10/07/2024

Double success for Kassel - Two BiTWerk researchers at the Institute of Materials Engineering at the University of Kassel honored

@BiTWerk - Biological transformation of technical materials

Another great success for materials research in Kassel. Thomas Niendorf, spokesperson for the BiTWerk research cluster, and Dr.-Ing. Thomas Wegener, Managing Director of BiTWerk, two scientists from the Institute of Materials Engineering at the University of Kassel were honored at the same time by the German Society for Materials Science (DGM). The awards were presented at the DGM Day 2024, with Dr. Wegener receiving the DGM Young Scientist Award and Professor Niendorf the DGM Prize.

Dr.-Ing. Thomas Wegener (3rd from right) and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Niendorf (2nd from right) in the circle of DGM 2024 award winners. The prizes were awarded by the DGM presidents (Prof. M. Heilmaier (left) and Prof. B. Skrotzki (right))

The DGM prizes, which are highly regarded both nationally and internationally, are traditionally awarded as part of the DGM Day. For the second year in a row, scientists from Kassel were able to convince the prize committee across all generations. For example, Dr. Thomas Wegener, a research associate in the Department of Metallic Materials and currently Managing Director of the BiTWerk project at the University of Kassel(https://www.uni-kassel.de/forschung/bitwerk-biologische-transformation-technischer-werkstoffe/startseite), was awarded the DGM Young Talent Award 2024. This prize is aimed at individuals at a young stage in their career who have made outstanding achievements in research in the field of materials science and materials engineering. Dr. Wegener impressed the jury with his outstanding work and high international visibility in research into the structural integrity of novel high-performance materials, including those produced using 3D printing(https://dgm.de/dgmtag/2024/preise-und-ehrungen/dgm-nachwuchspreis-2024#c31625). Dr. Wegener completed his doctorate with distinction at the University of Kassel in 2022 and subsequently conducted research in Kassel and in internationally renowned working groups, for example at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA) in Switzerland.

Professor Niendorf, who took over as Head of the Department of Metallic Materials in 2015, was awarded the DGM Prize 2024 for his highly visible, key contributions to cutting-edge international research in materials technology(https://dgm.de/dgmtag/2024/preise-und-ehrungen/dgm-preis-2024). The list of previous prizewinners(https://dgm.de/de/die-dgm/ehrungen-auszeichnungen/dgm-preis) shows how highly this award should be ranked. Horst Biermann (TU Bergakademie Freiberg) emphasized: "Thomas Niendorf is a highly ambitious scientist in the middle stage of a promising scientific career. His outstanding contributions to the fields of materials science and materials engineering have already been clearly recognized through a series of awards. Thomas Niendorf is certainly one of the best scientists of his age group in Europe in the field of materials science and engineering and a deserving recipient of the DGM Prize." As already emphasized last year, the awards are thus an impressive testimony to the sustainable research at the Institute of Materials Engineering at the University of Kassel.