Understanding Materials Across All Scales
The Materials Science and Engineering research area combines the simulation of materials across all length scales with experimental characterization and data-driven methods. The goal is to understand, predict, and specifically improve the behavior of materials—for example, for additive manufacturing or components subjected to tribological stress.
In addition to research and research-oriented development, the department’s responsibilities include student education, project work, and theses, as well as providing services to the skilled trades and industry.
Topics
Material Simulation from the Microscale to the Macroscale
Modeling and simulation, including applications in additive manufacturing and tribology—such as multiscale plasticity and failure models and the coupling of fundamental mechanisms across different length scales.
Simulation and Data Science
Data-driven methods integrate multimodal simulation and experimental data—ranging from surrogate models to graph databases for dislocation networks to automated workflows incorporating data mining and large language models.
Materials and Microstructural Characterization
Experimental characterization to identify and understand the mechanical properties of materials and, for example, to verify and optimize numerical simulation methods—supported by the Materials Testing Laboratory with scanning electron microscopy and EDX.
New Manufacturing Technologies
Development and optimization of new manufacturing technologies, as well as research collaboration with industrial companies.
