European Research Council Awards Professor of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar the ERC Grant 2013
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Timon Rabczuk, Professor of Computational Mechanics at the Faculty of Civil Engineering was awarded the ERC Consolidator Grant for the research project COMBAT by the European Research Council (ERC). In the next five years, he will receive two million euros to fund research in computational modelling and optimisation of lithium-ion batteries.
»We intend to hire several young researchers who will have the opportunity to participate in an international research team in the ERC project ‘Computational Modelling and Design of Lithium-Ion Batteries’ (COMBAT),« Rabczuk explains. The goal is to create a virtual design platform to develop and optimise new lithium-ion batteries. Li-ion batteries are commonly used in laptops and smartphones. Because of their high energy density and operating voltage, their use in future auto manufacturing and aerospace technology is especially promising.
»The usage in these areas presents us with an enormous challenge,« says Rabczuk. »Conventional battery systems are plagued with safety deficiencies, material fatigue and loss of capacity during charging and discharging. In the future, it will be necessary to considerably improve their performance and environmental impact.«
As part of the COMBAT project, the research team will be developing software which predicts and optimises the behaviour of batteries during charging and discharging, especially during high-performance use. With the aid of the virtual design platform, the researchers hope to develop new electrode materials and optimise the arrangement of the materials inside the battery. The goal is to selectively combine the materials and comparatively evaluate them by means of numerical predictions.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Karl Beucke, President of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, congratulated Prof. Rabczuk on his magnificent success: »I am delighted that Prof. Rabczuk received the prestigious ERC Grant. It is an outstanding acknowledgment of Prof. Rabczuk’s internationally respected research work which has strengthened Weimar’s scientific reputation over the past years. « With his research work in the specialised field of »Digital Engineering«, Prof. Rabczuk has further enhanced the profile of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar as an attractive international research centre among talented young researchers.
With the conferral of the ERC Grant, the European Research Council aims to support ambitious, ground-breaking research ideas which surpass the limits of our present knowledge and dare to apply innovative and unconventional approaches beyond specific disciplines. In this way, the ERC promotes fundamental research endeavours which exhibit the spirit of »frontier research«.
For further information, please contact:
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Research Department
Dr. Susan Gniechwitz
EU Research Administrator
Tel.: +49 (0) 36 43 / 58 25 35