Fraunhofer Society
Encyclopedia
The Fraunhofer Society is a German
research organization with 60 institutes spread throughout Germany, each focusing on different fields of applied science (as opposed to the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, which works primarily on basic science). It employs around 18,000, mainly scientist
s and engineer
s, with an annual research budget of about €1.65 billion. Some basic funding for the Fraunhofer Society is provided by the state (the German public, through federal government together with the German Länder, "owns" the Fraunhofer Society), but more than 70% of the funding is earned through contract work, either for government sponsored projects or from industry.
It is named after Joseph von Fraunhofer
who, as a scientist, an engineer, and an entrepreneur, is said to have superbly exemplified the goals of the society.
The organisation has seven centers in the United States, under the name 'Fraunhofer USA', and three in Asia. In October 2010, Fraunhofer announced that it would open its first research center in South America.
Thus the size of the society's budget depends largely on its success in maximizing revenue from commissions. This funding model applies not just to the central society itself but also to the individual institutes. This serves both to drive the realisation of the Fraunhofer Society's strategic direction of becoming a leader in applied research as well as encouraging a flexible, autonomous and entrepreneurial approach to the society's research priorities.
on March 26, 1949 by representatives of industry and academia, the government of Bavaria
, and the nascent Federal Republic.
In 1952, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs declared the Fraunhofer Society to be the third part of the non-university German research landscape (alongside the German research councils (DFG) and the Max Planck Institutes). Whether the Fraunhofer Society should support applied research through its own facilities was however the subject of a long-running dispute.
From 1954, the Society's first institutes developed. By 1956 it was developing research facilities in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense. In 1959 the Fraunhofer Society comprised nine institutes with 135 co-workers and a budget of 3.6 million Deutsche Mark
.
In 1965, the Fraunhofer Society was identified as a sponsor organization for applied research.
In 1968, the Fraunhofer Society became the target of public criticism for its role in military research.
By 1969, Fraunhofer had more than 1,200 employees in 19 institutes. The budget stood at 33 million Deutsche Mark
. At this time a "commission for the promotion of the development of the Fraunhofer Society" planned the further development of the Fraunhofer Society (FhG). The commission developed a financing model that would make the Society dependent on its commercial success. This would later come to be known as the Fraunhofer Model.
The Model was agreed to by the Federal Cabinet and the Bund-Länder-Kommission in 1973. In the same year the executive committee and central administration moved into joint accommodation at Leonrodstraße 54 in Munich
.
The Fraunhofer program for the promotion of the consulting research for SMEs was established and gained ever more significance in subsequent years.
In 1977, the political ownership of the society was shared by the Ministries of Defense and Research.
By 1984, the Fraunhofer Society had 3,500 employees in 33 institutes and a research budget of 360 million Deutsche Mark
.
By 1988, defense research represented only about 10% of the entire expenditure of the Fraunhofer Society.
By 1989, the Fraunhofer Society had nearly 6,400 employees in 37 institutes, with a total budget of 700 million Deutsche Mark
.
In 1991, the Fraunhofer Society faced the challenge of integrating numerous research establishments in former East Germany as branch offices of already-existing institutes in the Fraunhofer Society.
In 1993 the Fraunhofer Society's total budget exceeded 1 billion Deutsche Mark
.
In 1994, the Society founded a US-based subsidiary, Fraunhofer USA, Inc., to extend the outreach of Fraunhofer's R&D network to American clients.
Its mission statement of 2000 committed the Fraunhofer Society to being a market and customer-oriented, nationally and internationally active sponsor organization for institutes of the applied research.
Between 2000 and 2001 the institutes and IT research centers of the GMD
(Gesellschaft für Mathematik und Datenverarbeitung – Society for Mathematics and Information technology) were integrated into the Fraunhofer Society at the initiative of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research.
The year 2000 marked a noteworthy success at Fraunhofer-Institut for Integrated Circuits (IIS): MP3
, a lossy audio format which they developed, is the most widely adopted method for compressing and decompressing digital audio.
