| Posted: November 23, 2009 |
Material world: From idea to product |
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(Nanowerk News) The Freiburg Materials Research Center (FMF) will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its founding in 2010. The center will commemorate the occasion by co-organizing three symposia in February, March, and June. The festivities will culminate in a ceremony at the Concert House on 11 June 2010.
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The FMF is a central research institute of the Albert-Ludwig University which coordinates research activities between the five natural science faculties Mathematics and Physics; Chemistry, Pharmacy, and Earth Sciences; Medicine; Biology; and Engineering. The opportunities for interdisciplinary networking under one roof, the excellent infrastructure of the university, the Fraunhofer institutes, and the possibility to cooperate with the EUCOR universities all make the FMF into an ideal location for application oriented fundamental and contract research in the area of materials science. The FMF is engaged in a broad spectrum of materials research. It is currently focusing mainly on the areas of bioinspired materials and technology, functional shaping and nanostructure techniques, energy, integrated materials, and microsystems technology as well as the modeling of complex functional systems.
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The vision of performing interdisciplinary work in the area of materials research was first conceived by Prof. Hans-Joachim Cantow in 1987, today professor emeritus for macromolecular chemistry. Together with colleagues from the faculties of Chemistry, Physics, and Earth Sciences he drafted a memorandum for the foundation of the FMF. In March 1990 this vision became reality: The Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts authorized the University of Freiburg to establish the FMF as a central research institute. The center was moved from its original home in a provisional container to its present location in a new building on Stefan-Meier-Straße in 1994, where all of the participating disciplines are now assembled under one roof.
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In the two decades since its founding, the research interests pursued at the FMF have evolved substantially, driven by a continuous process of intellectual and personal renewal. Nevertheless, the ideas and creative spirit of the founding fathers of the FMF live on in this dynamic structure – particularly the core principles of bundling research potential and resources through interdisciplinary project work and maintaining close relations with other research institutes and partners from the industrial sector.
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The scientists at the FMF have now been developing concepts and creating innovative materials and technologies for the future for 20 years. The FMF has established itself as the main hub of materials research at the university, a beacon in the German and international materials research landscape, and a connecting link between science and industry. The FMF aims to further build on this key role in the coming years and has already laid the cornerstone with the university’s successful proposal in the „Baden-Württemberg Materials Research Centers“ innovation competition: The state has recommended providing funding for a new building to house the „Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies – FIT“ outlined in the joint proposal of the FMF and the Department of Microsystems Engineering.
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