The physicist Friedrich “Fritz” Prinz achieved a major breakthrough with the development of mold shape deposition. This made it possible to produce complex free-form parts in special materials with high precision. This spurred research into microturbines, meso flight devices and microrobotics in applications ranging from energy systems to medical devices and space technology.
Prinz moved to the U.S. in 1981 and became a professor at the University of Standford in the U.S. in 1994. His focus today is on micro- and nano-research in the energy and biology fields – researching new materials and methods for the efficient conversion and storage of energy. Among other things, his team is investigating the relationship between the size, nature and kinetics of the transfer of electric charges. They also try to learn from nature (bionics) – especially how electrons are transported in plant cells.
Prinz has been a corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) since 1996.