Selected projects funded by other science funding organizations (selection)
English & American Studies
Predictive Construction Grammar – Developing a neuro-cognitive model of linguistic creativity
Applicants:
Prof. Dr. Thomas Hoffmann (Faculty of Languages and Literatures; Chair of English Linguistics) and Prof. Dr. Marco Steinhauser (Faculty of Philosophy and Education; Chair of General Psychology)
Abstract:
Linguistic creativity is a fascinating human trait – we can create new communicative possibilities that go beyond what we have previously encountered and say things that we have never said before. The present interdisciplinary constellation of cognitive linguistics and neurocognitive psychology opens up a new research approach to linguistic creativity: The aim of the present project is to develop the first predictive neurocognitive model that explains the online use and learning of creative constructions. The envisioned model will combine and integrate existing models and theories from cognitive linguistics, cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. It will specify precisely the processes involved in language comprehension and production, and hence, will allow for deriving testable predictions that can later be investigated in empirical studies. A particular focus will be on those aspects of language usage that are unique to humans, i.e., learning of constructions from single examples and the creative generation of novel constructions. Our cooperation will open up a completely new area for interdisciplinary cognitive linguistic and neurocognitive research that will considerably further our understanding of (linguistic) creativity.
Funding body: VW Foundation (Open Up – New Research Spaces for the Humanities and Cultural Studies)
Project duration: 2024 - 2025
Fordoc: fordoc.ku.de/id/eprint/3658/
Geography
REPHASE – Reproduction, Phenology and Seasonality in a European Comparison
Applicant:
Prof. Dr. Susanne Jochner-Oette (Faculty of Mathematics and Geography; Professorship of Physical Geography/Landscape Ecology and Sustainable Ecosystem Development)
Abstract:
Das Projekt untersucht die Reproduktionsökologie und Phänologie genetisch identischer Waldbäume im Netzwerk der Internationalen Phänologischen Gärten (IPG) und stärkt zugleich die wissenschaftliche Koordination und strategische Weiterentwicklung des Netzwerks. Im Mittelpunkt stehen Analysen physiologischer Merkmale wie sekundäres Dickenwachstum und Blattmorphologie sowie deren Zusammenhang mit dem Mastverhalten. Zudem wird die Länge der Vegetationsperiode unter Berücksichtigung klimatischer Veränderungen analysiert, um wertvolle Einblicke in die Anpassungsfähigkeit von Pflanzen an veränderte Umweltbedingungen zu gewinnen. Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt liegt auf dem Vergleich verschiedener meteorologischer Datensätze in der phänologischen Forschung. Die gewonnenen Ergebnisse sollen wesentliche Erkenntnisse liefern, die für den zukünftigen Umgang mit Forschungsdaten von entscheidender Bedeutung sind.
Funding body: Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation
Project duration: 2025 - 2028
History
“Democratic Governance” in Europe: On the Interconnection of European and National Democratic History from the 1970s to the 1990s
Applicant:
Prof. Dr. Vanessa Conze (Faculty of History and Social Sciences; Chair of Modern and Contemporary History)
Project partner:
University of Heidelberg; Helmut-Schmidt-Universität der Bundeswehr, Hamburg
Abstract:
This research project examines the processes of negotiation surrounding the “Democratic Governance” of institutional Europe from the 1970s to the 1990s. The starting point is the tension between the demand for a democratically constituted Europe and the diverse national experiences of democracy, constitutional traditions, and claims to sovereignty. The intertwining of European and national democratic histories will be analyzed through three case studies. The individual projects address (1.) the relationship between the democratic principles of the German Basic Law and the dynamics of Europeanization, using the Federal Constitutional Court’s “Europe rulings” as an example, (2.) the significance of security policy debates as a driving force behind European constitutionalization, and (3.) the EC and EU accession applications of post-dictatorial states as catalysts for an intensified debate on a “democratic Europe.” As a heuristic tool and conceptual framework, the concept of “democratic constitution” will be explored; this concept focuses on the formalized interplay of ideas and practices, institutions, and norms through which democracy is negotiated as a conceptual order. Research progress will be presented at regular working meetings, annual workshops, and a final conference.
