Mission: The ultimate form of materials

In major global issues such as health, energy and the environment, there are numerous challenges that can be described as the management of dynamic networks. For example, the human brain or power grids for renewable energies can be seen as dynamic networks that do not behave in a linear way in terms of space and time, but in a very complex way - everything is connected to everything else, influences and effects are multi-layered and branched and there are numerous "feedback loops".

Materials for overcoming various challenges have already developed from static to functional materials to the latest vision of intelligent matter that can react to external influences. However, materials still do not interact sufficiently holistically with the complexity and dynamics of their environment.

Interdisciplinary collaboration

This is where the concept of "networked matter" comes in, in which material and the surrounding network form a unit and thus go beyond the conventional ideas of static, functional or intelligent matter. However, such a multi-layered challenge cannot be solved by a single discipline such as materials science, but is treated in a highly interdisciplinary manner in order to decipher underlying mechanisms, discover far-reaching synergies and make findings for dynamic networks (generally) usable.

In our "Networked Matter" research initiative, scientists from the KiNSIS (Kiel Nano, Surface and Interface Science) research centre at Kiel University and the Department of Life, Light and Matter (LLM) at the University of Rostock therefore want to jointly create matter that intervenes in the dynamic surrounding network in a targeted manner, for example to cure diseases or make energy conversions efficient and effective - "networked matter" as the "ultimate form" of materials.

In the past, materials were considered static and the complex networks that surround them were ignored. Currently, functional and intelligent materials (smart materials) are partially connected to their environment. In the future, matter will fully interact with the surrounding dynamic network and become an integral part of it as networked matter.

Initial successes

In previous work, such as in numerous Collaborative Research Centres and Research Training Groups, the researchers involved have developed initial materials that have great potential for dynamic networks such as the human brain or power grids for renewable energy sources. In addition, a close dialogue with industry and a new approach to training specialists are key prerequisites for real technological innovations and a sustainable, forward-looking change in energy, health and the environment.

A unique connection

With our "Networked Matter" research initiative, the universities in Kiel and Rostock are intensifying their interdisciplinary collaboration and taking it to a new level of transdisciplinary thinking across disciplines, faculties and universities. In a unique combination of cutting-edge research and technology transfer in close co-operation with non-university partners and companies, we also want to set new standards in the development of young talent and regional development for the research and innovation locations of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

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