Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie (KIT) is a German university and national research center, formed in 2009 by the merger of the University of Karlsruhe and the Karlsruhe Research Center. The University of Karlsruhe is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany and Europe, founded in 1825. The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is a European leader in teaching and research in the fields of computing, economic engineering, electronics, mechanics, new energy, nanotechnology, and nuclear physics.