Our Vision
Advanced materials are the foundation of future technologies, from quantum technologies and microelectronics to energy, lightweight engineering, medical technology and aerospace. By combining experimental research with modeling and simulation, Montanuniversität Leoben develops materials solutions that strengthen innovation and competitiveness in Austria and beyond.
Established in early 2026, the Cluster of Excellence: Materials brings together researchers across disciplines and connects them with industry and international partners. It provides a shared platform to pool expertise and infrastructure, extend research networks, enhance the visibility of scientific achievements, establish lasting cooperations and foster excellence through talent development and targeted support. In this way, complementary strengths become joint research, effective knowledge transfer and new opportunities.
Achieving more together
SCI Publications 2016–2026
MUL
- Publications
- 6,991
- External partners
- 2,604
- Citations
- 219,802
- Connections
- 10,366
CEM
- Publications
- 3,659
- Publications share
- 52.3%
- Citations
- 122,488
- Citations share
- 55.6%
- Interdisciplinary
- 11.8%
CD Labs & ERC Grants
A list of all materials-related Christian Doppler Laboratories and ERC Grants in Leoben.
CD Laboratories 16 · 9 active
Ass.Prof. DI Dr. Eva Gerold
Chair of Nonferrous Metallurgy
Innovative, sustainable recycling methods for lithium-ion batteries with improved efficiency.
Partners Aurubis AG
Oct 2025Sep 2032
DI Dr. Irmgard Weißensteiner
Chair of Nonferrous Metallurgy
Aluminium alloys with a high recycled content for sustainable high-performance materials.
Partners AMAG rolling GmbH
Jan 2025Dec 2031
Priv.Doz. Dr. Ebrahim Karimi-Sibaki
Chair of Simulation and Modelling of Metallurgical Processes
Reactive flows and mass transport in green steelmaking, studied through numerical simulation.
Partners RHI Magnesita GmbH, Primetals Technologies Austria GmbH, INTECO melting and casting technologies GmbH
Jul 2025Jun 2032
DI Dr. Michael Tkadletz
Chair of Functional Materials and Materials Systems
Sustainable hard coatings through more energy-efficient coating processes and less resource-intensive materials.
Partners CERATIZIT Austria Gesellschaft m.b.H.
Jan 2025Dec 2031
Priv.Doz. DI Dr. Florian Josef Arbeiter
How recycled feedstock affects the mechanical lifetime of plastic pipes.
Partners Borealis GmbH, POLOPLAST GmbH & Co KG, PIPELIFE Austria GmbH & Co KG
Jul 2024Jun 2031
Univ.Prof. DI Dr. Lorenz Romaner
Chair of Physical Metallurgy
Hybrid modelling methods for the virtual description of silicon carbide crystal growth.
Partners EEMCO GmbH
Nov 2022Oct 2029
Univ.Prof. DI Dr. Ronald Schnitzer
Chair of Physical Metallurgy
Fundamentals for producing advanced steels with a reduced carbon footprint.
Partners voestalpine Stahl GmbH, voestalpine Forschungsservicegesellschaft Donawitz GmbH
Dec 2022Nov 2029
Univ.Prof. DI Dr. Susanne Michelic
Chair of Ferrous Metallurgy
Formation, properties and effects of non-metallic inclusions in steelmaking.
Partners voestalpine Stahl Donawitz GmbH, voestalpine Stahl GmbH, voestalpine BÖHLER Edelstahl GmbH & Co KG
Sep 2021Aug 2028
Assoz.Prof. DI Dr. Stefan Steinlechner
Chair of Nonferrous Metallurgy
Recovering specialty metals from industrial process streams through innovative processes.
Partners RHI Magnesita GmbH, Andritz AG, ARP Aufbereitung, Recycling und Prüftechnik GmbH +1 more
Oct 2020Sep 2027
Univ.Prof. DI Dr. Stefan Pogatscher
Chair of Nonferrous Metallurgy
New aluminium alloys balancing strength and formability for lightweight components.
Partners AMAG rolling GmbH
Jan 2018Dec 2025
Univ.Prof. Dr. Abdellah Kharicha, MSc
Chair of Simulation and Modelling of Metallurgical Processes
The interaction between electromagnetic fields and metallurgical fluids.
