Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research Acting Director
Prof. Dr. Raoul Klingner
Raoul Klingner was born 1974 in Weilheim, south of Munich. After his studies in wood science, he started research in 1999 at the EMPA (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology) and ETH Zurich in Switzerland in fields of bionic in biomorph ceramics as well as thermodynamics of hornets´ nests. He did his doctorate at the chair of structural physics at ETH Zurich.
By the end of 2005 Raoul Klingner started working for the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Munich, first as scientific associate in the division for Strategy and Internal Research-Programs. During this time, he helped developing new initiatives as for example strategic marketing and the promotion program “Attract”.
2010 he became head of the department of “International Business Development”. This department develops and supervises strategic cooperation purposes with excellent international research partners. Furthermore, it coordinates the international network of Fraunhofer Foreign entities.
In April 2016, Raoul Klingner was appointed head of the Research department. There he was, in direct reporting line to the Fraunhofer president, responsible for research planning of all Fraunhofer Institutes in Germany, the development and coordination of strategic national research lines in applied research as well as the coordination of the collaboration with universities, academies and the awarding authorities.
Since the winter semester 2017/18 Raoul Klingner teaches “Research and Innovation Management” at the TU Braunschweig and by the end of 2019 he was appointed honorary professor ibidem.
On October 1, 2024, Raoul Klingner took over as Acting Director of the Fraunhofer WKI.