History

More than one decade of EAM research

Custom-made high-performance materials are revolutionizing the world of electronics, optics, catalysis and lightweight construction. In Erlangen, materials science innovation starts at the atomic level and influences the entire process chain to achieve macroscopically visible results.

The former Cluster of Excellence Engineering of Advanced Materials – Hierarchical Structure Formation for Functional Devices (EAM) was situated at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and was part of the Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments from 11/2007 – 10/2019. It was the only interdisciplinary research collaboration of its type in Germany to focus on the investigation of functional materials and their processing at all length scales. Its research centers on the fundamental and applied aspects of designing and creating novel high-performance materials.

The vision of EAM was to link fundamental science and real-world applications in the field of high-performance materials. FAU‘s unique combination of strengths in engineering and natural science led to the scientific concept of EAM, which focused on the science and engineering of hierarchical materials organized from nano- to macroscopic scales. Bridging the gap between nanoscale materials design and macroscopic devices, novel approaches were developed coherently with new methods for structure, property and process analytics.

For over a decade, EAM has shaped the structure of the FAU by installing 13 new professorships, by attracting the best early career researchers, providing new impetus for innovative teaching and implanting support structures for female researchers. EAM founded three new interdisciplinary centers and improved the research infrastructure by adding a total of 11,800 square meters new working space equipped with new cutting-edge instruments. We boosted interdisciplinary collaboration to an exemplary level, which is documented by our remarkable track record: in total 2518 papers were published in peer-reviewed journals (as of 12/2019). In particular, EAM acted as nucleus for new collaborative research initiatives, and for the foundation of a new Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (HI ERN). Technology Transfer was realized in strategic cooperations with companies, the foundation of transfer centers, and via joint demonstrators as the materialized outcome of collaborations between the Research Areas.

EAM will continue to act as nucleus for new research initiatives and as hub for worldwide visible excellence in materials and process research.