Privacy Policy

1. Data controller

Ruhr-Universität Bochum
ICAMS — Interdisciplinary Centre for Advanced Materials Simulation
Universitätsstraße 150, 44780 Bochum, Germany
Represented by Prof. Dr. Miguel A. L. Marques
Phone: +49 234 32 17776 · Email: Deborah.Kowolik@ruhr-uni-bochum.de

2. Data protection officer

For matters concerning data protection at Ruhr-Universität Bochum generally, you can reach the university's data protection officer:
Dr. Kai-Uwe Loser
Universitätsstraße 150, 44780 Bochum, Germany
Phone: +49 234 32 28720 · Email: dsb@rub.de

3. General principles

We only process personal data where this is necessary to operate a secure and functional website, or where you have given your consent. The legal basis is generally Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in a secure, functioning service) or, where applicable, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR (consent).

4. Server log files

When you access this website, our web server automatically records information your browser transmits: IP address, date and time of access, browser type and version, operating system, the page you came from, and the amount of data transferred. This information is technically necessary to deliver pages correctly and to safeguard the security and stability of the service; it is not combined with other data sources and is not used to build individual usage profiles. Log data is retained only for as long as necessary for these purposes and is deleted or anonymized thereafter.

5. Cookies and local storage

This site does not use cookies for tracking, advertising, or analytics, and does not use any analytics service. It stores a single, non-personal preference — your chosen color theme — in your browser's local storage, solely to remember that preference on your next visit. This value never leaves your device and is not accessible to us. You can clear it at any time through your browser's settings.

6. Fonts served by Google Fonts

This site loads typefaces directly from Google's font servers (fonts.googleapis.com, fonts.gstatic.com). When your browser retrieves these font files, your IP address is necessarily transmitted to Google as the technical operator of that service. We have no influence over, and no insight into, what Google does with this connection data beyond what is described in Google's own privacy policy. This occurs under Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in consistent, fast-loading typography).

7. Database queries (Explore and Phase Diagrams)

The Explore and Phase Diagrams tools send the search terms you enter to our backend server to retrieve matching entries from the materials database. No personal data is required to use these features; the query itself is processed only to return your results and is not linked to your identity beyond the standard server log data described in Section 4.

8. Your rights

Under the GDPR, you have the right to access, rectify, or erase your personal data, to restrict or object to its processing, and to data portability. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, such as the North Rhine-Westphalia data protection authority (Landesbeauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit NRW).

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements or in the services offered on this site.