Insight08_eng

� Outlook: Newliaison office forinnovative technologies

� Insights: GeologicalCO2 storage as a climateprotection option

� Overview: Geosciencesfocus on mineral surfaces

� Quick look: Satellitemissions show successfulindustry involvement

Insight

A transdisciplinaryapproach!

A transdisciplinary approach! When I recent-

ly used this term in a personal conversation,

the immediate response I got was incompre-

hension. This is easy to understand, since a

uniform definition and a clear differentiati-

on from the term interdisciplinary approach

does not exist at this time.

Nonetheless: a transdisciplinary approach

encompasses more than merging different

scientific disciplines. It aims at the substanti-

al involvement of users – most especially, if

the research projects tackle societal issues.

To date, the R&D-Program GEOTECHNO-

LOGIEN has set standards in this segment

and has brought this rather stiff term to

life. The most recent example pertains to

the research projects focusing on »mineral

surfaces«. What this translates into is more

evidence of the fact that societal needs,

innovative thinking and geoscientific re-

search drive each other. This issue of

INSIGHT will give you just this – insights –

into this new GEOTECHNOLOGIEN research

field and numerous other topics.

Sincerely,

Ludwig Stroink

Horizons – New GEOTECHNOLOGIENprojects and programs

Nuclear processes on mineral surfacesand their technological applicationsOn February 21, 2008, the second reviewmeeting for applications within »MineralSurfaces: From Nuclear Processes to Geo-technology« was held in Potsdam. From atotal of 34 project sketches, sixteen researchassociations were called to submit full appli-cations. The seven-members commission re-presenting Germany, France and Austriarecommended 13 projects for sponsoring.Close to eight million euro will be availableto 18 research institutions and 13 enterpri-ses over the next three years (see additionaldetailed report in this issue).

DFG focus program SAMPLEAfter successfully completing the research per-formed by the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN researchalliances TIPTEQ and SUNDAARC at the activecontinental margins of South America andIndonesia, the DFG has now rolled out its focusprogram SAMPLE (South Atlantic MarginProcesses and Links with onshore Evolution),which addresses the processes at passive conti-nental margins. Over the next five years,approximately six million euro will be availablefor the research work to be performed at thecontinental margins of South Africa under thedirection of the Institute for Geophysics atLudwig Maximilian University (LMU) Munich.

Preliminary Round Table MeetingsMeetings related to three key topics of theR&D program GEOTECHNOLOGIEN wereheld. On February 14, 2008 well over 30scientists from 21 research institutions andenterprises met at the Max Planck Institute forBio-Chemistry in Jena to develop an attractiveR&D plan in reference to the topic »NaturalCycles of Carbon and Nitrogen«.

Close to 40 representatives of universities andvarious industries met on May 23, 2008 at the

Research vessel »Sonne« at the continental

margin of South Africa.

The latest GEOTECHNOLOGIEN figures

� more than 160 research alliances

� partners from 45 universities, 31 research

institutions and 61 corporations

� more than EUR 120 million in support funds

S.Schneider

Newsl_eng_1-08.qxd:Layout 1 21.10.2008 8:56 Uhr Seite 6

Climate protection options – New projectsaiming at the geological storage of CO2

The BMBF has assumed the responsibility for one of the major energypolicy topics of the future: the geological storage of CO2. Now, twoparallel sponsoring strands aim at determining the contributions thiskey technology can make in the reduction of anthropogenous CO2

emissions. All future activities will be performed within the frameworkof the R&D Program GEOTECHNOLOGIEN. Therefore, more than 45million euro will be made available by the BMBF. The decision wasmade on the basis of the already existing commitments of the BMBFto this subject matter: between 2005 and 2008 nine research projectswere supported within the scope of GEOTECHNOLOGIEN. These werethe first activities pertaining to the underground storage of CO2 thatwere coordinated nationwide in Germany. The early involvement ininnovative and visionary research topics at GEOTECHNOLOGIEN hasonce again proven effective and set yet another standard for the anti-cipatory research planning in GEOTECHNOLOGIEN.

