Dr Kristina Lachmann heads the groups Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Processes and Medical Technology and Pharmaceutical Systems at the Fraunhofer IST. In this video you can see how her career at the institute progressed from student assistant to head of the two groups, how she balances her private life with two small children and her work as a group manager, and what advice she gives to young colleagues who are still at the beginning of their scientific careers.
At the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, we keep an eye on the entire product life cycle and develop sustainable products and associated production systems. Digitization, networking and automation are the keys to a holistic design of process chains and their embedding in production systems. Central to our work is a profound understanding of the relationships between the process parameters, the resulting structure of thin films and surfaces, and the final properties of the product. Inline and laboratory analytics create the foundation for this and provide important data for simulation-based approaches, e.g. for a simulation of layer growth or new data-driven approaches based on machine learning.
At the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST we harness the potential for sustainable products and associated competitive, scalable production systems. Our research encompasses the plant technology, entire process chains of the process and production engineering up to the consideration of entire factories. Starting from the requirements of the sustainability, we keep an eye on the entire product life cycle - from the material through the process to the component and product to recycling. Based on our technology and competence fields the departments of the Fraunhofer IST create solutions especially in the sectors plant and mechanical engineering, tools, vehicle construction, aerospace, energy, optics, medicine, pharmaceutical and environmental technology. This includes solutions for battery production, the production of tribological systems and sensor technology, the production of precision optical systems and methods and technologies for digital services.
Living cells are increasingly being used in modern therapy methods such as blood transfusions, stem cell therapies and bone marrow transplantations, or in the regeneration of severe burns. The standard cultivation of these cells in open systems is associated with a high contamination risk, which can only be reduced with sophisticated equipment and correspondingly high costs and a suitable laboratory infrastructure. Using closed bag systems as a cultivation vessel can provide relief. Common polymers usually do not provide a suitable surface for cultivation, since the cells cannot adhere. To gain adherence, the surface has to be pre-treated or coated. Therefore, a special process based on an atmospheric pressure plasma technique was developed at Fraunhofer IST which enables an automatized coating in the interior of closed plastic bags.
At the Application Center of the Fraunhofer IST customer-specific plasma sources are developed in close cooperation with industry which serve a wide range of applications. By treating diverse material systems such as metals, polymers, glasses, natural materials, etc., whose sometimes strongly varying surface properties can have a significant influence on the plasma parameters and their characteristics, we offer many years of expertise in the field of process development. This ensures a target-oriented adaptation of your requirements to our systems. Challenges resulting from your catalog of requirements have been the basis for our expertise for many years. Based on this wealth of experience, we can offer you targeted process development and integration, and sometimes facilitate a smooth technology transfer.
At the Application Center of the Fraunhofer IST customer-specific plasma sources are developed in close cooperation with industry which serve a wide range of applications. By treating diverse material systems such as metals, polymers, glasses, natural materials, etc., whose sometimes strongly varying surface properties can have a significant influence on the plasma parameters and their characteristics, we offer many years of expertise in the field of process development. This ensures a target-oriented adaptation of your requirements to our systems.
Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST