For Professor Hongye Sun, head of the Functional Materials Group at TU Ilmenau and co-organizer of the event, the Thuringian Materials Day is an excellent opportunity to present new research results and discuss future applications with partners from industry and science: "Innovative materials form the basis for high-performance sensor systems, while sensors provide important data for the targeted further development and more efficient use of materials. The combination of materials research and sensor technology in particular opens up great innovation potential for numerous key technological areas such as sustainable energy technologies, automated production processes, health technologies, and intelligent mobility and urban solutions."
The 24th Thuringian Materials Day will be opened by Prof. Steffen Teichert, State Secretary for Science and Culture at the Thuringian Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture. The scientific program will kick off with a keynote address by Prof. Norbert Willenbacher, Head of Applied Mechanics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. In his presentation, he will provide insights into current developments at the interface of materials science and sensor technology and introduce new approaches for electrically conductive, printable materials that can help reduce the use of critical raw materials, for example in photovoltaics.
The event will be complemented by tandem talks from science and industry, in which current challenges and practical solutions will be discussed. The highlight of the young scientists' program is the poster competition, in which innovative research projects will be presented and awarded prizes.
About the Thuringian Materials Day:
The Thuringian Materials Day is an initiative of the “Material innovativ THÜRINGEN” platform and takes place annually at different locations in Ilmenau, Jena, and Weimar. The aim is to network materials research in the Free State of Thuringia and initiate joint innovation projects. The Thuringian Materials Day 2026 is organized by the TU Ilmenau, supported by the “Innovativ Thüringen” team of the Landesentwicklungsgesellschaft Thüringen mbH (LEG) and in close cooperation with the Mitteldeutschland TRIDELTA Campus Hermsdorf industrial park and university partners from Jena and Weimar. The results of the Materials Day will subsequently be published on the online platform “MiT – Material innovativ THÜRINGEN” www.material-innovativ.de.
Contact
Jun.-Prof.Hongye Sun
Head of Functional Materials Group
+49 3677 69-1472
hongye.sun@tu-ilmenau.de
