Dr Gurka is a material scientist with profound experience in multifunctional materials, holding several patents. He studied physics at the University of Heidelberg and received his PhD in 1998. After working for several years in industry on the development of multifunctional materials, systems and associated production processes, he joined the Leibniz Institute for Composite Materials (IVW), Germany, in 2010 and heads the " Smart Composites & Nondestructive Testing " group. Dr Gurka is deputy head of the materials science department. His research interests include multifunctional composite materials, material-integrated actuators and sensors, and non-destructive materials testing.