Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM
Christian Elsässer studied physics at the University of Stuttgart, completed his doctoral thesis at the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research in Stuttgart, and received his doctorate from the University of Stuttgart in 1990 and his postdoctoral lecture qualification in theoretical physics in 1995. During his doctoral studies, he spent a year at Iowa State University in Ames, USA, and then a year as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California in Berkeley, USA. In 1996, he established the research group "Materials Interface Theory" at the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research in Stuttgart. In 2002, he moved to the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Freiburg. Since this time, he has held various management positions at Fraunhofer IWM, including heading the "Materials Design" business unit since 2015. Since 2020, he has been scientific coordinator for future topics in the institute management of Fraunhofer IWM.
Christian Elsässer conducts research in the field of materials science with a particular focus on the mechanics and physics of metallic and ceramic materials. His ambition is to thoroughly understand the relationships between the structures and properties of materials with the aim of increasing their performance and service life. To this end, he combines theoretical material models with numerical computer simulation methods to elucidate or predict the behavior of materials under various conditions.
His scientific work focuses on the multiscale analysis of materials and the development of methods for describing mechanical and physical properties. He is particularly interested in structural defects in material structures and the behavior of materials at the limits of their load-bearing capacity. Elsässer and his team are pioneers in linking material description, property determination, and component development. To this end, they develop innovative approaches for cross-scale modeling.
Christian Elsässer has received numerous awards for his work, including the Otto Hahn Medal from the Max Planck Society in 1991. He is an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Freiburg, where he is actively involved in academic teaching for students and supervising doctoral candidates in physics. His publications have earned him a high reputation in both materials science and applied industrial research. He is a member of several scientific networks and institutions that address the challenges of modern materials research.