Conference Programme
34. Leoben-Conference on Polymer Engineering and Science 2026 | November, 5th and 6th 2026 | Montanuniversität Leoben
November 5th 2026
| 08:30 | Registration Reception Desk Erzherzog Johann Trakt GF |
Plenary Session
Erzherzog Johann Auditorium
Kerstin Sochor & Michaela Plank will be chairing the Plenary Session
| 09:30 | Welcome & Introduction to VLK |
| 10:00 | Plenary Talk Eva-Maria Kern Defending the Future: Research and Innovation for Security and Resilience |
| 10:35 | Break, Exhibition and Postersession Erzherzog Johann Tract First Floor |
Sports - ALUMNI INDUSTRY SESSION
Erzherzog Johann Auditorium | Session Chair: Kerstin Sochor & Michaela Plank
| Topic & Speaker |
|---|
Keynote Herfried Lammer, HEAD Sport GmbH Performance versus recycling in skis and rackets |
Klaus Krenn / Simone Radl, ISOSPORT Verbundbauteile The Ski and its Components: A High-Tech Composite Disguised as Sports Equipment: How Plastics Engineering Shaped the Modern Ski |
Dominik Brandstetter, Mubea Carbo Tech GmbH Road. Mountain. Sky. How Polymers Are Reinventing What's Possible in Sport and Adventure |
Umut Çakmak, Plastic Innovation GmbH / Institute of Polymer Product Engineering at Johannes Kepler University A Route Map towards Sustainable Bicycle Components produced by Fluid-Assisted Injection Molding |
| Discussion and Q&A session |
Mobility - RESEARCH & PITCH SESSION
HS Raiffaisen | Session Chair: Kerstin Sochor & Michaela Plank
| Topic & Speaker |
|---|
Keynote Michael Fischlschweiger, Institute of Technical Thermodynamics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Thermodynamics-Driven Design of Polymers and Processes: New Perspectives and Opportunities |
Markus Wolfahrt, Polymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH Vitrimer-Based Polymers for Advanced Mobility Applications: Prospects and Challenges |
Steffen Stelzer, Department Polymer Engineering and Science, Montanuniversität Leoben tbd |
| Discussion and Q&A session |
Poster Pitch Session |
| 12:30 | Lunch break Erzherzog Johann Trakt FF |
Plenary Session
Erzherzog Johann Auditorium
Kerstin Sochor & Michaela Plank will be chairing the Plenary Session
| 14:00 | Plenary Talk Stefan W. Zangerle Transformation der Automobilindustrie am Beispiel von BMW und die damit verbundenen technologischen Herausforderungen |
Mobility - ALUMNI INDUSTRY SESSION
Erzherzog Johann Auditorium | Session Chair: Kerstin Sochor & Michaela Plank
| Topic & Speaker |
|---|
Keynote Reinhard Hafellner, Matthias Morak, 4a technology GmbH From Test to Digital Twin: Thermo-Mechanical Material Characterization and Multi-Physics Battery Cell Modelling for Safe and Efficient E-Mobility |
Bernd Mlekusch, Audi AG BEVs: How Battery Protection Changed Body-in-White Design – and Why It Led to One of the Largest FRP Components in Automotive Mass Production. |
Bernhard Graf, FACC AG Challenges of high production rate concepts for aerospace components |
Thomas Schwarz, SKF Sealing Solutions Austria GmbH Fluoropolymeric Seals in Mobility |
| Discussion and Q&A session |
Sports - RESEARCH & PITCH SESSION
HS Raiffeisen | Session Chair: Kerstin Sochor & Michaela Plank
| Topic & Speaker |
|---|
Keynote Jörg Fischer, Institute of Polymeric Materials and Testing, Johannes Kepler University Linz Closing the Loop through Fit-for-Purpose Plastics Recycling |
David Zidar, Department Polymer Engineering and Science, Montanuniversität Leoben From Bulky Waste to Valuable Resources: Winter Sports Equipment as Driver of a Circular Economy – From Research to Industrial Implementation |
Milena Gleirscher, Polymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH Smart Bonding Solutions for Next-Generation Sports Gear |
| Discussion and Q&A session |
Poster Pitch Session |
Plenary Session
Erzherzog Johann Auditorium
