Research

The Department of Materials carries out fundamental research in a wide variety of areas of materials science. Today, the department comprises 15 research groups, concerned with the investigation of different forms of matter, including advanced metal alloys, polymer-metal nanocomposites, complex fluids, soft-condensed biopolymers, hybrid ceramics and, of course, more traditional materials.

The areas of interest in the department encompass a wide range of material classes and range from the fundamental aspects of matter to engineering new, for example, bio-inspired materials. Approaches vary from synthesis to experimental studies and processing to theoretical work and large scale simulation efforts.

The department is currently home to about 400 undergraduate and graduate students, 40 postdoctoral fellows, 40 senior scientist staff, and 40 administrative and technical staff members. Its research endeavors typically produce about 30 Ph.D. and 30 master’s theses, about 350 publications in a broad range of scientific journals, and 15 patent applications per annum. In addition, the past few years have witnessed the formation of a number of spin-off companies based on technology developed by department members. This development reflects our concern and initiatives regarding technology transfer.

In the past decades, the department has gained an excellent reputation, as was concluded during a critical evaluation by an external committee consisting of authoritative international scientists. According to the committee, the department "has established outstanding, world-class facilities that are staffed by a highly interactive faculty … in which world-class collaborative and high-quality, high-risk innovative projects are carried out".

We invite you to discover the research groups in detail by navigating the pages of the respective research groups in the department.