Award year: 2016
Category: Scholarship / Grant
Type: ERC Consolidator Grant
Awarding organization: Europäischer Forschungsrat (ERC)
How and why do things break? This is one question Erik Bitzek investigates in his research. Cracks form in materials when they are subject to loads. The early stages of crack formation are investigated using various materials. The purpose of this research is to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the microscopic processes at the crack tip. By using this as a basis, materials scientists are able to develop and further improve new materials that are resistant to failure.