Following the founding of the Rhein-Main Institute for Transformative Sciences in Mobility and Logistics (RITMO) at Hochschule RheinMain (HSRM), the interdisciplinary research center hosted its kick-off event at the Kurt-Schumacher-Ring Campus.

The goal of the research center is strengthening and expanding the interdisciplinary research and transfer services for an integrated and sustainable development of individual mobility options, transport demand and supply as well as logistics and supply chains at HSRM. The center will pursue a systemic and holistic approach in addition to individual research into selected problems in the areas mentioned.

The center’s research activities focus on three fields of action:

• Transport: Systemic consideration and development of the market between transport demand and transport supply. The activities in this field will consider the planning, realization and operation of infrastructures and services for broad and group-based avoidance, modal shift and sustainable handling of transport demand.
• Logistics: Holistic consideration, analysis and optimization of goods, information and financial flows. The activities in this field focus on procurement, production, distribution and logistical contributions to a resource-efficient and resource-conserving circular economy.
• Mobility: Creating, promoting and ensuring access to barrier-free and needs-oriented mobility options. The activities in this field will center around the needs of potentially mobile people, corresponding behavioral drivers and steering mechanisms for satisfying these needs.

The task of the research center will mainly be to accompany the change in transport, logistics and mobility required to achieve the global sustainability goals, to identify the actors involved and their interests, to mediate between them and to generate necessary knowledge. To this end, RITMO carries out externally funded and contract research, disseminates its findings and promotes related start-ups. In addition, the center created working groups, which will deal with topics such as governance and structures, logistics and the promotion of sustainable decisions and behavior.

The target groups for the work of the research center are mainly companies, especially in the Rhine-Main region, civil society organizations, representatives of European, federal, state and local politics, interested citizens and (potential) funding providers.

External advisory board for effective knowledge transfer

To increase the effectiveness of of research and transfer with practice more effective, there will be an intensive interlinking of the research center with companies and institutions. An external advisory board will accompany the development steps of RITMO and make recommendations for further development options. It will be made up of nine managers and experts from the businesses, representatives of state and local politics, academia and other social institutions.

Members of HSRM at the RITMO research center

Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Volker Blees
Prof. Dr.-Ing. André Bruns
Prof. Dr. Christian Grotemeier
Prof. Dr. Matthias Kowald
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martina Lohmeier
Prof. Dr. Manfred Loidold

Faculty of Design Computer Science Media
Prof. Dr. Eva Iwer
Prof. Dr. Johannes Luderschmidt

Faculty of Engineering
Prof. Dr. Birgit Scheppat

Facutly of Wiesbaden Business School
Prof. Dr. Till Dannewald
Prof. Dr. Ingo Däberitz
Prof. Dr. Jochen Eckert
Prof. Dr. Tobias Heußler
Prof. Dr. Matthias Kalverkamp
Prof. Dr. Barbara Seegebarth
Prof. Dr. Tatjana Steusloff
Prof. Dr. Hartmut Werner

Prof. Dr. Barbara Seegebarth and Prof. Dr. Matthias Kowald are co-directors of the RITMO research center and are available to discuss all matters relating to the center.