Mr. Galle, you are quite a new face at the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD). What have been your first impressions and what lessons have you already learned from this new type of cooperation?

My first impression is a very good one. So far I have met open and interesting people who are working on some fascinating research topics. That is a great way to get to know the quite complex structure of the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany.

You are a program manager at the FMD. What does your role entail?

As a program manager, I concentrate on tapping into new fields of application and new customers. There are already business developers at individual institutes working on this issue. Within FMD, the challenge is to identify and strategically develop cross-institute topics – in cooperation, naturally enough, with our partners at the Leibniz Institutes.

What specific projects are you currently working on?

Many institutes have expertise in the area of LiDAR: from the generation of laser beams to their deflection and the detection of reflected beams. This portfolio will be complemented by wide experience in the radar sector, which is also an important step on the way to fully automated driving. We’ll approach these topics in conjunction with sensor data fusion.

Let’s look into the future. What would you like to have achieved in five years’ time?

Fascinating people make for fascinating projects. I would like to be able to look at a positive and innovative environment with creative colleagues.

Which of the projects being worked on by your colleagues in other Fraunhofer institutes interests you in particular?

I find Start-a-Factory at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM very interesting. Start-up founders can come here to gain low-threshold access to high-tech equipment and to the experience of Fraunhofer IZM employees. It really is a superb opportunity.

What invention would you not like to do without in daily life?

My bicycle – it’s not particularly complex, but it’s certainly very useful and relaxing in everyday life.

What do you wish you had more time for?

If I had extra free time, I would do more sports and learn Finnish.

What song belongs to the “soundtrack” of your life?

That is a really good question. I can think of quite a few tracks. The Dropkick Murphys always put me in a good mood: “Do or Die”!

Where will your next journey take you?

“I‘m Shipping Up To Boston” is another good song by the Dropkick Murphys. And that’s my plan too: to visit Boston soon. Traveling in general is one of my biggest passions.

What was the last book you read?

Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. It’s a classic and I can recommend it without hesitation. Right now, I’m reading Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami.

Last, but not least: can you tell us what motto you live by?

Live well, laugh well! And whatever you do, do it well!

 

 

About Christoph Galle:

Christoph Galle studied industrial engineering at TU Berlin. He then worked as a project manager promoting the economy of the state of Brandenburg. His duties focused on strategic advancement of cluster traffic, mobility, and logistics, as well as ICT, media, and the creative industry. He entered his position as a program manager at the FMD in February 2018. He is responsible for defining and establishing contact with strategic customers in the cross-institute fields of application of microelectronics.