The Joint Science Conference (GWK) and the federal and state governments have approved funding for the strategic expansion “Digital Surface Engineering” at IOM. With a significant increase in base funding of €2.7 million per year, the institute will specifically expand its modeling and simulation activities. “The expansion will strengthen the institute in the long term and make an important contribution to basic research at the institute in an interdisciplinary and sustainable manner,” emphasizes Prof. Benjamin Dietzek-Ivanšić, Scientific Director of IOM.

The initiative focuses on the development of new modeling approaches, primarily through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). These will be closely linked to existing cutting-edge experimental surface science. “The necessary high-performance computing infrastructure will be set up by 2027 in collaboration with the AI Data Center at the Universty of Leipzig (KIRZL),” explains project manager Dr. Martin Rudolph.

As part of Digital Surface Engineering, IOM will appoint a professorship for “Simulation and Modelling” jointly with Leipzig University. Furthermore, IOM is going to build up a team of theorists, data scientists, and software developers over the next four years to drive innovative approaches at the interface of modeling, AI, and experimental surface science. “We will work closely with strong partners such as the Center for Scalable Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (ScaDS.AI), the Dresden Center of Computational Material Science (DCMS), and the Leibniz Network for Mathematical Modeling and Simulation (MMS) to establish a dynamic ecosystem for data-driven surface and materials science,” affirms Dr. Stefan Zahn, head of the Modeling and Simulation working group.

The development of modeling and simulation activities creates crucial conditions for research on surfaces for a clean environment, health technologies, as well as optics, photonics, and quantum technologies.

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Benjamin Dietzek-Ivanšić
Scientific Director of the IOM