Stuttgart's drinking water is in danger. It is going to be contaminated with toxic substances. What now? This sounds like a case for Samantha Sim and Toni Tech! The dedicated and clever detective duo Sim & Tech, who investigate cases in Stuttgart and the surrounding area, must solve this difficult case with the help of scientists from the SimTech Cluster of Excellence at the University of Stuttgart. The key is to discover as quickly as possible who has poisoned the water and how much time is left for the two detectives to save the city. There's no time to lose, and the scientists, who research porous media, need to develop a method to calculate the remaining time and how fast the poison is spreading.
And that is just one of the problems facing the detectives with whom the SimTech Cluster of Excellence is entering Community Prize [de] competition. The Community Prize, which is being held by the German Research Foundation as part of the BMBF's "Research in Germany" initiative, is a new competition format that combines competition and cooperation. Individuals from science management and research at universities and research institutions in Germany can apply for prize money for project ideas in the field of "International Research Marketing". All competition entries will be presented in the form of short video pitches using a digital voting platform.
Making Simulation Science more accessible to the wider public
The aim of this project from the SimTech Cluster of Excellence is to position simulation science as the key to tackling future challenges, and to provide insight into the cluster's research topics and the methods it uses. Particularly in light of the fact that the Cluster of Excellence is a methods cluster that conducts basic research. The detectives Sim & Tech are presented with a task at the beginning of each of the films, which last just five minutes or less. To find the answers, the detective duo calls on the support of the scientists from the Cluster of Excellence, who ultimately help find the solution to the problem using scientific methods. And all of this is packaged as a striking world that is already a simulation in itself, with a style inspired by the award-winning, film noir-inspired graphic novel "SinCity" (1991-92) by Frank Miller.
"We want to make the applications and benefits of simulation science understandable to a wider public and make simulation science more visible as a potential field of study for future students, as well as positioning the Cluster of Excellence as an interesting employer for (early career) researchers and presenting its special research areas. At the same time, we want to establish the University of Stuttgart and the city of Stuttgart as an attractive environment for students and (early career) researchers. And, of course, we want to present all of this in an appealing way", says Sabine Sämisch, Public Relations and Event Manager at the Cluster of Excellence.
From November 15 to 26, 2021, employees from German universities and (non-)university research institutions who have a connection to internationalization or international research marketing can now participate in the Community Prize voting. Voting will be held online [de]. Employees from the University of Stuttgart cannot vote for SimTech; they are only allowed to vote for project ideas from other universities and organizations.
The concept ideas selected by the community will each receive EUR 20,000 to implement the project. We hope the detective duo Sim & Tech will win over the voters and that there will be exciting movies with them soon.