Fraunhofer researchers have significantly contributed to make the laser suitable for industrial use in Germany. Once derided as "invention in search of an application" the laser has been developed to an almost universal tool. Its outstanding characteristic, to allow highest concentration of energy in a small space, makes it indispensable for almost all materials and tasks.
On February 25, 2010, the research union Economy-Science starts its work with an inaugural meeting. It advises the Federal Government in the implementation of the new high-tech strategy. As before, the research union will be managed by Prof. Hans-Jörg Bullinger, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, and Dr. Arend Oetker, President of the "Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft".
At the annual conference of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft under the motto "Connections - building blocks of progress" on May 19, 2010 in Leipzig, the Stifterverband's Science Award and three Joseph von Fraunhofer Prizes and three Hugo Geiger Prizes are bestowed. The guest of honor is the Federal Minister of Education and Research, Prof. Annette Schavan. Together with over 600 guests from politics, business and science, the prizes will be handed over in a festive program.
Stifterverband Award for Science 2010
Scientists from four Fraunhofer institutes, together with partners from industry, succeeded in producing a new composite material and in making it useable for applications. The composite material, „diamond-coated ceramics DiaCer®," combines the best of both materials. Any place where components and tools are subjected to heavy strain – such as in pumps or forming and shaping dies – DiaCer® offers maximum wear-resistance coupled with low values of friction. In recognition of their achievement, the interdisciplinary team is bestowed the Stifterverband Award for Science.
Winners of the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize
Winners Hugo Geiger Prize
On December 2, Fraunhofer opens the Center for Logistics and Maritime Services CML in Hamburg. The new center will focus on the optimization of processes along the maritime supply chain. Research priorities include port planning and fleet management. The CML is a research institution of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML.
Inspired by the elephant’s trunk, researchers have developed an entirely new robot arm. Precision-tuned and flexible, this novel high-tech helper can work in industry and in the home. For this development, on December 1, Dr.-Ing. Peter Post and Dipl.-Ing. Markus Fischer of Festo, joined by Dipl.-Ing. Andrzej Grzesiak of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA are awarded with the German Future Prize 2010. The German Federal President Christian Wulff presented the award, which carries a purse of Euro 250,000.
Since January 1, the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS in Chemnitz is an independent institute. The researchers at the Fraunhofer ENAS are specialized in smart systems integration using micro- and nanotechnologies.
On May 5, Fraunhofer USA opens a US office in association with the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI) at the Davenport Building in Cambridge MA. Through this office, Fraunhofer USA will offer innovative technologies developed in German research labs to companies in the US and Canada. The bulk of this technology is intended for medical and security uses, although product-related applications from the fields of 3D multimedia, control by gesture systems, wireless optical data transmission and optical sensor systems will also be showcased.
During the annual conference of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft on May 26 in Nuremberg the following prizes are awarded: The Technology Prize for Human-Centered Technology, three Joseph von Fraunhofer prizes and three Hugo Geiger prizes.
Fraunhofer Technology Prize "Human-Centered Technology"
Dr. Jürgen Drossard, Dr. Thomas Rademacher and Dr. Stefan Schillberg from the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME succeeded together with Prof. Dr. Wiltrud Treffenfeldt of Dow AgroSciences and Dr. Uwe Gottschalk from Sartorius Stedim Biotech S.A., producing active ingredients in transgenic plants and plant suspension cells - economically and safely. The produced proteins are currently being tested with the aim of using them in clinical trials.
The winners of the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize
Hugo Geiger Prize
Since June 1, Dr. Alexander Kurz is the new Executive Vice President Personnel and Legal Affairs of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The experienced research manager was most recently Vice President of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT that lately emerged from the fusion of university and research center.
The Munich project group "Safety and Reliability" of the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology SIT has been an Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security AISEC since 1 July. Among other things, researchers are working to increase the security of cloud computing and embedded systems.
