On January 21, the CNTR laboratory at the Technical University of Darmstadt was officially opened. The laboratory, which is part of the Cluster for Natural and Technical Science Arms Control Research (CNTR), is a multifunctional laboratory with a focus on verification technologies.
The laboratory allows, for example, to test existing and future sensors. This involves not only purely technical tests, but also application-related studies, deployment protocols, and teaching, for example in the context of exercises with appropriate dummies. For this purpose, the laboratory is equipped with research and development equipment such as detectors for ionizing radiation, two 3D printers (filament printing and stereolithography), which enable the production of large-volume and precision components, and electronic equipment (oscilloscopes and similar readout devices).
A ceremony was held to mark the opening of the laboratory, attended by participants from CNTR and its partner institutions.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Walther, Vice President for Innovation and International Affairs at TU Darmstadt, praised the unique networking character of CNTR: "The scientific peace research conducted at CNTR brings together both the technical expertise of various scientific disciplines and the three research locations of Darmstadt, Frankfurt, and Giessen. This makes the cluster an excellent example of interdisciplinary research in a network and of xchange in action," said Walther in his welcoming address.
Susanne Boetsch, Administrative Director at PRIF, emphasized the connection between scientific research and social impact in her welcoming address: “Under the leadership of Prof. Malte Göttsche, this laboratory is building a bridge between physics expertise and responsibility for peace policy. A bridge that we are now stepping onto in very concrete terms.”
Darius Rahimi, Head of the Arms Control, Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Division at the Federal Foreign Office, emphasized the importance of CNTR's research in the field of verification for the future of arms control. Even though arms control experiences challenging times internationally, it remains important to develop new verification technologies and to conduct interdisciplinary research into their possible political implementation. The Federal Foreign Office has enabled the establishment of the cluster with start-up funding and will continue to support CNTR until 2027.
