Portrait of Professor Modler
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Niels Modler has held the Chair of Function-integrative Lightweight Engineering at the Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology since September 1, 2013. He was born in Freital in 1969.
Without functional integration ... there would be no smartphones or tablets today. By embedding active and passive functions in lightweight structures, we can increase the efficiency of technical systems enormously.
Being a professor... means staying mentally young and creative by working with early-career researchers. Thanks to the large number of industrial projects at the Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology, we can transfer many results from our research into application - this is both satisfying and motivating.
We involve students ... in research projects at an early stage at the Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology. That's why I'm happy to welcome students who are inquisitive, creative, open and unbiased, have a wide range of interests and the courage to think for themselves to our Institute.
In the future ... resources will become scarcer. We must be more sensitive to our environment and take a more considerate approach to the challenges of demographic change. I am convinced that mechanical engineering will become even more interdisciplinary. Functionally integrative lightweight construction - for example at the interface between mechatronics and mixed construction methods - can develop sustainable solutions, for example for applications in medical technology.
If I could study again ... I would study medicine and mechatronics or classical singing. The latter, however, only if I had the voice and acting talent of René Pape.
Excellence ... for me means "Dresden Spirit" - a unique combination of tradition, innovation, quality, collegiality and team spirit.