Welcome address

Dear Readers,

When I was able to present the annual report of the Fraunhofer IMWS for the first time as Institute Director last year, two events dominated my review: the activities surrounding our 30th anniversary as a Fraunhofer site in Halle (Saale) and the cyberattack that hit our institute in spring 2022. Both events still had an impact in 2023, and in a positive way too. The anniversary, with the ceremony in November 2022 as the highlight, showed me in an impressive way how highly our research activities are regarded by our clients, scientific peers and partners in the region. Experiencing how much excellent expertise, how many valuable collaborations and how much impact for our clients has been created here in Halle was nothing less than inspiring for me as the - still new - head of the institute. At the same time, it is an obligation to lead the institute into the future with the same innovative strength and efficiency.

We have also used the consequences of the cyberattack to partially redesign and optimize internal processes at the institute. We can and want to achieve an even greater focus on service and efficiency, to become more agile and strengthened through digitalization tools, and to include both grass-roots and top-down approaches to our strategy development and its implementation.

After successfully settling into my new position, which included a very valuable exchange with the Board of Trustees and the Institute's industrial advisory boards, I see the sharpening of our profile as a central task in this strategy process. This was one of the reasons for the transfer of our previous business unit "Carbon Cycle Technologies" to the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS as a branch office in Freiberg at the beginning of the year. We will, of course, continue to support the topics relating to the carbon cycle economy that are the focus there with our expertise and in trusting cooperation.

Strengthening and deepening our core competencies in the field of microstructure analysis gives us the opportunity to further intensify our transfer activities and support our clients even more effectively as partners. The need for this is obvious, not only in terms of resource efficiency, sustainability and the circular economy, for which reliable high-performance materials are essential, but also for the technological and energy sovereignty of our industry. The fact that we can make a contribution here, from innovative electronic components and new solutions for laser processing to biopolymers and improved materials for dental care through to high-performance photovoltaics and marketable technologies along the hydrogen value chain, is an enormous incentive for me, as it is for all employees at the Fraunhofer IMWS. You can find a selection of our projects and activities on this website - in a new, more modern and importantly sustainable online format.

This year, I am looking forward with great anticipation to my position as Professor of Diagnostics and Structure of Materials at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. I would also like to use this position to provide impetus for research into sustainable and multifunctional materials. Within the framework of basic research at the university and in exchange with students and faculty, we can tackle topics and build up preparatory skills that will benefit our industrial clients when they are put to concrete use. I would also like to use the cooperation with the new Executive Board of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft to position our institute even better on the research market.

I am very pleased that we are heading for a positive financial result in the first full year under my leadership. In view of the economic conditions, this is not to be taken for granted. All the more reason for me to thank all of the Fraunhofer IMWS's customers and sponsors, the cooperating scientific institutions and all of our employees!

Yours sincerely

Prof. Dr. Erica Lilleodden

Institute Director