The ECMWF benefits from Bonn´s very favourable central location in Europe as well as from the high density of scientific institutions in the immediate surroundings.
Three of Germany’s largest universities are based in Bonn and in its immediate vicinity: the University of Bonn, the University of Cologne, and RWTH Aachen University, as well as many non-university research centres, such as the Forschungszentrum Jülich, the Fraunhofer SCAI or DLR.
The University of Bonn and RWTH Aachen are two of the eleven designated German Universities of Excellence. Three of their excellence clusters are of special relevance to ECMWF- they focus on mathematics, high-performance computing and agricultural sciences. Forschungszentrum Jülich operates high-performance computing towards exascale and links with applications in the field of meteorology and climate.
Center for Earth System Observations and Computational Analysis (CESOC)
The ECMWF can benefit from the recently established Center for Earth System Observations and Computational Analysis (CESOC) (opens in a new tab), which was founded in 2020 by the University of Bonn and the University of Cologne as well as Forschungszentrum Jülich. It combines the scientific priorities that exist in the region and is essentially aligned with the strategic goals of the ECMWF.
Acces to wider national and international science
Within a radius of only a few hundred kilometres not only national but also international relationships with relevant scientific institutions in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and France can be cultivated and strengthened especially in the field of the CAMS and C3S Copernicus services. The geographical proximity of Bonn to Darmstadt, Paris and Nordwijk will make it possible for ECMWF to intensify further its scientific cooperation with the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellite Data (EUMETSAT) and European Space Agency (ESA), by enabling a close feedback process as well as a close alliance between the three institutions especially in the field of Copernicus.