HITS, the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, was established in 2010 by physicist and SAP co-founder Klaus Tschira (1940-2015) and the Klaus Tschira Foundation as a private, non-profit research institute. HITS conducts basic research in the natural, mathematical, and computer sciences.
Major research directions include complex simulations across scales, making sense of data, and enabling science via computational research. Application areas range from molecular biology to astrophysics.
An essential characteristic of the Institute is interdisciplinarity, implemented in numerous cross-group and cross-disciplinary projects. Currently, more than 130 scientists from 40 countries work at HITS. Main shareholder is the HITS Foundation, whose primary purpose is to provide base funding for HITS with funds received by the KTS. Other shareholders are Heidelberg University and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).