HEiKA STRATEGIC AREAS OF RESEARCH (STAR)

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Shaping the Future of Research Together

Since 2025, HEiKA STAR has been instrumental in strengthening the partnership between Heidelberg University and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The program supports joint scientific initiatives that open new research fields, promote innovation, and establish long-term, sustainable research structures. By combining complementary expertise and perspectives, HEiKA STAR fosters exceptional research partnerships and enhances the strength, visibility, and dynamism of the HEiKA scientific network.

Program Objectives

HEiKA STAR aims to promote interdisciplinary research consortia with the potential to develop into larger joint structures, such as Research Training Groups, Collaborative Research Centers, or Research Units.
The program focuses on strategic cooperation between scientists from both partner institutions. By combining complementary expertise and resources, HEiKA STAR fosters innovative approaches that transcend institutional and disciplinary boundaries.

Funding Program

HEiKA STAR is intentionally open to all topics, and the program particularly welcomes proposals with high scientific originality that open new research fields and prepare the ground for future third-party funding initiatives.

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First HEiKA STAR Projects

Three HEiKA STAR projects showcasing the diversity and excellence of HEiKA are being funded with the program’s launch in 2025, including:

DELight: Developing a demonstrator for a new experiment to directly search for dark matter
DEUsAroMet: Dxploring all-metal aromaticity as a basis for innovative material concepts
PACO: Studying the relationship between physical activity and cognitive performance in middle and later adulthood

HEiKA STARs 2025 - 2026

Enns

DELight

Cosmological and astrophysical observations provide clear evidence for the existence of a new type of matter, “dark matter” (DM), whose nature is still unknown.
The primary goal is to realize a simplified, small-scale detector, using a superfluid 4He target instrumented with a novel MMC-based calorimeter to demonstrate the readiness of such a detector for the new direct dark matter search experiment DELight.

Greb

DEUsAroMet

DEUsAroMet is an interdisciplinary project to provide experimental evidence and a theoretical framework for all-metal aromaticity for breakthroughs in nano-electronics and future technologies. It will line up internationally leading chemists with theoreticians and spectroscopists to consolidate a ground for long-term research initiatives.

KIT, TECO

PACO

The benefits of physical activity for cognitive and physical health across the adult lifespan and in old age are undisputed. Still, urgent questions regarding the daily neurological and behavioral processes, most suitable intervention designs, and the role of sample diversity and middle adulthood are largely open. The PACO project focuses on integrating expertise of Heidelberg University and KIT to conduct pilot projects using national cohort data sets as well as mobile and video-based sensing approaches.