The University of Stuttgart has launched the Institute of Modelling and Simulation of Biomechanical Systems (IMSB). It is part of the Faculty 2, the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering. With its theoretical-simulation and experimental-model-based orientation, it is the first institute of this kind in the field of engineering and natural sciences in Germany. Researchers at the institute will study complex biological systems from a biomechanical perspective. The directors, Prof. Oliver Röhrle and Prof. Syn Schmitt, have formed the new institute to bring together scientific expertise and to contribute to the overall potential of this research area at the University of Stuttgart.
Advancing our understanding of the neuromuscular system
The IMSB will bring together two existing working groups, the Continuum Biomechanics and Mechanobiology team headed by Prof. Röhrle and the Computational Biophysics and Biorobotics team headed by Prof. Schmitt. The establishment of this new Institute enables them to collaborate more closely. Their work focuses primarily on basic research and the development of new simulation methods and experimental platforms for the validation of models and concepts. One of the key goals of the research is to use simulations and systematic descriptions to develop a better understanding of the human neuromuscular system. Similar international initiatives and institutions have impressively demonstrated the potential of this interdisciplinary field. The research orientation is primarily dedicated to the "intelligent human system" and thus fits in perfectly with the strategic vision of the University "Intelligent Systems for a Sustainable Society".
Close links to the SimTech Cluster of Excellence
The new institute will be part of the Stuttgart Center for Simulation Science (SC SimTech), and will be closely linked to the Cluster of Excellence "Data-Integrated Simulation Science" (SimTech), whose fellows include the IMSB directors. SimTech established the professorship ‘Continuum Biomechanics and Mechanobiology’ in 2008 and granted the position to Prof. Röhrle. In the years since his appointment Prof. Röhrle, Prof. Syn Schmitt and their teams have advanced the university’s capabilities in this field significantly.
"We are very pleased to be able to take the next step in advancing our research by establishing the institute” say the directors. “Founding the IMSB has a signalling effect and shows that Stuttgart offers, thanks to the 'Stuttgart Way', excellent prerequisites and an excellent environment for our research on investigating biological systems from different (engineering) perspectives,"