The public call for the submission of project proposals for the secondphase was made in 2007. Experts from eight nations evaluated the sub-mitted research alliances. From a total of 20 project proposals, 14 combi-ned projects encompassing a sponsoring volume of 14 million euro wereultimately recommended. They were launched in mid 2008. Besides focu-sing on the selection and examination of potential storage options, theywill in particular look into the development of reliable methods and tech-nologies aiming at the permanent monitoring of appropriate sites. Allactivities are either restricted to laboratory experiments or are simulatedin model scales. Nonetheless, conclusive results depend on the reality-based testing of the new technology in pilot and demonstration projects.

To this end, research projects will be developed in partnership with theindustry in the second sponsoring phase. The industry partners will testthe storage and safety technologies under realistic conditions on loca-tion. The first pilot project of this kind to be rolled out is the CLEANalliance (CO2 Large Scale EGR in the Altmark Natural Gas Field). Underthe direction of the German Research Center for GeosciencesPotsdam, a group of 20 research institutions and corporations will ren-der scientific support to the injection of 100,000 tons of CO2 into anatural gas field south of the town of Salzwedel.

The CO2 is emitted by a coal fired pilot power plant currently underconstruction at the »Schwarze Pumpe« site of the power providerVattenfall. The project will be the first ever that allows the depiction ofthe entire CCS process chain from emission via transportation to sto-rage in pilot scale. Thanks to the establishment of this second pilotproject (the first is CO2SINK at the Ketzin site), Germany has seized therole of a global leader in the development of CCS technology.

Yet another pilot project – COAST (CO2 Aquifer Storage) – operatedunder the auspices of the German Federal Institute for Geosciences andNatural Resources (BGR) aims at the development of the technologicalbasis for the safe storage of CO2 in a saline aquifer. The key partner onthe industry end for this project is German energy provider RWE-Dea.The start of the research alliance is scheduled for January 2009. �

University of Stuttgart. The focal point wasthe development of ground breaking researchfields aiming at the »high resolution depictionof the underground«. New methodical deve-lopments in these tomography processesopen up highly innovative application optionsthat extend beyond the traditional scopes ofapplication for geophysical measuring me-thods. Examples include materials testing andcivil engineering.

A round table on the future perspectives ofsatellite gravimetrics in Germany was heldon May 29, 2008 at the Bavarian Academyof Science and Humanities in Munich. Theparticipation of German groups of scientistsin the European small satellite mission GOCEwill be fostered by sponsorship activitieswithin the scope of the R&D Program GEO-TECHNOLOGIEN (please also read the guestreport in this issue). �

FH Gelsenkirchen

FhGOberhausen

HS Vechta

FZ JülichDLR Köln

Uni Bochum UniklinikEssen

FHSüdwestfalen

Uni MünsterUni Osnabrück

RWTH Aachen

Uni BonnUNU Bonn

TU Kaiserslautern

FhG Kaiserslautern EML Heidelberg

Uni Mainz

TU Braunschweig

Uni Göttingen

Uni Hamburg

TU Hamburg

Uni KielLfNU Kiel

GEOMAR Kiel

Uni Bremen

AWI Bremerhaven

ttz Bremerhaven

MPI Bremen

JU Bremen

GeoZentrum Hannover*

Uni Hannover

* GeoZentrum: GGA, NLfB, BGR Hannover

Stand: Juli 2008

TU Clausthal

Uni BayreuthUni Würzburg

Uni Bamberg

LMU München

Deutsches Museum

DGFI München

BAdW München

TU München

Uni BW München

Uni Karlsruhe

FHG Karlsruhe

FZ Karlsruhe

Uni Tübingen

Uni Freiburg

Uni Stuttgart

TU Freiberg

Uni Weimar

Uni Jena

TU BerlinHU Berlin

FH NeubrandenburgDLR Neustrelitz

Uni Rostock

IOW Rostock

FU Berlin

TU Dresden

DGFZ Dresden

UFZ Leipzig

Uni HalleWittenberg

GRS Braunschweig

Uni Frankfurt/M.

