Schaeffler FAG Foundation supports innovative research project with 100,000 euros

"Future Technology Award" supports research work on additive manufacturing methods and 2D nanomaterials with 100,000 euros

"Innovation Award" for three doctoral theses and four awards in the category master's and bachelor's theses

Foundation has been promoting science, research and teaching in the field of storage technology for 40 years

The Schaeffler FAG Foundation’s “Future Technology Award” 2022, which is endowed with EUR 100,000, goes to Professor Dr. Max Marian of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Pontifical Catholic University of Chile). At the award ceremony at the end of June in the "Kugelmühle" restaurant in Schweinfurt, the foundation also honored a total of seven outstanding doctoral, master's and bachelor's theses with an "Innovation Award".

With the Future Technology Award, the foundation supports highly innovative research projects from universities, colleges or individual faculties and chairs. “Our foundation promotes learning, knowledge transfer and the development of people and ideas with potential. It is a way of living corporate social responsibility,” says Markus Gambihler, Head of Human Resources at Schaeffler Industrial and new Chairman of the Foundation Board since May 2023. The aim, particularly of the Future Technology Awards, is to enable basic research in the field of storage technology.

Improved bearing cages through nanomaterials

With the funding from the foundation, Professor Dr. Max Marian is now advancing his research work entitled "Additive Manufacturing of 2D material-reinforced polymer cages for rolling bearings". The research idea of the scientist from the Chair of Mechanical Engineering and Metallurgy at the University of Chile investigates the use of 2D nanomaterials for polymer roller bearing cages in connection with additive manufacturing processes. The prerequisite for this are the good tribological properties of 2D nanomaterials. The main questions of the work focus on the material and process verification as well as the investigation of the achievable bearing cage properties.

"The advantages lie in the optimization of the design of the components, the weight savings and the savings potential on the cost side," said Dr. Max Marian.

Innovation Award for seven theses

With the "Innovation Award", the foundation honored three outstanding doctorates and a total of four master's and bachelor's theses in technology areas that are relevant to the foundation's purpose.

First prize in the doctoral thesis category went to Dr. Francisco Gutiérrez Guzmán, RWTH Aachen, for his work entitled "White Etching Cracks in Oil-Lubricated Rolling Contacts." In his work, Francisco Gutiérrez Guzmán focused on the experimental determination of stress-side influencing parameters and their combinations as well as possible starting points for the prediction of white etching cracks.

The second award in this category went to Dr. Thomas Papke, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg (“Investigations on the formability of hybrid components made of sheet metal body and additively manufactured structure”), the third to Dr. Mostafa Ellaithy, University of Southampton (“Further understanding of Dark Etching Region and White Etching Bands development in bearing steels due to rolling contact fatigue”).

In the master's and bachelor's theses category, the Foundation awarded Tobias Novotny, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, (1st prize), Tim Letzner, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, (2nd prize), Marino Full, Technische University of Würzburg-Schweinfurt, and Jonas Mursak, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, (each 3rd prize).

Markus Gambihler presented the awards together with Peter Schuster, Managing Director of the foundation, and Uwe Wagner, Head of Research and Development at Schaeffler AG and member of the Foundation's Board of Directors.

About the Schaeffler FAG Foundation:

The Schaeffler FAG Foundation promotes science, research and teaching in the scientific and technical field related to bearing technology. The foundation forms a bridge between business and science for the ideas, visions and goals of the people who work at universities, in research and in companies.

In addition to the "Future Technology Award" and "Innovation Award", the foundation has a third funding line. In order to get young people interested in technology and the corresponding professional fields at an early stage, it supports interdisciplinary projects in the MINT field as part of the funding for schools in the Mainfranken region.