X-CELERATE – Doctoral candidates network advances 4D X-ray imaging

Researchers at the University of Passau are participating in the transnational doctoral project X-CELERATE, a pioneering initiative dedicated to developing new methods for 4D X-ray computed tomography. The European Union is funding this project as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network, a renowned programme for training top scientists.

While conventional 3D printing typically produces rigid components, 4D printing creates objects that can change themselves—for example, in terms of shape, color, or properties. This is facilitated by smart materials that respond to external stimuli such as heat, magnetic fields, or light. However, there is currently a lack of suitable methods for dynamically studying, investigating, and optimizing such smart materials.

This is where 4D CT comes in: this method provides time-resolved X-ray images to show how materials change under stress. Professor Christoph Heinzl, holder of the Chair of Cognitive Sensor Systems at the University of Passau and head of the research unit knowledge-based image processing at the Fraunhofer Development Center for X-ray Technology (EZRT), explains: “Laboratory-based, time-resolved X-ray imaging is ideally suited for investigating smart materials. It captures dynamics of these materials that were previously invisible.”

Together with Professor Tomas Sauer, holder of the Chair of Mathematics with a focus on digital image processing, Heinzl is participating in the transnational doctoral project X-CELERATE. The goal: to advance the technology through several innovation leaps. These include customized 4D CT strategies, novel methods for data analysis and visualization, and phrase contrast imaging, a special X-ray technique that makes materials with very low density visible.

“In X-CELERATE, we are focusing on producing the next generation of research engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset. The fact that we as the University of Passau are now involved in such projects shows how valuable and right it was to establish the Fraunhofer Group and the cooperative professorship in Passau," explains Professor Dr. Sauer. Two doctoral positions are being created at the University of Passau as part of the doctoral network: one is based at the mathematician's chair, the other at the Fraunhofer EZRT research unit of Professor Dr. Heinzl's chair.

Bundled European expertise

The University of Antwerp coordinates the network. A total of 14 partners (universities, research organisations, and partners from industry) from 9 European countries are involved. The project takes a multidisciplinary approach, integrating expertise from various fields such as applied mathematics, computer science, physics, materials science, and product design. The aim is to use innovative methods to accelerate the design and characterization of advanced smart materials, thereby strengthening the European manufacturing sector.

About Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Networks

The European Union is funding this doctoral network as part of Horizon Europe as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network (project number 101227146), which is a funding program for excellent young researchers. The X-CELERATE network prevailed in a highly competitive Europe-wide call for proposals. From a total of 1,417 submissions, only 190 will receive funding.

Image description: Professor Tomas Sauer (standing) and Professor Christoph Heinzl demonstrate the visualization of a large industrial CT data set in a three-dimensional representation.

More information:

• X-CELERATE website
• Doctoral position at the University of Passau on mathematical modeling
• Doctoral position at the University of Passau and Fraunhofer EZRT on the topic of data analysis and visualization