On September 1, the Chilean Minister of the Economy, Mr Pablo Longueira and Professor Bullinger officially opened Fraunhofer´s first research center in South America. The new Fraunhofer Center for Systems Biotechnology has been established in Santiago de Chile to develop and optimize new technologies in key areas of importance for the Chilean economy. The research projects are collaborations between Chilean and German scientists and focus at present on aquaculture, renewable energy, agriculture, and bio-computing.
The German Future Prize 2011 is won by a team comprising existing and former Fraunhofer researchers. Professor Karl Leo, Dr. Jan Blochwitz-Nimoth and Dr. Martin Pfeiffer are honored for their pioneering achievements in the field of organic electronics.
During the annual conference of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft on May 8 2012 in Stuttgart the following prizes were awarded: The Joseph von Fraunhofer prizes, the Hugo Geiger prizes and the Stiftervervband Science Prize.
The affiliated partner Fraunhofer UK Research Ltd. is established in Glasgow in March 2012. It operates the Fraunhofer Center for Applied Photonics CAP.
The first Fraunhofer Project Center (FPC) in Brazil is opened on 9 March 2012 in Salvador, Bahia. The new Center will be active in the area of Software and Systems Engineering and will address topics such as innovative solutions for critical and/or large systems, mobile business applications, e-Government, and ambient assisted living.
On 1 October 2012, Professor Reimund Neugebauer takes up his position as Fraunhofer President at the headquarters in Munich. He is now responsible for Europe's largest applied research organization with more than 20,000 employees.
Our dependence on information technology is growing, as are attacks on IT systems in order to manipulate or copy them. Together with the political, economic and scientific sectors Fraunhofer is working on strategies and solutions intended to prevent this. With intelligent technologies for the security of embedded systems, smart grids, Cloud computing or mobile devices researchers are improving our private security and protecting company products and services.
After almost 30 years at Fraunhofer, Professor Ulrich Buller, Executive Vice President Research Planning, retires. He contributed to the successful development of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in a variety of roles and was a driving force behind many exciting new initiatives. He was a strong advocate of building links with industry, the Max Planck Society, and universities and other tertiary institutions.
Research prizes are awarded at the annual meeting of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s General Assembly, which this time takes place in Hannover. Four Joseph von Fraunhofer Prizes are awarded this year – one in the special category of Human-Centered Technology – and three Hugo Geiger prizes.
On July 1, 2013, the board of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft converts the Fraunhofer ESK Research Unit into the Fraunhofer Institute for Embedded Systems and Communication Technology. Fraunhofer ESK and its 80 employees research communication technologies for embedded systems in Munich.
On July 25 the contract is signed by Fraunhofer and the University of Connecticut UConn for the establishment of the new research facility. The mission of the Fraunhofer Center for Energy Innovation CEI at the University of Connecticut is to develop advanced technologies related to energy storage, fuel cells, in-stream hydro, power management and distribution through contract research.
The Fraunhofer AISEC at the Garching-Hochbrück site is transferred to an Fraunhofer Institute. Thus, the Fraunhofer Senate follows the recommendations of the external reviewers, who certified the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security AISEC an excellent scientific profile and excellent cooperation with the industry. In the course of the digitalization strategy "Digital Bavaria" of the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs and Media, Energy and Technology, an expansion of the AISEC as a competence center for IT security of European significance is also planned.
Ultra-short laser pulses provide a fast and precise way of processing a wide range of materials without excessive heat input. Scientists from Bosch, TRUMPF, Jena University and Fraunhofer IOF have turned the ultra-short-pulse laser into an effective series-production tool. For their collective effort they are awarded the German Future Prize 2013 on December 4.
Technology can assist in compiling history. Fraunhofer researchers receive the European Innovation Prize from the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO) on 4 Dec 2013 for software that reconstructs files of the East German state security service.
By decision of the Fraunhofer-Senate, the Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems IVI in Dresden becomes an Fraunhofer Institute on January1, 2014. So far, the IVI was a sub-institute of the Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, Systems Engineering and Image Evaluation IOSB in Karlsruhe.
