The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (), or BAM, is a German

research institute A research institute, research centre, or research organization is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural ...

in the field of

materials science Materials science is an interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries. The intellectual origins of materials sci ...

History

The institute's origins start in 1871, the year in which Germany was unified, as the ''Mechanisch-Technische Versuchsanstalt''. From 1904 to 1919 it was styled the ''Königliches Materialprüfungsamt''. From 1920 to 1945 it was called the ''Staatliches Materialprüfungsamt'' (MPA). And from 1919 to 1945 there existed the ''Chemisch-Technische Reichsanstalt'' (CTR). In 1954 the ''Bundesanstalt für mechanische und chemische Materialprüfung'' was founded, becoming the ''Bundesanstalt für Materialprüfung'' in 1956. In 1969 it became a government agency (Bundesoberbehörde). In 1986 the name changed to ''Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und ''.

Function

Within the interconnected fields of materials, chemistry, environment, and safety, the main areas of focus are: * Statutory functions relating to technical safety in the public domain, especially as regards dangerous materials and substances * Collaboration in developing statutory regulations, for example on safety standards and threshold values * Advising the Federal Government and industry on safety aspects of materials and chemical technology * The development and supply of reference materials and methods, in particular for chemical analysis and materials testing * Assisting in the development of standards and technical regulations for the evaluation of substances, materials, structures, and processes with reference to damage prediction and preservation of national economic values.

Structure

The institution is controlled by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Its competences are to improve safety in technology and chemistry through research and development, testing, analysis, approvals, advice, and information. The headquarters are located in Berlin, near the Berlin Botanischer Garten station.

Departments

The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing is subdivided into departments and divisions. The staff sums up to about 1700 members. * Department 1:

Analytical chemistry Analytical skill, Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to Separation process, separate, identify, and Quantification (science), quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute t ...

, Reference materials * Department 2:

Chemical safety Chemical safety includes all safety policies, procedures and practices designed to minimize the risk of exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals. This includes the risks of exposure to persons handling the chemicals, to the surrounding environme ...

engineering * Department 3: Containment systems for

dangerous goods Dangerous goods are substances that are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment during transport. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabically abbreviate ...

;

Energy storage Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production. A device that stores energy is generally called an Accumulator (energy), accumulator or Batte ...

* Department 4: Materials and the environment * Department 5: Materials engineering * Department 6: Materials chemistry * Department 7: Safety of structures * Department 8:

Non-destructive testing Nondestructive testing (NDT) is any of a wide group of analysis techniques used in science and technology industry to evaluate the properties of a material, component or system without causing damage. The terms nondestructive examination (NDE), n ...

* Department 9: Component safety * Department S: Quality infrastructure * Department Z: Central services

References

External links