DWD Offenbach

FGK Höhr

BKG Frankfurt/M.

TU Darmstadt

Uni Potsdam

GFZ Potsdam AIP Potsdam

ZALF Müncheberg

TU Cottbus

Universities

Research Institutions

Gas Hydrates

Earth from Space

Magnetic Field

Continental Margins

Sedimentary Basins

Unterground /CO2

Information Systems

Early Warning Systems

Mineral Surfaces

Research themes

Nationwide presence in Germany: the research focal points of the R&D program GETOECHNOLOGIEN


Geotechmarket – The utilization platform for innovativegeoscientific technologies, processes and services

Innovations and their rapidimplementation make Ger-many a stronghold of in-novative development andsustains its internationalcompetitiveness. Never-theless, government spon-sored research findings arestill not being sufficiently

implemented into new technologies, proces-ses and services. This is one of the centralchallenges addressed by the current debatepertaining to Germany’s innovative dynamics.

Earth system research is one of the disciplinesneither the public nor the majority of busines-ses recognize as a source of innovation. Geo-science research centers and universities pos-sess excellent scientific and technological in-frastructures and employ a host of hard-wor-king and highly motivated scientists. Somecorporations do utilize this infrastructure in

some disciplines. The potential capacities farexceed the traditional application range ofgeosciences: they span the entire spectrumfrom geoinformation technology to the con-struction of equipment to medical technology.

The special program GEOTECHNOLOGIEN haslaunched its liaison platform Geotechmarketto intensify the technology and knowledgetransfer between research and industry. Thegoals are to foster the interaction within thegeoscientific institutions nationwide, to provi-de scientific contacts for business inquiriesand to initiate transfer projects between re-search institutions and enterprises. The initia-tive focuses on the first phases of the transferprocess, i.e. the recognition of innovativetechnologies with high application potentialthat can be utilized by the business world aswell as on the provision of individual consul-tations and marketing support for geoscien-tists. A model was developed to render con-

crete implementation support for new tech-nologies. It is divided into different stages:innovation scouting, innovation workshops,market research, matching interviews andtransfer projects. Initial success has alreadybeen achieved. Several technologies for busi-ness utilization have been identified and thesystematic search for technology customershas begun.

Geotechmarket is being operated with theneeds of the geoscientists in their efforts of mar-keting innovative technologies in mind. Yourcontact at Geotechmarket is Werner Dransch.([email protected],Tel. +49-(0)331 / 62014-850) �

Million-fold enhanced – Geoscientific research focuses onmineral surfaces

From the very start, the R&D Program GEOTECHNOLOGIEN has demand-ed and fostered an interdisciplinary approach. To this end, it is clearly evi-dent that neighboring disciplines do profit from each other substantiallyand that new points of views and methods translate into considerablegains for the respective partners involved. In the research world of»Mineral Surfaces: From Nuclear Processes to Geotechnology« geoscien-tists find themselves working side by side with biologists, chemists andphysicists, as well as medical professionals or agricultural land useexperts. Yet the interdisciplinary approach is not the only factor thatmakes this new focal point interesting: next to the intensively commit-ted industrial partners, two academic junior research groups are suppor-ted by the BMBF.Numerous processes in which minerals play a key role still lack detailedunderstanding today. This is what these new projects are about: theyanalyze the physically, chemically and biologically relevant properties ofminerals in terms of their potential uses. This approach literally challen-ges the industry to get involved.

The palette of issues that arise from these projects is diverse. One projectanalyzes, for instance, the interactions between iron compositions andcontaminants in ground water with the objective of increasing the effec-tiveness of water filtration. Another project addresses the subject of cal-cite minerals: the intention is to use same in combination with special pro-teins to create bone prostheses. Yet another research group aims at utili-

zing mineral surfaces to bindcertain enzymes to prevent thegrowth of bio films on the sur-faces of, for instance, ceramics.Or: one project targets the spe-cific manipulation of the reacti-on processes on clay mineralsurfaces with the objective ofoptimizing the quality of cera-mic products. All of theseexamples reveal in how manyways minerals and mineral sur-faces affect our everyday lives.