Project duration: 2025 - 2028
Funding body: Gerda Henkel Foundation
Journalism
Simple, Accessible Language in Journalism
Applicant:
Prof. Dr. Friederike Herrmann (Faculty of Languages and Literatures; Professorship of Journalism Studies and Communication Science)
Abstract:
In a democratic society, the mass media serve an integrative function; their role is to ensure that diverse groups can participate in a shared public sphere. Under the State Media Treaty, public media in particular are mandated to present their content in a manner that is as accessible as possible. However, there is still no comprehensive journalistic offering for people with limited literacy. This is also due to the lack of a scientific foundation for developing such content; the topic remains largely an unaddressed research need both nationally and internationally. Existing research primarily focuses on the general use of simple and accessible language from a linguistic perspective, which does not account for the specific characteristics of journalistic information (e.g. relevance criteria, timeliness). This project addresses this research gap.
Funding body:
Otto-Brenner Foundation, Frankfurt (Main)
Project duration: 2023 - 2026
Mathematics
Uncertainty-aware and physics-informed machine learning for short range atmospheric forecasts
Applicant:
Prof. Dr. Tijana Janjić (Faculty of Mathematics and Geography; Professorship of Data Assimilation)
Abstract:
Quantification of evolving uncertainties is required for both probabilistic forecasting and data assimilation (DA) in numerical weather prediction (NWP). In current practice, an ensemble of NWP model simulations is often used as a primary tool to describe these uncertainties. In this proposal, we explore an alternative approach that is motivated by recent developments in machine learning (ML) research, namely, uncertainty quantification and physics-informed ML. As to the former, new ML methods are currently being developed that are able to represent (predictive) uncertainty in an appropriate manner, with a specific emphasis on distinguishing deferent sources and types of uncertainty, such as aleatoric and epistemic. As to the latter, physics-informed ML seeks to increase the data efficiency and transparency of purely data-driven black-box modeling through the incorporation of physical constraints. The goal of this project is to develop tailored algorithms that will ensure the physical plausibility and proper quantification of the predictions’ uncertainty forward in time. This comes with various challenges, notably the adaptation and extension of existing uncertainty-aware ML for the specific type of forecast atmospheric variables, the design of physics-informed ML methods tailored to this application, as well as the combination of these two.
In a first part of the project, we plan to use an idealized two-dimensional model. We will start by following the propagation of initial perturbations in a parameter through time for all model variables. The explicit use of physical laws in ML will make the algorithms interpretable. In addition, adequate DA methods corresponding to the new ML models will be developed, with the additional benefit of improved online learning. The second part of the project will build on the ensemble generated by a high resolution numerical model. Here, we also first focus on the evolution of uncertainty due to uncertainty in a parameter (e.g., perturbed condensation cloud nuclei) using methods developed in the first part of the project. Results of ML will be compared when the source of uncertainty is changed, for example, due to use of a different microphysics scheme. The ability of ML to distinguish different sources and types of uncertainty (aleatoric and epistemic) will be tested. Moreover, the new ML methods will be compared to the ensemble approach for both models.
Funding body: Klaus Tschira Foundation
Project duration: 2025 - 2028
Psychology
Small Communities, Big Impact: Municipal Maintenance Depots as Pioneers of Sustainability
Applicants:
Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Kals (Faculty of Philosophy and Education; Professorship of Social and Organizational Psychology), Prof. Liane Rothenberger (Faculty of Languages and Literatures; Professorship of Media and the Public with a focus on Migration
), Prof. Dr. Angela Treiber (Faculty of History and Social Sciences; Professorship of European Ethnology / Empirical Cultural Studies), Petia Knebel (Faculty of Philosophy and Education; Akademische Direktorin at the Professorship of Art Education and Education Studies)
Abstract:
Funded by the Volkswagen Foundation under its “Social Transformations” program, the project aims to design and test a transferable approach for harnessing the transformative potential of a small town in a rural area for sustainable development. To this end, the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt is collaborating with partners from the city and district of Eichstätt. The project aims to initiate change through a systemic approach in four closely interrelated fields of action, thereby promoting the implementation of sustainability projects. Concurrently, a research and transformation approach that can be scaled to different contexts is being developed and tested.
