Technical University of Kaiserslautern (German: Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, also known as TU Kaiserslautern or TUK) is a public research university in Kaiserslautern, Germany. There are numerous institutes around the university, including two Fraunhofer Institutes (IESE and ITWM), the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI SWS), the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), the Institute for Composite Materials (IVW) and the Institute for Surface and Thin Film Analysis (IFOS), all of which cooperate closely with the university. TU Kaiserslautern is organized into 12 faculties. Approximately 14,869 students are enrolled at the moment. The TU Kaiserslautern is part of the Software-Cluster along with the Technische Universität Darmstadt, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Saarland University. The Software-Cluster won the German government's Spitzencluster competition, the equivalence to the German Universities Excellence Initiative for clusters. History The University of Kaiserslautern was founded on 13 July 1970 by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate as a constituent member of the twin University of Trier-Kaiserslautern. 191 students matriculated in the winter semester 1970/1971 in the Faculties of Mathematics, Physics and Technology. In 1972 the Faculties of Chemistry and Biology were founded. At the same time the Faculty of Technology was split into the Faculties of Mechanical Engineering and Electrotechnology, Architecture/Regional and Environmental Planning/Educational Sciences. In 1975 the twin university was split into two independent universities: University of Trier and the University of Kaiserslautern. The Faculties, which were established successively, continuously strengthened the university's scientific character: Electrotechnology (1975), later Electrical and Computer Engineering (1999), Computer Science (1975), Engineering (1975), later Mechanical and Process Engineering (1995), Architecture/Regional and Environmental Planning/Civil Engineering (1978–1979) and Social and Economic Studies (1985). The official name of the university is Technische Universität Kaiserslautern according to the new law on Higher Education of the Land Rhineland Palatinate which came into force on 1 September 2003. Organization Faculties These are the 12 faculties in which the university is divided: Architecture Biology Civil Engineering Chemistry Electrical and Computer Engineering Computer Science Mechanical and Process Engineering Mathematics Physics Regional and Environmental Planning Social Sciences Business Studies and Economics Research fields The integration of engineering and natural sciences is one of TU Kaiserslautern's main objectives. The state of Rhineland-Palatinate funds several research initiatives at the University of Kaiserlautern: Advanced Materials Engineering (AME) Complex Data Analysis in Life and Biotechnology (BioComp) State Research Center for Optics and Material Sciences (OPTIMAS) Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Cognition and Learning Mathematics applied to