Interfaces and surfaces are of crucial importance to the structural and functional characteristics of high performance materials. For example they heavily influence mechanical properties and make specific functional applications possible. At the ZGH, high performance materials will be investigated by means of a combination of multi-scale experiments and simulations, starting from the atomic through the mesoscopic level up to component dimensions. These investigations will focus on developing a set of broadly applicable principles for interface engineering. They are based on the fundamental understanding of interfaces at the atomic level and extends to the complex materials used in technical applications (materials design by interface engineering). The research program has been divided into coherent research areas: mechanically, chemically and physically-dominated high performance materials.
