Energizing great minds to shape a sustainable future
  1. Mission & Philosophy
  2. Research Areas
  3. Research Projects
  4. Publications
  5. People & Careers

Who we are and what we do

Our mission is to work with creative minds from science and industry to find solutions for the engineering and production of tomorrow. In doing so, we research topics relevant to social, economic and ecological sustainability as well as digital sovereignty. In this way, we want to contribute to positive social development.

We are guided by the major political initiatives such as the European Green Deal, Industry 5.0 or the National Hydrogen Strategy, and derive from them research priorities in which we create added value through digitalization. The results of our work serve as an incubator for subsequent implementation projects and lay the foundation for the industrial processes of tomorrow.

In CONTACT Research, we work on projects that encompass applied research as well as technology and method innovation. Research projects are the most challenging task: they must be conceived and pursued with a long-term perspective, and their technical success is not guaranteed. As an independent corporate unit of the CONTACT Software Group, CONTACT Research provides the ideal framework for meeting these special requirements.

Who we are and what we do

Our mission is to work with creative minds from science and industry to find solutions for the engineering and production of tomorrow. In doing so, we research topics relevant to social, economic and ecological sustainability as well as digital sovereignty. In this way, we want to contribute to positive social development.

We are guided by the major political initiatives such as the European Green Deal, Industry 5.0 or the National Hydrogen Strategy, and derive from them research priorities in which we create added value through digitalization. The results of our work serve as an incubator for subsequent implementation projects and lay the foundation for the industrial processes of tomorrow.

In CONTACT Research, we work on projects that encompass applied research as well as technology and method innovation. Research projects are the most challenging task: they must be conceived and pursued with a long-term perspective, and their technical success is not guaranteed. As an independent corporate unit of the CONTACT Software Group, CONTACT Research provides the ideal framework for meeting these special requirements.

Our mission is to work with creative minds from science and industry to find solutions for the engineering and production of tomorrow. In doing so, we research topics relevant to social, economic and ecological sustainability as well as digital sovereignty. In this way, we want to contribute to positive social development.

We are guided by the major political initiatives such as the European Green Deal, Industry 5.0 or the National Hydrogen Strategy, and derive from them research priorities in which we create added value through digitalization. The results of our work serve as an incubator for subsequent implementation projects and lay the foundation for the industrial processes of tomorrow.

In CONTACT Research, we work on projects that encompass applied research as well as technology and method innovation. Research projects are the most challenging task: they must be conceived and pursued with a long-term perspective, and their technical success is not guaranteed. As an independent corporate unit of the CONTACT Software Group, CONTACT Research provides the ideal framework for meeting these special requirements.

The cornerstones of our strategy enable us to conduct practical research on the issues of the future:
 

  • We identify strategic future potential. This enables us to know which topics will become relevant and create medium- to long-term innovation security - for us and our customers.
     
  • We know the real conditions in industry and take them into account in our research. This leads to shorter innovation cycles with higher utility value for our customers.
     
  • We are committed to investing sustainably in future topics and thus create a future-proof partnership.
     
  • We pursue an open research approach and share industry-relevant knowledge with our research network. This enables us to accelerate the development of future-proof solutions for the automotive industry, mechanical and plant engineering, public infrastructure and other sectors.

Our research team

CONTACT Research consists of a core team that is in charge of the project portfolio. In addition, we involve employees from across the Group, who contribute their expertise to the various topics. In this way, we create a diverse working environment for people who work together for a sustainable future.

Our research team

CONTACT Research consists of a core team that is in charge of the project portfolio. In addition, we involve employees from across the Group, who contribute their expertise to the various topics. In this way, we create a diverse working environment for people who work together for a sustainable future.

CONTACT Research consists of a core team that is in charge of the project portfolio. In addition, we involve employees from across the Group, who contribute their expertise to the various topics. In this way, we create a diverse working environment for people who work together for a sustainable future.

Artificial Intelligence

„Bringing artificial intelligence into the engineering domains” – With CONTACT Research, we want to bring artificial intelligence (AI) into the engineering domains. Our research focuses on use cases from all phases of the product lifecycle. This puts a broad spectrum of technologies, methods and processes at the center of our work.


Data & Service Ecosystems

„Data sovereignty in a world of distributed services” – We are working on solutions for innovative data and service ecosystems to help shape the digital transformation in industry and society. We take global availability into account just as much as the ever-growing need for sovereignty over one's own data.


