New Transfer Advisory Board Begins Its Work at IOM

Visit to the electron-beam membrane modification system at the IOM Application Center. Dr. Agnes Schulze (third from right) explained the principle of the pilot-scale roll-to-roll system and presented current research topics. Photo: Lukas Finzel

Visit to the RIBE 450 ion-beam etching system at IOM. Prof. Dr. Thomas Arnold (second from right) explained how the pilot system works and provided insights into current research topics. Photo: Lukas Finzel

How can research findings be translated into practical applications even more effectively and generate tangible impact? With the newly established Transfer Advisory Board, which held its inaugural meeting on September 1, Leibniz-IOM is strengthening its strategic approach to knowledge and technology transfer by incorporating external perspectives. The board will support the institute in identifying transfer potential at an early stage, further developing existing activities, and making the societal and economic benefits of its research more visible.

The Transfer Advisory Board brings together a broad range of perspectives and experience from innovation research and foresight, technology transfer and business development, industrial process development, and regional economic development. Its members are Dr. Juliane Welz, André Hofmann, Dr. Joachim Stühler, and Jörn-Heinrich Tobaben. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Mussenbrock, Chair of the IOM Scientific Advisory Board, attended the meeting as a guest.

To gain first-hand insights into IOM's research and its transfer potential, the board members toured selected research facilities and learned more about electron-beam membrane modification and ion-beam processing using the RIBE 450 system, which is applied, among other areas, in EUV lithography. The focus then turned to specific transfer activities and their future development, including the regional GRAVOmer alliance.

Summing up his impressions, Jörn-Heinrich Tobaben said: “IOM has exceptionally strong expertise in highly specialized technological fields. The next step is to make the stories behind these capabilities even more visible and to demonstrate the contribution the institute can make to addressing current economic and societal challenges.”

The inaugural meeting marks the beginning of a regular exchange. Drawing on the diverse experience of its members, the Transfer Advisory Board will provide new impetus, critically support strategic developments, and help strengthen the focus on the entire pathway from research and transfer to tangible impact.

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