MECS Institute for Advanced Study on Media Cultures of Computer Simulation, is a novel research inititative located at Leuphana University Lüneburg. The MECS provides a platform for the cooperation of a team of permanent academic staff with international and national fellows from the fields of media studies, history of science, cultural history, as well as the natural sciences and engineering. The MECS analyzes the extent to which computer simulations have transformed the research practice, academic knowledge and academic understanding of various disciplines and research areas over the past few decades. With a highly intedisciplinary perspective, it explores the resulting theoretical and social consequences. The MECS is funded by the DFG German Research Foundation.