. pipeline between EU nations and theUnited States. The GCRI also joineda. subsequent BILAT USA 2
0 conference. laterinthe yearin Washington, D. C. “Advancingthe role of science ininternational relations isn’t just awise. policy move, it’s aresponsibility,” said. Halpern. “Germany has set ahigh bar for. global collaboration, and our scientifc. institutions continue to be one of our. greatest assetsin making connections,solving problems, and improvingthe future. ” By Hallie Kapner. Building Bridges Through Science. “Advancingthe role of sciencein international relations. isn’t just awise policy move,it’s aresponsibility”. “Scientistsare being called upon to open communications channels. or assist negotiationsin diffcult. circumstances where traditional. diplomacy falls short”. 8 9GCRI EVENTS. “The German Center for Research and Innovation. events provide an outstanding venue for showcasing. U. S. -German technology and collaborations. ”- James Sharp, President, Carl Zeiss, Inc. March 23_. EU - USA Research Collaborationand Funding Opportunities inHorizon 2020,the European. Framework Programme for. Research and Innovation. Co-Sponsor:Delegation ofthe European Union to theUnited States of America. April 9_. SAP Start-Up Forum New York. Co-Sponsor:SAP Labs, LLC. April 15_the Role of Higher Education inthe Future of Workforce.development. Co-Sponsor:Volkswagen Group of America,Chattanooga Operations, LLC. May 21_. Cyber Security and Ethics. Co-Sponsor:U15
June 16_. Seeingthe Artin Science. Co-Sponsors:Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC. Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic. Biology, University of Illinois. August 28_. GAIN T.
