Impulses for research in Europe
TU Darmstadt successfully secures funding for “Innovative Training Networks”
2020/06/12
The TU Darmstadt has successfully secured funding within the framework of the EU funding programme Marie-Skłodowska-Curie: Five new Innovative Training Networks (ITN) with excellent interdisciplinary opportunities for PhD students and ESR from academia and industry have been approved; one of the ITNs is coordinated by a principle investigator of the profile area TFI, in two other ITNs two TFI PIs are involved as partners.
The ITN “nanoPaint” is coordinated by professor Tatiana Gambaryan-Roisman (Institute for Technical Thermdynamics, Department of Mechanical Engineering). The researchers in the network aim at a better understanding of the strong interactions between nanoparticles and their influence on the rheology of suspensions, the behaviour of nanoparticles in complex interface flows under the influence of external forces as well as during wetting and de-wetting. Furthermore, a focus is on design and applications of “smart” capillary nanosuspensions or their drying towards assembly and fabrication of functional superparticulate systems.
Nanoparticles serve as additives for controlling the liquid properties. They can make inks conductive, coatings more robust and are very promising drug carriers. The presence of nanoparticles in air or in water can influence the Earth ecology and human health. Although dilute suspensions of nanoparticles which are close to equilibrium have been extensively studied, in many important applications, such as food industry and printing, the suspensions are dense, or strongly interacting, they experience significant external stress and are far from equilibrium.
For the ITN nanoPaint the TU Darmstadt receives funding of about € 670,000.
Innovative medical care
Professor Annette Andrieu-Brunsen (Smart Membranes Group, Department of Chemistry) is engaged in the ITN “STIMULUS” which focuses on the fast diagnosis and control of infectious diseases, for example in hospitals. One objective is to open up new paths in testing novel materials for the treatment of viral and bacterial wound infections. The new ITN comes with a funding of € 500,000 for the TU Darmstadt.
Smart surfaces
Professor Ilia Roisman (Institute for Fluid Mechanics and Aerodynamics, Department of Mechanical Engineering) is a partner in the new ITN “SURFICE”. 13 young researchers team up with experts from physics, material sciences and engineering to investigate intelligent design methods to protect surfaces (wings of aircraft, for example) from dangerous icing. The new technologies are crucial for aerospace and automotive industry, glass production and energy systems. For SURFICE, the TU Darmstadt receives about € 200,000 from ITN funding.
