On November 14–15, 2022, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is hosting the conference “MatFo2022” under the motto “Vom Material zur Innovation: Digital, Neutral, Vital” (From materials to innovation: digital, neutral, vital). If you’re not familiar with the abbreviation “MatFo”: the conference revolves around the topic of materials research. The conference registration is open until November 14, 2022.
Moderated by Doro Plutte, participants will discuss how Germany can consolidate, secure and expand its role in materials research in the future. To prepare for the conference, we recommend reading the key points paper (Eckpunktepapier zur Förderung der Materialforschung (bmbf.de) [in German]).
Schaltzeit will support the conference on November 15, 2022, with workshops. Together with the BMBF and subcontracted by the VDI, we are designing parallel interactive breakout sessions for all participants on the three topic areas of digital, neutral and vital. Given the large number of participants, we will work with online tools that allow audio separation in virtual space, so we can build small-group areas right into the design. As a result, a single moderation team can guide many participants at once and summarize and present workshop results simultaneously.
Afterward, the goal is to pool the input of all breakout session participants and to prepare the future impulses regarding topic areas and instruments for the future roadmap of materials research. We are very excited and, of course, grateful that the VDI is providing us with numerous subject matter experts so that we can focus on the process.
Materials research – a basic and cross-cutting technology
Materials research is a basic and cross-cutting technology that safeguards the technological sovereignty of Germany and Europe. This field of innovation is characterized by long research cycles. It often takes 15–20 years before new breakthroughs are achieved. Here, too, the digitalization of research raises hopes of accelerating the transfer of knowledge from basic research to application. Why not virtualize materials research and simulate and optimize properties with the help of AI? If material costs can be optimized or materials with special properties can be designed, this secures prosperity. The biologization of technologies also sounds promising. It can supplement or even replace fossil or critical raw materials, which is particularly beneficial for decarbonization. Biopolymers, for example, can be made from renewable raw materials and be biodegradable.
Just imagine self-healing materials, for example in highway or bridge construction. Cracks would close by themselves and maintenance costs could be reduced. This also calls for new instruments. Whether materials platforms or so-called material hubs – new instruments are ready to bundle research in new ways and increase value creation.
All information about the conference can be found on the website www.matfo2022-konferenz.de – and if you’d still like to register, you can do so here: https://registrierung.matfo2022.de.
Register and join the discussion with inspiring people such as:
- Dr. Matthias Ahlhelm (Group Leader at the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS)
- Engelbert Beyer (Head of Subdirectorate 52 “Application-Oriented Research for Innovations” at the BMBF)
- Dr. Andreas Blaeser (CTO at Black Drop Biodrucker GmbH)
- Mario Brandenburg (Parliamentary State Secretary at the BMBF)
- Dr. Peter Dröll (Director for Prosperity, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission)
- Dr. Miriam Eisenbart (Research Associate and Deputy Head of the Physical Metallurgy Department at the Forschungsinstitut Edelmetalle + Metallchemie)
- Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Peter Fratzl (Director at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces)
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernd Friedrich (Institute Director at RWTH Aachen University)
- Nora Sophie Griefahn (Executive Director and Co-Founder of Cradle to Cradle NGO)
- Prof. Dr. Peter Gumbsch (Professor of Materials Mechanics at KIT and Director of Fraunhofer IWM)
- Dr. Christoph Gürtler (Head of Global Industry and University Collaborations at Covestro Deutschland AG)
- Dr. Steffen Hasenzahl (Senior Vice President, Head of Creavis, Evonik Operations GmbH)
- Dominik Herper (Development Engineer at GKD – Gebr. Kufferath AG)
- Dr. Mathias Köhler (Group Leader at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP, Polymeric Materials and Composites PYCO research division)
- Prof. Dr. Tobias Kraus (Head of Structure Formation / Professor of Colloid and Interface Chemistry at INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials gGmbH and Saarland University)
- Prof. Tom Lahmer (Head of the “Digital Models and Simulation” department at INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials gGmbH and Saarland University, and lecturer at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar)
- Niklas Lorenz (Research Associate at the Institute for Plastics Processing, RWTH Aachen)
- Dr. Eric Maiser (Head of Competence Center Future Business at VDMA)
- Dr. Birgit Meng (Head of Division 7.1 Building Materials at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, BAM)
- Dr. Ralf Müller (Head of Division at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, BAM)
- Prof. Dr. Ulrich Panne (President of the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, BAM)
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bastian Rapp (Professor at the Department of Microsystems Engineering, University of Freiburg)
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ina Schieferdecker (Director-General for Research for Technological Sovereignty and Innovation at the BMBF)
- Prof. Dr. Arndt Peter Schulz (Head of the Center for Clinical Research at BG Klinikum Hamburg)
- Dr. Melissa Sikosana (Postdoc Researcher at the Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials Dresden, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden)
- Prof. Dr. Anke Weidenkaff (Executive Director of the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Materials Recycling and Resource Strategies IWKS)