In 2002, ownership of the Heinrich-Hertz-Institut for Communications Technology Berlin GmbH (HHI), which belonged to the Gottfried William Leibniz Society e. V. (GWL), was transferred to the Fraunhofer Society. With this integration the Fraunhofer Society budget exceeded €1 billion for the first time.
In 2003 the Fraunhofer Society headquarters moved to its own multistoried building in Munich.
The Fraunhofer Society developed and formulated a firm specific mission statement summarizing fundamental targets and codifying the desired "values and guidelines" of the society's "culture". Amongst these, the society committed itself to improving the opportunities for female employees and coworkers to identify themselves with the enterprise and to develop their own creative potential.
In 2004 the former "Fraunhofer Working Group for Electronic Media Technology" at the Fraunhofer-Institut for Integrated Circuits (IIS) gained the status of an independent institute. It becomes Fraunhofer-Institut for Digital Media Technology IDMT.
New alliances and topic groups helped to strengthen the market operational readiness level of the institutes for Fraunhofer in certain jurisdictions.
In 2005 two new institutes, the Leipzig Fraunhofer-Institut for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), and the Fraunhofer Center for Nano-electronic technologies CNT in Dresden
, were founded.
In 2006, the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems (IAIS) was founded as a merger between the Institute for Autonomous Intelligent Systems (AIS) and the Institute for Media Communication (IMK).
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
research organization with 60 institutes spread throughout Germany, each focusing on different fields of applied science (as opposed to the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, which works primarily on basic science). It employs around 18,000, mainly scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
s and engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
s, with an annual research budget of about €1.65 billion. Some basic funding for the Fraunhofer Society is provided by the state (the German public, through federal government together with the German Länder, "owns" the Fraunhofer Society), but more than 70% of the funding is earned through contract work, either for government sponsored projects or from industry.
It is named after Joseph von Fraunhofer
Joseph von Fraunhofer
Joseph von Fraunhofer was a German optician. He is known for the discovery of the dark absorption lines known as Fraunhofer lines in the Sun's spectrum, and for making excellent optical glass and achromatic telescope objectives.-Biography:Fraunhofer was born in Straubing, Bavaria...
who, as a scientist, an engineer, and an entrepreneur, is said to have superbly exemplified the goals of the society.
The organisation has seven centers in the United States, under the name 'Fraunhofer USA', and three in Asia. In October 2010, Fraunhofer announced that it would open its first research center in South America.
The Fraunhofer Model
The so-called "Fraunhofer Model" has been in existence since 1973 and has led to the Society's continuing growth. Under the model, the Fraunhofer Society earns ca. 70% of its income through contracts with industry or specific government projects. The other 30% of the budget is sourced in the proportion 9:1 from federal and state (Land) government grants and is used to support preparatory research.Thus the size of the society's budget depends largely on its success in maximizing revenue from commissions. This funding model applies not just to the central society itself but also to the individual institutes. This serves both to drive the realisation of the Fraunhofer Society's strategic direction of becoming a leader in applied research as well as encouraging a flexible, autonomous and entrepreneurial approach to the society's research priorities.
Institutes
The Fraunhofer Society currently operates 60 institutes. These are Fraunhofer Institutes for:- Algorithms and Scientific Computing – SCAI
- Applied Information TechnologyInformation technologyInformation technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
– FIT - Applied and Integrated Security – AISEC
- Applied Optics and Precision Engineering – IOF
- Applied Polymer Research – IAP
- Applied Solid State Physics – IAF
- Biomedical EngineeringBiomedical engineeringBiomedical Engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology. This field seeks to close the gap between engineering and medicine: It combines the design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to improve...
– IBMT - Building Physics – IBP
- Ceramic Technologies and Systems – IKTS
- Chemical Technology – ICT
- Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics – FKIE
- Communication Systems – ESK
- Computer ArchitectureComputer architectureIn computer science and engineering, computer architecture is the practical art of selecting and interconnecting hardware components to create computers that meet functional, performance and cost goals and the formal modelling of those systems....
and Software Technology – FIRST - Computer GraphicsComputer graphicsComputer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
Research – IGD - Digital MediaDigital mediaDigital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of...
