News

December 2025

Living electronics: How bacteria could become part of sustainable electronics

In the research project of Olivia Gerhard, PhD student at the Ilmenau School of Green Electronics (ISGE), biology meets technology: she is investigating how electroactive microorganisms such as Shewanella oneidensis can be combined with microelectronic structures. The aim is to develop living electronic systems that work energy-efficiently, react to environmental stimuli and regulate themselves - without a permanent external power supply.

In cooperation with Prof. Michael Köhler (TU Ilmenau), Dr. Jialan Cao-Riehmer (ISGE) and Prof. Martin Ziegler (Kiel University), the team is using technologies from the Center for Micro and Nanotechnologies (ZMN) to integrate biological cells into electronic circuits. In the long term, this could lead to new concepts for sensor technology and information processing - inspired by nature and powered by bacteria.

The complete article can be found here.

October 2025

Our ISGE PhD student Uzma Majeed took part in the KRYO Workshop 2025 at the end of September and presented her current research. In her talk entitled "Designing Memory-less, Energy-efficient Co-processors using Superconducting Temporal Computing", she presented innovative approaches for energy-efficient, superconducting computing architectures.

For over 40 years, the KRYO workshops have provided an international forum for the exchange of information on the latest developments in superconducting electronics and related cryogenic technologies. In 2025, the workshop once again brought together scientists from universities, research institutions and industry to discuss the physical principles and applications of cryoelectronic components.

Uzma Majeed präsentiert ihre Forschung auf dem KRYO Workshop 2025 vor einer Folie zur zukünftigen Entwicklung energieeffizienter Computersysteme.

September 2025

ISGE doctoral student Olivia Gerhard presents research project at ISMET9

ISGE doctoral student Olivia Gerhard presents research project at ISMET9

In September 2025, Olivia Gerhard, PhD student at the Ilmenau School of Green Electronics (ISGE), took part in the 9th World Conference of the International Society for Microbial Electrochemistry and Technology (ISMET). The international conference brought together researchers from all over the world to discuss the latest findings in the field of microbial electrochemistry.

As part of the poster session, Olivia Gerhard presented her doctoral project entitled "Metabolism-based Bioelectronic Networks". The aim of the project is to integrate the metabolism of electroactive microorganisms into neuromorphic architectures in order to increase their adaptability and energy efficiency.

You can find more information and exchange ideas on Olivia's LinkedIn channel.

Eine Ansammlung von Bildern von der ISMET9

September 2025

Student offers for Master Thesis and Media Projects

We award theses in the various areas of the Ilmenau School of Green Electronics. The calls for applications can be found here.

Annika Mehlis

Dipl.-Ing. Christian Kehling calibrating the bio-inspired sensor system.

September 2025

Student offers for Master Thesis and Media Projects

We award theses in the various areas of the Ilmenau School of Green Electronics. The calls for applications can be found here.

June 2025

TU Ilmenau

Anja Bartelmei (on the left) presented her work abut Optical Reservoir Computing for the Analysis of Turbulent Convection Flows. The talk of Maximilian Zier was about Optical Reservoir Computing with Direct Optical Input

From June 10-14, 2025, the 126th Annual Meeting of the German Society for Applied Optics (DGAO) took place at the University of Stuttgart. Among the contributors were two PhDs from the Ilmenau School of Green Electronics (ISGE), who shared their latest research in optical reservoir computing.

In the opening session "Optical Computing and Machine Learning", the following talks were presented:

M.Sc. Anja Bartelmei: Optical Reservoir Computing for the Analysis of Turbulent Convection Flows → First results on using optical machine learning systems to predict flow dynamics.
M.Sc Maximilian Zier: Optical Reservoir Computing with Direct Optical Input → A hardware-oriented concept aiming to replace conventional computing units with optical systems for real-time information processing.

The conference is a perfect opportunity to present and discuss progress and challenges especially with leading companies such as ZEISS, HoloEye, Edmund Optics, SPIE, and many more. Therefore, the conference proved to be an excellent platform for bridging the gap between research and application.

May 2025

Doktorandin bei einer Posterpräsentation

Dr. Alexander Groß

ISGE @ "Decoding the Single-Cell Universe" Symposium

Last week, M.Sc. Olivia Gerhard from the Ilmenau School of Green Electronics presented her work at the "Decoding the Single-Cell Universe" Symposium in Aying, Bavaria. The event, hosted by MMI - Molecular Machines & Industries, brought together international experts to discuss the latest developments in single-cell research.

She showcased her project titled "Droplet-based Microfluidic System for Microscopic Object Uptake and Handling", developed as part of her master's thesis, during the poster session and received valuable feedback and new ideas for future applications.

Research from Ilmenau on the international stage!

Our doctoral student M.Sc. Saadman Abedin from the Ilmenau School of Green Electronics was represented together with Dr. Peggy Reich (PI at the ISGE) at the 35th Anniversary World Congress on Biosensors in Lisbon. There he presented his poster on the topic:

"Nanogap TiN Electrodes for DNA-Based Biosensors"

His project - funded by the Carl Zeiss Foundation - combines nanostructuring, synthetic biology and molecular electronics with the aim of developing sustainable, biocompatible technologies for biosensors and future electronics platforms.

The work was supported by the technological infrastructure of the Center of Micro- and Nanotechnologies (ZMN).

International conferences like this are not only a stage for new ideas, but also a place for exchange, networking and inspiration. All of our PhDs are encouraged to present their research at regular intervals.

More about the conference and the project in the original article.

May 2025

Anika Mehlis

Sustainable and efficient: Research team at TU Ilmenau focuses on glass in microelectronics

The Go gRIEn research team at the Ilmenau School of Green Electronics (ISGE) is investigating more sustainable methods in microchip production, particularly in the microstructuring of glass. In collaboration with the Centre for Micro and Nanotechnologies (ZMN), the scientists are researching how less environmentally harmful chemicals can be used in the structuring of microchips. The increasing demand for semiconductors for technologies such as electric cars, smartphones and smart homes is leading to a growing environmental impact, particularly due to the etching processes used in semiconductor production. These processes, such as dry chemical etching, are energy-intensive and release harmful fluorocarbon compounds that can accumulate in the environment over decades. As these substances are not degradable, the development of more environmentally friendly alternatives is becoming increasingly important.

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