Project duration: 2024 - 2027
Funding body: VW Foundation
Fordoc: https://fordoc.ku.de/id/eprint/3609/
TF-CBT Ukraine – Part II – Evaluation and Dissemination of Evidence-Based Trauma Therapy in Ukraine During the War
Applicant:
Prof. Dr. Elisa Pfeiffer (Faculty of Philosophy and Education; Chair of Clinical Psychology and Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy)
Abstract:
As part of the project, the existing network between local partners (National Psychological Association of Ukraine, Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine) and international experts (e.g., TF-CBT therapists, trainers, and developers) and networks (European EMDR Network, CARES Institute (USA), National Center for Traumatic Stress in Children (USA – NCTSN)). Through regular meetings, the exchange of therapeutic materials, and joint publications, we promote continuous knowledge transfer and sustainability in collaboration.
Funding body: Porticus Foundation
Project duration: 2025 - 2026
Theology
Eastern Christian Studies ONLINE CAMPUS
Applicant:
Prof. Dr. Thomas Kremer (Faculty of Theology; Chair of Theology of the Christian East)
Abstract:
The strategic concept aims to develop and establish an “Eastern Christian Studies ONLINE CAMPUS” that brings together the widely dispersed expertise on Eastern Christianity. The digital teaching, research, and communication platform is intended to facilitate initiatives to strengthen the theology of the Christian East in three areas: (1) In teaching practice, interdisciplinary blended-learning formats are to be developed that can be flexibly deployed and used as digital self-study units. These will be designed in collaboration with renowned experts from the respective fields and offered via the ONLINE CAMPUS for on-site teaching practice, at other universities in Germany, and worldwide. At the end of the project, a Master’s degree program in Eastern Christian Studies is to be established in Eichstätt. (2) The platform will provide research materials (Manuscript Reading Room, eBooks, research data) and facilitate digitally networked forms of collaboration (including regular international research colloquia). (3) To facilitate knowledge transfer, a communication strategy featuring a podcast will be developed, and collaborations will be established with non-university project partners and cultural practitioners, resulting in, among other things, a film forum, a digital exhibition, and a church music course. This will highlight the relevance of this niche subject.
Project duration: 2022 - 2029
Funding body: VW Foundation (World Knowledge - Structural Support for “Rare Subjects”)
Business & Economics
Tax avoidance by multinational corporations at the subsidiary level
Applicant:
Prof. Dr. Dominica Langenmayr (Ingolstadt School of Management; Chair of Economics, esp. Public Finance) and Prof. Dr. Reinald Koch (Ingolstadt School of Management; Chair of BA and Business Taxation)
Abstract:
On average, multinational companies pay significantly less tax than comparable companies operating solely within a single country. Recent research findings suggest a high degree of heterogeneity at the corporate level, which can be attributed, among other factors, to the structure of the subsidiaries. The aim of this project is therefore to examine tax planning at the level of individual subsidiaries.
Funding body: Fritz Thyssen Foundation
Project duration: 2023 - 2026
Distributional and Fiscal Effects of Mandatory Pension Splitting
Applicant:
Prof. Dr. Jörg Althammer (Ingolstadt School of Management; Chair of Business Ehtics and Social Policy)
Abstract:
Providing for surviving dependents is a key component of the benefits offered by the statutory pension insurance system. For more than 20 years, however, pension splitting has also been available (under certain conditions) as an alternative to derived survivor’s pensions. Under this arrangement, spouses divide the pension entitlements they accrued during their marriage, based on the rules governing pension rights equalization in the event of divorce. By introducing this option, the legislature sought, among other things, to strengthen women’s independent financial security in old age. Effects on women’s labor force participation are also conceivable. However, empirical research on pension splitting is scarce to date. It is precisely this gap that Althammer aims to address in the proposed project through two work packages.
Funding body: Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund
Project duration: 2025 - 2026
(Last updated: April 2026)
