Knowledge and Technology Transfer in Materials Research – Characteristics and Conditions of Successful Product Innovation (InnoMat)

  • Project team:

    Bräutigam, Klaus-Rainer (Project leader); Matthias Achternbosch; Torsten Fleischer; Peter Hocke-Bergler; Anna Schleisiek

  • Funding:

    Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren e.V.

  • Start date:

    2006

  • End date:

    2008

  • Project partners:

    ITAS (Project coordinator);
    Deutsche Hochschule für Verwaltungswissenschaften Speyer;
    Fraunhofer Institut für System- und Innovationsforschung, Karlsruhe;
    Forschungsstelle Internationales Management und Innovation der Universität Stuttgart-Hohenheim

  • Research group:

    Innovation processes and impacts of technology

Project description

Aim of the project, funded by the Helmholtz Association of GermanResearch CentersInitiative and Networking Fund, is to analyse the functionality of knowledge and technology transfer in the field of materials research within government-financed scientific institutions into industrial use. Furthermore, this projects provides context-specific optimizing potential for this transfer and discusses chances and risks of different patterns of transfer on the basis of the selected transfer projects.

Empirical research will be conducted on nine specific examples (the so called transfer projects) from the field of materials research. These nine projects are incorporated in three different institutional context-structures: the Hermann von Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers, the Fraunhofer Society and technical universities.

On the one hand, this project applies and expands current knowledge in the field of innovation theory and knowledge transfer to the field of materials research in government-financed scientific institutions. On the other hand, transfer projects are supposed to benefit directly from the research work and therefore optimize their process of transfer. Moreover, analysis in the field of materials research will provide valuable advise on future key topics within the Helmholtz-Association. Through analysis of projects on materials research in the field of nanotechnologies there is a linkage and collaboration to the integrative project "NanoHealth".

From a methodological perspective, system analytical questions are combined with established research methods from the social sciences in a dialogical research process.

Project management will be at ITAS. The duties and responsibilities of ITAS are: design of the theoretical-conceptual framework, empirical analysis of transfer action, integration of research partners as well as organisation of workshops with projects from the field of materials research. These works will be supported by Lambert Feher from the Institute for Pulsed Power and Microwave Technology (IHM) of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, an institute at which one of the nine transfer projects to be studied is carried out (the project "Optimized industrials fabrication of composite structures with innovative Microwave Technology")

InnoMat is executed in cooperation with the following research partners:

  • Deutsche Hochschule für Verwaltungswissenschaften Speyer (Hans-Willy Hohn) will conduct a comparative analysis of the three types of government-financed scientific institutions. Through this, the advantages and disadvantages of typical context structures of the three organisations with regard to knowledge transfer in the field of materials Research will be compiled.
  • Fraunhofer Institut für System- und Innovationsforschung, Karlsruhe (Joachim Hemer) will specify parameters for anticipated market success.
  • Forschungsstelle Internationales Managemant und Innovation der Universität Stuttgart-Hohenheim (Alexander Gerybadze, Christopher Gresse) will analyse the specific transfer projects from a user perspective.

Subject to investigation are the following projects from the field of Materials research:

Project „Development of novel industrial microwave systems for processing of reaction-bound polymers and composite structures“
  Dr.-Ing. Lambert Feher, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institut für Hochleistungsimpuls- und Mikrowellentechnik, Karlsruhe
 
Project „Manufacture of Ceramic Matrix Composite Structures“
  Dipl.-Ing. Bernhard Heidenreich, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., Stuttgart, Institut für Bauweisen- und Konstruktionsforschung
 
Project „Development of steels and ceramics for high-temperature fuel cells“
  Dr. Norbert Menzler, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institut für Werkstoffe und Verfahren der Energietechnik 1 (IWV1),
Dr. W.J. Quadakkers, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institut für Werkstoffe und Verfahren der Energietechnik 2 (IWV2),
Dr. M.J. Wilms, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Technologie-Transfer-Buro (TTB)
 
Project „Development of foams from thermoplastic polymers“
  Dr. Rudolf Emmerich, Fraunhofer Institut für Chemische Technologie, Karlsruhe
 
Project „Development of actuator systems based on carbon nanotubes“
  Dr. Karl-Heinz Haas, Fraunhofer Institut für Silicatforschung, Würzburg
 
Project „Nanoceramics“
  Dr. Michael Zins, Fraunhofer Institut für keramische Technologien und Sinterwerkstoffe, Dresden
 
Project „Development of application areas for materials with shape memory (NiTiNol) in medicine“
  Dipl.-Ing. Jan Stüve, Institut für Textiltechnik der RWTH Aachen,
Dr. Michael Klöppels, 3T TextilTechnologieTransfer GmbH, Aachen
 
Project „Development of application areas for anti-microbial polymers based on thermoplastics/silver compounds“
  Prof. Dr. Helmut Münstedt, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institut für Werkstoffwissenschaften Lehrstuhl für Polymerwerkstoffe
 
Project „Optimisation strategies for the use of material combinations for material compounds/composites to meet structural requirement“
  Prof. Dr. Gerhard Ziegmann, Technische Universität Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Institut für Polymer-Werkstoff- und Kunststoff-Technik, Clausthal-Zellerfeld

A two day workshop together with the research partners and the nine transfer project managers is scheduled towards the end of July 2006. At this Workshop, the projects objectives will be introduced to the Transfer Project managers, the nine Transfer projects research activities and state-of-the-art will be presented and further proceedings will be planned.

