The faculty has made a name for itself through a variety of projects in basic and applied nanotechnology, conducted via three Collaborative Research Centres, known as CRCs, and a Research Training Group. In CRC 445, for example, scientists from cross-disciplines are researching the origin and fabrication of nanoparticles. Nanotechnology ranging from engineering to chemistry and experimental/ theoretical physics is organized under one roof: the Center for NanoIntegration (CeNIDE) One of its focal areas being the development of nanomaterials in energy-related applications. This department is also offering a new course in nanoengineering, the only one of its kind.

Innovation has been a trademark of engineering science at Duisburg-Essen. UDE was one of the first universities to recognize the power of combining the 3 areas of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and information technology & informatics. Our chair for mechatronics was founded already in the 1980’s, the first of its kind in Germany.

For decades steel and iron shaped the Ruhr area’s industrial landscape. That explains why energy and environmental issues have been a major concern to science and industry here perhaps more than anywhere else. It is hardly surprising that energy and environmental technology is a particularly strong field at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Three affiliated institutes –  the IUTA Institute for Energy and Environmental Technology, the IWW Water Centre and the ZBT Center for Fuel-Cell Technology play an important role. Each year they alone attract around 10 million Euros of outside funding for research projects.

Major mobile-phone companies value the research carried out at UDE. Most of them work with the chairs of electrical engineering, communication systems and the affiliated IMST Institute for Mobile and Satellite Radio Technology. Founded in 1992 in Kamp-Lintfort, North Rhine-Westphalia, IMST has accompanied the development of wireless communications ever since the first generation of mobile phones. It evolved from the renowned department of General and Theoretical Electrical Engineering at Duisburg.

Medical technology is one of the largest and most promising growth sectors and for several years now has been one of our research focal points in engineering science. The establishment of ‘The Fraunhofer Institute of Microelectronic Circuits and Systems’ in the direct vicinity of the university has further consolidated the excellent position of the faculty and made it possible to turn research results into application-oriented projects faster than ever. In the field of biomechanics, a junior professor has recently been sponsored by the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Founders’ Association for German Science).

The ZHO Centre for Semiconductor Technology and Optoelectronics is a research project that has acquired a unique status within Europe. Working together with the Fraunhofer Institute of Microelectronic Circuits and Systems, this department has been pioneering ground-breaking research – for example on information technology markets.

At UDE several chairs in mechanical engineering work together under the virtual roof of Product Engineering. Plastics experts, materials testers and rapid and virtual prototyping specialists all work together on the development of new materials and innovative products for diverse markets. We have shown that specific interdisciplinary cooperation efficiently speeds up the product engineering process, from the initial concept to series production, and cuts manufacturing costs.

Civil Engineering has been taught at the University of Duisburg-Essen for the past 30 years. Experts from seven major German companies based in Essen sat on the “Civil Engineering Board” when the discipline underwent extensive restructuring and reorganisation. Such a tight link with the business and the construction sector gives our students career and learning advantages.

This department cooperates closely with the departments of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology. With almost 1,400 students, it is one of the largest and most successful in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Companies have noticed this and work closely together with us, including the automotive and mobile phone industry, and firms in ecology sector, logistics, aerospace, safety engineering, automation and robotics, medical technology, nautical engineering, energy, software, hardware and the plastics, steel and foundry industry.

In 2008, UDE’s wide-spread activities concerning industrial engineering (Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen) were incorporated into the Faculty of Engineering. Engineering competence in Mechanical Engineering, Power Engineering as well as Information Technology is combined with Management and Business Administration skills in research as well as in bachelor and master programs. Research emphasizes among others the economic as well as the business aspects of mobility, logistics and the automotive industry.

The world’s largest inland port is located in Duisburg, making it naturally a European centre for logistics. This finds its counterpart in the Engineering department with an active research group that focuses on research in supply-chain management and the logistics of transport systems The Ruhr area as a multi-central metropolitan area is a template for future development of urban areas. In 2007 and 08 UDE was selected the best school for Logistics out of 190 Universities from seven leading European countries.