Breakthroughs in computing have led to development of new generations of Earth Systems Models providing detailed information on how our planet may locally respond to the ongoing global warming. Access to such climate information systems presents an unprecedented opportunity for engineers to make tangible contributions to climate adaptation through integration of climate information in their products and designs. This is precisely the key focus of the Research Training Group (RTG) on "Climate Informed Engineering" (CIE) at Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH).

The concept behind Climate Informed Engineering is to enable engineers to build infrastructure, devices, sensors or develop new materials and processes that are informed by climate, and climate change information, thus contributing to concepts like resilience as well as climate change adaptation which is at the heart of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and The European Green Deal. Climate Informed Engineering could resonate with engineers and scientists with different backgrounds ranging from chemical, civil, environmental and mechanical engineering to energy, soil, material and computer and social sciences and beyond. This makes Climate Informed Engineering a truly multidisciplinary field of research which we believe will be an increasingly important dimension of Engineering Science.

In collaboration with scientists from Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M) and United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) in Canada, the RTG on CIE Climate Informed Engineering, funded by German Research Foundation (DFG), has been launched in 2025 at Hamburg University of Technology. Hence, the PhD candidates will benefit from the interactions with renowned experts at MPI-M and UNU on a variety of topics related to high resolution climate modelling and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which is at the heart of our RTG.

The RTG will utilize engineering science and innovative approaches to develop new materials, processes, and predictive capabilities to help people, businesses, and ecosystem in the face of climate change. The RTG will include three main Research Areas, namely CIE for Built Environment, CIE for Process Engineering and CIE for Sustainable Resource Management and Environment. Ten projects are designed in the first funding phase, covering a wide range of topics, spanning from influence of climate on renewable resources and food engineering to developing novel materials for latent heat storage. The projects will couple indoor and outdoor climates based on Internet-of-Things technologies and will develop predictive capabilities for water and food security. All the principal investigators and PhD candidates share the common goal of employing new-generation climate information to devise strategies for mitigating climate change. This interdisciplinary RTG is the first of its kind, ultimately enabling engineers to build infrastructure and to develop new materials and processes that are informed by the climate data, which will be an increasingly important dimension of engineering education in the 21st century. 

We are always interested in working with individuals interested in the idea behind Climate Informed Engineering. To explore the possibilities and how to get involved, please feel free to contact: cie.info@tuhh.de