Topping-out ceremony celebrated for Göttingen's new Center for Human Cognition!

Topping-out ceremony celebrated for Göttingen's new Center for Human Cognition!

On June 17, 2025, the topping-out ceremony for the new “Human Cognition and Behavior” (HuCaB) research center was celebrated at the University of Göttingen. Nine months after the laying of the foundation stone, the shell is now shining and marks an important step for interdisciplinary research in Göttingen. The spokesperson of the HuCaB, Prof. Dr. Anne Schacht, praised the work of everyone involved and emphasized how much commitment went into the project. In total, the new building will create over 160 jobs on around 3,500 square meters for psychologists, biologists and data scientists who will jointly research human social cognition, as [HNA](https://www.hna.de/lokales/goettingen/goettingen-ort28741/richtfest-goettinger-forschungszentrum-hucab- Feiert-93792584.html) reports.

The goal of the HuCaB is impressive: it examines how people perceive, process and convert complex social signals into decisions. At the ceremony, University President Prof. Axel Schölmerich highlighted both the architectural and scientific significance of the project. The new building is located in the immediate vicinity of the Georg Elias Müller Institute for Psychology, an ideal location for future cooperation projects.

Interdisciplinary research in focus

The vision behind HuCaB is not only theoretical, but also practical. The interdisciplinary team will bring together scientists from various fields such as psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience and computer science. This diverse compilation not only promotes innovative approaches, but also the development of therapeutic approaches in medicine and psychology. Together, the researchers want to decipher the neural basis of perception and decision-making processes, as explained on the University of Göttingen website: Uni Göttingen.

A particular focus is on creating experimental platforms on which social interactions can be examined under controlled conditions. This is supported by state-of-the-art technology, including imaging techniques such as EEG and MEG, as well as a high-performance computer specifically designed for machine learning. The funding for this research infrastructure exceeds a total of 60 million euros, with the majority of the funds being provided by the federal government and the state of Lower Saxony.

Future outlook

Completion of the research center is scheduled for the end of 2026. The building will not only provide laboratory space, but also office space and event space to promote science and exchange. In addition to the construction project, large-scale equipment is also on the funding agenda, which further improves the HuCaB's equipment.

It is clear that HuCaB is an important building block for the research landscape in Germany. The use of resources will be of great relevance not only for Göttingen, but for the entire scientific community. The information portal of the German Research Foundation (DFG) lists research infrastructures that not only include scientific equipment and services, but can also serve as hubs for interdisciplinary collaboration, as can be read here DFG.