Engineered Living Materials

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„Engineered Living Materials“ (ELM) is rapidly growing as a new scientific discipline at the intersection of materials sciences, synthetic biology and biotechnology. ELMs change the paradigm of how materials are produced, applied and disposed of. ELMs rely on genetic programming of living organisms to achieve self-growing materials with complex functions. They provide innovation in construction and packaging materials and textiles, as integrated sensors and actuators, fuel cells or as smart drug depots. ELMs are on the science policy agenda in the U.S. with substantial funding fuelling ongoing innovations. Similarly, key innovations are coming from China and the UK. However, despite strong competences in underlying disciplines, ELMs are largely terra incognita in the German scientific landscape. This workshop for early career scientists aims at initiating an ELM community in Germany, by accelerating interdisciplinary training and exchange among doctoral researchers and early postdocs in materials and life sciences, and by supporting direct implementation of innovative projects in the field. The early career scientists will acquire complementary skills in ELM-specific research principles and techniques, they will enjoy seminar talks from invited international experts in the field, and they will receive feedback from experts to their own research ideas as well as career plans in a highly innovative field. With these skills, feedback, experience, and networking the participants will be optimally prepared to develop and perform innovative research on ELMs.