| 16:00 | Award Ceremony POLYMER SCIENCE SCHOOL AWARD Erzherzog Johann Auditorium |
Evening Event / ALUMNI NIGHT at Live Congress Leoben
Live Congress Leoben, Hauptplatz 1, 8700 Leoben
| 17:30 | Get together & registration |
| 18:00 | Alumni Pitch Sessions Future Materials |
| 19:00 | Dinner |
Friday, November 6th, 2026
| 08:30 | Registration Reception Desk Erzherzog Johann Trakt GF |
Plenary Session
Erzherzog Johann Auditorium
Kerstin Sochor & Michaela Plank will be chairing the Plenary Session
| 09:20 | Plenary Talk Dagmar Glatz The Circular Economy of Polymers—From a Luxury to a Necessity |
Digitalisation - ALUMNI INDUSTRY SESSION
Erzherzog Johann Auditorium | Session Chair: Kerstin Sochor & Michaela Plank
| Topic & Speaker |
|---|
Keynote Georg Steinbichler, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, LIT Factory – Linz Institute of Technology Changes in the Polymer Processing Industry—Can Digitalization and AI Deliver Benefits? |
Thomas Krivec / Julia Zündel, AT&S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Beyond Moore’s Law: how polymers enable the next industrial revolution |
Markus Haager, AGRU Kunststofftechnik GmbH Ultra-High Purity Piping Systems for Semiconductor Industry |
Martin Watzenig / Georg Smole, Lam Research Corporation The impact of LAM Research on Digital Transformation and AI |
| Discussion and Q&A session |
Sustainability - RESEARCH & PITCH SESSION
HS Raiffeisen | Session Chair: Kerstin Sochor & Michaela Plank
| Topic & Speaker |
|---|
Keynote Vasiliki-Maria Archodoulaki, Institute of Materials Science and Technology, Technical University Wien Preserving Polymer Value: Enhancing Efficiency in Mechanical Recycling |
Katharina Resch-Fauster, Department Polymer Engineering and Science, Montanuniversität Leoben Green High-Performance Plastics: Myth or Reality |
Gernot Oreski, Polymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH Inline NIR Analytics Across the Circular Polymer Value Chain |
| Discussion and Q&A session |
Poster Pitch Session |
| 11:20 | Break, Exhibition and Postersession Erzherzog Johann Tract first Floor |
Plenary Session
Erzherzog Johann Auditorium
Kerstin Sochor & Michaela Plank will be chairing the Plenary Session
| 12:00 | Plenary Talk Alfred Stern tbd |
Sustainability - ALUMNI INDUSTRY SESSION
Erzherzog Johann Auditorium | Session Chair: Kerstin Sochor & Michaela Plank
| Topic & Speaker |
|---|
Simon Stadelmann & Karina Wachter, ALPLAindustrial Austria GmbH From Waste to Value – How Design for Recycling Preserves the Value of Plastics in a Circular Economy |
Johann Zimmermann, NaKu e.U Pioneering Biopolymers |
Thomas Unger, KraussMaffei Group GmbH Challenges and chances in the post-consumer packaging industry | Reinhold Lang,Club of Rome - Austrian Chapter / Institut of Polymeric Materials and Testing, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz Plastics and Sustainable Development - Rethinking and transcending the 'Limits to Growth' |
| Discussion and Q&A session |
Digitalisation - RESEARCH & PITCH SESSION
HS Raiffeisen | Session Chair: Kerstin Sochor & Michaela Plank
| Topic & Speaker |
|---|
Keynote Gerald Berger- Weber, Institute of Polymer Processing and Digital Transformation, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz Machine Learning and Deep Learning in Polymer Processing |
Alice Lassnig, Department Polymer Engineering and Science, Montanuniversität Leoben Mechanical behavior of printed ink materials for strain sensing applications |
Dieter P. Gruber, Polymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH Machine learning enables solutions in plastics engineering that were previously unimaginable |
| Discussion and Q&A session |
Poster Pitch Session |
| 14:00 | Cold snacks and a round-up Erzherzog Johann Auditorium |
| 14:30 | Labtour Meetingpoint Reception Desk Erzherzog Johann Tract Groundfloor |
Subject to change