Extreme weather events such as heavy rain and flooding pose growing challenges for early warning systems worldwide. Researchers at the University Bonn, the Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ), and the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence have developed RiverMamba, a new AI model that can predict river discharges and flood risks more accurately than previous methods. The research paper, which shows potential for climate adaptation and disaster control, has been accepted for NeurIPS 2025 – a sign of scientific excellence in Bonn-based research. RiverMamba thus makes an important contribution to climate adaptation and risk prevention – topics that are receiving special attention worldwide, particularly around UN World Tsunami Awareness Day on November 5th.

The University of Bonn is at the forefront of artificial intelligence research. As a co-founder of the Lamarr Institute, its scientists work closely with colleagues from the Technical University of Dortmund and the Fraunhofer Institutes for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems IAIS in Sankt Augustin and for Material Flow and Logistics IML in Dortmund. Together, they are developing technologies that will transform many aspects of our lives. The institute’s mission is to create AI that is not only powerful but also trustworthy, sustainable, and socially relevant. In doing so, the University of Excellence Bonn is sending out a clear message: progress requires responsibility.

The University of Bonn has awarded teaching prizes to 14 teaching staff in recognition of their outstanding work. The prize recipients were chosen by students themselves. Professor Klaus Sandmann, Vice Rector for Teaching, Learning and University Development presented the prize certificates at a ceremony on the Hofgarten lawn in Bonn as part of the Universitätsfest attended by over 7,000 people.

The Faculty Award of the Faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional and Engineering Sciences at the University of Bonn is an price for outstanding achievements presented by the faculty itself.

Great news for the Cluster of Excellence PhenoRob – Robotics and Phenotyping for Sustainable Crop Production at the University of Bonn and the Forschungszentrum Jülich: The Excellence Commission of the German Research Foundation (DFG) has selected the project for a second funding phase. With this decision, PhenoRob enters its next phase, will receive funding until 2032, and will further strengthens its role as an internationally visible center for cutting-edge research in sustainable crop production driven by advanced technologies.

It is a huge success for the University of Bonn: in the nationwide excellence competition, all six of the university's existing Clusters of Excellence were selected for further funding on 22 May 2025 and, in addition, both newly applied Bonn cluster initiatives will also receive funding. Among the clusters to receive further funding is the PhenoRob Cluster of Excellence of the Faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional and Engineering Sciences - the only cluster in Germany in the field of agriculture.

South Africa is slowly lifting out of the water – by up to two millimeters per year depending on the region. It had been assumed up to now that this phenomenon was due to mantle flow in the Earth’s crust. However, a study carried out by the University of Bonn now provides another explanation: Droughts and the associated water loss are the main reason for this land uplift. The results have now been published in the “Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.”

At the PhenoRob and University of Bonn Start-Up DynamoBot, we are building the next generation of precision farming and precision weed management for farmers.