Professor Rainer Adelung of Kiel University, Germany, Delivers Special Lecture as Invited Professor

Professor Rainer Adelung of Kiel University, Germany, Delivers Special Lecture as Invited Professor.

Professor Rainer Adelung of the Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Germany, has been appointed as an Invited Professor at the Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University, from July 1 of this year to March 31 of the following year. On July 23, he delivered an online lecture entitled “Materials as Machines” as part of the Special Lecture A course, “Concepts and Development of Advanced Research: From Materials, Life, and Energy Technologies to Social Implementation,” offered by the Faculty of Engineering and the Graduate School of Engineering. Kobe University has maintained academic exchange with Kiel University since 1992, when the two universities concluded an interdepartmental agreement involving Kobe University’s Faculty of Engineering and former Graduate School of Science and Technology. The partnership was expanded into a university-wide agreement in 2016. Since then, many faculty members and students have continued to engage in academic exchange between the two universities. His lecture was held as part of this ongoing collaboration.

He is a materials scientist who heads the Chair of Functional Nanomaterials at the Institute for Materials Science, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Germany. Based on the design and functionalization of nanostructured materials, he conducts research spanning basic science, applied research, and social implementation in a wide range of fields, including ultralight aeromaterials, tetrapodal zinc oxide, sensors, energy materials, biomedical materials, and soft robotics. In recent years, he has promoted the concept of “Materials as Machines,” in which porous materials composed almost entirely of air are used to generate heat, pressure, flow, motion, and sound. He is also working on the creation of new device concepts, such as vacuum grippers and thermo-pneumatic actuators without moving parts. These research achievements have also led to the establishment of the university startup “AERO MATERIALS,” and efforts are underway to develop these technologies for industrial applications. Professor Adelung is highly regarded in both materials science and innovation, having received the DGM Prize from the German Materials Society in 2023 and the Innovation Award of the City of Kiel in 2025.

This lecture introduced the concept of “Materials as Machines” based on these research achievements. It was attended by approximately 60 faculty, staff, and students, including students of the Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University, and many students listened with great interest.

It is expected that research and educational exchange between the two universities will be further promoted in the years ahead.