Partners RHI Magnesita GmbH, Primetals Technologies Austria GmbH, INTECO melting and casting technologies GmbH
Jul 2018Jun 2025
Ass.Prof. DI Dr. Nina Schalk
Chair of Functional Materials and Materials Systems
Optimising hard-metal coatings for wear-resistant cutting tools in the machining industry.
Partners CERATIZIT Austria Gesellschaft m.b.H.
Oct 2017Sep 2024
Assoz.Prof. DI Dr. Michael Stoschka
Chair of Mechanical Engineering
Material fatigue in aluminium and steel castings, to optimise component design.
Partners Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft, Siemens AG Österreich, Nemak Dillingen GmbH +1 more
Oct 2016Sep 2023
Ass.Prof. Dr. Rostislav Daniel
Chair of Functional Materials and Materials Systems
Novel nanostructured coatings for tooling under extreme conditions.
Partners voestalpine eifeler Vacotec GmbH
Aug 2015Jul 2021
Priv.Doz. DI Dr. Stefan Luidold
Chair of Nonferrous Metallurgy
Processes for extracting technology metals from end-of-life devices and alternative raw-material sources.
Partners CERATIZIT Austria Gesellschaft m.b.H., RHI Magnesita GmbH, METTOP GmbH +1 more
Jun 2015May 2022
Univ.Prof. DI Dr.-Ing. Ralf Schledjewski
Optimising manufacturing processes for composite materials in the aerospace industry.
Partners FACC Operations GmbH
Apr 2013Mar 2020
ERC Grants 15 · 4 ongoing
Dr. Max Hodapp
Materials Center Leoben (MCL)
AI-driven materials design using tensor networks (machine learning) for high-entropy alloys
Dr. Barbara Putz
Chair of Structural and Functional Ceramics
Programmable interfaces for more sustainable, more recyclable composite materials ("debonding on demand")
May 2025Apr 2030
Prof. Dr. Daniel Kiener
Chair of Materials Physics
Industrial translation of the TOUGHIT findings into near-net-shape tungsten components for extreme environments
May 2024Oct 2025
Univ.Prof. DI Dr. Stefan Pogatscher
Chair of Nonferrous Metallurgy
Circular aluminium alloys
Apr 2024Mar 2029
Dr. Aleksandar Matkovic
Chair of Physics
Polarised, two-dimensional semiconductor materials
May 2023Apr 2028
Dr. Andrea Bachmaier
Erich Schmid Institute of Materials Science (ESI/Austrian Academy of Sciences)
Exploring the industrial potential of the nanocomposite magnets developed in the SpdTuM project
Apr 2022Sep 2023
Prof. Dr. Christoph Rameshan
Chair of Physical Chemistry
Perovskite catalysts for CO2 utilisation (reverse water-gas-shift) on the path to industrial application
May 2022Oct 2023
Dr. Marco Deluca
Materials Center Leoben (MCL)
Novel multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) based on relaxor thin films for high power- and energy-density storage applications
Apr 2019Dec 2024
Prof. Dr. Raul Bermejo
Chair of Structural and Functional Ceramics
Bio-inspired multilayer ceramic structures (modelled on seashells) for greater damage tolerance and reliability
May 2019Oct 2024
Univ.Prof. DI Dr. Stefan Pogatscher
Chair of Nonferrous Metallurgy
Kinetics of phase transitions in non-equilibrium metals (aluminium alloys)
Feb 2018Jun 2023
Dr. Andrea Bachmaier
Erich Schmid Institute of Materials Science (ESI/Austrian Academy of Sciences)
Innovative nanocomposite magnets designed to work without critical rare-earth metals
Jan 2018Dec 2023
Prof. Dr. Daniel Kiener
Chair of Materials Physics
Tailored nanostructured metals
May 2018Apr 2024
Prof. Dr. Christoph Rameshan
Chair of Physical Chemistry
Targeted, reversible control of perovskite catalyst surface chemistry via electrochemical polarisation
Jan 2018Jun 2023
Prof. Dr. Reinhard Pippan
Erich Schmid Institute of Materials Science (ESI/Austrian Academy of Sciences)
Fundamental research on severe plastic deformation
20142019
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Eckert
Chair of Materials Physics
Intelligent alloy design of metallic glasses and functional nanocomposites
Feb 2014Jan 2019
Where to find us
Cluster of Excellence: Materials
Jahnstraße 12 · 8700 Leoben
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