This is the first time that the new tool of young talent promotion isapplied: a group of scientists working with Göttingen-based geologistCornelius Fischer is intent on examining the interchanging processes bet-ween mineral surfaces and colloids in the sub-microscopic scale. Whilethe work is currently highly elementary, it could later be applied to drink-ing water quality projects. Kilian Pollok of the Bavarian Geo-Institute inBayreuth is leading his team of young talents in a project examining thedissolution and decomposition patterns of sulfide minerals with theobjective of quantifying the release and mobility of highly toxic metals,such as arsenic or cadmium, from natural sources and landfills. �

C.Lackner


Satellite mission GRACE was the first that allow-ed the determination of the mass variations ofthe Earth system. This pertains to the globalhydrological cycle, to the melting of the polarice caps and to the mass balancing on the inte-rior of the earth. Such series measurementsand their optimum utilization are of criticalimportance for »Global Change« research.Thanks to the successful gravitational fieldmissions CHAMP and GRACE, which weresupported, among others, by the R&DProgram GETOECHNOLOGIEN, both Germanresearchers and German businesses haveattained an international top ranking in thediscipline of Earth surveillance via satellite.The technological developments achieved inconjunction with CHAMP, GRACE and GOCEhave put the German aerospace industry intoan excellent position for the development offuture Earth science missions and for the fur-ther development of satellite housings. Thethree satellites used in the magnetic field mis-sion SWARM, for instance, were based uponthe CHAMP/ GRACE concept.The objective at hand now is to take the nextstep, i.e. to boost the precision of the satellitemeasurements and the fine-tuning of the

geographic and time-based recording of massvariations in the Earth system. This is a newchallenge for the German industry. Innovativesensor solutions and systems that were origi-nally developed for fundamental space phy-sics issues in industrial laboratories are nowpaving the way for a new generation of gra-vimetrics-based satellite measuring systems.In the ground breaking technology sectorsmentioned above, Germany has made sub-stantial headway in the optical segments, infrequency-combs, microwave and laser linksand in quantum gravimetrics.

The potentials of uses for satellite constellati-ons and configurations (including mini andmicro satellites) as well as of microwave andoptical links between satellite systems willhave to be weighted and further developed –with the objective of attaining denser spatialtime records and greater precision in geo-pro-cesses and a separation between cross-overeffects. The attainment of these goals is con-tingent upon the close cooperation of scienceand industry. Solid contacts have already beenestablished. The industry partners have recog-nized an enormous market potential, in parti-

cular if the systems that were originally deve-loped specifically for research matters cannow be used for earth system surveillancetasks and applications in neighboring fields. �

Future gravitational field satellite missions – exemplary industry participation

Guest report: Prof. Dr. Jürgen Müller, Leibniz University Hanover

Dates� 08/6 – 08/14/2008GEOTECHNOLOGIEN at GEOEX-PO 2008 and the 33rd IGC-Congress in Oslo, Norway.

� 09/14 – 09/17/2008GEOTECHNOLOGIEN at the 86thAnnual Meeting of the DeutscheMineralogische Gesellschaft inBerlin

� 09/23 – 09/25/2008GEOTECHNOLOGIEN at the 5thBMBF Forum for Sustainability inBerlin

� 09/29 – 10/02/2008GEOTECHNOLOGIEN at the An-nual meeting of the Deutsche Geo-logische Gesellschaft in Aachen

� 10/13 – 10/14/2008Kick Off Meeting »Mineral Sur-faces« in Munich

� 10/08 – 10/09/2008Status Seminar »Early WarningSystems« in Osnabrück

� 10/20 – 10/21/2008Kick Off Meeting and StatusSeminar »Geological Storage ofCO2« in Stuttgart

For additional dates please visit the websiteof GEOTECHNOLOGIEN and go to keyword»Dates«

News� Restless EarthThe traveling exhibition »UnruhigeErde (Restless Earth)« will be exten-ded thanks to its amazing success –it has seen more than 300,000 visi-tors since September 2006. It will beshowing in Dresden as of July 11and in Karlsruhe from October 22on. The tour will end with a guestexhibit in Rostock, intended tobegin in May 2009.

