About BEN

BEN, the bionic engineering network, is a registered, non-profit organisation that unites members from industry, academia, consultancy, non-profit as well as private people who deeply care for the transfer of advances in bionic research to “real” products.

The bionic engeineering network was launched on 1st July 2008 in Saarbrücken, Germany. It took over the responsibility of organising the work a new innovation cluster for biomimetic and was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Research of the Saarland in line with their innovation strategy from 2008 - 2011. Our partners and experts have the task of advertising bionics with companies and to help to apply bionic solutions to the development of new products.

Bionics is a field of research that has been flourishing for more than 30 years in the Saarland. This is, to a great part, thanks to Prof. em. Werner Nachtigal, one of the founding fathers of bionics in Germany, who is an honorary member of BEN. Several of his former assistants are active members of the bionic engineering network.

We, thus, make a contribution to the economic structure of the Saarland and the neighbouring regions.

Excecutive Committee

The excecutive committee consists of

1. Chairman

  • Professor Dr. Hans-Joachim Weber, President of the Institute of Product Development and Optimisation (InPEO), Saarbrücken, germany

2. Chairman

  • Knut Braun D.V.M, Chairman of the internationalen Bionikzentrums, Stiftung für Bionik (IBZ), München - Saarbrücken, Germany

Treasurer

  • Martin Weber, Systems engineer at Continental Engineering Services GmbH, Nuremberg, Germany

Commitee members

  • Prof. Dr. Lutz Achim Gäng, Department Informatik und Mikrosystemtechnik of the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Campus Zweibrücken und Applied Research Center, Germany
  • Diplom Biologe Georg Rummel, Bionic Consult, Saarbrücken, Germany

Are you interested to join BEN? Then please download our statutes including a membership form.

We would be glad to welcome you as a member, if you share our vision!

Download our charter