UTU Tech Webinar – Materials libraries and data-driven discovery of complex materials

24.01.2022

The Faculty of Technology organises UTU Tech Webinar with Alfred Ludwig, Professor for Materials Discovery and Interfaces at the Institute for Materials of Ruhr University Bochum (RUB). Discovery of new materials is a key challenge in materials science. We need new and efficient methods for design of functional materials. This webinar will discuss materials libraries and data-driven discovery of complex materials. The webinar is open for all and no registration is required. Welcome!

Materials libraries and data-driven discovery of complex materials

Discovery of new materials is a key challenge in materials science. For example, new materials for sustainable production, storage and conversion of energy carriers are necessary to improve existing energy systems and to enable future technologies. We need efficient methods for design and optimization of new functional materials. 

I present thin-film combinatorial materials science as an effective means to produce large, consistent and complete experimental datasets which can be used for materials informatics. The approach comprises fabrication of libraries of thin-film materials, followed by high-throughput characterization, and finally the organization of the acquired multi-dimensional data in adequate databases, as well their effective computational analysis and visualization. It is particularly important to define adequate screening parameters to govern the design and development of materials libraries.

This has allowed us to design up to quinary materials blends, visualise their composition-processing-structure-function diagrams, and interlink their compositional data with structural and functional properties. This talk will discuss examples of combinatorial discoveries and development of new materials in different materials classes, as well as applications of materials informatics to accelerate and improve the materials discovery process.

Alfred Ludwig, Professor for Materials Discovery and Interfaces

Alfred Ludwig is Professor for Materials Discovery and Interfaces at the Institute for Materials of Ruhr University Bochum (RUB). In 1999 he received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from University of Karlsruhe. He then worked at the caesar research center in Bonn and became head of the research group "Combinatorial Materials Science" in 2002. At the same time, he started at RUB as junior professor and became full professor in 2012. He initiated and organised the research center ZGH (Center for Interface-Dominated High Performance Materials) of which he is the scientific director. In 2021 he became as well one of the founding directors of the Research Alliance Ruhr research center “Future Energy Materials and Systems”.

His research interests include combinatorial materials science, high-throughput experimentation, material informatics, autonomous experimentation, materials for nano/microsystems, thin films and multinary nanoparticles, with a focus on multifunctional materials for future energy systems, e.g. novel electrocatalysts.

Alfred Ludwig profile

Luotu 24.01.2022 | Muokattu 24.01.2022