Rethinking Materials Testing: NFDI-MatWerk at the Center of Community Dialogue in Dresden

From automated test routines to data-driven evaluation strategies—materials testing is evolving rapidly. At the 43rd Conference on Materials Testing, held on 27 – 28 November 2025 in Dresden and online, NFDI-MatWerk once again engaged with the experimental materials science and engineering community. The focus: fostering shared understanding around data quality, interpretation, and digital workflows.

The 43rd „Vortrags- und Diskussionstagung Werkstoffprüfung“ brought together experts from academia, industry, and research institutions to discuss the challenges and advances in experimental materials testing. Organized at the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden and online, the conference centered on the relationships between materials structure and properties, and how testing enables progress across fields from climate technologies and medical materials to semiconductor manufacturing. 

A consistent theme throughout the event was the critical role of high-quality, standardized data in supporting a sustainable innovation. With this backdrop, NFDI-MatWerk contributed to the dialogue by clarifying what it offers not as a single data repository, but as a framework of interoperable services and digital tools to support the entire lifecycle of research data in materials science. 

Prof. Birgit Skrotzki (BAM) gave a concise three-minute exhibitor pitch, emphasizing the NFDI-MatWerk’s solutions, our offers for the MSE community and how to get in contact with us. NFDI-MatWerk addresses common challenges in data handling, documentation, and reuse, especially in distributed lab environments. Conference participants were encouraged to explore the updated NFDI-MatWerk website for concrete examples and implementation insights. 

The booth presence provided a valuable touchpoint for discussing practical needs: how to make data FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), how to integrate automated test setups, and how to approach documentation of measurement uncertainty and metadata in complex testing workflows. 

As a recurring community platform in the field of materials science and engineering, the conference not only facilitated knowledge exchange, but also reaffirmed the need for shared data practices and digital integration. NFDI-MatWerk’s participation underlined its commitment to support these developments by offering tangible tools, shared standards, and real-world use cases that respond directly to the needs of the materials testing community. 

NFDI-MatWerk
Funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under the National Research Data Infrastructure – NFDI 38/1 – project number 460247524.

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