© T. Söker

The excellence area "Matter. Advanced Materials" focusses on the exploration and engineering of advanced functional materials at the intersection of chemistry, physics, nanotechnology, and materials science. It integrates molecular design of novel materials with the fundamental understanding of their electronic, optical, and structural properties and their integration into next-generation technologies. Key areas include quantum and low-dimensional materials, organic semiconductors, functional polymers, hybrid nanostructures, and bioinspired systems. The overarching aim is to analyse, design, and synthesize materials with tailored functionalities that address major scientific and societal challenges, including energy conversion and storage, electronics and photonics, biomedical applications, and sustainable chemical processes. Employing a combination of theoretical modeling, ultrafast spectroscopy, advanced microscopy, and scalable fabrication, the envisioned outcome includes breakthroughs in quantum electronics and optoelectronic devices, smart materials for healthcare and diagnostics, sustainable and scalable material systems for energy solutions, and novel platforms for probing and controlling matter at the nanoscale.

The excellence area "Transforming Structures" brings together leading expertise in mechanical engineering, materials science, and advanced manufacturing to pioneer the design, simulation, and realisation of intelligent, lightweight, and sustainable structural systems. The research is rooted in a deep understanding of material behaviour, from polymers and composites to metals and concrete, and extends to the development of high-performance structures through digitalization, simulation-driven design, and adaptive production technologies. Combining experimental and computational approaches across scales – from materials microstructure to full-scale structural systems – the excellence area tackles the creation of multifunctional, adaptive, and sustainable engineering solutions. Application fields range from civil infrastructure and transportation to aerospace and biomedical devices, contributing to a paradigm shift from passive materials and static designs to smart, sustainable, and dynamically responsive systems.

Examples for projects in this Area of Excellence are:

• EXC ctd.qmat – Complexity, Topology and Dynamics in Quantum Matter

• EXC CARE – Climate-Neutral and Resource-Efficient Construction

• CRC 1143 Correlated Magnetism: From Frustration to Topology

• CRC 1415 Chemistry of Synthetic Two-Dimensional Materials

• CRC/Transregio 280 Design Strategies for Material-Minimized Carbon-Reinforced Concrete Structures – Principles of a New Approach to Construction

• CRC/Transregio 285 Method development for mechanical joinability in versatile process chains

• CRC/Transregio 339 Digital twin of the road system – Physical-informational representation of the future road system

• CRC/Transregio 402 Intelligent production technologies for lightweight plastic structures with load-dedicated 3D grading of the reinforcement architecture

• RTG 2868 D³ – Data-driven Design of Resilient Metamaterials

• RTG 2861 Planar Carbon Lattices

• RTG 2430 Interactive Fiber Rubber Composites

• RTG 2250 Mineral-bonded composites for enhanced structural impact safety

• SPP 2244 2D Physics: Emerging Physics in Two-Dimensional van-der-Waals materials

• SPP 2489 DaMic – Datengetriebenes Legierungs- und Mikrostrukturdesign nachhaltiger metallischer Konstruktionswerkstoffe

• SPP 2005 Opus Fluidum Futurum – Rheology of Reactive, Multiscale, Multiphase Construction Materials

• SPP 2388 Hundred plus – Extending the Lifetime of Complex Engineering Structures through Intelligent Digitalization

• Emmy Noether Grant CoreXL

• Reinhart Koselleck Project Crystalline Thin-Film Organic Devices

• Reinhart Koselleck Project Long-Range Magnetic Ordering in Metal-Free Materials

• Reinhart Koselleck Project Physics-Informed Deep Learning Systems for Secure Information Transmission with Multimode Fibers

• FoxCore – Generative Manufacturing Process for Customized Core-Insert Structures for Lightweight Applications

• LEAFTRONICS – Bio-Based Circuit Boards Enabling the Recycling of SMD Components

• BMFTR WIRreFa – Production of products made from recycled fibers

• BMFTR Circular sustainable textiles

• LAB – Living Art of Building

• BMDV HyBridGen – Hybrid Bridge Generator: AI-based bridge generator using knowledge and experience data with early citizen participation

• BMDV FOSsure – Fiber-optic sensors for reliable condition assessment of massive bridges

• BMDV ANYTWIN – Development and standardization of methods for measurement-data-based load-bearing capacity assessment of road bridges and integration into digital twins

• BMWE CCS_TUD – Eco-concrete as a mass building material for economical and lighter concrete systems

• BMWE WinConFat 2 – Component fatigue of wind turbines made of reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete under high-cycle loading

• ERC Synergy Grant 2DPolyMembrane – Ultrathin Two-Dimensional Polymer Heterostructure Membranes Enabling Next-Generation Energy Devices

• ERC Consolidator Grant Ixtreme – Exotic Quantum States by Locally-Broken Inversion Symmetry in Extreme Conditions

• ERC Advanced Grant IONOLOGIC – Making the Building Blocks of Ion-Based Computing

• ERC Consolidator Grant T-Higgs – Phase-Resolved THz-Higgs Spectroscopy on Superconductors

• ERC Consolidator Grant SLOWTONICS – Slow excitonics for minimalistic and sustainable photonic and optoelectronic systems

• ERC Consolidator Grant PEROVAP – Engineering Metal Halide Perovskites by Vapour deposition

• ERC Starting Grant BattSkin – Practical Magnesium Batteries Enabled by 2D Crystalline Polymer-Based Artificial Electrode Skins

• ERC Starting Grant PhotoMat – Accurate simulations of photochemical and photophysical processes at materials interfaces

• EFRE Bioglasfasern II – Process Development for the Production of Novel Bioglass Fibers with Bioactive Properties to Promote and Support the Regeneration of Tissue Defects

• EFRE BiotroNiS – Materials and Systems for Bioelectronics: A Network in Saxony