Long before Germany set out on its journey toward a new energy economy, scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg were already developing ways to tap sources of renewable energy – in particular the sun. This dedication to renewables over many years has now been recognized in the form of the Zayed Future Energy Prize 2014. Awarded to Fraunhofer ISE on January 20, 2014, the prize is endowed with 1.5 million US dollars. Prizewinners are selected on the basis of the degree to which they bring about a tangible change in industry, society and the environment, their impact as a leader and role model, and the viability and innovative potential of their organization.
Data security is on everyone's lips - the awareness of the relevance of this topic and the associated expectations are great. Fraunhofer experts have summarized their recommendations for a strong IT nation Germany in a position paper. Prof. Dr. Reimund Neugebauer, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, presented it at the CeBIT to Prof. Dr. Johanna Wanka, Federal Minister of Education and Research, and Dr. Thomas de Maizière, Federal Minister of the Interior.
On March 26, 2014, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is 65. Around 23,000 employees, most of whom have natural science or engineering qualifications, in 67 institutes and research institutes generate the research volume of 2 billion euros annually, including 1.7 billion euros in contract research. More than 70 percent are generated by contracts from industry and publicly funded research projects, and almost 30 percent are provided by the federal government and the Länder as basic funding.
Prof. Alexander Verl assumes his position as Member of the Board and Executive Vice President for Technology Marketing and Business Models on 1 April 2014. He moves from Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA to senior level management of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The new department has been created to further develop potential within Fraunhofer – by utilizing the results of research and marketing research achievements.
At the annual conference of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft under the motto »With new energy« on May 21, 2014 in Freiburg, the Science Prize of the Stifterverband and three Joseph von Fraunhofer prizes are awarded. 700 guests from business, science and politics are invited to the science show in the concert hall. Guest of honor is Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann.
Winners of the Science Prize of the Stifterverband 2014
The winners of the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize 2014
Lupines can constitute an important nutritional element of the human diet. Scientists have found a way to process lupine seeds so they can be turned into protein-rich, flavor-neutral ingredients for foods. For their work on this, Fraunhofer scientists Stephanie Mittermaier and Peter Eisner and Prolupin GmbH’s Katrin Petersen are awarded the German Future Prize 2014
Together with partners from industry and with support from the German federal government, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is launching an initiative to create a data space available to industry all over the world: the Industrial Data Space. Access and usage of the Industrial Data Space will be safeguarded by a set of uniform standards. The goal is to develop secure solutions in the face of wall-to-wall digitalization and the rapid shifts in industrial manufacturing and business processes that come with it.
Our businesses are facing big challenges: the fourth industrial revolution, cloud computing, smart data and the Internet of Things are on their way to have a lasting impact not only on manufacturing but also on traditional business models. Fraunhofer experts summarizes their recommendations concerning an open international data space in a key issue paper presented at CeBIT in Hannover.
The Halle (Saale) branch of the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM will becomes an Fraunhofer Institute on January 1, 2016, following a decision made by the Fraunhofer Senate. More than 200 employees will conduct research at Halle at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS. The Freiburg branch of the Institute will continue to operate as the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM.
Three Fraunhofer Institutes are working together at the new Fraunhofer Project Center in Wolfsburg. It is closely interlinked with research institutions and companies in the region. The researchers work together to develop system solutions for mass production of resource-saving and cost-effective lightweight components for the automotive industry. On April 22, 2015, Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil, Professor Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, and Professor Reimund Neugebauer, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, sign an agreement on further cooperation with other partners at the research location of Lower Saxony.
At its annual conference on 9 June 2015 in the Kurhaus in Wiesbaden, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft honors outstanding projects by its researchers. The motto of the event is »designed light«. Around 700 participants are expected. Guests of honor include Federal President Joachim Gauck and Hessian Prime Minister Volker Bouffier.
Three Joseph von Fraunhofer prizes and the Fraunhofer Prize for Human Technology are awarded.
The winners of the Joseph von Fraunhofer Award 2015
Fraunhofer Prize »Human-Centered Technology« 2015
Prof. Verl, Executive Vice President Technology Marketing and Business Models for the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, is stepping down for personal reasons and by mutual agreement, effective September 1, 2015.
