Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

On November 1, 2025, Jörg Dörr joined the institute management team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE. Together with the current director Peter Liggesmeyer, he will co-lead the institute, which specializes in efficient software development. They will share responsibilities: Jörg Dörr will serve as scientific director while Peter Liggesmeyer will act as managing director.

At its fall meeting on November 6, 2025, the senate of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft unanimously re-elected Hildegard Müller, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), as chair of the senate. Her term will begin on January 1, 2026. The committee also confirmed Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, and elected Anna-Katharina Wittenstein, Member of the Supervisory Board of Wittenstein SE, as deputy chairs of the senate. Both will take office on January 1, 2026.

Fraunhofer researchers have developed a system that uses sensors and AI to monitor a driver's cognitive load. In the future, this technology could ease driver strain when they reach their stress limit. The system can also be applied in other fields, such as for pilots or surgeons. The researchers are using an innovative sensor network for the project — as well as a PC game for preparing virtual sushi.

In the Clean Aviation project, Fraunhofer researchers teamed up with partners to develop a system that causes icy spots on aircraft wings to vibrate, removing the ice. This dramatically reduces the amount of energy needed for deicing in comparison to conventional methods. The technology is also suitable for low-emission propulsion of the future.