GRAVOnet 2025: Exchange on functional surfaces
Around 50 representatives from industry, science and design attended the GRAVOnet event on May 22, 2025, followed by a summer party at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle. The focus was on interdisciplinary exchange on functional surfaces, sustainable product design and innovative materials.
The members' meeting of the GRAVOmer research and innovation alliance kicked off the event in the morning. Afterwards, the renowned design university opened its doors and offered exciting insights into current projects at the interface of design and science with guided tours of workshops, the materials collection and the pioneering "BurgLabs". The material experiments and the "BioLab", in which biological substances are printed into a gel matrix using 3D printing, aroused particular interest. The students' creative approaches to designing sustainable shoes, a product that has so far been virtually impossible to recycle, were also impressive. The ideas presented give hope for exciting prototype ideas.
GRAVOnet with keynote speeches on functional surfaces
In three keynote speeches by Prof. Dieter Hofmann, Prof. Lutz Engisch & Dr. Ulrike Helmstedt and Hannah Kannenberg, it became clear how great the potential of functional surfaces is in product development - both technically and in terms of design. "It is clear that surface textures must be considered from the very beginning of new innovations," emphasized Dr. Ulrike Helmstedt, project manager of the GRAVOmer project at the Leibniz Institute for Surface Modification. A total of twelve partner institutions from research and industry presented themselves at the subsequent cooperation exchange. The spectrum ranged from sustainable material use, photovoltaic and ceramic technologies to high-tech solutions for industry. "We are delighted to have gained a strong new partner in Burg Giebichenstein - and are particularly excited about the students' creative contributions to the competition for a bus shelter with an innovative surface design," concluded the GRAVOmer organizers. The event ended with a joint summer party with cool drinks and lively discussions in a relaxed atmosphere - a successful conclusion to an inspiring networking day.