The third top-level discussion on the Industrial Data Space is held at the Fraunhofer-Forum Berlin on September 23. The goal of the initiative is to enable companies to securely exchange and combine data. It helps companies make their production and business processes fit for digitalization, thus creating a foundation for business model innovation. The Industrial Data Space concept is aimed at establishing comprehensive, cross-sector connectivity in an open data space. This will make it easier for companies to utilize the potential of digitalization in their business models without relinquishing control over their data.
Professor Dr. rer. nat. Georg Rosenfeld is the new Executive Vice President for Technology Marketing and Business Models since 1 April 2016. He has been with the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft since 1999, and most recently he has served as Director of Research.
The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft presented its financial statements for 2015 at the annual meeting in Essen. The total business volume of Europe’s largest applied-research organization increased by three percent compared with the previous year to €2.115 billion. Industrial revenue grew by four percent to €641 million, boosted in particular by the expansion of Fraunhofer’s international activities.
At its annual conference on 10 May 2016 at the Colosseum Theater Essen, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft honors outstanding projects by its researchers. The motto of the event is "People in the center". Around 700 participants are expected. The Federal Minister of Education and Research Johanna Wanka and the North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Hannelore Kraft are prominent speakers.
The prize of the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft and the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize is awarded.
The winners of the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize 2016
Science Award of the Stifterverband 2016
A working group around Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Küfer from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM, consisting of Michael Bortz, Dr. Alexander Scherrer, Dr. Philipp Süss and Dr. Katrin Teichert, together with Prof. Dr. Thomas Bortfeld of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Prof. Dr. Dr. Jürgen Debus from the University Hospital Heidelberg, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schlegel from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg and Dr. Christian Thieke from the University of Munich Clinic an interactive and easy-to-use software that helps to improve the chances of cancer patients getting better.
The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, 16 business enterprises and the ZVEI have founded a non-profit association for the Industrial Data Space in Berlin. Its task is to connect science and business for the sake of sustainable solutions, to participate in designing the architecture of the Industrial Data Space, and to be a central body for cooperation with related initiatives.
How can technical systems be developed efficiently and safely in the future? The Fraunhofer Institute for Design Technology Mechatronics IEM, which will become the youngest institute of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in 2017, is working on this key question.
Digitization is revolutionizing value chains and making new service and business models possible. Opened in Munich, the "Secure Networked Systems" service center supports companies in their digital transformation. It offers an interdisciplinary research platform with a focus on production technology, mobility and health and bundles the technical excellence of the TU Munich, the University of the Federal Armed Forces and the Fraunhofer Institutes AISEC, EMFT and ESK. The service center is funded and financed by the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs and Media, Energy and Technology, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and industrial partners.
The Darmstadt Center for Research on Security and Privacy (CRISP) is becoming a permanent National Research Center for Applied Cyber Security. This is agreed by the organizations involved in CRISP, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Darmstadt University of Technology and Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Hessian Ministry of Science and the Arts (HMWK) agree to support and promote the new center.
Understanding the complex effects of new technologies is critical for the success of entire economies. Structural changes through technological developments must therefore be recognized and understood at an early stage in order to actively shape the long-term economic, social, political and cultural impact on society and the economy. With the new Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft aims to strengthen its future role in research, technology and innovation policy dialogue with industry, politics and society, thus further cementing its position as a leading player in the German innovation arena.
Twenty years ago, the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD in Darmstadt, Germany took the bold step to form ties with Singapore. Back then, not many research institutions were thinking about internationalization, but this courage has paid off. A small project group in collaboration with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) evolved into the Fraunhofer Project Center for Interactive Digital Media in 2010. And now this center has become the first legally independent subsidiary in Asia – “Fraunhofer Singapore.”
No research organization has made its contribution to German reunification as quickly and intensively as has the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. For more than a quarter of a century, Fraunhofer has been an innovative research partner, a future-oriented employer as well as a technological, economic and social impetus in the new federal states. Fraunhofer is honoring and celebrating this anniversary, the unique history of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in the new federal states as well as the achievements of its institutes and institutions with special events.
