News

After 25 years, it's time to celebrate! To mark this special anniversary, representatives of the Bavarian-Californian Technology Center (BaCaTec) and numerous representatives of funded universities from Bavaria met in Munich on November 25, 2025.

Among them was Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Schafföner, who had the honor of representing the Chair of Ceramic Materials at the University of Bayreuth and gave a presentation on the results, opportunities, and future prospects of joint materials development between Bavaria and California.

Through the targeted promotion of BaCaTec, it was possible to establish a collaboration with the University of Southern California and its Viterbi School of Engineering. In addition to two exchange projects, the Wolfgang Hillen Summer School held in Bayreuth in 2023 was the undisputed highlight. Both institutions conduct research into new materials, particularly high-performance ceramics. These are used in aerospace and many other areas where extreme stresses and temperatures > 1000 °C occur and low weight and long service life are essential. The funded collaboration, which not only paves the way for new, jointly developed materials of the future, but also enables special consideration to be given to the sustainability of new developments, has already resulted in a publication.