DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials
The DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials eV (previously: Deutsches Wollforschungsinstitut ) is a research facility of the Leibniz Association financed by the federal and state governments and based on the Melaten campus of RWTH Aachen University . On January 1, 2014, the institute was the first Aachen institute to join the Leibniz Association . It developed from the German Wool Research Institute, founded in 1952, which came about at the instigation of the German wool textile industry. Today the DWI is a research institute focused on textile material research and surface finishing with a focus on textiles, hair cosmetics, functional polymers and biomaterials as well as on the field of chemical surface modification.
history
The newly founded institute was housed in a building on the corner of Kreuzherrenstrasse and Veltmanplatz in Aachen and thus in the immediate vicinity of the central building of the university. The first director of the institute from 1952 to 1985 was the chemist Helmut Zahn , under whose direction the chemical total synthesis of insulin succeeded, which was also the first ever protein synthesis . The chemist Hartwig Höcker was appointed Zahn's successor , who among other things promoted biomaterial research.
Under the direction of the institute director Martin Möller , who was in office from 2003 to 2019, the move took place one year later to Forckenbeckstrasse 50 in the area of the Melaten campus. In 2008 the institute was restructured and a second professorship was established. In connection with this, it was renamed "DWI at RWTH Aachen eV" and entered in the Aachen register of associations. After moving into an extension in 2011, it became possible a year later to set up a 3F laboratory for functional surfaces, films and fibers at the DWI. In the same year, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary, the “Helmut Zahn Library” was inaugurated and the new Center for Chemical Polymer Technology (CPT) opened.
Finally, in January 2014, on the recommendation of the Science Council , the DWI was the first Aachen institute to be accepted into the Leibniz Association and at the end of the year it was renamed “DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials”.
Stefan Hecht has been Scientific Director of the DWI since 2019 .
Research priorities
The DWI is primarily concerned with scientific research on the development, processing, refinement and functional functionality of materials, film and fiber structures and the products made from them, as well as the development and research of active ingredients for new technologies and of novel biohybrid and water-based materials. The CPT, established in 2012, is geared towards highly developed analysis for macromolecules and materials as well as process engineering developments. In particular, the DWI researches in the following areas:
- Biomaterials, nano - and microstructures in biointerfaces
- Biomimetic and biohybrid antimicrobial systems
- Keratins
- Micro and nano particles and hybrid materials
- Multifunctional and multi-reactive oligo - and polymers
- Surface activation and functionalization
- Surface analysis
- Polymers for self-organization and surface modification
- Special fibers and functional textile finishing
Structure and organization
The DWI is operated by a six-person scientific management headed by a scientific and a commercial director. It cooperates with other RWTH institutes such as the Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Technology or the Institute for Plastics Processing as well as with national, such as the Forschungszentrum Jülich , and international university institutes. In addition, there are cooperative alliances with various organizations in the textile industry, including the Aachen Textile Center, the Tuchwerk Aachen and the International Wool Textile Organization. In January 2015, the DWI employed around 190 people, around a third of them doctoral students.
The DWI is largely financed by grants from the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (2012: 4.35 million euros), which are supplemented by third-party funds and income from contract research and service measurements (2012: 3.78 million euros). In addition, the DWI is supported by the "Förderverein Deutsches Wollforschungsinstitut Aachen eV", to which committed associations, companies and private individuals belong and who have a significant influence on important decisions.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Deutsches Wollforschungsinstitut renamed Press release from RWTextilservice of January 1st, 2005
- ↑ DWI becomes the first Leibniz Institute in Aachen ( Memento from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Press release of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Science and the Arts from July 15, 2013
- ↑ Prof. Hecht - RWTH AACHEN UNIVERSITY Institute for Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry - German. Retrieved June 2, 2020 .
- ↑ Research focus DWI on fisa online
- ↑ Research priorities and number of employees ( memento of the original from April 30, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
