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The Vision Clearly in Sight

Researchers exchanged ideas at the annual livMatS retreat

Dec 15, 2021

At the retreat, originally scheduled to take place on site in Breisach, researchers discussed new developments in the four research areas and the demonstrator area.

From November 17 to 19, 2021, nearly 100 scientists met for the annual retreat of the livMatS cluster. Due to the tense situation in the corona pandemic, livMatS members could not meet on site in Breisach as planned – to protect all participants, the retreat was held virtually. Together the researchers discussed new developments in the four research areas and the demonstrator area of the cluster. Among other topics, the researchers addressed new energy materials for photosupercapacitors and for tribolelectric energy harvesters, mechanisms for self-healing and progamming of materials, robots made of soft materials, or methods to study the acceptance of new technologies.

Initiate collaborations

The virtual format provided many opportunities to exchange ideas and initiate collaborations: After a welcome and an overview lecture by cluster spokesperson Prof. Dr. Jürgen Rühe, lectures, discussions and poster sessions were on the agenda for the following days. They served as a starting point to present results, address challenges and further sharpen the common goals for the coming years, as Prof. Rühe emphasized in his welcoming speech: "We have made great achievements at livMatS so far, but we have to keep up the hard work and keep our vision in sight."

All the posters shown at the Retreat will be on display at the Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies (FIT) in the coming weeks.

Poster exhibition and virtual whiteboards

Presentations on research data management, intellectual property management, and science communication complemented the scientific program. A special highlight was a presentation by Dr. Lutz Ose, who served as head of the corporate research department at E.G.O. Elektro-Gerätebau GmbH. In his lecture for the young researchers of the cluster, he reported about his experiences in the field of technology transfer.

The exchange will continue far beyond the retreat: All the posters shown will be on display at the Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies (FIT) in the coming weeks. In addition, the cluster has created virtual whiteboards for livMatS researchers to give input and share ideas across disciplines. The boards are accessible to all livMatS members in the internal area of the website.