East Lansing, November 14, 2007: The Fraunhofer Center for Coatings and Laser Applications hosted a successful Open House on November 14th, at its Coating Division in East Lansing. A presentation was given by Center Director, Jes Asmussen, explaining Fraunhofer’s special role in bridging the gap between university research and industry applications and highlighting Fraunhofer’s MEDC 21st Century Award, which focuses on the commercialization of its carbon-based technology in the state of Michigan. Visitors, who included representatives from Michigan State University(MSU), local government, business organizations, and industry, had the opportunity to see the Fraunhofer CCL facility first hand. During the laboratory demonstrations, key technologies were showcased such as lab grown CVD diamond, superhard diamond -like coatings used to improve performance of advanced engine components and even biocompatible thin-films developed to elongate the life of orthopedic implants in the human body.

Fraunhofer USA is a non-profit corporation and subsidiary of Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, a leading international research organization which has 12,500 employees worldwide. As one of the world's largest applied research and development operations, Fraunhofer conducts cutting-edge research for industry and government, generating over $1.7 billion anually in research revenues.

For more information see www.ccl.fraunhofer.org or contact:

Claire Rosser
Phone: 1-517-432-8711
Email: crosser@fraunhofer.org