On August 13, 2026, the University of Bonn had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Marcus Optendrenk, Minister of Finance of North Rhine-Westphalia.
During his visit, the Minister explored research areas including climate chambers, robotics and phenotyping for sustainable crop production and bioeconomy. Representing the Cluster of Excellence PhenoRob, Cyrill Stachniss, André Cornelißen and Tobias Stapper shared insights into our latest research, and demonstrated our robot and a drone, showing how technology can help make agriculture more efficient and sustainable. Additionally, Prof. Dr. Ralf Pude introduced ongoing research on renewable resources, emphasizing their role in building sustainable value chains and innovative industrial applications.
Overall, the visit provided an excellent platform to discuss the importance of investing in research, infrastructure and innovation.
Pictures: © University of Bonn/ Volker Lannert
