Polymers offer unique opportunities to tailor materials. They are the basis for almost all modern technologies and the key for innovations addressing the major challenges, such as energy, mobility, health, sustainability, and communication. Polymers are nothing new; as biopolymers, they are the material basis of life, and materials developed from them, such as wood, wool, leather, or rubber, have been used by mankind for a very long time.
The scientific understanding of polymers that has been gained, their targeted synthesis and efficient processing methods have enabled rational design of polymer materials. Without polymer systems, material- and energy-saving lightweight construction, information technologies, medical therapies and many other things would be inconceivable.
The polymer scientific competence of the IPF is therefore in demand in numerous research projects for many different fields of application. As a Leibniz Institute, the IPF follows its mission to develop solutions for socially and technologically relevant questions through fundamental and application-oriented research.
Accordingly, the institute aligns its strategic topics:

• Basic concepts of soft matter
• Bio-inspired materials
• Functional materials and system integration
• Process controlled structural materials
• Data science-based material research
• Sustainability and enviroment protection

At the IPF, natural scientists (chemists, physicists, biologists) and engineers collaborate intensively. The institute has high competence and modern infrastructure for synthesis, analytics and simulation, as well as processing and testing of polymers and polymer materials. This allows excellent basic research in polymer science and diverse transdisciplinary cooperation. Through technology transfer, spin-offs and industrial cooperation, the IPF promotes the path of innovations into application.
In Dresden, the IPF is closely linked with strong partners at the university and non-university research institutions with in the DRESDEN-concept network. Together, facilities and structures such as the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD), the Center for Molecular Bioengineering (B CUBE), the Centre for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfaed), the Else Kröner-Fresenius Center for Digital Health (EKFZ) and the Cluster of Excellence Physics for Life (PoL) have been established.