Professor Peter Gumbsch, Director of the Fraunhofer IWM in Freiburg since 2001, was unanimously elected by the members of the Fraunhofer Group as the new Chairman of the Fraunhofer Group for Materials with effect from October 1, 2019 and appointed by the Fraunhofer Senate for a term of three years. Professor Bernd Mayer, one of the two institute directors of Fraunhofer IFAM in Bremen and Deputy Chairman of the Group since October 1, 2018, will continue in office.

As Chairman of the Group, Gumbsch succeeds Professor Ralf B. Wehrspohn, who has steered the fortunes of the Group as Chairman since October 1, 2018. Ralf Wehrspohn, previously also Head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems (IMWS) in Halle (Saale), was appointed to the Fraunhofer Executive Board for Technology Marketing and Business Models with effect from October 1, 2019. Peter Gumbsch is also a member of the Main Commission of the Scientific and Technical Council of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and Chairman of the Scientific Commission of the German Science Council.

In their roles as Group Chairmen, Gumbsch and Mayer give high priority to the continuation of the strategy process initiated in the Fraunhofer Group for Materials. "The open communication and collegial cooperation within the Group are the best prerequisites for bringing together distributed competencies for common objectives," explains Peter Gumbsch.

As part of the strategy process, various initiatives have already been initiated at association level and driven forward with corresponding measures, such as initiatives on additive manufacturing, lightweight system construction, digitalization, biointelligent materials and the energy transition.

The Fraunhofer Group for Materials, for example, is driving digitalization forward with the Materials Data Space (MDS) concept and initiative of the same name. The overarching goal is to make materials and material-intensive value chains Industry 4.0-capable, so that shorter development times, learning manufacturing processes and new business models become possible. The digitalization of materials also offers enormous potential for material and production efficiency, the sustainable use of resources and recycling.

"The materials community is facing a series of upheavals. Digitalization will inexorably pave its way. The boundaries between manufacturing technology issues and materials issues are becoming increasingly blurred. We have to help shape this," explains Peter Gumbsch. He continues: "Only an integral approach based on the product life cycle will help us gain substantial competitive advantages. I think that the two disciplines of materials science and engineering and production engineering need to redefine and reposition themselves to some extent. Many technical solutions that contribute to tackling global issues such as energy, mobility or climate change are systemic in nature and are 'powered by materials'. As materials and components institutes, we must make a confident effort to emphasize the systemic contribution of our work. For me as the new chairman of the alliance, all of these topics offer enormous scope for creativity. I look forward to working with my colleagues from the partner institutes to fill this space."

Professor Bernd Mayer emphasizes the importance of cooperation between strong players within the network. Thanks to the broad range of expertise, the enormous challenges in materials science and materials technology can be tackled in a targeted manner. The research results benefit customers and partners of the alliance through transfer services. "Topics with high relevance and great opportunities for society, such as digitalization, biointelligence or the energy transition, entail a high demand for research; for example, when it comes to the development of new secure storage media, programmable materials or the overall drive for greater resource efficiency. We want to continue to be the driving force behind these developments."