TU Munich appoints new director of the TUM Institute for Advanced Study

Prof. Michael Molls assumes management of TUM-IAS

The TUM Institute for Advanced Study (TUM-IAS) was established as the core of the long term development strategy of the Technical University of Munich in the first round of the Excellence Initiative (2006-2012) in order to provide outstanding academic talent from all over the world the freedom they need to develop and implement innovative and risky research ideas together with the best heads at TUM through a fellowship program.

Prof. Ernst Rank, professor of computation in engineering at the Technical University of Munich was at the helm of the TUM-IAS for five years. During this time, he bolstered the scientific excellence and reputation of the TUM-IAS significantly in the global research community. He was succeeded on April 1st, 2020 by Prof. Michael Molls, emeritus professor of radiation therapy and radiological oncology and spokesman for the TUM Emeriti of Excellence.

Creative place for science talents from all over the world

"With the TUM-IAS, TUM has a creative place where talented scientists from all over the world can come together to exchange ideas, challenge each other and work together without being restricted by technical, institutional or intellectual boundaries," says TUM President Thomas F. Hofmann.

"The aim is for the IAS is to become a central catalyst for the implementation of the 'TUM Innovation Networks' provided for in the current TUM AGENDA 2030," says Prof. Molls. "We intend for the IAS to be perceived and used even more than in the past within the TUM as a hub and platform for realizing creative ideas."

A further important concern of Michael Molls is the topic of sustainability: "In cooperation with the International Expert Group on Earth System Preservation (IESP), which is based at TUM-IAS, we have already managed to provide important impulses," says Molls. "In the coming decade, TUM-IAS will devote itself even more to novel approaches that will sustainably improve the lives and coexistence of people.”