founding member of the then Association of National Research Centres (AGF, 1970), which became the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres in 1995. In 2004, the Ernst Ruska-Centre for Electron Microscopy was founded. It is equipped with transmission electron microscopes. Soil and environmental research were interlinked with climate research. In 2001, the SAPHIR atmospheric simulation chamber was inaugurated, followed by the PhyTec experimental facility for plants in 2014. Collaboration with RWTH Aachen University was consolidated in 2007 by establishing the Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA). In 2011, Forschungszentrum Jülich, in partnership with the universities in Aachen, Bonn, Cologne, and Düsseldorf, founded the Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSc) as a scientific centre of excellence for sustainable bioeconomy. FZJ also works closely with the universities in Bonn, Cologne, and Aachen within the Geoverbund ABC/J. In 2011, the ESS Competence Centre was established at Forschungszentrum Jülich. It coordinates the German contributions to the European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund, Sweden. Corporate structure Forschungszentrum Jülich is a limited liability company (GmbH) with the following company bodies: Partners’ Meeting, Supervisory Board, and Board of Directors. The Partners’ Meeting comprises representatives of the German federal government and state government of North Rhine-Westphalia. The chair of the board of directors is Wolfgang Marquardt, who has been in office since 1 July 2014. The other members of the Board of Directors are – as of October 2021 – Karsten Beneke (vice-chair since 2011), Astrid Lambrecht (since 2021), and Frauke Melchior (since 2021). FZJ’s committees are the Scientific Advisory Council and the Scientific and Technical Council (WTR). Finances The annual budget of Forschungszentrum Jülich is approximately €800 million. Of this, 55% is institutional funding from the German federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and 45% is external funding. External funding comprises international (EU) and national (federal and state government, DFG, and other) project funding, R&D and infrastructure services (contracts), as well as project management on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany and the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Employees Forschungszentrum Jülich has 6,796 employees (as of Dec. 2020). Almost 2,700 of these employees are scientists, and of these scientists 850 are doctoral researchers. The scientists work in the natural, life, and engineering sciences in the fields of information, energy, and bioeconomy. Around 867 people work in the administration and service areas; 1,380 individuals work for Project Management Jülich; and 500 employees are classed as technical employees. FZJ