Michael Reichel (ari)
The Thuringian Materials Day is the central platform for materials experts and interested parties from industry and science to discuss current developments and future trends in this important sector. The topics range from development, testing, integration and application to sustainability. The event offers space for new ideas, practical solutions and exciting discussions. It provides impetus for innovations along the entire value chain.
In 2026, the focus is on the motto "Smart Materials, Smarter Sensors". Materials are the basis for innovations and powerful sensors - and vice versa, sensor technology provides the information to design materials optimally, use them more efficiently and sustainably and accelerate product innovations. This close connection creates solutions for key areas of the future such as sustainable energy technology, automated manufacturing, health technologies, future mobility, smart city concepts and everyday applications. The Thuringian Materials Day 2026 will therefore focus on precisely those interfaces where materials and sensor technology reinforce each other and drive innovation.
09:00 - 09:30 Opening
Greeting from the Thuringian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture
Prof. Dr. Steffen Teichert | State Secretary for Science and Culture
Greeting from the TU Ilmenau
Prof. Jens Müller, Vice President for International Relations and Affairs | TU Ilmenau
Presentation of the topics of the 24th Thuringian Valuable Materials Day
Jun-Prof. Hongye Sun, Head of the Group of Functional Materials | TU Ilmenau
09:30 - 10:00 Keynote
Cutting Silver Consumption in PV and Soft Electronics - Printable, Electrically Conductive Materials with Low Silver Content and High Cyclic Stability
Prof. Norbert WillenbacherHead of Applied Mechanics AME, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
10:00 - 10:30 Coffee break
10:30 - 11:00 Tandem Talk
Martin Voigt
Managing Director GFE - Gesellschaft für Fertigungstechnik und Entwicklung Schmalkalden e.V.
Andreas Wirtz
Group of Production Engineering / Virtual Process Design | Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences
Moderation: Prof. Edda Rädlein, Head of the Group of Inorganic Non-Metallic Materials | TU Ilmenau
11:00 - 12:00 Short presentations
11:00 A smarter world powered by functional thin films on polymer foils, textiles, and wood
Dr. Jonathan Plentz | Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (IPHT) Jena
11:20 Hydrothermal vs. physical coating with titanium dioxide for the development of in-situ sensors ofCSB in water matrices
Axel Wolfram | Hof University of Applied Sciences
11:40 Development of IMS circuit carriers with magnesium core
Dr. Daniel Leichnitz | INNOVENT Technologieentwicklung Jena
Moderation:Prof. Florian Puch, Head of the Department of Plastics Technology | TU Ilmenau
12:00 - 13:00 Lunch break
followed by group photo
13:00 - 14:20 Short presentations
13:00 New approaches in the micro- and nanostructuring of functional glasses
Dr. Christoph Weigel | Institute for Micro- and Nanotechnologies | Group of Microsystems Engineering TU Ilmenau
13:20 Beyond Silicon: Two Dimensional Materials for Smart Semiconductor Devices
Vladislav Kurtash | TU Ilmenau
13:40 i-STEP - Digital Services for Processing Machines
Nico Thiermann | IFE Aufbereitungstechnik
14:00 Piezokeramiken von PI Ceramic als Treiber smarter Sensoren
Dr. Hannes Engelhardt | PI Ceramic GmbH
Moderation: Dr. Dong Wang, Group of Materials for Electrical Engineering and Electronics | TU Ilmenau
14:20 - 15:50 Poster Pitch
Moderation: Dr. Dong Wang | Group of Materials for Electrical Engineering and Electronics | TU Ilmenau
15:50 - 16:30 Poster Session
Moderation: Prof. Andreas Bund | Head of Electrochemistry and Electroplating Group | TU Ilmenau
16:30 - 16:50 Presentation of the Poster Awards
16:50 - 17:00 Farewell
Download program of the Thuringian Materials Day 2026 (1 MB, as of 05.03.2026)
Download Poster Pitch (1 MB, as of 05.03.2026)
Registration and more information:Thuringian Materials Day | Material innovativ Thüringen.
