Our director Jürgen Eckert has been awarded a € 150,000 Proof of Concept Grant by the European Research Council (ERC) for his work in the field of thin film metallic glasses.
The coveted award further explores the potential of thin film metallic glasses as novel, durable, and protective ("tribological") coating materials that can be used to improve the performance of tools, dies, molds, and components in many different applications. The research is based on the ERC Grant project INTELHYB, which is being carried out by Jürgen Eckert and his colleagues at ESI in Leoben.
Special material properties
In contrast to conventional ceramic hard coatings, metallic glasses are characterized by high hardness, good elastic properties and high resistance to wear due to reduced mechanical abrasion and oxidation. As a result, these tailor-made glasses fill a niche that previous materials have not yet covered.
With the ERC Proof of Concept Grant, this promising technology is now further developed for industrial use. For Jürgen Eckert, the Grant is the second ERC award. In 2013, he was awarded an Advanced Grant for the INTELHYB (Next Generation of Complex Metallic Materials with Intelligent Hybrid Structures) project.
47 ERC grants to ÖAW
With the grant to Jürgen Eckert, the total number of ERC grants awarded to ÖAW researchers since 2007 has increased to 42 ERC grants and 5 proof of concept grants. The academy plays a key role in additional 10 ERC grants.
All in all, the ÖAW has already received nearly 78 million euros in ERC subsidies to Austria. The Academy is one of the most successful research institutes in Austria awarded in European Research grants.