Faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional and Engineering Sciences

The European Space Agency’s FLEX mission marks the beginning of a new era of plant research from space. The satellite, which was specifically developed to observe photosynthesis, will track how plants react to drought, heat, and other environmental stresses. The insights could help to develop climate-resilient agriculture, better protect natural ecosystems, and increase food security in the long term. Forschungszentrum Jülich operates the German FLEX project office, contributes its scientific expertise to the mission, and supports researchers in using the freely available satellite data. 

There has been a rapid increase in cardiovascular and metabolic conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. What is the link between sustainable diets that are nutritious, environmentally friendly, economically affordable, and socioculturally acceptable, and cardiometabolic conditions? An international research team led by Prof. Dr. Ina Danquah, Hertz Chair for Innovation for Planetary Health in the Transdisciplinary Research Area “Sustainable Futures” and Director at Center for Development Research (ZEF) at University of Bonn, investigated this question among Ghanaian adults who live in various locations.

The Minister of Finance of North Rhine-Westphalia, Dr. Marcus Optendrenk, has just visited the University of Bonn. Following talks with Rector Michael Hoch, the Finance Minister visited Poppelsdorf Campus to learn about the latest research methods for sustainable agriculture and bioeconomy, and inspected ongoing construction projects of BLB NRW (the building and real estate management agency of North Rhine-Westphalia). The visit commenced with the Minister visiting Rector Hoch at his offices at the University, where they talked about current issues and developments at the University of Bonn. These included the recent confirmation of the institution’s status as a University of Excellence, remaining indeed the most successful German university in the Excellence contest with eight funded Clusters of Excellence. Dr. Optendrenk and Rector Hoch then went over to Poppelsdorf Campus to view the climate chambers.

Factors such as erosion, dehydration and compaction of the soil are jeopardizing food supplies for broad swathes of the world’s population according to a recent study by the University of Bonn, the University of Minnesota, the University of Basel and Hamburg University of Technology. If human-made soil degradation were to be reversed by 10 percent, the Earth’s arable land could feed an extra 70 million or so people in purely mathematical terms. The findings have now been published in the journal “Nature Food.”

Erosion, salinization and shrinking numbers of organisms such as worms and beneficial fungi can have a devastating effect on soil fertility, and so many parts of the world have passed laws to curb these processes. A study by the University of Bonn has now shown that these measures have improved soil quality in many countries. Their impact, however, is heavily dependent on the political and institutional environment in which they are implemented. The researchers’ findings have been published in the journal “Nature Food.”

Stefano Mintchev, a specialist in robotics, is to join the University of Bonn from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich on September 1, 2026. He is studying robots that can move independently in complex natural environments.

Anyone who inspires and guides students and empowers them to never stop learning will shape the University well beyond the four walls of their lecture hall. With this year’s teaching prizes, the University of Bonn is recognizing 14 teachers who have supported their students with their unique ideas, commitment and specialist expertise. The awards are decided on by the students themselves based on their own evaluations of the teaching delivered and nominations from the faculties and the Bonn Center for Teacher Education.

What exactly is going on behind the doors of the new Grünes Haus (“Green House”) on Carl-Troll-Straße? What plants and soils are being investigated there? And how sustainable is the new building really? Locals were given answers to these and many other questions by members of the Faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional and Engineering Sciences at the University of Bonn on a visit organized to mark the completion of its new Sample and Vegetation Center.