Highest DKG award for IKTS institute director

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Prof. Alexander Michaelis was honored with the Rieke Ring of the Deutsche Keramische Gesellschaft e. V. (German Ceramic Society) for his many years of commitment to the DKG. The award ceremony took place on March 29, 2023, at the 98th DKG Annual Conference in Jena.

© Fraunhofer IKTS
DKG Board Chairman Prof. Christos Aneziris (r.) and Managing Director Dr. Detlev Nicklas (l.) present the Rieke Ring to Prof. Alexander Michaelis (m.) during the 98th DKG Annual Meeting in Jena.

"As a long-standing board member, I am pleased to have been able to support the DKG in its task of bringing academia and industry together, also on an international level," said Prof. Alexander Michaelis in his acceptance speech. "It is particularly important to me to emphasize the importance of ceramics for socially important issues such as: Energy turnaround, security of supply, health and the district economy. Without ceramics, we cannot master the technological challenges associated with these topics. I see the Rieke Ring as a recognition of my contributions in these areas."  

For the past four years (2019–2023), Prof. Alexander Michaelis has led the German Ceramic Society (DKG) as well as the Research Society of the German Ceramic Society (FDKG) as president.

Prof. Alexander Michaelis has been Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS since 2004 and is also Professor of Inorganic Non-Metallic Materials at the Technical University of Dresden. Under his leadership, Fraunhofer IKTS has developed into one of the largest ceramics research institutes worldwide – with more than 800 employees today and an annual budget of around €80 million.

The physicist with a doctorate in materials science is also an academy member of the "World Academy of Ceramics WAC" and a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) and the European Ceramic Society (ECerS).

The Rieke Ring is awarded in honor of outstanding services to the DKG. It is named after Prof. Dr. Reinhold Rieke (1881–1946). He was head of the "Chemisch-Technische Versuchsanstalt bei der Porzellanmanufaktur Berlin" at the TH Berlin and holder of the first worldwide recognized ceramics chair.