Technology – IDMT - Electron and Plasma Technology – FEP
- e-Government – Fraunhofer eGovernment Center
- Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology – UMSICHT
- Experimental Software Engineering – IESE
- Factory Operation and Automation – IFF
- High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques – FHR
- High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut – EMI
- Industrial EngineeringIndustrial engineeringIndustrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
– IAO - Industrial Mathematics – ITWM
- Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation – IOSB
- Information Center for Regional Planning and Building Construction – IRB
- Integrated Circuits – IIS
- Integrated Systems and Device Technology – IISB
- Integrated Publication and Information Systems – IPSI
- Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems – IAIS
- Interfacial Engineering and BiotechnologyBiotechnologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
– IGB - LaserLaserA laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
Technology – ILT - Machine Tools and Forming Technology – IWU
- Manufacturing EngineeringManufacturing engineeringManufacturing engineering is a field dealing with different manufacturing practices and the research and development of processes, machines and equipment.-Overview:...
and Applied Materials Research – IFAM - Manufacturing Engineering and Automation – IPA
- Material and Beam Technology – IWS
- Material Flow and LogisticsLogisticsLogistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
– IML - Mechanics of Materials – IWM
- Medical Image Computing – MEVIS
- Microelectronic Circuits and Systems – IMS
- Molecular BiologyMolecular biologyMolecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
and Applied EcologyEcologyEcology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
– IME - Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institut – HHI
- Non-Destructive TestingNondestructive testingNondestructive testing or Non-destructive testing is a wide group of analysis techniques used in science and industry to evaluate the properties of a material, component or system without causing damage....
– IZFP - Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation – IOSB
- Open Communication Systems – FOKUS
- Patent Center for German Research – PST
- Photonic Microsystems – IPMS
- Physical Measurement Techniques – IPM
- Process Engineering and Packaging – IVV
- Production Systems and Design Technology – IPK
- Production Technology – IPT
- Reliability and Microintegration – IZM
- Secure Information Technology – SIT
- SilicateSilicateA silicate is a compound containing a silicon bearing anion. The great majority of silicates are oxides, but hexafluorosilicate and other anions are also included. This article focuses mainly on the Si-O anions. Silicates comprise the majority of the earth's crust, as well as the other...
Research – ISC - SiliconSiliconSilicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, it is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table...
Technology – ISIT - Smart Systems Integration by using Micro and Nano TechnologiesNanotechnologyNanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
ENAS - Software and Systems Technology – ISST
- Solar EnergySolar powerSolar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
Systems – ISE - Structural Durability and System Reliability – LBF
- Systems and Innovation Research – ISI
- Technological Trend Analysis – INT
- Technology Development Group – TEG
- Surface EngineeringSurface engineeringSurface engineering is the sub-discipline of materials science which deals with the surface of solid matter. It has applications to chemistry, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering ....
and Thin Films – IST - ToxicologyToxicologyToxicology is a branch of biology, chemistry, and medicine concerned with the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms...