Digital Lifecycle Management

„Go digital or go home” – We work on sustainably strengthening and future-proofing collaboration and interoperability between a wide variety of systems, organizations or industries. The focus of our research is on use cases along the entire product lifecycle. However, we do not limit ourselves to the classic branches of engineering, but systematically open up new fields of competence.


Green Technology & Sustainability

„Shape sustainability in the product life cycle” – The resources of our planet are limited. That is why we at CONTACT Research are researching digital methods, processes and solutions to put the relationship between nature and society on a permanently sustainable footing by means of technological-industrial innovation and reorganization.



A Holistic System Lifecycle Engineering Approach – Closing the Loop between System Architecture and Digital Twins

Gutiérrez-Basulto, V.; Jung, J. C.; Sabellek, L. (2018). Reverse Engineering Queries in Ontology-Enriched Systems: The Case of Expressive Horn Description Logic Ontologies. International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence 2018: 1847-1853. https://doi.org/10.24963/ijcai.2018/255

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Frank Patz-Brockmann
Director Research & Director Software Development

Frank Patz-Brockmann has been with CONTACT Software since 1992 and, as a member of the management team, is responsible for the software development. He plays a key role in shaping CONTACT Software's technology strategy and product portfolio. With the additional responsibility for CONTACT Research since 2022, he is pursuing the goal of establishing a long-term innovation roadmap.

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Dr. Patrick Müller
Director Innovation Strategy

Dr. Patrick Müller studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Berlin, where he earned his doctorate. Following his subsequent time at the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, he joined CONTACT in 2013. There he worked as a product manager in the fields of PLM and IoT. After moving to strategy and management consulting, his role changed again. Currently, he is active for strategic tasks as a member of the management team. Research accompanied him into his current role as Director of Innovation Strategy and as a founding member of the new corporate unit CONTACT Research.

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Dr. Udo Göbel
Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer

Udo Göbel studied physics at RWTH Aachen University and earned his PhD in theoretical physics at the University of Bremen. After a postdoctoral position at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research on the visualization of climate modeling, he moved to a startup company as head of a computer center. Since 2003, he has been working for CONTACT Software in Professional Service and became head of the department in 2006. Udo is interested in all topics related to Data Science and mathematical modeling and built the first Data Science team in 2015. He has been CONTACT’s Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer since 2023 and advises on the topic of AI as a member of the research board.

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Lucas Kirsch
Team Lead & Senior Manager Innovation

Lucas Kirsch studied aerospace engineering at the Technical University of Berlin and graduated with a Master's degree. Lucas started as an analyst in product management at CONTACT Software in 2015. As a product manager, he helped shape the CONTACT Elements applications for requirements management and interface technologies, and developed his interest in high-innovation technologies as part of accompanying research activities. Since mid-2021, he has been dedicated to building the new CONTACT Research department. He also likes to explore in his free time by traveling to foreign countries or exploring new areas by road bike.

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Dr. Thomas Dickopf
Senior Manager Research

Thomas Dickopf studied mechanical engineering with applied computer science at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern and then completed his doctorate in model-based systems engineering parallel to his time as a research assistant at the Chair for Virtual Product Development (VPE). Thomas joined CONTACT Software in 2018 via the joint research project mecPro². In his four years as an analyst in product management, he was particularly involved in the topics of MBSE, IoT, and closed-loop engineering. He coordinated various research activities and dealt with the analysis and exploration of new application fields for the CONTACT Elements platform. At the beginning of 2022, he dedicated himself to the development of the new CONTACT Research department. In his free time, Thomas is enthusiastic about traveling. He appreciates not only foreign countries and cultures, but also the advantages of his region.

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Ian Altmann
Solution Engineer IoT & Industry 4.0

Ian Altmann studied information technology in mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Berlin. During this time he was able to gain practical experience in research at the Fraunhofer Institute in the field of production systems. He then worked as a software developer in the automotive industry and was responsible for the development of a BI-supported quality management tool. Ian started in product management at CONTACT Software in 2019. As a project engineer, he developed industrial IoT applications in various customer and research projects, and contributed to topics such as connectivity, standardization and data analytics. He has been a member of the CONTACT Research Team since 2022.