� SCIENCE REPORTSR10 »Early Warning Systems inEarth Management« and SR11»Observation of the System Earthfrom Space« can be ordered fromthe coordination office of GEO-TECHNOLOGIEN.

� ELEMENTSThe exhibition »ELEMENTS« featu-ring photographs taken by volca-nologists Katia and Maurice Krafftdrew visitors in droves to Krefeld.The traveling exhibition, organizedby the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN coor-dination office in partnership withthe VULCANIA Museum in Francewill now make guest appearancesin Bad Dürrenberg and Chemnitz.

� IMAGE BROCHUREIf you would like to get an over-view of the research focus and acti-vities of the R&D Program, we re-commend to order the newly pub-lished image brochure. The folder,which features 17 informativemaps, can be ordered from our co-ordination office.

Editorials: GEOTECHNOLOGIEN coordination office, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany, Tel. +49 (0)331 62 014 800, www.GEOTECHNOLOGIEN.de The research

and development program GEOTECHNOLOGIEN is sponsored by the Federal Ministery of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF)

and the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG). Cover photo: Global distribution of CO2 measured by Envisat. Issue: July 2008

The gradiometer of gravitational field satellite mission

GOCE, intended to launch in September 2008. SYDERAL

SYDERAL


Geo-knowledge for everyone – Web duo www.GEOTECHNOLOGIEN.de andwww.planeterde.de provides information on the latest in geo-research

The Internet is increasingly establishing itself as a source of informationand an entertainment medium. To allow a broad audience a suitableentry level access to geosciences, the R&D-Program GEOTECHNOLO-GIEN is collaborating closely with the online portal »planeterde«. Thesite presents reports on the latest research and on general geo-scientific topics. In addition to the institution’s own web portalwww.GEOTECHNOLOGIEN.de, which was designed specifically as areference for scientists and decision makers in industry and politics,www.planeterde.de provides the interested public with insights andinformation pertaining to geosciences. »planeterde« does not only offertext copy and photo formats, it also presents video reports on topicssuch as the Antarctica or the Deep Sea, on dinosaur tracks and monsterwaves. All of this material presents the many facets of the Earth inmoving pictures. Excursion reports from around the globe, the latest

research findings and portraits of outstanding personalities as well asexpert interviews on topical issues make the diverse and enthrallingworld of geo-research come alive. Not only do these sites zoom in ontechnology and theoretical knowledge, but also on the scientists them-selves and their everyday lives.

We invite you to visit the websites www.geotechnologien.de andwww.planeterde.de. See first hand how interesting the research topicsthat make up the R&D Program GEOTECHNOLOGIEN truly are.

Prof. Dr. Tina Treude

She may very well have set off on one of the

fastest career tracks in science: right after

she received her diploma she completed her

doctorate at the Max Planck Institute for

Marine Microbiology to subsequently assu-

me a position as a DFG Research Fellow at

the University of Southern California, USA.

Since 2007, Tina Treude has been holding

the position of Junior Professor at the IFM-

GEOMAR, where she is assigned to the

»Future Ocean« research cluster and to two

special DFG research departments. As a par-

ticipant within the projects MUMM and

MUMM II Tina Treude examined gas hydra-

te containing sediments in oceans for

methane eating microbes.

Today, at the IFM-GEOMAR, her focus is on

the interactions between environmental

changes and bio-geo-chemical systems in

the oceans.

