Fraunhofer Society
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Fraunhofer Society (German: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft) is a German research organization with 56 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 over 12,500, mainly scientists and engineers, with an annual research budget of about €1.2 billion.[1] 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 about two-thirds of the funding are 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 six centers in the United States, under the name 'Fraunhofer USA', and three in Asia.[2]
The official name of the Fraunhofer Society is Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e. V. (German for "Fraunhofer Society for the advancement of applied research").
Some notable projects
- The MP3 compression algorithm was invented and patented by Fraunhofer IIS. Its license revenues generated about €100,000,000 in revenue to the society in 2005. [1]
- They are developing a program for use at IKEA 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.
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[edit] 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. 60% of its income through contracts with industry or specific government projects. The other 40% 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.
[edit] Institutes
The Fraunhofer Society currently operates 58 institutes. These are Fraunhofer Institutes for:
- Algorithms and Scientific Computing - SCAI
- Applied Information Technology - FIT
- Applied Optics and Precision Engineering - IOF
- Applied Polymer Research - IAP
- Applied Solid State Physics - IAF
- Biomedical Engineering - IBMT
- Building Physics - IBP
- Ceramic Technologies and Systems - IKTS
- Chemical Technology - ICT
- Communication Systems - ESK
- Computer Architecture and Software Technology - FIRST
- Computer Graphics Research - IGD
- Digital Media 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-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut - EMI
- Industrial Engineering - IAO
- Industrial Mathematics - ITWM
- Information and Dataprocessing - IITB
- 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 Biotechnology - IGB
- Laser Technology - ILT
- Machine Tools and Forming Technology - IWU
- Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research - IFAM
- Manufacturing Engineering and Automation - IPA
- Material and Beam Technology - IWS
- Material Flow and Logistics - IML
- Mechanics of Materials - IWM
- Microelectronic Circuits and Systems - IMS
- Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology - IME
- Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institut - HHI
- Non-Destructive Testing - IZFP
- 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
- Silicate Research - ISC
- Silicon Technology - ISIT
- Software and Systems Technology - ISST
- Solar Energy Systems - ISE
- Structural Durability and System Reliability - LBF
- Systems and Innovation Research - ISI
- Technological Trend Analysis - INT
- Technology Development Group - TEG
- Surface Engineering and Thin Films - IST
- Toxicology and Experimental Medicine - ITEM
- Transport and Infrastructure Systems - IVI
- Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut - WKI
[edit] History
The Fraunhofer Society was founded in Munich on 26 March 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 marks.
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 marks. 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-Commission 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 coworkers in 33 institutes and a research budget of 360 million Deutsche marks.
By 1988, defense research represented only about 10% of the entire expenditure of the Fraunhofer Society.
By 1989, the Fraunhofer Society had nearly 6400 coworkers in 37 institutes with a total budget of 700 million Deutsche marks.
In 1991 through the reunification of Germany, the Fraunhofer Society faced the challenge of integrating numerous research establishments of the former East Germany as branch offices of institutes already existing into the Fraunhofer Society.
In 1993 the Fraunhofer Society's total budget exceeded 1 billion Deutsche marks.
Its mission statement of 2000 commits the Fraunhofer Society to being a market and customer-oriented, national 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, which they developed, is the most widely adopted method for encoding and decoding 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 moves to its own multistoried building in Munich.
The Fraunhofer Society develops and formulates a firm specific mission statement. The fundamental targets are summarized, and the desired "values and guidelines" of the society's "culture" are codified. 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) gains the status of an independent institute. It becomes Fraunhofer-Institut for Digital Media Technology IDMT.
New alliances and topic groups help to strengthen the market operational readiness level of the institutes for Fraunhofer in certain jurisdictions.
In 2005 the 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)
[edit] Presidents
- Walther Gerlach (1949–1951)
- Wilhelm Roelen (1951–1955)
- Hermann von Siemens (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 Bullinger (2002 -)
[edit] External links
- http://www.fraunhofer.de/ official website
[edit] Notes
- ^ Staff (March 2006). Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft: About Us. Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft organisational web site. Retrieved on 2006-06-06.
- ^ Staff (March 2006). Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft: International Locations. Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft organisational web site. Retrieved on 2006-06-06.