and Experimental Medicine – ITEM - Transport and Infrastructure Systems – IVI
- Wind Energy and Energy System Technology – IWES
- Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut – WKI
Fraunhofer USA
In addition to its German institutes, the Fraunhofer Society operates seven US-based Centers through its American subsidiary, Fraunhofer USA:- Coatings and Laser Applications – CCL
- Experimental Software Engineering – CESE
- LaserLaserA laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
Technology – CLT - Molecular BiotechnologyBiotechnologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
– CMB - Manufacturing Innovation – CMI
- Sustainable Energy Systems – CSE
- Digital Media Technologies – DMT
Fraunhofer Spin-offs
To date, about 150 companies have been spun off of Fraunhofer institutes:- 4FriendsOnly.com Internet Technologies AG (4FO AG)
- acp – advanced clean production GmbH
- AdnaGen AG
- advanced clean production Information Technology AG
- AFPT – KOELRIT GmbH
- AIXUV GmbH
- ALOtec GmbH
- Angiocam IVS GmbH
- Arc Precision – Sources, Coatings and Analysis GmbH
- arivis – Multiple Image Tools GmbH
- artegic AG
- AXO Dresden GmbH
- b-wise gmbh
- Bio-Gate AG
- bureau42 GmbH
- CalCon GmbH
- Center for Testing and Qualifications GmbH
- CEROBEAR GmbH
- Clean-Lasersysteme GmbH
- Concentrix Solar GmbH
- CONDIAS GmbH
- ConWeaver
- CoSee GmbH
- Diamond Materials GmbH
- Do Logistics Consulting GmbH
- EdgeWave GmbH
- ELMOS Semiconductor AG
- EnCT GmbH
- ENTEC GmbH
- exocad GmbH
- eZelleron GmbH
- facilityboss GmbH
- fiatec Filter & Aerosol Technologie GmbH
- FLUDICON GmbH
- ForTISS GmbH
- FrEqUeNz eG. Mobile Kommunikation und Breitbandanwendungen
- FuMA-Tech Gesellschaft für funktionelle Mambranen und Anlagentechnologie mbH
- FutureChemistry Holding BV
- GfU Gesellschaft für Umweltchemie mbH
- GPS Gesellschaft für Produktionssysteme GmbH
- Greasoline
- GRINTECH GmbH
- GRIP GmbH Handhabungstechnik
- GSM Software Management GmbH
- Helion GmbH
- HiperScan GmbH
- Holotools GmbH
- humanIT Software GmbH
- ICIDO GmbH
- I-Deal Technologies
- Induflex Coating Systems GmbH
- Indyon GmbH
- infoman AG
- ingeneric GmbH
- inHaus GmbH
- inno-shape GmbH
- Innovationszentrum für Telekommunikationstechnik GmbH / IZT
- intelligent views gmbh
- IOSONO GmbH
- iptelorg GmbH
- isiltec GmbH
- ISYS Adaptive Solutions GmbH
- ITSO-IT Service Omikron GmbH
- JenaValveTechnology Inc.
- KORION GmbH
- Laser Analytical Systems & Automation GmbH
- LF CONSULT GmbH
- Lightwerk GmbH
- LinogistiX GmbH
- LOCALITE GmbH
- m2k Laser GmbH
- MedCom GmbH
- meticube – Software Engineering
- METROM Mechatronische Maschinen GmbH
- mignos GmbH
- MikroM GmbH
- Mindlab GmbH
- Mobota Ltd.
- mso jena Mikroschichtoptik GmbH
- mufin GmbH
- MusicTrace GmbH
- NDT Systems & Services AG
- NetSkill AG
- NoKra Optische Prüftechnik und Automation GmbH
- Novaled AG
- Novedia AG
- OKIT GmbH
- OPTICOM GmbH
- OrbiTeam Software GmbH & Co. KG
- Origin Foods GmbH
- PacTech GmbH
- PharmedArtis GmbH
- PSE AG
- Pumacy Technologies AG
- RESprotect GmbH
- RTE Akustik + Prüftechnik GmbH
- S&F Systemtechnik GmbH
- Scapos AG
- SCUS GmbH
- SensorDynamics AG
- SensorDynamics Itzehoe GmbH
- Smart Material GmbH
- SmartMembranes GmbH
- solares bauen Gmbh
- SolarSpring GmbH
- SOLID COMPOSITES GMBH
- Stress & Strength GmbH
- Subitec GmbH
- teambits GmbH
- T-O-P Oberflächen GmbH
- Technologiebroker Bremen GmbH
- Tecnaro GmbH
- Testing Technologies IST GmbH
- think-cell Software GmbHThink-cellthink-cell is a German computer software company founded in 2002 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany. The Fraunhofer Society spin-off focuses upon the creation of Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel add-in products...
