The rapid advances in technology, the limited earth's ressources and energy and increasing requirements for mininmum environmental polution make materials science a key technology in modern industrial countries. Frequently, mechanical properties of materials are the limiting factors in technical projects. The Institute for Materials Science and Welding aims at giving a contribution to the analysis and characterisation of materials during processing and in service. National and international cooperations form the basis of this goal. Apart from comprehensive experimental studies, major attention is directed toward application of advanced computational methods. Areas of interest: - Characterisation of materials microstructures; - Computational methods in Materials Science and Welding Technology; - Optimisation of materials properties and processing technologies; Short Description: The Institute for Materials Science, Joining and Forming aims at giving a contribution to the analysis and characterisation of materials during processing and in service. National and international cooperations form the basis of this goal. Apart from comprehensive experimental studies, major attention is directed toward application of advanced computational methods.