 Dr. Jingyuan Xu Awarded Ökologiepreis by the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and HumanitiesThe Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities announced that Dr. Jingyuan Xu from IMT has been awarded the Ökologiepreis for her research in sustainable cooling and heating technologies. This annual award recognizes scientific excellence in addressing environmental challenges through innovative solutions across the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering.The award ceremony took place in the Old Hall at the University of Heidelberg on June 8, where she was invited to give a lecture about her research. Dr. Xu was also selected to become a member of the Young Academy of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. More (in German) |
 Researchers at the Institute for Microstructure Technology (IMT) and the Light Technology Institute (LTI) at KIT have now developed a novel polymer-based metamaterial that combines various properties and could replace glass components in construction in tResearchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) introduce a polymer-based material with unique properties in the latest issue of the journal Nature Communications. This material allows sunlight to enter, maintains a more comfortable indoor climate without additional energy, and cleans itself like a lotus leaf. The new development could replace glass components in walls and roofs in the future. The research team has successfully tested the material in outdoor tests on the KIT campus. (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48150-2). More... |
 Dr. Joel Joseph honored with the HGF doctoral awardOn April 29, Joel Joseph received this prestigious award from Prof. Dr. Otmar Wiestler, President of the Helmholtz Association (HGF). As part of his doctorate in Prof. Dr. Manfred Kohl's working group, Joel Joseph investigated the innovative use of thermomagnetic thin-film drives to develop thermal energy harvesters with very high power per footprint. The development efforts resulted in a 340 percent increase in power per footprint compared over the first prototype. With his research results, Dr. Joel Joseph is making an important contribution to satisfying the enormous demand for local, distributed energy generation. These are particularly needed in connected devices specifically designed to accurately sense environmental conditions. |
 Ulrich W. Paetzold appointed as university professor at KITDr. Ulrich W. Paetzold has been appointed to the W3 Professorship "Next Generation Photovoltaics" at the Institute for Microstructure Technology, effective May 1st, 2024. Over the past years, Dr. Paetzold has established internationally recognized research activities in Perovskite Photovoltaics at KIT, serving as a junior researcher and tenure-track professor. In 2022, Dr. Paetzold was honoured by the European Research Council with an ERC Consolidator Grant exceeding 2 million euros of funding, enabling research into a radically new idea over the next 5 years. We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Ulrich W. Paetzold and wish him great success in his research, teaching, and innovation endeavours |
 Prize of the Leopoldina for young scientist Jingyuan XuWith the Leopoldina Prize for young scientists, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina honors Dr. Jingyuan Xu, who researches novel heating and cooling technologies for the energy transition. The award ceremony will take place on Monday, March 18, 2024 at the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in Halle (Saale). Dr. Xu will present her research in a lecture. The young engineer is currently the recipient of two other awards: the Hector RCD Award and member of the Global Young Academy. More... |
 There is much unused energy in low-grade waste heat at 40 to 60 °C. In the framework of the EU doctoral network HEAT4ENERGY, researchers at IMT are working on the development of thermomagnetic generators to produce electricity.Thermomagnetic generators are based on novel alloys that exhibit strongly temperature-dependent magnetic properties near room temperature. The change of magnetization induces an electrical current in an applied pick-up coil. The required temperature changes are only a few degrees Celsius. A possible field of applications are microgenerators, for instance, to power sensors in hardly accessible places or to energize electronic components in order to operate them without batteries. In the next four years, researchers of the EU doctoral network HEAT4ENERGY will advance this technology and implement first functional prototypes. Among the partners is the spin-off company memetis GmbH (https://www.memetis.com) found in 2017 by three former PhD student at IMT that specializes on innovative actuator technologies. More (in German) |
 Weltweit arbeiten Forschung und Industrie an der Kommerzialisierung der Perowskit-Photovoltaik. Forschende am IMT heben im Rahmen einer internationalen Initiative hervor: Industriell erprobte Vakuumverfahren könnten mit gewissen Verbesserungen zur schnelPerowskit-Silizium-Tandemsolarzellen haben in den vergangenen zehn Jahren eine rasante Entwicklung durchlaufen: In der Forschung konnten Wirkungsgrade von mehr als 33 Prozent erreicht werden. Damit liegen sie bereits heute über den herkömmlichen siliziumbasierten Solarzellen. Die Marktreife steht allerdings noch aus. Eine der Hürden ist die ungeklärte Frage, mit welchem Verfahren sich Perowskit-Solarzellen als Massenprodukt am besten herstellen lassen. Dabei stehen lösungsmittelbasierte Herstellungsverfahren, die in den Laboren weltweit angewandt werden, Dampfphasenabscheidungsverfahren im Vakuum gegenüber, die auch heute noch Standard in der Herstellung von Dünnschichten in der Photovoltaik oder bei der Produktion organischer Leuchtdioden (OLEDs) sind. More (in German) |
