Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWMAn important element of scientific development at Fraunhofer IWM Freiburg is the institute’s links to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and to the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg.
- Prof. Dr. Peter Gumbsch, head of Fraunhofer IWM, is a professor of the Institute for Applied Materials (IAM) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
- Prof. Dr. Matthias Scherge, business unit leader for tribology, is an extracurricular professor at KIT. Prof. Dr. Martin Dienwiebel, team leader for applied nanotribology, holds a Heisenberg professorship.
- Prof. Dr. Chris Eberl, head of the mesomechanics and micromechanics group and deputy head of the Institute, is professor of microsystems engineering and materials mechanics at the Institute of Microsystems Engineering IMTEK at the University of Freiburg.
- Prof. Dr. Michael Moseler, head of the multiscale modeling and tribosimulation group, is a professor of physics at the University of Freiburg.
- Prof. Dr. Christian Elsässer, business unit leader for materials design, is an extracurricular professor of physics at the University of Freiburg.
Under the umbrella of the Sustainability Center established in 2015, the Albert Ludwig University and the five Freiburg-based Fraunhofer institutes form an alliance with the objective of working with industry partners to respond to interdisciplinary research questions for the sustainable development of business and society and to implement the answers in innovations. The crystal nucleus of the Sustainability Center is the jointly-conceived Institute for Sustainable Technical Systems (INATECH). Fraunhofer IWM is making significant contributions to the key topic of sustainable materials. Finally, Fraunhofer IWM is very closely linked to the other Freiburg-based Fraunhofer Institutes through the Sustainability Center.