Review 2017
2nd Lower Saxony Symposium on Materials Technology
Clausthal-Zellerfeld. Whether for automotive production, the construction industry or medical technology, novel or optimized materials and material combinations are a decisive key to innovation. This became clear at the second Lower Saxony Symposium on Materials Technology, which was attended by around 150 participants from all over Germany at Clausthal University of Technology at the end of February.
The conference series, which celebrated its premiere in 2015, was once again hosted by the Clausthal Center for Materials Technology (CZM). "For a good two years now, we have been quite successfully combining such contrasting materials as glass, ceramics, plastics and metals at our center," said Professor Volker Wesling, spokesman for the CZM board. "In the process, natural and materials scientists as well as engineers contribute together and inspire each other," Wesling added. Characteristic of the CZM, and likewise of the symposium, is the guiding principle "New perspectives through advanced materials and processes - from fundamentals to applications at all stages of the value chain."
In the opening lecture in the Aula Academica of the Clausthal University of Technology, Dr. Albrecht Stalmann from Volkswagen AG spoke about "Materials science in the field of tension of the requirements of Industry 4.0 in automotive engineering". Among other things, the automotive expert shed light on the digitalized quality control of materials used, using the example of coils.
A total of 50 technical papers - presented in three parallel sessions - were scheduled for both days of the event. The papers, which are summarized in a conference volume, provided information on trends in materials research and process technology, covering nine topics: new functional materials, construction materials, resource-saving material concepts, forming technology, joining technology, coating and surface technology, material properties and behavior, analytics and materials technology modeling. Wood, the largest renewable natural resource, was also taken up as a topic. In his presentation "Wood and organic reagents - a promising partnership," Clausthal-based Professor Dieter Kaufmann demonstrated: Chemical optimization of the wood surface could well compensate for the disadvantages of the natural product, such as susceptibility to moisture, fire and biological attack.
After a successful second event, which also attracted interest from participating scientists from abroad, for example from Sweden or Greece, CZM Managing Director Dr. Henning Wiche already looked ahead: "The third Lower Saxony Symposium on Materials Technology is to take place in 2019."