- TriDiCam GmbH
- u2t Photonics AG
- Vertigo Systems GmbH
- vis-à-pix GmbH
- VisotekVisotekVisotek Inc. is an American company, located in Livonia, Michigan, that designs, develops and manufactures individual fiber coupled diode laser modules, complete turnkey systems and peripheral components used in industrial, military, medical and research applications...
- VITERO GmbH
- Vitracom GmbH
- xi Experts-International GmbH
Notable Projects
- The MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
compression algorithm was invented and patented by Fraunhofer IIS. Its license revenues generated about €100,000,000 in revenue for the society in 2005. - The Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI) was a significant contributor to the H.264/MPEG-4 AVCH.264/MPEG-4 AVCH.264/MPEG-4 Part 10 or AVC is a standard for video compression, and is currently one of the most commonly used formats for the recording, compression, and distribution of high definition video...
video compression standard, a technology recognized with two Emmy awards in 2008 and 2009. - As of May 2010, a metamorphic triple-junction solar cellSolar cellA solar cell is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect....
developed by Fraunhofer's Institute for Solar Energy Systems holds the world record for solar energy conversion efficiency with 41.1%, nearly twice that of a standard silicon-based cell. - Fraunhofer is developing a program for use at IKEAIKEAIKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
stores, which would allow people to take a picture of their home into a store to view a fully assembled, digital adaptation of their room. - E-puzzler, the world's most sophisticated pattern-recognition machine, which can digitally put back together even the most finely shredded papers. The E-puzzler uses a computerized conveyor belt that runs shards of shredded and torn paper through a digital scanner, automatically reconstructing original documents.
History
The Fraunhofer Society was founded in MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
on March 26, 1949 by representatives of industry and academia, the government of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, and the nascent Federal Republic.
In 1952, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs declared the Fraunhofer Society to be the third part of the non-university German research landscape (alongside the German research councils (DFG) and the Max Planck Institutes). Whether the Fraunhofer Society should support applied research through its own facilities was however the subject of a long-running dispute.
From 1954, the Society's first institutes developed. By 1956 it was developing research facilities in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense. In 1959 the Fraunhofer Society comprised nine institutes with 135 co-workers and a budget of 3.6 million Deutsche Mark
German mark
The Deutsche Mark |mark]], abbreviated "DM") was the official currency of West Germany and Germany until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It is commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark"...
.
In 1965, the Fraunhofer Society was identified as a sponsor organization for applied research.
In 1968, the Fraunhofer Society became the target of public criticism for its role in military research.
By 1969, Fraunhofer had more than 1,200 employees in 19 institutes. The budget stood at 33 million Deutsche Mark
German mark
The Deutsche Mark |mark]], abbreviated "DM") was the official currency of West Germany and Germany until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It is commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark"...
. At this time a "commission for the promotion of the development of the Fraunhofer Society" planned the further development of the Fraunhofer Society (FhG). The commission developed a financing model that would make the Society dependent on its commercial success. This would later come to be known as the Fraunhofer Model.
The Model was agreed to by the Federal Cabinet and the Bund-Länder-Kommission in 1973. In the same year the executive committee and central administration moved into joint accommodation at Leonrodstraße 54 in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
The Fraunhofer program for the promotion of the consulting research for SMEs was established and gained ever more significance in subsequent years.
In 1977, the political ownership of the society was shared by the Ministries of Defense and Research.
By 1984, the Fraunhofer Society had 3,500 employees in 33 institutes and a research budget of 360 million Deutsche Mark
German mark
The Deutsche Mark |mark]], abbreviated "DM") was the official currency of West Germany and Germany until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It is commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark"...
.
By 1988, defense research represented only about 10% of the entire expenditure of the Fraunhofer Society.
By 1989, the Fraunhofer Society had nearly 6,400 employees in 37 institutes, with a total budget of 700 million Deutsche Mark
German mark
The Deutsche Mark |mark]], abbreviated "DM") was the official currency of West Germany and Germany until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It is commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark"...
