IMDEA Materials (Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies of Materials) is a non-profit independent research institute promoted by the Madrid regional government (Comunidad de Madrid) to perform research in Materials Science and Engineering. IMDEA Materials Institute belongs to the Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies network, a new institutional framework created to foster social and economic growth in the region of Madrid by promoting research of excellence and technology transfer to industry in a number of strategic areas (water, food, energy, materials, nanoscience, networks and software).
IMDEA Materials Institute is committed to three main goals: excellence in Materials Science and Engineering research, technology transfer to industry to increase competitiveness and maintain technological leadership, and attraction of talented researchers from all over the world to Madrid to work in an international and interdisciplinary environment.
Legal Status
IMDEA Materials Institute is a non-profit independent organization (foundation). This legal form brings together the advantages and guarantees offered by the foundation status with the flexible and dynamic management typical of a private body. This combination is necessary to attain the goals of excellence in research, cooperation with industry and attraction of talented researchers from all over the world.
The main governing body of the Institute is the Board of Trustees. The Board includes representatives of the regional government de Madrid (4), universities and research centers of Madrid (4), scientists with an international reputation in Materials Science and Engineering (5), industrial enterprises (5) as well as independent trustees (1) The industrial enterprises are committed into a long-term partnership with the Institute to develop research lines in collaboration. The Board appoints the Director, who is the CEO of the Institute, The Director is assisted by the Deputy Director and the Manager, who takes care of the legal, administrative and financial activities of the institute.
The Board of Trustees and the Director are assisted in their functions by the Scientific Council, an advisory board made up by 15 scientists from all over the world with expertise in the different areas of research covered by the Institute. The tasks of the Scientific Council include the selection and the evaluation of the scientific activities of the researchers as well as of the institute as a whole to ensure excellence in research.
Profile
IMDEA Materials Institute currently counts with approximately 100 researchers from 16 different nationalities. Approximately 50% of the researchers are foreigners. Research activities are organized along four research programmes devoted to:
- Nanomaterials and Nanomechanics
- The Next Generation of Composite Materials,
- Alloy Design, Processing and Development
- Integrated Computational Materials Engineering.
These programmes are focused on the development of advanced materials mainly in the sectors of transport, energy, information technology and manufacturing as well as on the exploration of emerging materials and processes for sustainable development.
The Institute is located in TecnoGetafe, a technological park in Getafe, 16 km to the south of Madrid. The institute building, with a surface of 9000 m2, was inaugurated in 2012 and includes office space for management and researchers, laboratories (processing of nanomaterials and nanocomposites, processing of advanced structural materials, chemical and microstructural characterization, mechanical and thermal characterization, nanomechanics and computational materials engineering) as well as an open area to host conferences and scientific workshops.
The research activities of the institute are supported from competitive grants of the regional and national research programs on Materials, the Framework Programmes of the European Union, the Materials World Network (funded jointly by the Spanish and US National Science Foundations), the China Scholarship Council as well as by contracts with our large network of industrial partners in Europe, North America and Asia.