New member of the DGM team: Andreas Abel (M.Sc.)

We are delighted to welcome Andreas Abel (M.Sc.) as a new team member! Since February 2024, Andreas Abel has been strengthening our work with his expertise in materials science and materials engineering, especially within the framework of the joint project "BioTrans".

In an exclusive interview, we give you a detailed insight into the expertise and career of our newest team member. Find out how Andreas Abel, as part of our team, contributes to advancing the goals and visions of the DGM in our projects and initiatives.

1. What inspired you to become part of the DGM?

It all started when I decided to study materials science at TU Darmstadt in 2011. At that time, excursions coordinated by Jung-DGM and the student council there were particularly popular, and of course I had already heard about the MSE Congress as a student. But it is crazy how the DGM has managed to keep crossing my professional path even after I completed my master’s degree in 2017. As a trainee in the Materials & Processes section of the European Space Agency ESA, I attended DGM’s Materials Week in 2019, and as a PhD student at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) in Berlin, I presented the results of my project at the 2021 Intermetallic Phases Technical Committee and at MSE 2022 in Darmstadt, where it all began. It feels like I "grew up" together with the DGM. Looking back, I must recognize how enriching the DGM was and still is for young scientists in Germany. It is only fair and a great pleasure to return this commitment to the association and its active members. As a PhD representative in my institute, I also realized how much fun it is to take on the interests of fellow students, bring people together and create a place for exchange.

Perhaps it could be seen as fate that I ended up at the DGM, but it is more that I was looking for a place where I could contribute my personal strengths and develop them to the full. I am therefore very happy to have found a place with such a deep meaning.

2. Where will we see you in action as a specialist at the DGM?

I will primarily oversee the accompanying project "BioTrans", which focuses on knowledge and technology transfer and supports research activities that are funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research's (BMBF) funding measure "Biologization of Technology". Among other things, we will be organizing several topic-specific events for the research partners, but also for interested parties from industry and society, regularly reporting on the research results of the projects and creating a consolidating overview of how we can get more bioinspiration into technological applications. In addition, I will certainly support my colleagues with technical and organizational matters.

3. Can you give us an insight into the "BioTrans" project and explain how it is changing the world of materials science and engineering?

In general terms, BioTrans aims to identify the opportunities that bioinspired solutions have for industry and society. So, the central question is: where is technology that we can make better with biology and bioinspiration? This has enormous potential for innovation and could also help us make progress in resource efficiency. Many sectors could benefit, such as mechanical and plant engineering, process engineering, medical technology, the construction industry and more! A very strong consortium consisting of the Bionics Competence Network e.V. (BIOKON), the German Society for Electroplating and Surface Technology e.V. (DGO) and the DGM has been put together for this task, covering the necessary expertise and networks for bioinspired materials research. But this is just the beginning. The research projects selected for the funding measure are intended to lay the foundations for future partnerships between research institutes and companies. But the research network that is now being formed should also continue to grow, with disciplines working together in future that may previously have only heard of each other. And here I see the world of materials science and engineering in a pioneering role: creating interdisciplinarity!

4. Which bioinspired approaches in the context of biologization of technology do you find particularly exciting and why?

It was during my time as a trainee in the aerospace industry that I first heard about tissue engineering processes that can be used to print impressively fine details such as blood vessel structures. The motivation was, of course, that astronauts in life-threatening circumstances could be equipped with personalized medicine. But a breakthrough in this technology would be a real opportunity for life expectancy and medical care for future generations. In the medium term, many animal experiments in pharmaceutical studies could certainly be avoided using artificial organs. Another exciting field spans across bioinspired building surfaces that can regulate solar radiation using leaf structures and mechanisms as a model, thus saving energy that would otherwise be needed for cooling. Such climate adaptation measures will be needed worldwide if the hot seasons become even hotter in the future.

5. How can DGM members get involved in "BioTrans" or benefit from the results?

Stay interested and subscribe to the DGM newsletter! We will report regularly on the individual projects and publish content on the Website (www.biologisierung-der-technik.de). We also have a number of webinars and theme sessions in store that will provide access to cross-cutting topics and research results.
Whether already involved in bionics or not, I secretly hope that bioinspiration brings a bit of lived inspiration to everyone.

6. What challenges do you see in bioinspired materials and its knowledge and technology transfer and how does "BioTrans" address these?

There will certainly be some, there is no need to gloss over that. We are talking about scientific challenges in the projects, differences in interests between academia and industry and even the language used in the biological and technical environment. It is simply a matter of getting everyone on board and bringing them together again and again. We want to disseminate the biologization of technology broadly and comprehensibly to the public and create reliable platforms, both physical and online, for exchange. We also build bridges where innovators and applicants could come together. Still, we want to think long-term and provide inspiration to young talents for bioinspiration in technologies. To this end, we want to organize a few competitions on developing practical ideas and local activities for interaction. The longer we talk to each other, the more we understand each other.

We warmly welcome Andreas and look forward to a successful collaboration.