.
In 1991, the Fraunhofer Society faced the challenge of integrating numerous research establishments in former East Germany as branch offices of already-existing institutes in the Fraunhofer Society.
In 1993 the Fraunhofer Society's total budget exceeded 1 billion Deutsche Mark
German mark
The Deutsche Mark |mark]], abbreviated "DM") was the official currency of West Germany and Germany until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It is commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark"...
.
In 1994, the Society founded a US-based subsidiary, Fraunhofer USA, Inc., to extend the outreach of Fraunhofer's R&D network to American clients.
Its mission statement of 2000 committed the Fraunhofer Society to being a market and customer-oriented, nationally and internationally active sponsor organization for institutes of the applied research.
Between 2000 and 2001 the institutes and IT research centers of the GMD
GMD
GMD can stand for*Gambian dalasi, the ISO 4217 code for the currency of Gambia*GDP-mannose-4,6-dehydratase, catalyzes the first step in the biosynthesis of GDP-fucose*General Motors Diesel*Gearless Motor Drive*Geometric Mean Diameter...
(Gesellschaft für Mathematik und Datenverarbeitung – Society for Mathematics and Information technology) were integrated into the Fraunhofer Society at the initiative of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research.
The year 2000 marked a noteworthy success at Fraunhofer-Institut for Integrated Circuits (IIS): MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
, a lossy audio format which they developed, is the most widely adopted method for compressing and decompressing digital audio.
In 2002, ownership of the Heinrich-Hertz-Institut for Communications Technology Berlin GmbH (HHI), which belonged to the Gottfried William Leibniz Society e. V. (GWL), was transferred to the Fraunhofer Society. With this integration the Fraunhofer Society budget exceeded €1 billion for the first time.
In 2003 the Fraunhofer Society headquarters moved to its own multistoried building in Munich.
The Fraunhofer Society developed and formulated a firm specific mission statement summarizing fundamental targets and codifying the desired "values and guidelines" of the society's "culture". Amongst these, the society committed itself to improving the opportunities for female employees and coworkers to identify themselves with the enterprise and to develop their own creative potential.
In 2004 the former "Fraunhofer Working Group for Electronic Media Technology" at the Fraunhofer-Institut for Integrated Circuits (IIS) gained the status of an independent institute. It becomes Fraunhofer-Institut for Digital Media Technology IDMT.
New alliances and topic groups helped to strengthen the market operational readiness level of the institutes for Fraunhofer in certain jurisdictions.
In 2005 two new institutes, the Leipzig Fraunhofer-Institut for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), and the Fraunhofer Center for Nano-electronic technologies CNT in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, were founded.
In 2006, the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems (IAIS) was founded as a merger between the Institute for Autonomous Intelligent Systems (AIS) and the Institute for Media Communication (IMK).
Presidents
- Walther Gerlach (1949–1951)
- Wilhelm Roelen (1951–1955)
- Hermann von SiemensHermann von SiemensHermann von Siemens was a German industrialist who became head of the German electrical and electronics company Siemens AG in 1941 and served until 1956. He was the son of Arnold von Siemens and wife Ellen von Helmholtz and paternal grandson of Ernst Werner von Siemens and first wife Mathilde...
(1955–1964) - Franz Kollmann (1964–1968)
- Christian Otto Mohr (1968–1973)
- Heinz Keller (1973–1982)
- Max Syrbe (1982–1993)
- Hans-Jürgen Warnecke (1993–2002)
- Hans-Jörg BullingerHans-Jörg BullingerHans-Jörg Bullinger is a German scientist and current President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.The mechanical engineer with a doctoral degree was the Director of the Fraunhofer IAO , besides he is also Professor of Industrial Science and Technology Management at the University of Stuttgart. Since...
(2002–)
External links
- http://www.fraunhofer.de/ Official Website
- http://www.fraunhofer.org/ Fraunhofer USA Official Website