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Dr. Elisabeth Brandenburg
Project Manager Research

Elisabeth Brandenburg completed her Bachelor of Science in Information and Media Technology at the Technical University of Cottbus and her Master of Science in Human Factors at the Technical University of Berlin. In the following stipend of the DFG at the interdisciplinary research graduate school prometei (prospective human-technology interaction) she did her PhD on the topic of information visualization of product data in virtual reality. In the following seven years as a research associate at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology, she was responsible for the research fields "Intuitive Interaction with Virtual Prototypes" and "Virtual Engineering Workplace of the Future". Since April 2023, Elisabeth Brandenburg has been working at CONTACT Research as a project manager.

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Sven Forte
Research Manager

Sven Forte completed his master's degree in virtual product development at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern and deepened his knowledge during his five-year tenure as a Research Associate at the Chair of Virtual Product Development at the same university. During this time, he focused particularly on researching methods for designing and reconfiguring smart product-based digital ecosystems ("System of Systems"). Additionally, he played a pivotal role in conceptualizing and managing an innovative engineering demonstration and testing environment for small and medium-sized enterprises to support the transfer of research results to the industry. In April 2023, Sven Forte joined CONTACT Software as Research Manager.

In his leisure time, he enjoys playing golf and exploring new regions on his mountain bike.

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Ingmar Hornig
Working Student Research

Ingmar Hornig has been working as a working student in the Research Team at CONTACT in the Bremen office since October 2023. He completed his Bachelor's degree in Business Informatics at Hochschule Bremerhaven and is currently pursuing his Master's in "Computer Science - Complex Software Systems" with a focus on Data Science at Hochschule Bremen. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, taking walks in the woods, and working on his own AI projects.

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Marianne Michaelis
Analyst Research

Marianne Michaelis studied mathematics at the University of Bonn, and began working as a data analyst at a Fraunhofer Institute while she was still a student. After graduating, she was employed as a research assistant in various research projects for industry, mainly in the evaluation of radar sensor technology. She then moved to a consulting company, where she was able to spend six years supporting clients in lifting their data treasures and analyzing them using machine learning. Since 2023, she has been strengthening the CONTACT Research Team in the area of Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence.

In her free time, she likes to do yoga, Pilates and Zumba or enjoys trips to the mountains and lakes with her family.

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Dr. Leif Sabellek
Analyst

Leif Sabellek studied mathematics and received his PhD in theoretical computer science from the University of Bremen. His area of expertise is the theoretical foundations of artificial intelligence, in particular description logic and database query answering in ontology-based systems. He worked as a postdoc at the University of Bremen for three years before joining CONTACT Software in 2022. Now he supports CONTACT Research in his role as an analyst.

In his spare time, he learns Chinese, plays the piano, and enjoys endurance runs in nature.

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Christian Stürmer
Junior Solution Engineer IoT & Industry 4.0

In addition to studying physics, with a focus on applied physics, Christian Stürmer has already gained work experience in the field of software development for building automation, production engineering and cross-platform app development for mobile devices. At CONTACT Research, he is active in research projects on "business process mining" and the interfaces between engineering, manufacturing and quality assurance.

His enthusiasm for technology and his pleasure in experiencing new innovative technologies are not limited to his professional tasks. In his spare time, Christian is usually already working on the next private development or electronics project in the open source environment, if he is not spending time in nature doing outdoor activities.

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Sebastian Weber
Research Analyst

Sebastian Weber completed his Master's degree in Industrial Engineering with a focus on Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern. Following the successful completion of his studies, he worked as a Research Associate at the Chair of Virtual Product Development (VPE) at the same university, specializing in the field of Smart Systems Engineering. In early 2023, his career path led him to CONTACT Software, where he now works as a Research Analyst.

He enjoys traveling, savoring fine cuisine, and remains engaged with emerging technologies even outside of work.

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Maximilian Weidemann
Solution Engineer IoT & Industry 4.0

Maximilian Weidemann studied applied computer science with a focus on process-oriented business informatics at the University of Applied Sciences in Dresden. As a working student at CONTACT Software since 2017, he has already been involved in various research projects and, in addition to classic PLM topics, has been working on the analysis and integration of new interface technologies, the construction and presentation of demonstrators, and publications on these topics, among other things. In 2022, Maximilian completed his master’s degree and joined the CONTACT Research Team.

Besides work, Maximilian often travels beyond the borders of Europe to face new challenges and venture into unknown worlds. He also enjoys cooking and is privately involved in 3D modeling.


R&D network

CONTACT is involved in selected initiatives, associations and research cooperations for the development of open source software, industry standards and future-oriented technologies.

 

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