Focus on studies and research

Even though physics courses at all German universities teach very similar skills, the university locations differ in terms of their research focus and the involvement of students in research. The Ilmenau Institute of Physics is internationally visible in the following three areas in particular.

KI und PhysikTU Ilmenau - ThP1

Physics and artificial intelligence

"Concepts from physics have helped to establish machine learning and are now making important contributions to advancing AI methods. At the same time, modern research in physics is often no longer conceivable without advanced AI algorithms due to the complexity and enormous amount of data," writes the President of the German Physical Society, Prof. Klaus Richter, in PHYSIKonkret. Machine learning, especially the development of graph networks based on the LLM model, has become a research focus of a predominantly still very young team in Ilmenau. For example, they can predict spectra in milliseconds, for which others need half an hour on a large computer(Deep learning of spectra: Predicting the dielectric function of semiconductors). The Ilmenau physics course provides a deep understanding of the laws of nature, analytical thinking and mathematical modeling. AI opens up opportunities to discover new patterns that remain hidden using classical methods - an ideal combination.

Titelbild Cryo STMTU Ilmenau-Eleonora Hamburg

Physics of surfaces and interfaces

 

With his legendary dictum "The interface is the device", Nobel Prize winner Herbert Krömer summarized the fact that it is not so much the materials themselves, but their surfaces and interfaces that determine most practical applications of physics: from catalysts to solar cells and transistors to OLEDs. The 'Technical Physics' degree course, which is unique in Germany, takes this into account. The research behind it, including in one of the largest university clean rooms in the world(ZMN Tour), is reflected in top-class publications and other recognition: Scientist at TU Ilmenau receives Thuringian Research Award 2023 | Ilmenau University of Technology

Header_Interview_Prof._HannappelTU Ilmenau, Michael Reichel

Solar energy, sustainable hydrogen and resource efficiency

"Resource efficiency - the technical side of sustainability" is the motto under which the Carl Zeiss Foundation is funding a multi-million project in the field of sustainable energy generation: TU Ilmenau launches SustEnMat project: Sustainable materials for regenerative energy generation This will further expand an Ilmenau study and research focus that has already led to several world records (highest efficiency of a solar cell, best direct hydrogen production, most recently: International research project achieves record value in converting carbon dioxide into fuels) and other recognition: Scientist from TU Ilmenau receives Thuringian Research Prize 2022 | Ilmenau University of Technology

Many other exciting research topics can be found on the pages of the faculty's institutes and departments.