Research meets industry : advanced materials science

Luxembourg has historically followed a policy of targeting its research strategy on a small number of carefully-selected fields. One especially well-supported discipline is advanced materials science, with particular emphasis on composites and nanomaterials. The University of Luxembourg and the Luxembourg
Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) have particular expertise in this area and are making a solid contribution to the development work undertaken by industry and research organisations.

Source : Focus 10
Publication date : 11/20/2015

The Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication at the University of Luxembourg has five research units: Computer Science and Communications, Engineering Science, Mathematics, Physics and Materials Science, and Life Sciences. “We have a faculty of 70, plus around 1,000 Bachelor and Masters degree candidates and 300 PhD candidates, which is a good number,” says the faculty’s Dean, Professor Paul Heuschling. “Over the last few years, our fastest-growing fields have been mathematics and physics. The fact that we have two European Research Council fellows speaks volumes about the quality of our research programmes, as does a recent OECD assessment of our research and innovation capabilities. We also enjoy an endowed chair; the ArcelorMittal chair in Façade
Engineering.”

Knowledge transfer and PPPs

The University is engaged in academic research in several areas of great interest to industry, among them the physics of materials science, photovoltaics, lean manufacturing and human-robot interaction. Professor Heuschling is fully committed to knowledge transfer and working with industry in public-private partnerships (PPPs). The faculty is currently working with a number of local companies, among them Goodyear, DuPont, Delphi, ArcelorMittal and Rotarex. “We are also extremely keen to start setting up longerterm PPPs,” says the Dean. “At present, the average length is the duration of a PhD.”

The faculty’s Computer, Mathematics and Engineering units are currently working on a joint project using computational science approaches and High Performance Computing (HPC) to develop algorithms and tools to address industry’s increasing need for models able to simulate and predict the behaviour of materials. This approach has already produced several useful models, mostly developed in cooperation with industry. “In addition, Engineering Professor Peter Plapper has set up a Laser Competence Centre, which interacts intensively with our industrial partners,” says Professor Heuschling. “This centre develops tools and applications for the use of high-power lasers in welding and manufacturing.”

Smart specialisation

Professor Jens Kreisel, Director of the Materials Research and Technology Department (MRT) at LIST, explains that the direction of his department is very much in line with Luxembourg’s smart specialisation strategy. “We have two research units – Nanomaterials & Nanotechnology, and Composite Materials – which are supported by the R&D and top-notch equipment in our Central Materials Laboratory. Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology are two of the Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) highlighted in the strategy.”

He adds, “MRT has 150 staff, and our priority is to translate cutting-edge materials research into applicable technology. We collaborate with partners in academia and industry as well as research and technology organisations (RTOs) to deliver the Luxembourg innovation agenda.”

An international institute

The Central Materials Laboratory is furnished with state-of-the-art equipment for the use of all MRT researchers.

It has a clean room and supports up-scalable processing technologies enabling the synthesis of nano-structures and nano-particles in addition to thin-film processing and engineering, functional measurements, electromechanical testing, polymer processing, prototyping, thermo-physical analyses, electromechanical testing machines and photospectrometry. “We want to get the best use out of the lab and our very high-end instruments,” says Professor Kreisel.

MRT works with international partners throughout Europe and as far away as Australia. “We are much more than a local research centre. That said, I strongly believe that research done in Luxembourg should benefit Luxembourg as well as our external partners.”

Nanotechnology for health and the environment

Professor Kreisel is enthusiastic about the proposal to set up a composite competence centre in Luxembourg. “Biocomposites – biodegradable, renewable materials created by reinforcing a polymer resin with natural fibres – have generated a great deal of interest in a wide range of industries. A particular focus of the Composite Materials unit is the design and durability of composites and the quality of the interface between the resin and fibres.”

The Nanomaterials and Technology unit also hosts a research group in nano-medicine which has been working with the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) and the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL) to develop nanomaterials that deliver medications and improve medical imaging. “Obviously in these applications, the issue of nanosafety is paramount,” says Professor Kreisel.

Work at MRT also benefits from the department’s advanced platform for materials characterisation, which is particularly well equipped for investigating  physical-chemical and surface properties at both macroscopic and nanoscopic levels. The platform contains equipment for procedures including materials testing, spectrometry, spectroscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry and nanoanalysis.