The major themes of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft at this year's Hannover Messe from 23 to 27 April 2012 were projects and solutions on sustainability. One main focus were technologies for the city of the future “Morgenstadt”. At several fair stands visitors found exhibits on key topics such as adaptronics, energy, production and simulation.

• more infomehr Info

Water covers three quarters of the Earth's surface although only about one percent is available to us as drinking water. But a reliable and sufficient supply of safe water is one of the basic needs of all mankind. In spite of this, 884 million people worldwide still have no access to clean, entirely hygienic water. Therefore, Fraunhofer Institutes have been pooling their expertise in the research and development of effective water infrastructure systems and technology.

• more info

“Urban living” was the slogan of Fraunhofer’s appearance at this year’s CeBIT. From 6 to 10 March 2012 Fraunhofer City at CeBIT offered visitors more than 40 points of interest. Six tours took you through quite different areas – from a soccer stadium to an airport, from a museum to a city government office – letting you experience tomorrow today.

• more info

Fraunhofer and the University of British Columbia (UBC) forged a new partnership in order to focus on renewable energy technologies.

• more infomore info

The incidence of skin cancer in Europe, US, and Australia is rising rapidly. One in five will develop some form of skin cancer during the lifetime. A significant improvement of the current diagnostic tools of dermatologists is required in order to identify dermal disorders at a very early stage as well as to monitor directly the effects of treatment.

• more info

The first Fraunhofer Project Center (FPC) in Brazil will have its opening ceremony on 9 March 2012 in Salvador, Bahia.

• more infoOpening Fraunhofer Project Center in Brazil

Dr. Jan Schubert and Andreas Küster from the Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems IVI and Mr. Michael Kriescher from German Aerospace Center DLR came out first in the nationwide competition for application-oriented business cases in sustainable transportation, thus qualifying as ‘German High Tech Champions 2012’. The award ceremony took place on 5 March in Delhi, India.

• more infomore info

The Munich-based producer of professional motion picture equipment ARRI and the Freiburg Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques have been awarded the “Academy Award of Merit” by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for their jointly developed ARRILASER film recorder. The Oscar statuettes will be presented on February 11 in Beverly Hills.

• more infomore info

The "Deutscher Zukunftspreis 2011" was won by a team comprising existing and former Fraunhofer researchers. Professor Karl Leo, Dr. Jan Blochwitz-Nimoth and Dr. Martin Pfeiffer were honored for their pioneering achievements in the field of organic electronics. The German Federal President Christian Wulff honored the scientists with the award on December 14.

• more infomore info

Pirates of the Caribbean 4, The Three Musketeers, and Pina – these are just some of the more than 50 films that have debuted in movie theaters in 3D so far this year. The technology involved in delivering high quality in 3D is extremely complex, and this is where Fraunhofer researchers are at work on cornerstone developments and technologies.

• more info

The first mobile safety laboratory to operate under Biosafety Level 3 has been in use in South Africa since May 2011. As development of the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering in St. Ingbert, this special truck is used for testing and advising patients with AIDS and tuberculosis. The mobile laboratory can save patients' lives in remote areas because it cuts the waiting time between diagnosis and the start of treatment to just one day.

• more info

For scientific research and contributions in the field of video coding, and for their participation in developing and establishing the video-codec H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, Prof. Dr. Thomas Wiegand, Dr. Detlev Marpe and Dr. Heiko Schwarz of the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institut HHI and the Technical University Berlin have received the Karl Heinz Beckurts Award 2011. The awards ceremony will be held on Friday December 9.

• more info

The 2011 Innovation Award in the ‘Innovation’ category goes to Professor Reinhart Poprawe, the head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology in Aachen and holder of a chair at RWTH technical university. With his team he has developed what is called Selective Laser Melting, a technique used to manufacture components – from dental implants and prosthetics to aircraft turbines - in small batch sizes but still at low cost. The award carries a € 100,000 prize.

• more infomore info

At the Fraunhofer-Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI) in Leipzig, the scientists do some research together with the biotechnological industry about a personalized immunotherapy, to prevent a recurrence of the tumor for as long as possible and to do so without toxic side effects for the patient.

• more infopersonalized-immunotherapy

The future belongs to electric vehicles – that’s what most experts think. Fraunhofer institutes are cooperating closely to promote the development of electric vehicles, focusing not just on the drive concepts, but also on the specification for charging stations, and the kind of challenges that lie ahead in terms of power supply and urban planning.

• more infomore info

The Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT began a long-term collaboration with The University of Western Ontario (Western) in London, Ontario. German and Canadian researchers will work together in the joint "Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research @ Western", carrying out research and development in the field of lightweight construction.

• more info

On September 1, 2011 the Chilean Minister of the Economy, Mr Pablo Longueira and Professor Bullinger officially opened Fraunhofer´s first research center in South America. The new ´Fraunhofer Center for Systems Biotechnology´ has been established in Santiago de Chile to develop and optimize new technologies in key areas of importance for the Chilean economy. The research projects are collaborations between Chilean and German scientists and focus at present on aquaculture, renewable energy, agriculture, and bio-computing.

• more infomore info