“In order to find solutions to the most pressing social questions, we have to repeatedly take completely new paths in research: This is exactly what the courageous and forward-looking projects by Anke-Susanne Müller and Dirk Holtmann do. We are pleased that they can realize their projects with the CSZ Wildcard program,” says Oliver Kraft, Vice President Research at KIT.
The “Ultracompact electron accelerators for internal radiotherapy (UCART)” project aims to develop a (sub-)millimeter-sized electron accelerator that can be inserted into the body endoscopically. In this way, tumors could be irradiated directly and with high precision in the body without damaging healthy tissue. “We are breaking new ground in radiation therapy,” says Anke-Susanne Müller from the Institute for Accelerator Physics and Technology (IBPT) at KIT. She is carrying out the project together with Matthias Fuchs from IBPT and Oliver Jäkel from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ).
Current treatment methods for internal tumors usually rely on external radiation, which also damages healthy tissue. In addition, the possibilities for improving existing radiation devices have been largely exhausted. In “UCART”, the interdisciplinary team from laser, accelerator and medical physics wants to use a physical effect that can reduce the size of accelerators by more than a thousandfold using new, light-driven mechanisms for accelerating electrons. The overarching goal is to create cost-effective, ultra-compact radiotherapy devices that can be operated in a similar way to X-ray machines and are available in many medical facilities, says Müller.
“In view of increasing CO2 emissions, the exhaustion of fossil fuels and the transition to renewable energies, we urgently need new and efficient processes to produce chemicals, for example for pharmaceuticals or biofuels,” says Dirk Holtmann from the KIT Institute for Bio- and Food Engineering. He is spokesman for the project “Co-cultivation of anaerobic methanogens with aerobic methanotrophs in a bio-electrochemical 200% cell (CoMet2)”, which is being carried out with the Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University in Kaiserslautern (RPTU).
Researchers from microbiology, bioinformatics, electrochemical engineering and bioprocess engineering want to develop an “electro-biotechnological 200% reactor”. To do this, they use “microbial electrosynthesis (MES)”, a promising technology in which microorganisms produce chemicals from CO2 and electricity and achieve an energy efficiency of over eighty percent. In the “CoMet2” reactor concept, valuable products are to be produced on both the anode and the cathode – with conventional electrochemical systems, a usable product is usually only created on one electrode.
The Carl Zeiss Foundation has set itself the goal of creating scope for scientific breakthroughs. As a partner for excellent science, it supports both basic research and application-oriented research and teaching in the MINT disciplines (mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology). As part of the “CZS Wildcard” program, research ideas are funded at a very early stage of development. The selection process particularly evaluates the originality, unconventionality and potential of the applications.
KIT / OF
