The Heyn Commemorative Medal, named after the DGM's first chairman Emil Heyn (1867-1922), is the DGM's highest award. It is awarded for achievements in the field of materials science and engineering that have led to significant scientific, technological or economic progress. With the Heyn Commemorative Medal 2024, the DGM honors the life's work of Prof. Dr. Klaus Jandt, Otto Schott Institute for Materials Research OSIM, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

1. Prof. Jandt, what does the award of the Heyn Commemorative Medal mean to you and how has your 18 years of membership and your extensive involvement in various areas of the DGM, such as heading the Biomaterials Technical Committee and your role as scientific coordinator for various topics at the MSE congresses, BioMAT and CellMAT conferences, shaped your career?

Receiving the Heyn Commemorative Medal, the DGM's highest award, is a great honor for me, which I am very pleased about, and I would like to thank the DGM for this. However, I also see this as an honor for the employees who have accompanied me over the years and without whose commitment and work it would not have been possible. They deserve my thanks and respect. Many of them are now in leading positions at universities or in industry.

Among other things, the great Emil Heyn developed new microscopy methods and thus opened up completely new possibilities for material analysis. I work in Jena, the city of microscopy, and we have helped to break new ground in the field of probe microscopy on polymers and biomaterials. I am therefore delighted that we are following in Heyn's tradition and that the award bears his name.

The DGM has had a major influence on my career. Many years ago, when I suggested to the DGM that the Biomaterials Technical Committee be founded, I was initially met with skepticism in a professional society that was primarily traditionally characterized by metals. However, the subsequent success of biomaterials in the DGM, which also inspired many young people to join the DGM, spoke for itself. Today, the DGM is much more open, modern and diverse and has developed magnificently.

The DGM has enabled me to exchange ideas with other people from Germany and abroad, to network and to gain new perspectives. I have learned a lot through the DGM and can help shape a lot of things. I think the DGM is unique, partly because it has always retained a family feel despite its size. My appeal to young “MatWerkis” - join the DGM!

2. Your work on LED photopolymerization for oral biomaterials has received great recognition worldwide. What are your long-term goals in this area and what impact do you expect your results to have on clinical practice and industrial applications?

The aim of our work on LED photopolymerization for oral biomaterials was to develop a new way of processing biomaterial composites (sometimes incorrectly called resin fillings). The main question was how this new process affects the structure and properties of the composites. Incidentally, our first scientific manuscript on the subject was rejected by a specialist journal on the grounds that blue LEDs were unsuitable for photopolymerizing composites. This shows that scientific and technological progress does not always have to follow a straight path. Today, this is a standard procedure in every dental practice, which was the long-term goal. Many industrial suppliers manufacture such LED devices.

The long-term goal of this and our research in general is a better understanding of materials and an extended service life. We want to achieve a better “performance” of biomaterials for the benefit of the general public and thus improve the quality of life. That is why we are now conducting intensive research into new antimicrobial biomaterials to reduce infections on implants and are training young materials scientists for these tasks as part of a DFG Research Training Group.

3. In your opinion, what role do networks and interdisciplinary cooperation play in the scientific environment and how have these aspects influenced your own career?

Networks such as those offered by the DGM are of great importance. The DGM offers a great variety in this respect, such as technical committees, working groups, scientific conferences and symposia and regional junior research groups - Jung DGM. All of this takes place at the highest international level. I not only take advantage of these opportunities, but also try to play an active role in shaping them, for example by setting up the Biomaterials Technical Committee, founding the international BioMAT conference or actively supporting the Young DGM in Jena.

In addition to the excellent opportunities offered by the DGM, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation's Network of Excellence has always played a role for me. The Foundation sponsored a longer stay in the USA for me, and afterwards I myself became host to many Humboldt Fellows and Humboldt Research Award winners. The DGM and the AvH Foundation complement each other perfectly.

My field of research thrives on interdisciplinarity, because biomaterials come from all the main material groups. The DGM has a wide range of expertise that complements my own. In addition, a certain understanding of the biological environment in which these materials are used is required. This makes the subject not only very exciting, but also varied.

4. Your public engagements such as “Saturday Lectures of Science” and the “Long Night of Science” have promoted understanding of materials science and materials engineering in society. What significance does this public relations work have for you and for the MatWerk Society as a whole?

The importance of such events - known in English-speaking countries as the public understanding of science - cannot be overestimated. Let me give you an example. Pupils and parents know the subjects of physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics from school. However, many of them are unfamiliar with materials science because it is not a school subject. We are trying to change this with our public commitments and show that materials science combines these subjects in an exciting way. This is not only fun for the students and parents, but also for us personally and motivates many to take up the study of materials science.

However, because it is more difficult to recruit young specialists today, the topic is also of key importance for the MatWerk society as a whole. More needs to be done here to counteract the shortage of skilled workers. Materials science and materials engineering must become much more present in the public eye. The general public is often unaware that materials are an important basis for our prosperity and represent the solution to many current challenges, such as health, transport, energy, safety and the environment. We should think about making the topic of materials more present in school lessons and firmly anchoring it there. It is also worth considering creating a new media format (working title e.g. Materials do it!) about materials and substances.

With our press releases and media appearances, we try to bring the results of our mostly complex research closer to the general public. Following Einstein, we try to present things as simply as possible. But not simpler. The public is also very interested in the practical applications of our research.