At its annual conference on May 30, 2017 at the International Congress Center Dresden, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft honors outstanding projects by its researchers. Stanislaw Tillich, Prime Minister of the Free State of Saxony, and Prof. Dr. Johanna Wanka, Federal Minister of Education and Research, appears as a guest speaker at the award ceremony. The prize is awarded to the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize and the Fraunhofer Prize "Human-Centered Technology".
The winners of the Joseph von Fraunhofer Award 2017
Fraunhofer Prize »Human-Centered Technology« 2017
Cornelius Moucha, Mario Schmitt and Rolf van Lengen from the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE, Anne Gebert from the German Institute for Applied Nursing Research e. V. and Bernd Klein from CIBEK technology + trading GmbH for the development of an IT platform that provides security and support for seniors by integrating smart home technology and services in their own homes.
The increasingly digital society is vulnerable to cyberattacks: attack and defense technologies are constantly evolving. On May 23, the Fraunhofer FKIE and the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (H-BRS) open the joint Cyber Security Learning Lab "High Security and Emergency Response" on the Sankt Augustin campus in the presence of the Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research MdB Thomas Rachel and Prof. Dr. Georg Rosenfeld, Head of Technology Marketing and Business Models at Fraunhofer. Together, they offer IT professionals in public institutions and operators of critical infrastructures the opportunity to receive comprehensive training.
On May 9, 2017, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft opens its first "Project Center" in Ireland. The newly founded research facility is called "Fraunhofer Project Center (FPC) for Embedded Bioanalytical Systems at Dublin City University" and is a cooperation of the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT from Aachen and the Dublin City University (DCU). The FPC bundles the expertise of the two partners in the development of microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems, which can be used, for example, for applications in medicine, pharmacy, production and analytics. The Science Foundation Ireland and Fraunhofer are initially supporting the partnership with 2.5 million euros each for a period of five years.
To reinforce the position of Europe’s semiconductor and electronics industry within global competition, eleven institutes within the Fraunhofer Group for Microelectronics have, together with two institutes within the Leibniz Association, come up with a concept for a cross-location research factory for microe-lectronics and nanoelectronics. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is providing support with the necessary investment. On April 6, 2017, Education Minister Professor Johanna Wanka hands over the grant approvals – 280 million euros for Fraunhofer and 70 million euros for Leibniz.
As part of its integration into the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in 2014, the former Institute for Microtechnology Mainz GmbH was initially affiliated to the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT as part of the institute. As of January 1, 2018, the institute operates as the Fraunhofer Institute for Microtechnology and Microsystems IMM.
On September 6, 2018, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft opens its inaugural project center at the Opole University of Technology in Poland. The newly established research platform goes by the name of Fraunhofer Project Center for Advanced Lightweight Technologies (ALighT) and is the fruit of a partnership between the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU and the Opole University of Technology. This project center unites both partners’ expertise in the development of production processes, new design ideas and pricing strategies for the manufacture of lightweight hybrid components, in particular for the automotive industry.
Since its founding in 2009, the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES has grown to almost 600 employees. As part of their strategic development and alignment, both divisions of the institute have developed largely independent profiles. The Executive Board and Senate of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft have therefore decided to continue the branches of the institute as independent institutes as of January 2018: as IEE and IWES. For customers and industry partners, the sharpening of the profile will facilitate a clear allocation of activities.
Since this year, LZN Laser Zentrum Nord GmbH has been operating as the world's leading facility for technology transfer in industrial 3D printing and additive production as an independent Fraunhofer facility. This makes it the first Fraunhofer institute based in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, and in future will be known as the Fraunhofer Institute for Additive Production Technologies IAPT. In addition, the Hamburg-based Center for Applied Nanotechnology CAN is integrated into the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP as a new research area. The two new facilities will not only further develop Hamburg as a research location. The IAPT and the CAN are important building blocks in the expansion of the competences of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in the field of future topics of additive manufacturing and nanotechnology.
