{"id":33657,"date":"2025-05-28T10:52:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T08:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/?p=33657"},"modified":"2025-05-28T10:52:21","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T08:52:21","slug":"adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/","title":{"rendered":"Adolphe Merkle Institute: Where science meets application in the heart of Fribourg"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Adolphe Merkle Institute (What Is Series)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1sh1ItupkGg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Merkle envisioned a research center that would drive innovation, contribute to society, and support regional development. Today, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ami.swiss\/en\/\">AMI<\/a> brings this vision to life through interdisciplinary research at the crossroads of physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine. Its work explores the foundational mechanisms of matter while also driving forward new technologies with tangible applications, from biomedical devices to responsive materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The institute operates with a unique dual mandate: while committed to curiosity-driven research, nearly half of its activities are geared toward industrial application. Through this approach, AMI works closely with companies in the canton of Fribourg, across Switzerland, and internationally. Whether through joint research projects, technology transfer, or start-up incubation, AMI plays a catalytic role in strengthening Switzerland\u2019s innovation ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AMI is also home to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bioinspired-materials.ch\/en\/\">Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research for Bio-Inspired Materials<\/a>. This federal center leverages natural models, such as the structure of spider silk or lotus leaves, to develop smart materials for the future. With over 1,200 scientific publications and 50,000 citations, AMI\u2019s global scientific impact speaks for itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond research, AMI fosters collaboration through state-of-the-art labs, partnerships with leading universities, and mentoring of the next generation of scientists. The institute\u2019s open and international environment reflects Western Switzerland\u2019s broader strengths as a hub of innovation, talent, and cross-sector exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Western Switzerland for Next-Generation Science and Medicine (AMI &amp; University of Fribourg)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aJAucpj9K6I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the heart of Fribourg, the Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) has grown into a globally recognized center of excellence in materials science. Founded in 2008 through the visionary endowment of Swiss entrepreneur Dr. Adolphe Merkle, the institute was built on a simple yet powerful belief: fundamental science can bridge the gap to real-world impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":33658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1199],"tags":[912,924,949,937,967,886],"class_list":["post-33657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-why-switzerland","tag-biotech","tag-chemicals","tag-education-en","tag-materials","tag-physics","tag-rd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Adolphe Merkle Institute (What Is Series) | GGBa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the heart of Fribourg, the Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) has grown into a globally recognized center of excellence in materials science.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Adolphe Merkle Institute (What Is Series) | GGBa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the heart of Fribourg, the Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) has grown into a globally recognized center of excellence in materials science.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Greater Geneva Bern area\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-28T08:52:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-28T08:52:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Adolphe-Merkle-Institute-2360x1622-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1622\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pierre-Yves Oehrli\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Pierre-Yves Oehrli\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Pierre-Yves Oehrli\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.ggba.swiss\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0b2e6d04131e3d01237dcb741fa33d41\"},\"headline\":\"Adolphe Merkle Institute: Where science meets application in the heart of Fribourg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-28T08:52:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-28T08:52:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/\"},\"wordCount\":239,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Adolphe-Merkle-Institute-2360x1622-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Biotech\",\"Chemicals\",\"Education\",\"Materials\",\"Physics\",\"R&amp;D\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Why Switzerland\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/\",\"name\":\"Adolphe Merkle Institute (What Is Series) | GGBa\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.ggba.swiss\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Adolphe-Merkle-Institute-2360x1622-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-28T08:52:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-28T08:52:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.ggba.swiss\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0b2e6d04131e3d01237dcb741fa33d41\"},\"description\":\"In the heart of Fribourg, the Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) has grown into a globally recognized center of excellence in materials science.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Adolphe-Merkle-Institute-2360x1622-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Adolphe-Merkle-Institute-2360x1622-1.jpg\",\"width\":2360,\"height\":1622,\"caption\":\"Founded in 2008 in Fribourg, the Adolphe Merkle Institute bridges fundamental research and real-world applications in materials science. | \u00a9 AMI\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Adolphe Merkle Institute: Where science meets application in the heart of Fribourg\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.ggba.swiss\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.ggba.swiss\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Greater Geneva Bern area\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/staging.ggba.swiss\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.ggba.swiss\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0b2e6d04131e3d01237dcb741fa33d41\",\"name\":\"Pierre-Yves Oehrli\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/author\/pierre-yves-oehrli\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Adolphe Merkle Institute (What Is Series) | GGBa","description":"In the heart of Fribourg, the Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) has grown into a globally recognized center of excellence in materials science.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Adolphe Merkle Institute (What Is Series) | GGBa","og_description":"In the heart of Fribourg, the Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) has grown into a globally recognized center of excellence in materials science.","og_url":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/","og_site_name":"Greater Geneva Bern area","article_published_time":"2025-05-28T08:52:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-28T08:52:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2360,"height":1622,"url":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Adolphe-Merkle-Institute-2360x1622-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Pierre-Yves Oehrli","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Pierre-Yves Oehrli","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/"},"author":{"name":"Pierre-Yves Oehrli","@id":"https:\/\/staging.ggba.swiss\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0b2e6d04131e3d01237dcb741fa33d41"},"headline":"Adolphe Merkle Institute: Where science meets application in the heart of Fribourg","datePublished":"2025-05-28T08:52:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-28T08:52:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/"},"wordCount":239,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Adolphe-Merkle-Institute-2360x1622-1.jpg","keywords":["Biotech","Chemicals","Education","Materials","Physics","R&amp;D"],"articleSection":["Why Switzerland"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/","url":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/","name":"Adolphe Merkle Institute (What Is Series) | GGBa","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.ggba.swiss\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Adolphe-Merkle-Institute-2360x1622-1.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-28T08:52:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-28T08:52:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.ggba.swiss\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0b2e6d04131e3d01237dcb741fa33d41"},"description":"In the heart of Fribourg, the Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) has grown into a globally recognized center of excellence in materials science.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Adolphe-Merkle-Institute-2360x1622-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Adolphe-Merkle-Institute-2360x1622-1.jpg","width":2360,"height":1622,"caption":"Founded in 2008 in Fribourg, the Adolphe Merkle Institute bridges fundamental research and real-world applications in materials science. | \u00a9 AMI"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/adolphe-merkle-institute-where-science-meets-application-in-the-heart-of-fribourg\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Adolphe Merkle Institute: Where science meets application in the heart of Fribourg"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/staging.ggba.swiss\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/staging.ggba.swiss\/en\/","name":"Greater Geneva Bern area","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/staging.ggba.swiss\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/staging.ggba.swiss\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0b2e6d04131e3d01237dcb741fa33d41","name":"Pierre-Yves Oehrli","url":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/author\/pierre-yves-oehrli\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33657"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33661,"href":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33657\/revisions\/33661"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}