Intensification of collaboration between TU Braunschweig and Fraunhofer

Dr. Michael Thomas becomes Honorary Professor at the TU Braunschweig

Press release / April 15, 2021

Dr. Michael Thomas, Head of Department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, was appointed Honorary Professor for the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technische Universität Braunschweig on 14 April 2021. With this appointment, the Faculty is acknowledging his commitment as a lecturer for the master’s lectures “Analytik und Prüfung in der Oberflächentechnik (APO)” (Analytics and testing in surface engineering), “Oberflächentechnik mit Atmosphärendruckplasma-Verfahren (OAP)” (Surface engineering with atmospheric pressure plasma processes) and “Ausgewählte Funktionsschichten (AFS)” (Selected functional coatings). His teaching activities strengthen the already intensive collaboration between the Fraunhofer IST and the research centers of the TU Braunschweig at the interface with applied research.

Last modified: April 15, 2021

© Max Fuhrmann
Dr. Michael Thomas (2nd from right) appointed honorary professor: Presentation of the certificate with the acting president Professor Katja Koch (left), Professor Klaus Dröder (Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering) and Professor Christoph Herrmann (right).

Lectures with application-oriented character

Since the summer semester of 2018, Michael Thomas, who holds a doctorate in chemistry, has been engaged as a lecturer at the TU Braunschweig with three master’s lectures which he has completely revised and reconceptualized under the stipulation of creating an up-to-date interface to applied research. In these lectures, in-depth manufacturing and process-engineering knowledge is imparted on the fundamentals, operating principles and applications of atmospheric pressure plasma processes, as well as on application-relevant coating systems and surface analytics. Topicality is thereby of great importance to him; accordingly, students learn not only how innovative materials such as diamond or graphene are produced but also what role coating and surface technology plays in the development of state-of-the-art batteries. For the future, Dr. Thomas furthermore plans to integrate topics from the future research areas of hydrogen economy, medical technology and pharmaceutical production.

In the exercises, the students benefit from the 20 years of experience in applied coating and surface technology which the chemist has accrued at the Fraunhofer IST. In numerous experiments, the students gain, in addition to a theoretical understanding, practical knowledge along holistic process chains from coating production through characterization and on to application.

Collaboration with the TU Braunschweig

In addition to his teaching activities, Michael Thomas is involved in a variety of collaborations with the TU Braunschweig. He is a member of the “Center for Pharmaceutical Engineering (PVZ)” and will assume an interface function in the cooperation between the Fraunhofer IST and the PVZ. Through the participation of the TU Braunschweig and the PVZ, he is significantly involved in the establishment of the High-Performance Center ”Medical and Pharmaceutical Engineering”. On his initiative, a translational laboratory for individualized pharmaceutical production, the only one of its kind in Germany, will be founded at the PVZ in 2021. Furthermore, Michael Thomas is involved in the Fraunhofer Project Center at the Open Hybrid LabFactory (OHLF) and in the development of new topics from the Fraunhofer IST in Wolfsburg.

Personal details

Dr. Michael Thomas studied chemistry at the Leibniz University Hannover. From 1997 to 2000, he worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the Leibniz University Hannover (Prof. Heidberg), where he successfully completed his doctorate in the field of physical chemistry in 1999. Since 2000, the chemist has been employed at the Fraunhofer IST in Braunschweig, where he has headed the “Atmospheric Pressure Processes” department since 2012. His main focus is on interfacial chemistry and the control of adhesion as well as the deposition and characterization of functional coatings, in particular for medical and pharmaceutical technology. Together with partners from the Städtisches Klinikum Braunschweig (Braunschweig municipal hospital) and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, in 2013 he was awarded the Fraunhofer Prize “Human-Centered Technology” for his work on “Plasma in a Bag”, a novel technology for the internal coating of closed systems for adherent cell cultivation.

Since 2019, he has been Chairman of the “European Joint Committee/Plasma and Ion Surface Engineering (EJC/PISE)”, an association of the leading experts in plasma surface technology in Europe. In addition, since 2020 he has been engaged as Chairman of the Board in the competence network “INPLAS e.V.”, an industrial network for plasma technology.

Further Information

Atmospheric pressure plasma processes at the Fraunhofer IST

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LabBag® - Laboratory in the Bag

A closed surface-based system for cell cultivation.

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Press release

Intensification of collaboration between TU Braunschweig and Fraunhofer

Dr. Michael Thomas becomes Honorary Professor at the TU Braunschweig

Lectures with application-oriented character

Collaboration with the TU Braunschweig

Dr. Michael Thomas becomes Honorary Professor at the TU Braunschweig

Personal details

Further Information

Atmospheric pressure plasma processes at the Fraunhofer IST

LabBag® - Laboratory in the Bag

Contact Press / Media

Dr. Simone Kondruweit-Reinema