GSI is a research center financed by the German federation and the federal state of Hesse with a yearly budget of over 100 million euros. GSI runs a large, worldwide unique accelerator facility for ion beams, i.e. beams of charged atoms. Annually more than 1,200 scientists from all over the world use the ion beams for their experiments in fundmental research. The research program comprises a broad spectrum, ranging from nuclear and atomic physics to plasma and materials research right up to biophysics and medicine. GSI´s most prominent advancements are the discovery of new chemical elements, such as element 110, Darmstadtium, and the development of a novel cancer therapy using ion beams, which just recently went into routine operation in hospitals. Other examples of outstanding research are the discovery of hundreds of new isotopes and the detection of new types of radioactive decay. GSI will also be the location the new international accelerator facility FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research), a 1.2 billion project that will be realized in the near future.