Invited Speakers

• Metin Sitti

  Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems | DE

  Metin Sitti received the B. Sc. and M. Sc. degrees in electrical and electronics engineering from Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey, in 1992 and 1994, respectively, and the PhD degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tokyo, Japan in 1999. He was a research scientist at UC Berkeley during 1999-2002. He is currently a director of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart. His research interests include small-scale physical intelligence, mobile microrobotics, bio-inspired materials and miniature robots, soft robotics and micro-/nanomanipulation. He is an IEEE Fellow. He received the SPIE Nanoengineering Pioneer Award in 2011 and NSF Career Award in 2005. He is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics.

• Jean-Claude André

  University of Lorraine | FR

  Jean-Claude André started his research career in 1971 with a doctorate in chemical-physics and physical sciences at the CNRS Nancy, France. 1981 he became Research Director at CNRS. During 1976 and 1999 he had several academic positions: Postdoc at the University of Ontario, scientific VP of the National Polytec Institute of Lorraine, Research Director at CNRS, Scientific Director of INRS Insurance and VP of the European Science Foundation for Physics, Chemistry and Engineering. Before he came back to CNRS in 2008 he had a team-leader position of 3 EU networks on research and forecasting in occupational risks and their prevention. From 2009 he has Emeritus position at CNRS. One of his key activies is 3D machining with lasers (stereolithography).

• Reinhart Poprawe

  RWTH Aachen University | DE

  Prof. Dr. Reinhart Poprawe holds a M. A. in Physics degree from the California State University in Fresno which he received in 1977. After completion of his diploma and PhD in physics (Darmstadt 1984) he joined the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology in Aachen where he began working as head of the department „Laser oriented process development“ in 1985. From 1989 to 1/1996 he has been managing director of Thyssen Laser Technik GmbH in Aachen. Since February 1996 he is managing director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology and holds the University Chair for Laser Technology at the RWTH Aachen. Currently he is a member of the board in the AKL Arbeitskreis Lasertechnik e. V. Aachen. Prof. Poprawe has been elected to the grade of Fellow in the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in USA (SME) since 1998. In 2006 he became Fellow of the Laser Institute of America LIA and in 2012 Fellow of SPIE. Since 2001 he is a member of the board of the Laser Institute of America (LIA) and serves in many national and international boards as advisor, referee or consultant, for instance at the National Laser Centre of South Africa NLC. During the period of 09/2005 until 09/2008 he was Vice-Rector for Structure, Research and Junior Academic Staff. He still is chairing the RWTH-International Board, is the Rectors delegate for China, received an Honorary Professorship at Tsinghua University and the Schawlow Award of the Laser Institute of America in 2014.

• Frederik Kotz

  Karlsruhe Institute of Technology | DE

  Frederik Kotz studied mechanical engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). During the course of his phD thesis he developed nanocomposites which allow additive manufacturing of high-quality transparent fused silica glass. His work has been published in high-impact journals like Advanced Materials and Nature. He is the Co-founder and Chief Science Officer (CSO) of the start-up company Glassomer GmbH. His research interests include microfluidics, nanocomposites and new materials for additive manufacturing.

• Thomas Gries

  RWTH Aachen University | DE

• Christopher Pastore

  University at Albany-SUNY | USA

• David Breen

  Drexel University | USA

• Miguel Bruns

  Technical University of Eindhoven | NL

• Marek Behr

  RWTH Aachen University | DE

• Ferdinando Auricchio

  University of Pavia | IT

  Ferdinando Auricchio started in 1998 as a associate Professor at the University of Pavia, Italy. After three years he became a full professor, working for the department of Civil Engineering and Architecture. In 2016 during the ceremony of the ECCOMAS Congress Ferdinando Auricchio was awarded for the Euler Medal for his outstanding and sustained contributions to the area of computational solid and structural mechanics.

• Horst Fischer

  Universitätsklinikum Aachen | DE

  Horst Fischer is head of the department Dental Materials and Biomaterials Research, RWTH Aachen University Hospital since 2009. He received his diploma in mechanical engineering in 1992 and his PhD in the field of biomaterials under the supervision of Prof. Horst R. Maier at RWTH Aachen University in 1995. Afterwards he worked with the American company Procter & Gamble in a research and development department. Back to the University, he received his habilitation in Biomedical Materials at RWTH Aachen University in 2002. Horst Fischer is internationally recognized in the field of synthesis and characterization of novel biomaterials and its processing by tailored additive manufacturing techniques as for example cell-laden hydrogel-based 3D bioprinting. He is member of the German National Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina.

• Leonid Ionov

  University of Bayreuth | DE

  Leonid Ionov started his research career at the Moscow State University, Russia. In 2002 he moved to Germany for a PhD Position at the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden and Dresden University of Technology. After this period he changed over to Max Planck "Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden. Since 06/2017 he is Professor at the University of Bayreuth. In 2012 he was awarded with the Georg-Manecke-Price for the outstanding work in biopolymers.

• Julian Thiele

  Leibniz-Institute for Polymer Research | DE

  The ThieleLab utilizes its expertise in polymer synthesis and material processing ion micro- and nanoscale to develop polymer materials as experimental platforms that reflect architecture and design principles inspired by nature. A key experimental platform are microscopic polymer hydrogels. We design these microgels to mimic size, functionalization, porosity, shape and local organization of the natural intracellular and extracellular environment. Here, existing as well yet inaccessible complex biofunctions and biosynthesis are studied, manipulated and optimized to yield novel biomaterials and active compounds by utilizing a catalytically active, resource-efficient synthesis environment. To fabricate such polymer materials, we design synthetic and natural macromolecular precursors, which are then processed via microfluidically prepared emulsions and micro-stereolithography.

• Céline Mandon

  Claude Bernard University Lyon | FR

• Andreas Herrmann

  DWI - Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials | DE

  Member of the Scientific Board at the DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials Chair of Macromolecular Materials and Systems, Institute for Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University. The Herrmann group investigates engineered biomacromolecules and bioorganic hybrid materials for various biomedical and technological applications. For his research he received an ERC Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (2016), a VICI Grant from the NWO (2010) and several other adwards.

• Suzana Nunes

  KAUST | KSA