Highlights

On November 4-5, 2024, about 50 young materials scientists from Europe met at Fraunhofer IKTS in Dresden. They exchanged ideas in the fields of materials science, nanotechnology, nanoscale materials, nanoanalysis, multi-scale materials characterization and microscopy. The conference included two talks by senior scientists and, of course, great contributions from the PhD students. Another highlight was the tour of the laboratories at the Fraunhofer IKTS site on Winterbergstraße.

The CMC workshop took place in Dresden on November 6 and 7, 2024 and attracted more than 100 participants from ten countries. They took the opportunity to discuss all relevant techniques for correlative materials characterization. In exciting talks, the speakers presented new developments in the fields of light microscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. A poster presentation and the sponsor exhibition rounded off the workshop.

April 27, 2023 and May 25, 2023 | On their way to the Junior Doctor's Hat, schoolchildren from Dresden were able to be detective for one day. At the IKTS site in Dresden-Klotzsche, they learned about the eddy-current method and how it can be used to determine materials or find defects that cannot be seen with the naked eye. While working with our scientists, the third to fifth graders also learned exciting facts about our everyday research. Fraunhofer IKTS has been participating in the JUNIODOKTOR program of the city of Dresden since 2018.

April 27, 2023 | During Girls' Day at Fraunhofer IKTS, 15 schoolgirls had the opportunity to become physics and chemistry lab assistants for one day. They looked over the shoulders of our laboratory assistants, learned how versatile the training and work in a ceramics research institute is and tried out typical activities of a laboratory assistant in our practical workshops: from water analysis to materials testing to screen printing of sensors.

In 2022, Fraunhofer IKTS continued to present developments from the field of non-destructive testing (NDT) for industry as part of the NDT4INDUSTRY online seminar series. Topics in 2022 included new in vitro tests for cardiovascular implants, a system for inline testing of multiaxial carbon fiber fabrics, and a robust marking solution for metal processing. Furthermore, solutions for quality assurance in battery production and for detecting defects and wear with AI-based acoustic diagnostics were presented.

November 24–25, 2022 | For the 7th time, experts met in Dresden for the symposium Applied Electrochemistry in Materials Research. Sponsored by seven industrial partners and accompanied by an industrial exhibition, the symposium was dedicated to the topic of materials for electrochemical storage and converters as well as developments and new possibilities in the field of industrial surface technology. The lively exchange and the positive response of the participants has motivated the organizers to continue the series in two years’ time.

October 12–13, 2022 | At the AM Ceramics, more than 110 ceramic specialists discussed advances in ceramic 3D printing, current material and process developments, and industrial success stories. During a lab tour, IKTS presented its cerAMfacturing 3D printing infrastructure as well as current ceramic technologies beyond additive manufacturing: from powder, suspension and raw material development to further functionalization and characterization of 3D printed components and systems.

Ocotber 12, 2022 | Under the motto “Hello Future – 30 Years of Fraunhofer IKTS”, the IKTS site Hermsdorf celebrated the 30th anniversary of the institute with a ceremony. In addition to the employees, guests and companions from the companies of the Tridelta Campus as well as former employees, including the former long-time director of the institute, Dr. Bärbel Voigtsberger, were invited. Thuringia’s Minister of Economics Wolfgang Tiefensee, District Administrator Andreas Heller and Hermsdorf’s Mayor Benny Hofmann were also guests.

Ocotober 5, 2022 | At the event “Transparent Ceramics at Fraunhofer IKTS – Production, Technology, Potentials”, guests from industry were shown the new laboratories and pilot plants of the Research and Development Center Transparent Ceramics in Hermsdorf. Guided tours provided information on innovative production methods, quality assurance strategies and potential areas of application. Concrete applications and joint projects were discussed in individual talks.

September 14–16, 2022 | At the ninth “International Symposium on Piezocomposite Applications” around 40 engineers and designers from six nations discussed current research results, developments, market requirements and framework conditions for the optimal technology transfer of piezoceramic innovations. The focus was on piezoceramics combined with electronic, functional and structural materials for medical technology, mechanical and automotive engineering and semiconductor technology. The symposium started with a thematic workshop of CTS Ferroperm Piezoceramics. 

September 21, 2022 | IKTS agricultural expert Nico Domurath presented a promising technology for the renaturation of waste rock piles at this year’s media breakfast at the Fraunhofer Institute Center Dresden. The project team inoculated biologically inactive spoil material with a special mixture of sewage sludge compost and fungal substrates. With this top layer, the team has made a landfill site in the Leipzig area flourish in a short time. In several follow-up projects with other partners, the new recultivation technique is now also being adapted and tested for old mining dumps.

September 3, 2022 | Several hundred interested people visited the Thuringian IKTS site in Hermsdorf for its open house event. From lectures, demonstrations and laboratory tours, they gained insights into current research topics and got to talk with researchers.

August 22–26, 2022 | The second Sensor Space Summer School of Fraunhofer IKTS took place as a free summer camp in Hermsdorf (Thuringia) with the headline “Feel the Beat”. Together with researchers from Fraunhofer IKTS, who had developed the concept for the Summer School, the nine young people spent a week working with circuit diagrams, electronic components and measuring devices. The goal was to build their own ECG device, with which they could measure their own heartbeat at the end of the week. 

July 8, 2022 | Fraunhofer IKTS in Dresden-Gruna opened its doors to the public for the 19th Dresden Science Night. Children and young people were able to build a battery from potatoes, make fingerprints visible through electrochemical processes and clean water with electricity, while the grown-ups looked over the shoulders of researchers as they injection-molded ceramic knee prostheses, used modern sensors to look inside cell phones and microelectronics and learned, from our lectures, why wastewater treatment plants are an important source of raw materials and energy and how corrosion protection and climate protection are linked.

June 18, 2022 | “sustainable. research. economy. life.“ was the motto of the Freiberg Night of Science and Business on June 18, where the IKTS team of Fraunhofer THM presented its research on battery technologies and battery recycling.

June 7–8, 2022 | As the culmination of its 30th anniversary year, Fraunhofer IKTS once again hosted Ceramics Vision in Dresden, now in its 11th edition. 60 guests from research and industry, including former employees, took up the invitation. Key technologies and future challenges in the fields of water, decarbonization and digitalization were the main topics of the two-day conference. IKTS looked back on past developments, highlighted the latest ceramic solutions for industry and society and gave an outlook on the next 30 years.