Dr. Martin Blumenberg

A genuine »lad from Hamburg«, the ocean

runs throughMartin Blumenberg’s veins. After

obtaining his graduate degree in geology in

Hamburg, Blumenberg initially dedicated his

time to the research and utilization of mariti-

me sponges (BMBF-Projekt BOSMAN I and II),

which were also the subject matter of his 2003

doctorate thesis.

After that, Martin Blumenberg was involved in

the research of gas hydrates and other me-

thane sources in the oceans. His work in the

GEOTECHNOLOGIEN-projects GHOSTDABS

and METRO, which focused on the anaerobic

methane oxidation in oceanic sediments are

and have been critical in the analysis of today’s

and former times climate history. In appre-

ciation the DFG honored him with the Albert

Maucher Award for Geosciences in 2007.

These days, Blumenberg is in the process of

researching the microbiological life and its

impact on the recent and fossil carbon cycle of

the oceans at the Institute for Bio-Geo-Che-

mistry and Oceanic Chemistry in Hamburg.

Dr.-Ing. Henryk Dobslaw

The oceans and the stars – both are key ele-

ments in the research life of Henryk Dob-

slaw. Even his thesis focused on the utilizati-

on of geo-data satellite measurements in the

surveillance of large scale streaming systems

in the world’s oceans. The work he perfor-

med within the framework of the R&D-Pro-

gram GEOTECHNOLOGIEN, which aimed at

the utilization of ocean´s model data for the

correction and interpretation of satellite ob-

servations in the time variable gravitational

field of the earth, won international acclaim.

Thanks to the high quality and the level of

originality of his research work, the DFG

honored Henryk Dobslaw with the Bernd

Rendel Award for Geosciences in 2007. To-

day he is a scientific associate at the Techni-

cal University of Dresden and a guest scien-

tist at the Section Earth System Modeling at

the GFZ in Potsdam.

Dr. Michael Kühn

Hanover, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Hamburg,

Perth, Aachen and finally Potsdam – those

are the venues that have turned the gradua-

ted chemist and doctor of geochemistry Dr.

Michael Kühn into a globetrotter on behalf

of geosciences. While Kühn focused on the

chemical process research related to the

geo-thermal utilization of the underground

during his initial stints, his main interest

today is dedicated to the geological storage

of CO2. Both are relevant topics for our

society and communities today. In recogniti-

on of his efforts, the Geo Union Alfred-We-

gener-Stiftung presented the Karl Heinrich

Heitfeld Award for Applied Geosciences to

Michael Kühn in 2007. The work Kühn per-

formed within the scope of the R&D-

Program GEOTECHNOLOGIEN with a focus

on »Investigation, Use and Protection of the

Underground« was largely responsible for

this achievement. In this context, Kühn coor-

dinated the alliance project CO2TRAP and is

currently involved in the EU project

CO2SINK.

Who is Who – With this issue we would like to introduce a group of young scien-tists who have delivered outstanding work in Geosciences within the R&D Program

Excellenscluster»OzeanderZukunft«/Kunz


Prof. Dr.-Ing. Horst Fischer knows all there is toknow about Research and Development(R&D). In his role as a Technical Manager atProcter & Gamble‘s R&D he became intimate-ly familiar with the standards corporationsexpect scientific work to meet. As the head ofbusiness development at the competency cen-ter for bio materials he has gained insights intothe scientific transfer requirements. And as theteam leader of »Bio Ceramics and MedicalTechnology Materials« at the faculty for cera-mics and fire retardant materials at theInstitute for Mining Research at RWTH Aachenhe is now working for the science-part in R&D.

Prof. Fischer, you are at the helm of theproject comprising partners representingthe disciplines of geosciences, material sci-ences, chemistry and physics, as well asbiology and medicine. In your opinion,what are the challenges that arise in thecoordination of such an interdisciplinaryalliance?Being the recipient of a stipend from theGerman Research Association in the early ni-neties at the graduate college for »Bio Mate-rials«, I had the opportunity to learn early-onthat the key to success in bio material re-search lies in interdisciplinary thinking andaction. The assignment of coordinating thenew project is precisely about the same thing.The participating engineers have to be able tounderstand how a chemist thinks. The scien-tists who are performing simulative calculati-ons have to walk in the shoes of surgeons andlook at issues from a clinical point of view.

