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Baby boomers are retiring: a challenge for local authorities

In the coming years, many baby boomers will retire, which will present a major challenge for cities and municipalities. How can they prepare for this? One approach is to use a practical decision support system, as demonstrated by a research project at RPTU. Implementing this project has revealed that Germany has a lot of ground to cover in terms of digitisation and data usage.

Patient concrete: Giant CT scanner detects every weak spot

Ingenieurwissenschaften

A giant CT scanner in Kaiserslautern reveals damage and weaknesses in structural components. This massive, one-of-a-kind system is unique worldwide and will help make components and load-bearing structures of buildings or bridges safer while contributing to a more sustainable construction sector.

Climate protection in a ball bearing

Ingenieurwissenschaften

They don’t take center stage, but they keep the world moving: bearings are technical components without which no car could drive and no wind turbine could turn. They are built into machines millions of times over. That’s why they hold great potential for climate protection. Researchers are showing how reducing friction in bearings could lower CO₂ emissions.

Good yeast, good wine

Ingenieurwissenschaften

Tradition and experience play an important role in viticulture, especially for small wineries. But even tried-and-tested methods sometimes reach their limits – for example, when yeast fails to perform as expected during fermentation. A young research team is now working with winegrowers in the Southern Palatinate to develop a simple process that makes yeast use more reliable.

Manufacturing in sync with energy

Ingenieurwissenschaften

Yoghurt, pharmaceuticals, specialty coatings: many products are manufactured in multi-stage, finely tuned steps known as batch processes. These are sensitive operations: poor timing can ruin an entire batch. A research team is developing new concepts to help manufacturers rethink these traditionally rigid workflows. The reason? Electricity from renewable sources comes with fluctuating availability and prices, demanding greater flexibility from industrial production.

Let’s tackle micropollutants

Ingenieurwissenschaften

The civil engineer Henning Knerr is refining technologies for wastewater treatment plants that can remove environmentally hazardous synthetic substances – such as painkillers or X-ray contrast agents – from sewage.

Quantum mysteries, real-world technology

Will quantum effects soon make our lives faster and better – or are many of the promises still just science fiction?How can we even begin to imagine quantum phenomena, given that the behavior of the tiniest particles involved is so difficult to grasp? Physics professor Artur Widera explains the fundamental laws and significance of the quantum world.

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