The centre acts as a mediator between basic research and applied material science, serving both the in house (JKU) institutes as well as the interested Austrian (and European) companies. It plays a primary role through support of interdisciplinary and interfacultary research, training and education through essential resources for electron- and ion beam micro- and nano-characterization of all kind of advanced materials, as well as analysis techniques for surfaces and interfaces.

"Materials science plays a pivotal role in determining and improving economic performance and the quality of life, e.g. in
1) Environment and Energy: Materials science is helping to develop new energy generation technologies, more energy efficient devices, and easily recyclable, less toxic materials.
2) Health: Materials science, in conjunction with biotechnology, can meet this challenge by, e.g., developing artificial bones and organ implants, safe drug delivery systems, water filtration systems, etc.
3) Transport: Examples are the development of light-weight aluminium bodies for automobiles, brake systems for high-speed trains, quieter aircrafts, and insulation tiles for re-entry spacecrafts."

Our aim is to understand the Physics and Chemistry: we put great emphasis placed on fundamental properties of materials, surfaces and interfaces rather than on applied science and product development. Naturally, application of materials is the ultimate goal, but this needs to be built on firm theoretical basis so that improvements can be made more efficiently and reliably. Particular attention is thereforegiven to understanding a material’s behaviour from the atomic/nano-level via microstructure to macrostructure levels using advanced analytical techniques and computer modelling. This strategy is applied to both the improvement of conventional “bulk” materials, such as steel, and to new functional materials for increasingly smaller, “smarter” devices".