An alliance of partners representing geo-sciences and medicine is indeed ratherunusual. Do you see even greater poten-tial in this kind of cooperation as far asthe development of innovative technolo-gies and methods is concerned?

Definitely. Especially in the bio material re-search segment the targeted solution of to-day’s highly complex issues is absolutely contin-gent upon the collaboration of interdisciplinaryteams of experts, consisting of competent me-dical professionals, bio scientists and engi-neers. Such interdisciplinary alliances can givescience totally new impulses – for medical andnon-medical research segments.

Science makes the gaining of insights itspriority. Nonetheless, the voices that areeager to base their support of researchmore on market potential are gettinglouder all the time. What is your takeon this stance?Innovation in the absence of market potentialwill not result in the creation of products thatserve people and will consequently not boostthe economic strength of a business or coun-try. On the other hand, Germany and itsEuropean partners will not be able to main-tain their positions in the global competitionunless they develop constantly new, intelli-gent materials, processes and technologies.This in turn hinges entirely on making foun-dation-based progress in terms of insights.This means that fundamental research andmarket oriented development activities areultimately totally interdependent. Conse-quently, Germany should foster both equally.

The developments of recent years haveshown that the cooperation between busi-nesses and research is intensifying. What isyour assessment of this development?This certainly depends largely on the specificresearch discipline. In the bio materials researchsegment we have built a comprehensive net-work linking us with clinical partners over thecourse of many years. We also have excellentcontacts in the medical technology industry.The ultimate objective of our R&D ideas, afterall, is to help the patient. This can only beachieved if a company can place a new medi-cal product into the market at the end of thedevelopment chain.

Projects such as BioMin do have a hugemarket potential. Do you think that theindustry that reaps substantial benefitsfrom the results of research should getmore involved in science?In other government sponsored alliance pro-jects with a stronger product oriented ap-

proach – e.g. in the BMWi program InnoNet,we were able to get up to seven industrial part-ners on board who joined our R&D conceptswith enthusiasm and were integrated into therespective project. Businesses are indeed morereluctant to participate in the more foundationoriented programs. These would be excellentareas for especially larger corporations to showmore commitment. For most smaller and medi-um sized companies it is of course much moredifficult to support foundation orientedresearch and to make the required long-termcommitment financially. To this end, a programsuch as GEOTECHNOLOGIEN, which specifical-ly sponsors such ventures as well, does play adecisive role.

BioMin is a rather unusual project. Howdid the very diverse project partners endup in this collaboration?We have already done some very successfulwork in another alliance project that lastedseveral years with one of the project partners -Prof. Jennissen from Essen. We have alsoenjoyed a long-term trust-based cooperationwith our trauma surgeon partner, privatedocent Dr. Müller-Mai from Bochum. The con-tact with our colleagues from Dresden, privatedocents Dr. Gemming and Prof. Seifert, wasinitiated specifically for this project. We werevery fortunate to be able to bring these twoexperts on board, who are now workingenthusiastically on the required moleculardynamic simulation calculations.

Could you briefly describe the projectidea for our readers?Bone prosthesis implants made from bio-resorbing mineral materials are infused withbone growth stimulating proteins, which wecall BMPs. The goal is to trigger the body’sability to recreate new bones to heal defectsand to eliminate the bone replacement mate-rial step by step. However, the precise sorpti-on and desorption mechanisms of these BMPson the mineral bone replacement materialsurface still remain a mystery for the mostpart. We aim to gain further insights intothese mechanisms through an inter-scale con-cept that spans the range from numericalsimulation of the processes to verification inclinical trials. �

GEOTECHNOLOGIEN interview with … Prof. Dr.-Ing. Horst Fischer of the RWTHAachen on project BioMin and his take on the collaboration of research and businesses.


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