Interviews within the specific Transfer projects will be conducted in summer and autumn 2006. By Interview interpretation there ought to be (amongst others):

  • a characterisation of transfer goods
  • description and analysis of current collective transfer action
  • analysis of the impact of context structures of the research institutes on transfer action in the different projects

Further Workshops as well as interviews should presumably take place in mid 2007 and early 2008.

Publications


2011
Book Chapters
Bräutigam, K.-R.; Fleischer, T.; Gerybadze, A.; Gredel, D.; Gresse, C.; Hemer, J.; Hocke, P.; Hohn, H.-W.; Schleisiek, A.
Schlussfolgerungen und Empfehlungen
2011. Wissens- und Technologietransfer als Innovationstreiber. Mit Beispielen aus der Materialforschung Hrsg.: K.-R. Bräutigam, 281–301, Springer Verlag 
Bräutigam, K. R.; Fleischer, T.; Hocke, P.
Anwendungsfelder
2011. Bräutigam, K.R. [Hrsg.] Wissens- und Technologietransfer als Innovationstreiber : Mit Beispielen aus der Materialforschung Berlin [u.a.] : Springer, 2011 (VDI-Buch), 107–126 
Hocke, P.; Bräutigam, K. R.; Fleischer, T.; Schleisiek, A.
Zur Zielsetzung der Studie und ihrem Projektdesign
2011. Bräutigam, K.R. [Hrsg.] Wissens- und Technologietransfer als Innovationstreiber : Mit Beispielen aus der Materialforschung Berlin [u.a.] : Springer, 2011 (VDI-Buch), 1–16 
Schleisiek, A.; Bräutigam, K. R.; Fleischer, T.; Hocke, P.
Wie Wissenschaftler Transferprozesse gestalten: Technologietransfer im Spannungsfeld zwischen Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft
2011. Bräutigam, K.R. [Hrsg.] Wissens- und Technologietransfer als Innovationstreiber : Mit Beispielen aus der Materialforschung Berlin [u.a.] : Springer, 2011 (VDI-Buch), 127–179 
Books
Bräutigam, K.-R.; Gerybadze, A. (Eds.)
Wissens- und Technologietransfer als Innovationstreiber : Mit Beispielen aus der Materialforschung
2011. Berlin [u.a.] : Springer, 2011 (VDI-Buch), Springer Verlag 
2009
Presentations
Schleisiek, A.; Bräutigam, K. R.; Fleischer, T.; Hocke, P.
Knowledge and technology transfer as a challenge for scientific practices in the field of advanced materials. Findings from an empirical case study research
2009. SPT 2009: Converging Technologies, Changing Societies ; 16th Internat.Conf.of the Society for Philosophy and Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, NL, July 8-10, 2009 
2008
Presentations
Schleisiek, A.; Bräutigam, K. R.; Fleischer, T.; Hocke, P.
Gestaltungsspielräume im Wissenschaftsalltag. Die Transferpraxis von Materialforschern in der öffentlichen Forschung
2008. 8.Österreichische TA-Konf.des Instituts für Technikfolgen-Abschätzung (TA’08), 3.Konf.des Netzwerks TA (NTA3), Wien, A, 28.-30.Mai 2008 
2007
Journal Articles
Bräutigam, K. R.; Fleischer, T.
Bedingungen und Folgen von Materialinnovationen
2007. GAIA - Ökologische Perspektiven für Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft, (2006), 15, 314–16 
Presentations
Schleisiek, A.; Bräutigam, K. R.; Fleischer, T.; Hocke-Bergler, P.
Wissens- und Technologietransfer in der Materialforschung (InnoMat) - Design einer qualitativen Studie zum Handeln von Forschern
2007. Berliner Methodentreffen Qualitative Forschung, Berlin, 29.-30.Juni 2007 
2006
Presentations
Bräutigam, K.-R.
Knowledge and technology transfer in materials research (InnoMat). Characteristics and conditions of successful product innovation
2006. Workshop Systemanalyse bei der Europäischen Umweltagentur (2006), Copenhagen, Denmark, September 26, 2006 

Contact

Dipl.-Phys. Klaus-Rainer Bräutigam
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS)
P.O. Box 3640
76021 Karlsruhe
Germany