Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPADeputy Director of Fraunhofer IPA
Scientific Director for Surfaces and Materials
In October 2016, Dr. rer. nat. Michael Hilt MBA took over as Deputy Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA. The chemist with a doctoral degree is the Scientific Director for “Surfaces and Materials“ and is also responsible for the Research Area “Surface Treatment and Technology and Materials".
Hilt obtained his doctoral degree in 1988 at the Institute of Polymer Chemistry at the University of Stuttgart and at the Research Institute for Pigments and Coatings (FPL e.V.) in Stuttgart. In the same year, he started his professional career at Daimler-Benz AG as a coating and corrosion specialist. After passing through various manufacturing engineering and materials science departments at Daimler with a focus on coating technology, Hilt returned to FPL in 2009, realigning the Research Society for Pigments and Coatings e.V in his new post as CEO. As part of the re-structuring process, he integrated the institute section of FPL into Fraunhofer IPA to create the “Coatings and Pigments” department. In 2012, a merger led to the birth of the “Coating Systems and Painting Technology” department, which Hilt has been running ever since. He is also General Manager of the Research Society for Pigments and Coatings e.V.
Hilt is an active member of numerous research societies and associations. He is currently chairman of the GDCh expert committee “Coatings Chemistry” and on the management board of GDCh e.V. (German Chemists Society). Since 2015, he is President of FATIPEC (Federation of Associations of Technicians for Industry of Paints in European Countries). He is also an expert in the polymer chemistry group at AiF (German Federation of Industrial Research Associations “Otto von Guericke” e.V.)
