Prof. Dr. Ingo Burgert

Research area

Ingo Burgert has been a Professor for Wood Materials Science at the Institute for Building Materials in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering, since 2011 and heads together with Mark Schubert the research group WoodTec of the Cellulose and Wood Materials Laboratory at Empa, Dübendorf.

Professor Burgert’s research focus is on the nanostructural and micromechanical characterisation of wood and fibre composites and their modification in order to optimise material properties. For this purpose Professor Burgert and his group analyse and transfer principles and mechanisms that can be found in nature to technical applications (biomimetic, bio-inspired materials).

To improve the reliability and applicability of wood as a building material, the wood structure can be modified by polymer chemistry and nano(bio)technological methods. Moreover, these principles of wood modification can be used to generate wood with new functions, such as electrical conductive wood. This may also lead to responsive materials, which could find application in building automation (Smart Home).