Professor Ekkard Brinksmeier from Faculty of Production Engineering at the Universty of Bremen, Head of the Laboratory for Precision Machining and Director of the main department of production technology of the Stiftung Institut für Werkstofftechnik (IWT) in Bremen has been awarded the “Advanced Investigator Grant” by the European Research Council. This is the highest endowment prize on the European research landscape. Over the next five years the Bremen scientist will receive a total of 2.3 million euros for his research project entitled “CoolArt”.
The prize money will enable Brinksmeier to continue his prolonged and successful research on the topic of cooling lubricants and augment his research team by another five members. Congratulations were quick to come from the President of the University of Bremen, Professor Wilfried Müller: “This award is yet another confirmation of the outstanding quality of research work at the University of Bremen. Great names of international renown research and teach here. This very special funding commitment shows once more that in the field of production engineering we are among the top addresses, not only in Germany.”
This is the third time since its introduction in 2007 that the “Advanced Investigator Grant” has been awarded to researchers of excellence to enable them to advance interdisciplinary fundamental research or research projects with high levels of innovation and expand the borders of existing knowledge. After Professor Kai-Uwe Hinrichs from the Center of Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM) at the University of Bremen, Brinksmeier is the second research scientist at the University to receive this high honor. 2,009 applications from 26 nations were submitted to Brussels in competition for the 590-million-euro pot, and only 266 “experienced top scientists” with projects “in the category of pioneer research” were able to stand up to the strict criteria. 45 of them come from Germany.
The “CoolArt” project investigates the composition and application of cooling lubricants in the process of precision machining. The research findings are expected to make a major contribution to reducing the consumption of energy and resources in the metal working industry.
