Saarland University, known as Universität des Saarlandes in German, is a public university located in Saarbrücken, the capital city of the German state of Saarland
The university was established in 1948 in the nearby town of Homburg with the support of the French government and under the control of the University of Nancy. Because of its history, the university offers instruction in both the French and German languages.
The main university campus in Saarbrücken is situated just outside the city boundary, backed in between picturesque hills. Cycling from the university to the city or going for a short wander in the forest close to campus are favourite activities for both students and faculty. The institution has a highly-regarded botanical garden, the Botanischer Garten der Universität des Saarlandes.
The campus is also home to a number of specialised research institutes, some of which are affiliated with independent research societies and private companies. These include the Max Planck Institute for Computer Science; the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems; the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence; and the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering.
Well-known alumni of Saarland University include physician David Bardens; scientist Susanne Albers; philosopher Karl-Otto Apel; and the historian Michael Wolffsohn.
Nine academics have been honored with the highest German research prize, the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, while working at Saarland University. They include Joachim Weickert, who won the award in 2010 for digital image processing; Hans-Peter Seidel, who won it for computer graphics in 2003; and Manfred Pinkal, who won the award in 2000 for his work on computational linguistics.
