General Meeting and Award Ceremony on 22 October 2025
Our annual “DGM-Tag” began on 22 October in glorious autumnal weather in the auditorium of Chemnitz University of Technology. The DGM presidents opened the event with a warm welcome, after which they proceeded to chair the DGM general meeting. A special highlight of the first day was the inspiring lecture by Prof. Dr. Thomas von Unwerth on the topic of 'Hydrogen Research at the Hydrogen Innovation Center (HIC) at TUC', which provided exciting insights into the future of hydrogen technologies and presented innovative methodological approaches.
Various reports were presented during the general meeting. Particular interest was shown in the report from the DGM Newcomer and Young Talent Committee, as well as in the financial report from the management. This was followed by the discharge of the Executive Board and the election of new members to the DGM Executive Board. All candidates were elected by a large majority:

• Prof. Dr. Manja Krüger (OvG University of Magdeburg, spokesperson for the expert committees)
• Dr.-Ing. Sarah Fischer (Fraunhofer Institute for Non-Destructive Testing IZFP, spokesperson for the DGM Newcomer and Young Talent Committee);
• M.Sc. Timo Roth (Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg, Young Talent Committee member).

In addition, the 2026 auditors were elected, and a 20% increase in membership fees from 2026 was approved by a majority of participants. All resolutions were well received by those present and participating online.

This was followed by the award ceremony, at which this year's winners were honored. Particular mention should be made of the honor bestowed upon Dr. Rau, who was unable to accept the Young Talent Award in person last year due to her maternity leave. In a festive ceremony, she was now retrospectively honored as the Young Talent Award winner for 2024. All of the 2025 award winners were present and accepted their awards in person. A special moment was the arrival of Prof. Dr. Eugen Rabkin, the International Tammann Prize winner, who had traveled from Israel especially to receive his award. Both he and Prof. Weißmüller (winner of the Heyn Commemorative Coin) enriched the event with fascinating 10-minute presentations in which they provided exciting insights into their professional work.

The honorary memberships were awarded at the Chemnitzer Hof, where the award winners networked and engaged in intensive discussions until late in the evening. The honoring of Prof. Pippan, one of the new honorary members, who had postponed his vacation especially to receive the certificate of appointment, was particularly emotional. In an entertaining speech, Prof. Dr. Gunther Eggeler honored Prof. Pippan for his outstanding achievements. Unfortunately, Ms. Heide-Marie Dietel was unable to attend, but Dr. Klein will present her with the certificate in person in the coming weeks.

Second Day of the Event on 23 October 2025

On the second day of the "DGM-Tag", which took place at the MeTeOr project house at Chemnitz University of Technology, around 40 participants took part despite the light drizzle. The group was given an overview of the Institute of Materials Science and Materials Engineering at Chemnitz University of Technology by Prof. Dr. Martin Wagner and a specialist lecture by Ms. Waske from the Chemnitz Industrial Museum on the Capital of Culture 2025 about the local special features in Chemnitz. Another highlight of the day was the exciting tour of the TEM building, led by Prof. Dr. Andreas Undisz. The originally planned duration of 30 minutes was extended to 60 minutes due to the great interest, which reflected the fascination of the participants.

At the end of the event, participants were able to fortify themselves for the journey home with a barbecue snack and reflect on the many new impressions and contacts they had made.

Outlook and Thanks

"DGM-Tag 2025" was a complete success and received consistently positive feedback. The successful combination of scientific exchange, practical insights, and social moments contributed to an all-round successful event. We would like to express our sincere thanks to all participants, speakers, and organizers, especially the presidents of the DGM, Prof. Dr. Martin Wagner, Prof. Dr. Andreas Undisz, Paul Seidel, and Ms. Anka Eckardt, who contributed significantly to the success of the event.

The DGM office would also like to thank the guests of honor and speakers for their valuable contributions. The next DGM Day will take place on 28 September 2026, in the run-up to MSE 2026 in Darmstadt. The DGM is already looking forward to the next event and invites everyone to save the date.

Nominations for award winners for 2026 can be submitted until 15 December 2025. Further information is available on the DGM website.

Photo Gallery

Pictures of the event are already available on the official homepage and will be added to in the coming days: Photo Gallery DGM-Tag 2025.