DWI evaluation: Top marks for the Institute!

In a statement published on November 24, the Senate of the Leibniz Association recommended that the federal and state governments continue to fund the DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials for the next seven years. The basis for this recommendation is the evaluation report of the first evaluation of the DWI, which is regularly carried out and took place in Aachen in January 2020. The evaluation report certifies the scientific success story that the DWI, with the help of its team of excellent scientists, has been writing since its admission to the Leibniz Association in 2014. The ongoing and future planned expansions are expressly welcomed and supported.

DWI's mission is to develop materials with active and adaptable properties based on the model of nature. To this end, scientists from the fields of polymer sciences, biotechnology and chemical engineering cooperate in research programs at the institute. The developed materials are to enable progress in the medical and hygiene sector as well as in the areas of mobility, environment and sustainability. The Senate rates the achievements of DWI's research programs as very good to excellent. The Senate also emphasizes the great success of the acquisition of competitive third-party funding.

"The statement from the evaluation group that we have been able to demonstrate a very high level of performance and excellence since becoming a member of the Leibniz Association motivates us to continually expand our scientific horizons and to make progress in implementing our plans," stresses Prof. Stefan Hecht (Ph. D.). Since August 2019 he is Scientific Director of Aachen's first and so far only Leibniz Institute. Thanks to the commitment and innovative change of the institute by its former Scieitific Director Prof. Dr. Martin Möller, the DWI, founded in 1952 with a focus on keratin research and protein chemistry, was transformed into a pioneering institute for technical materials and nanotechnology for soft matter.

Currently, the DWI is building up the scientific infrastructure of the Leibniz Joint Lab "first in Translation" (fiT) together with the University Hospital Aachen of the RWTH. At the heart of the new complex are the clean rooms: the aim here is to manufacture new types of medical (technical) products that are the result of pre-competitive research in compliance with strict medical guidelines and quality standards. The fiT gives medical researchers the opportunity to bring material developments and results of biomedical research into clinical practice and to apply them to patients for the first time. In the long term, the developments and projects of DWI and fiT contribute to closing the gap between new therapeutic developments in the laboratory bench and their transfer to the patient's bedside. The senate supports the plans for further expansion of the topic in the coming years and welcomes a new building for the project, which is scheduled for completion and occupation in 2022.

The detailed statement of the Senate can be found on the website of the Leibniz Association.