Our goals
Biological transformation of technical materials
Technical constructions of the past and present are usually designed to solve individual needs or challenges.
New components, component optimization, production, use and recycling of these constructs are usually thought of separately and are generally not sustainable. They lead to dramatic changes in nature and the climate and put a strain on finite natural resources. In order to deal responsibly with the resources of our planet, holistic approaches are therefore required that optimize the entire life cycle of a product or a material for the realization of this product in terms of resource use.
Biology offers excellent examples of how nature conserves finite resources in complex cycles. We will therefore use a new holistic approach known as the biological transformation of technology (also referred to in the media as biologization) as a vision for achieving these goals.
A key feature of this research approach is to consider components, production processes and the resulting material properties as well as use and recycling as an inseparable unit, as this is the only way to establish a fully biologized process chain.
Novel materials, complex material functions and innovative production and recycling processes play a key role here. They are the basis for the development of new energy sources, for progress in the healthcare sector and for securing the food supply, to name just a few examples. The biological transformation of technical materials goes much further than already known approaches such as bionic design, which only transfers the form and function of examples from nature to technical products (e.g. lotus effect). Biological transformation considers the entire industrial production process, including the utilization phase right through to recycling.
An interdisciplinary approach and specialized infrastructures are essential in order to be able to answer the relevant scientific questions. The disciplines of civil engineering and mechanical engineering, which together are responsible for a significant proportion of material production, processing and recycling, are at the heart of this.
However, the urgent challenges cannot be solved by these disciplines alone.
Key contributions from other disciplines will be essential for the success of the biological transformation of technical materials:
Image: Paavo Blafield- natural sciences, which develop new molecular, nano- and microtechnological components and systems that then have to be integrated into the production processes and production itself,
- electrical engineering/computer science, which develops new sensors and actuators for production and intelligent functional properties, as well as adapted software and AI-controlled routines to optimize process and functional properties,
- architecture, which incorporates user acceptance as a further development dimension through an application-oriented and artistic approach, and
- environmental sciences/ecological agricultural sciences, which address the topics of renewable and reusable raw materials and ecological footprint
and ecological footprint.