The senate of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft unanimously votes for Andreas Meuer to become the next Executive Vice President in charge of controlling and digital business processes. The financial expert follows Prof. (Univ. Stellenbosch) Alfred Gossner.
At its annual conference on May 15, 2018 in Berlin, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft honors outstanding projects by its researchers. The Joseph von Fraunhofer Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement in Solving Practical Problems and the Prize of the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft are awarded. Chancellery Minister Prof. Dr. Helge Braun, Federal Minister of Education and Research Anja Karliczek and State Secretary for Science and Research in the Senate of Berlin Steffen Krach appear as guest speakers.
Science Prize of the Stifterverband 2018
A research team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena, together with industry partners and the University of Jena for the development of optical free-form systems. From the high-precision grinding of the optics to the coating and coating of the complex shaped surfaces to the polishing of the glasses, the researchers have successfully solved a number of technical challenges.
The winners of the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize 2018
The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft presents the new FUTURAS IN RES international conference series on June 28 and 29, 2018 in Berlin. This forward-looking event will examine Biological Transformation in manufacturing. International researchers, businesspeople and politicians specialized in many different disciplines will exchange views on what new opportunities materials and principles found in nature could open up for engineering, manufacturing and logistics in the future.
Easy access to future developments and nationwide coordinated technology know-how from a single source - that's what Forschungsfabrik Mikroelektronik Deutschland (FMD) promises. One and a half years after the start of the project, the cooperation partners have now inaugurated the new research equipment together with the funding agency BMBF. The ceremonial commissioning takes place during the first FMD Innovation Day at the Fraunhofer IZM in Berlin.
Ceremony to mark the start of the anniversary yea
The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. was founded in Munich on March 26, 1949, to help rebuild Germany’s economy. It is celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2019, as are the Federal Republic of Germany and its constitution, the Basic Law. With its clear focus on new key technologies and markets, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has become the German economy’s innovation engine and Europe’s leading organization for applied research. The anniversary year is an occasion for the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft not only to look back, but also to look ahead to the future by preparing strategic initiatives for Germany and Europe. The anniversary year will kick off with a ceremony on the date of the founding, followed by a Bavarian State Reception in Munich.
April 16, 2020
SARS-Cov-2 has upended every aspect of public life and is a medical and economical challenge of global scope. The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a toll on day-to-day life, on people’s health, on businesses, on the domestic economy and on global trade. The current situation throughout Germany and across the world is posing major challenges for people. Working at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic, Fraunhofer experts are supporting the efforts of industry and society to cope with the immediate effects and the consequences to come: from acute projects in the life sciences sector to close cooperation with companies to immediate medical and medical-technical support.
October 9, 2020
At its annual conference on October 9, 2020 in the Fraunhofer Forum Berlin, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft honored outstanding projects of its researchers. #WeKnowHow was the motto of this year’s Fraunhofer annual meeting.
Joseph von Fraunhofer Prizes 2020
Stifterverband Science Prize
A paradigm shift is underway in manufacturing. A research team with staff from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen on its roster has broken new ground by using numerous laser beams as tools to structure surfaces. This accelerates the process and opens the door to new applications. Developed in a joint project called MultiSurf, this technology owes its existence to Dr. Arnold Gillner, Martin Reininghaus and Dr. Johannes Finger from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, Dr. Stephan Brüning from Schepers GmbH & Co. KG, Dr. Gerald Jenke from Matthews International GmbH, Dr. Keming Du from EdgeWave GmbH Innovative Laser Solutions, and Dr. Manfred Jarczynski from LIMO GmbH. They have been singled out to receive the Science Prize from the Stifterverband für Verbundforschung for their efforts.
November 26, 2020
German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced the winners of the Deutscher Zukunftspreis 2020 (German Future Prize 2020) in a ceremony in Berlin. The Federal President honored the team made up of Dr. Peter Kürz from the ZEISS Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (SMT) segment, Dr. Michael Kösters from TRUMPF Lasersystems for Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Dr. Sergiy Yulin from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (IOF) in Jena, bestowing on them his technology and innovation award for their project titled "EUV Lithography – New Light for the Digital Age".
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft