The Interactive Materials Talks seminar series at the DWI provides a platform for direct dialogue between academia and industry. In a small, interactive setting, participants discuss diverse topics in materials research and exchange new perspectives.

 

Previous IMT Editions

Soft Robotics

16.September, 2026

Fokus-Thema: Current developments in the field of soft robotics and interactive soft materials and interdisciplinary challenges 

  • Dr. Florian Hartmann | Max Planck Institute forIntelligent Systems | Soft Robots for the Environment
  • Prof. Philipp Rothemund | University of Stuttgart | Improving the Performance of Electrohydraulic Transducers
  • Prof. Matteo Cianchetti | Sant'Anna-School of Advanced Studies Pisa | The Many Arms of Soft Robotics
  • Prof. Robert Katzschmann | ETH Zurich | Soft and Musculoskeletal Robots: From Electrohydraulic Muscles to Living Tissue
  • Prof. Daniel Ahmed | University of Bern | Acoustically Actuated Soft Robots for Biomedical Applications
  • Prof. Luuk van Laake | Eindhoven University of Technology | A Heartbeat for Soft Robots

Simulation and Data Driven Material Design

24. März, 2024

Fokus-Thema: (Bio-)Materialsysteme und ihr Verhalten im Zusammenspiel mit lebender Materie – Anwendung einer gezielten Materialentwicklung auf der Grundlage theoriegeleiteter Vorhersagen 

  • Prof. Dr. Arthi Jayaraman | Materials Science & Engineering - University of Delaware | Computational Methods for Analyses of small Angle Scattering and Microscopy Measurement Results from Macromolecular Soft Materials
  • Prof. Dr. Christoph Bannwarth | Theoretical Physical Chemistry of Large Molecules – RWTH Aachen University | Towards Physical and Data-driven Modeling of Large Molecules and Soft Matter
  • Prof. Dr. Tristan Bereau | Institut for Theoretical Physics – Heidelberg University | The Role of Multiscale Modeling in Molecular Discovery
  • Prof. Dr. Bettina Keller | Physical and Theoretical Chemistry - Freie Universität Berlin | Structure and Dynamics of Self-assembled Peptide Hydrogels
  • Dr. Jona Kayser | Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin (MPZPM) | Understanding Drug Resistance Evolution as an Emergent Phenomenon in Active Granular Matter
  • Prof. Dr. Dagmar D’Hooge | Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering – Gent University | Monte Carlo Tools Toward Inverse Engineering of (Bio)Material Applications
  • Prof. Dr. Raphael Wittkowski | Universität Münster | Acoustically propelled microparticles: From fundamentals to applications

First in Translation

30. Oktober 2019

Fokus-Thema: Interaktive Materialien für fortschrittliche biomedizinische Systeme und deren mögliche Anwendung in der klinischen Praxis, einschließlich der damit verbundenen Herausforderungen

  • Prof. Dr. Patricia Y.W. Dankers | Institute for Complex Molecular Systems & Department of Biomedical Engineering, Laboratory of Chemical Biology - Eindhoven University of Technology | Supramolecular Materials Formulation: the Design of Synthetic Extracellular Matrices
  • Prof. Dr. Christine Radtke | Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - Medical University of Vienna | Natural Occurring Silks and Their Analogues as Materials for Nerve Regeneration
  • Dr. Hana Hofman-Hüther | Eurofins Professional Scientific Services GmbH | The Importance of Biological Evaluation within a Risk Management Process: Current Experiences
  • Prof. Dr. Riccardo Levato | University Medical Center Utrecht & Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht | TowardsCcomplex and Multi-scale Biological Constructs Combining Diverse Biofabrication Technologies
  • Prof. Dr. Matthias Wessling | Chair for Chemical Process Engineering @Aachener Verfahrenstechnik AVT - RWTH Aachen University & Scientific Board @ DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials | Towards a 3D-ptinted Artificial Lung

Mechanics of Materials and Biological Systems

27. September 2018

Fokus-Thema: Mechanik von Materialien und biologischen Systemen

  • Dr. Jens Möller, ETH Zurich | Use the Force(s): Mechanoregulation of Bacterial Adhesion and Uptake by Host Immune Cells
  • Dr. Arnold Boersma, DWI – Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen | Repurposing Nature’s Molecules
  • Dr. Kerstin Blank, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam-Golm | Molecular Force Sensors: From Molecular Mechanisms towards Applications in Biology and Materials Science
  • Prof. Mikhail Itskov, RWTH Aachen University | Physically Based Modeling of Mechanoluminescence in Elastomers
  • Prof. Dr. Rint Sijbesma, Eindhoven University of Technology | Mechanofunctional Polymers: Luminescent Probes and Catalytic Triggers