When Dagmar Hülsenberg began to get young people interested in glass and ceramics in Ilmenau, research sometimes meant improvisation: her first experiments took place in a small laboratory in Ilmenau’s Poststraße. Today, the research group is at home in the Arrheniusbau on the Oberer Ehrenberg campus - with generous laboratory space and globally connected. Between these two places lie not only meters, but milestones of educational history - and the transition from classic on-campus teaching to online learning and today’s digital teaching formats.
In 2007, Edda Rädlein took over from Dagmar Hülsenberg as head of the group at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, which is now called "Inorganic Non-metallic Materials". According to Prof. Rädlein, the generational change was harmonious - driven by a shared passion between the two women for quality in research and teaching:
Dagmar placed her well-curated wealth of experience in my hands. We grew up in different times, but we share the same view of glass and ceramics - and of how to inspire students about these subjects.
And that still works to this day. From the glossy surface to the invisible interior - in Ilmenau, glass is being reimagined. Whether it’s ultra-thin coatings or tiny nanostructures, even students at TU Ilmenau contribute to research on novel materials for the technologies of tomorrow: more robust glass for smartphone displays, ultra-thin and foldable glass foils, radiation-resistant glasses for laser applications, or self-cleaning photocatalytic coatings. Applied to windows, solar panels or tiles, these coatings use light to break down pollutants - helping to create a cleaner environment.
But Ilmenau’s young researchers don’t stop at the surface. They also explore what happens inside the glass itself. This includes the study of so-called phase-separating glasses that can selectively absorb pollutants or function as solid electrolytes in energy storage systems. They investigate what happens at interfaces when glass interacts with other materials, and they experiment with 3D-printed, biocompatible glass - a material that opens up entirely new possibilities in fields such as medical technology and optics.
A central pillar of teaching is the mechanical special workshop, where Frank Oßmann has spent forty years making sure that students learn how to handle tools safely while working with glass and ceramics - and that ideas can be turned into functioning prototypes.
Many graduates then take their knowledge out into the world - to companies such as Schott, BMW or Ivoclar, to universities in Freiberg or Aachen, to Fraunhofer Institutes, or even as far as China and Peru.
Two areas of research that Dr. Bernd Halbedel and Ulrike Brokmann have carried forward across a generational transition make the Ilmenau department truly unique: magnetic materials produced using ceramic fabrication methods, and photosensitive glass that can be precisely shaped with light - without any drilling or milling.
This enables the creation of microchannels, waveguides, or sensors that guide light, transport liquids, or perform measurements: tiny components that are indispensable today in micro-optics - for example in cameras and lasers - as well as in lab-on-a-chip systems used in medicine and chemistry. They also play a key role in photonics, where they enable data transmission and the control of light.
Recycling has become another forward-looking focus of Ilmenau’s materials science. As early as 1998, Dagmar Hülsenberg laid important foundations with her monograph "Glass Technologies for Recycling Applications." Today, young researchers like Janine Wessel are carrying this work into the future. Their goal: to turn lead-containing waste glass from old screens into a valuable resource again by transforming it into porous glass. This versatile material is used in industry for catalysis, material separation, and insulation.
What began with Dagmar Hülsenberg’s vision is being continued with passion and a strong international network by Edda Rädlein and her team. Among their close partners in Germany are medium-sized companies that emerged from the former Technische Glaswerke Ilmenau, as well as collaborations in optics manufacturing with universities in Aalen, Deggendorf, and Jena, and with the Fraunhofer Institutes ISC in Würzburg/Bayreuth and FEP in Dresden, where research focuses on glass surfaces and coatings.
But Ilmenau’s materials science is also connected internationally - for example with the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) in Lima and the Université Ferhat Abbas in Sétif, Algeria. Students and researchers benefit from internships, exchange programs, joint projects, professional networking, and new perspectives on global challenges. "A master’s student is currently examining how glass for solar modules weathers in the very different climates of Peru and Ilmenau to test its long-term durability in real-world use," says Prof. Rädlein. After all, solar panels spend decades outdoors - in sun, rain, wind, and snow. For them to reliably generate electricity, the front glass must be particularly resistant to the elements, Rädlein explains.
Glass and ceramics may seem like niche topics, but they are not only part of the unique strengths of the region and TU Ilmenau - they also enable key technologies of the future. Developing these materials further is essential for tasks such as high-speed internet, energy conversion and storage, modern medical diagnostics and therapy, and even looking into distant galaxies.
